In This Issue...

• Tool of a Champion - The Tear File
• Calculating and Analyzing Real Estate - Part 3
• Buyer Leads - Increase Conversion!
• Creating Your Championship Performance - Like a Rainmaker!

Tool of a Champion - The Tear File

I was just recalling one time when I spent the whole weekend catching up with my reading of my tear file.  My tear file is articles that I get from magazines, internet sites, and many other sources of learning.  I tear out the articles or print them for me to sit down and power through them weekly.  It had been a few weeks since the last time I had emptied the file so it was larger than usual.  You might start your own tear file to read.  It is a tool that has worked really well for me.

In my folder was a great short article on the late Sam Walton.  It was about Sam’s philosophy as a servant leader.  He founded his company with that philosophy and vision.  One of Sam’s sayings was “If you take care of your people, your people will take care of the customer and the business will take care of itself.”  Most of you have people who work for you.  We all need the help of others to accomplish what we want in life.  Are you taking care of your own people? 

As clients you have all gone through the exercise to create a vision for your business.  This business vision has added tremendous clarity to your business.  It has made you grow and prosper because you knew the path you wanted and desired to lead.

A truly great servant leader conveys that vision.  It is one thing to have a vision and it is quite another to instill that vision and gain commitment to it from others.  You need to gain commitment from your staff and your clients to your vision.

You will be successful in your business and your life based on your leadership skills.  Work to cultivate those leadership skills daily.  The more skilled you are in leading your team to the vision of success for your business and life; the grander the legacy you will leave long after you are gone.

To your achievement of success in life,

Dirk Zeller
CEO
Real Estate Champions, Inc

P.S. The three areas that we'll focus our time on today are Calculating and Analyzing Real Estate, Buyer Leads, and Creating Your Championship Performance. Any of these articles could help you change your life in 2007 if you'll read, absorb, and use the information. I challenge you to take a few minutes of your time to read this material. If you don't have time now, print them out and take them with you to read between appointments.

If you're tired of wasting your time with wishy-washy buyers, and would rather have a system that takes you completely through the entire Buyer Conversion Process so that you maximize your effort and time, you've got to check out...

Convert and Commit
the Buyer... Every Time!™

With the vast majority of agents in North American doing more transactions on the buyer side than the seller side, we need to now make sure that we are converting on every possibility we have in the marketplace. Every viable lead that is created must be converted to íncome producing closed transactions. This program is conservatively worth an extra $100,000 in gross commission income for you! Don’t miss your chance at mastering control and commitment of your buyer’s prospects.

The 'Convert and Commit the Buyer... Every Time!™' Series will teach you how to:
	• Convert the buyer on the first call • Techniques to drive them to commit • Build value in the client’s mind for the services you provide • Effective presentation techniques at a commitment meeting • Lock them in with you long-term • Get them to sign an exclusive Represent Agreement now!
You'll receive:
	• 4 Audio CDs • 1 CD-ROM Workbook

I Want to Learn How to
Convert and Commit the Buyer... Every Time!

Calculating and Analyzing Real Estate - Part 3

Three key statistics reflect real estate sales success better than any other indicators. These statistics are: Average list price compared to average sales price, average number of days on the market, and average number of listings sold versus listings taken. In this article we will take a look at Average Number of listings sold versus listings taken.

This competitive number will demonstrate to the world how well you do your job of selling homes. When you can say to a seller that you sell more than 98% of all the homes that sellers list with you, you present strong evidence that your clients will assume a greatly lowered risk when working with you.

One of the greatest fears a seller experiences stems from the concern, “What if I pick the wrong agent? What if I’m hearing fast-talk from a salesperson who wants to pound a for sale sign in my yard without the experience to get the job done?” By presenting your track record in the form of a high percentage of listings sold versus listings taken, you quickly erase concerns and provide comfort and relief to prospects.

In a neutral marketplace with good sale activity, the average listings taken versus listings sold historically hover around 65%. In a seller’s market, the number is higher, but on average when you look at the number of sales against the number of expired listings and withdrawn properties from the marketplace, the average is 65%. Think about it: That means that a full one-third of the homes that are listed fail to sell for some reason or another. This is an astonishing figure that escapes the awareness of average agents and most sellers, and it’s a nugget you can use to your competitive advantage.

To calculate your listings taken versus listings sold ratio, follow these steps:

• Add up the total of all properties you listed over the recent period of not less than three months.

• Of all properties listed over the recent period, add up how many sold.

• Divide the number of sold listings by the total number of listings to arrive at your listings taken versus listings sold average.

• Ratio: Number of all listings sold ÷ Number of all properties listed = Average listings taken versus listings sold ratio

When I was selling, I took more than 120 listings a year, of which only a couple failed to sell. I knew this average distinguished me and created a strong competitive position that I used in my listing presentations.

I would ask the sellers: “Based on my average listings sold versus listings taken percentage of 98%, would you agree that you really have no risk listing your home with me?”

If I encountered hesitation or resistance after that statement, I’d present an analogy like this: “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, let me ask you this. If Bobby came home with his math test next week and he scored a 98% out of 100%, would you consider that an outstanding result?”

If they didn’t answer that last question with a strong “yes,” I had to question whether they were the type of clients I wanted to win over. If they did say yes, I’d continue, saying something like: “So then you agree that 98% of listings taken versus listings sold is outstanding as well?”

Agents are paid to achieve results. Truth is, you can be the nicest person in the world.  You can call your sellers weekly, send them stuff in the mail, share marketing reports, and hand out coffee house gift certificates. You can love on them as much as anyone can. However, if you don’t sell the home within the listing period, in their view you didn’t do your job and you are incompetent. Not only will you not get paid for the sale of their home, but also you’ll lose future sales from all the friends they would have otherwise referred to you.

Sellers base their assessment of an agent’s service on results, period. Did the home sell? Did they achieve the expected sales price?  Did it move in a reasonable time frame? Were they able to move when they wanted to?

Obviously, during a listing presentation, sellers can’t know what their experience with you will be. But the statistics and competitive positions you present give them a pretty clear idea of what they can expect. Performance ratios tell your story in numbers and give prospects the facts they need to make good decisions.

Over the course of my career I regularly went head-to-head against a strong competitive agent who did almost as much business as I did. Frequently, we both sought the same expired listings. Often, our calls and mailings to the owners arrived almost in sequence. Yet when all was said and done, ultimately I never lost a listing to him.  He never knew why, and I am sure it bugged him.

My secret weapon was my list-to-sale ratio.  His was terrible, sitting somewhere below 60%.  When the client was making the decision, all I had to do was show the list of my active, pending, sold, and expired properties.  Then I would put his list next to mine for the seller to review.

I knew what I was up against when I was competing with him. I had the facts to present. And they worked in my favor every time.

Sellers want to know their odds of success. Use your stats to show them the proven competitive advantage you bring to the table.

Be ready and willing to invest time to analyze and interpret your own and your company’s competitive position in the marketplace. Your broker may have useful stats to contribute, but likely you’ll need to do additional work to calculate the Big Three ratios described in the preceding section of this chapter and to apply the stats to various segments of your marketplace, including geographic areas and specific price ranges.
Without solid facts, you can’t possibly know, define, or describe your competitive advantage.

Jack Welch, in one of his six famous rules for business says, “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” Without stats, you have nothing to compete with. So begin right now to compile the data, slice and dice it in every ethical way possible to find your edge, and then present that edge as your proven competitive advantage to prospects.

Finding your edge

Maybe your edge is that you move the most units, or that you have the highest sales volume, or that your Big Three stats top the charts in a specific geographic region or price range.  Once you know your edge, you can market and leverage your point of difference to expand your business.

For instance, you may find that you rank in the top five for units sold in your area. You can leverage that strength as you expand into a nearby geographic marketplace with similar homes. Instead of starting from zero in the new market area, you can use your current dominant stats as a bridge. Instead of ranking in the top five for sales units in your current concise market area, spread your numbers over your current and future market areas and you’ll probably rank in the top ten for the combined area. Then you can work from that respectable statistical position to gain more market share in your new and currently weaker area.

If you're tired of fighting for every listing and would rather have a system that takes you completely through the entire Listing Process, so that you walk out with the listing contract signed, you've got to check out...

How to Create and Deliver a
Dynamic Listing Presentation™

Get the Listing Every Time with these Step-By-Step Instructions, Forms, Handouts, and Scripts.

The difference between getting the listing and walking out with "We'll think it over and get back to you" is all in your listing presentation. If you walk in with Dirk’s time-tested & proven (by 1000's of Agents) listing presentation, you’ll walk out with the listing.

What would your life be like if you had all the winning scripts and dialogues to help you nail the listing presentation every time? Even better than that, what if you had the right seller handouts and scripts to help you get the listing presentation appointment?

The 'How to Create and Deliver a Dynamic Listing Presentation™' Series will teach you how to:
	• Get Control of the Listing Appointment from the Start • Ask the 9 Critical Questions Every Listing Agent Must Know • Qualify Like a Master Listing Agent (Save Tons of Time) • Use a 5 Step (60 Day) Action Plan for a Perfect Listing Presentation • Use the Master Coach's Top-10 Presentation Evaluation Questions • Discover the Secrets Hidden in Your Prospect's Objections that Will End Your Fear of Objections Forever • Defeat Every Seller Objection in 6 Steps • Use 10 Questions to Isolate the Seller's Objection • Find the REAL Reason Behind a Seller's Objection • Plus much more, including 60 pages of tools, handouts (the same ones Dirk uses), scripts, and dialogues you can use as your own.
You'll receive:
	• 4 Audio CDs • 1 CD-ROM Workbook

I Want to Learn How to Get The Listing on the First Appointment Every Time!

Buyer Leads - Increase Conversion

Many Agents have more buyer leads than they are able to convert effectively.  They generate them in large volume from the Internet, ad calls, sign calls, and floor time.  Currently, the Internet is the largest producer of leads.  The problem with Internet leads is the conversion rate on them is less than 1%.  Agents invest a tremendous volume of time working to convert buyer leads with a very limited return.

The reason the conversion ratios are so low on buyer leads is our approach.  The strategy of most Agents is to send information to a prospect.  Their hope is their information is better than the twenty other Agents who also currently possess the same leads.

Champion’s Principle in Lead Follow-Up:  Don’t assume for one second you are the only person who has identified this prospect as a lead.

It amazes me how often Agents believe we are the only person who knows about this prospect’s desire to move, even if we secured the lead from a less than exclusive source.  Every time we acquire a lead from the Internet, we must assume that person has been to ten other Agents’ websites, as well.  It is not reasonable to believe that we are the only Agent who has the information from a buyer whose e-mail we just received or we met at our open house. It is also unreasonable to assume that an open homebuyer will attend our open house exclusively.  We must assume they are gathering information from many sources.

As a typical Agent capturing or following-up on leads, we try to talk with them and attempt to build rapport.  We capture these leads in person at our open houses; via e-mail when it’s a web lead; over the phone for ad calls, sign calls, and floor time calls.  We tenaciously respond to our web leads through e-mail.  We offer to send them information.  For lack of a better strategy, we send them “stuff”!  We are holding out hope that our “stuff” is better than the “stuff” that ten other Agents are sending them.

Finally, we pray that someday all the stuff we sent them will help us gain an appointment with this lead.  For most of us, we are relying on the volume and frequency of the information we send them to raise their desire to work with us.  My friends, the truth is that the objective of an inbound ad call, sign call, floor call, lead follow-up call, or face-to-face encounter at our open house is the same.  Plain and simple, the objective is to get an appointment. That appointment objective is not to show them homes but to conduct a buyer interview.   Because we are so single-mindedly focused on building rapport and sending them “stuff”, we often lose sight of the real objective . . . to get an appointment.

When we analyze the true differences between Champion Agents and other Agents in the business, the number of appointments makes the biggest difference.  Champion Agents have more appointments than other Agents.

We must to be able to convince the prospect on the initial call or initial e-mail that an appointment with us raises the possibility of them:

• Understanding the marketplace better.
• Receiving a high level of valuable service.
• Securing an advantage when negotiating for a home.
• Securing a better lender for a smoother transaction.
• Saving money in initial down payment
• Increasing their equity position initially
• Increasing their long-term appreciation because they selected a better property.
• Receiving the representation they deserve.

Any of these are valid reasons to do business with us and to do it now.

The definition of a Champion Salesperson is someone who can convince a prospect to do something that is beneficial to them and do so more quickly than their competition.  People perceive a true professional to be someone they meet with by appointment only.  Their doctor, dentist, attorney, and accountant meet exclusively by appointment.  We must reposition ourselves as appointment only Agents.

Many Agents have bought into the concept of “by referral” only.  The strongest position for an Agent isn’t by referral only; it’s by appointment only.  Driving a prospect to a face-to-face buyer interview allows us to serve them most effectively.  It also allows us to better ensure our ability to be compensated for our time, energy, and expertise.

The truth is there are an unlimited number of prospects we can work with if we are willing to work for free.  We must increase our value and show that value to the prospect, so they have a desire to meet with us.

Here are some scripts that are effective at directing and getting an appointment:

1. In order for me to provide you with the highest level of service and representation, we simply need to meet.  Would __________ or __________ be better for you?


2. Having helped _____ families during my career and over _____ just in the last year, my clients have found that, by meeting with me, they have a greater knowledge of the current and emerging marketplace trends.  They also have a dramatically higher probability of living in the best property for them and their family.  Would __________ or __________ be a better time to meet?

These are examples of how we can compel prospects to meet with us face to face to conduct a buyer interview.

For any salesperson, the largest cost we incur is the opportunity cost we lose by working with the wrong prospect.  We spend vast amounts of time and energy sending stuff to these “wrong prospects” that we cannot get in to the office.  Most of us have huge opportunity costs that center around two core areas:

1. Wasted time with low probability prospects.  The way to quickly separate out the best from the worst prospects is to ask for an appointment.  The last place a low-level prospect wants to be is in front of a salesperson.


2. Managing all of our created but not converted leads.  I read a marketing piece from another trainer the other day that I will use to illustrate my point.  He was featuring a protégé who was closing about sixty units a year.  His protégé was being marketed by this trainer as someone who has it together in lead generation, because he generates 1200 leads a month.  Most Agents would be attracted to this training, so they can learn to generate 1200 leads a month, as well.  The truth is this trainer and Agent are living in a land of delusion. 

Follow my thinking here: 1200 leads a month X 12 months = 14,400 leads a year.  That 14,400 leads a year yields 60 transactions.  UGH!!  Who in their right mind would want to manage 14,400 leads to generate 60 deals?  The guy must spend morning, noon, and night following-up on leads!  Yet, the rate of conversion for this guy is .004%.  That means his conversion ratio is less than ½ of 1%.  This trainer is promoting his system as the way all Agents should operate.  Give me a break!!

There are only two options we have to conclude:

1. There are a lot of leads, and the leads are junk.  It’s easy to create a lot of junk leads.  If you have to invest your time to follow-up on junk leads, you’ll never be a Champion Performer.  In the early days of computers, the techies had a term they use.  The term was GIGO.  It stood for Garbage In . . . Garbage Out.  That’s exactly what’s happening to this guy.  Garbage Leads In . . . Garbage Commission Out.


2. This Agent doesn’t know how to manage, categorize, follow-up, and sell the lead on an appointment with him.  He is unable to drive that prospect to a face-to-face meeting where he can make a service presentation.

For Agents to improve income and performance, we must solve these two issues.  The first is to separate the junk leads from the high probability leads. The second is to sell the high probability leads on the value of an appointment with us.  We might not have as many leads as this person does, but that is really not the real issue.  The real issue is what we are doing with them once we have identified them as leads?

If you'd like more help with buyer conversion seee my program Convert & Commit the Buyer Every Time! here.

Creating Your Championship Performance - Like a Rainmaker

I will share with you a few short keys to help you move your way up to being a high producing rainmaker in your business.  The pathway to excellence is not easy.  It’s one of the key reasons most people never achieve it.  They aren’t willing to apply themselves with enough focus, force, and consistency to overcome the challenges and hurdles that litter the small, narrow, rocky pathway to super success!

A number of years ago, I started to plan out what I wanted to teach my son, Wesley.  What were the tools, skills, characteristics, knowledge, and attitudes I wanted to instill in him?  He is, in effect, “on loan” to Joan and I for 18 years.  I want the loan to be at full maturity when it comes due in 13 more years.

Once I had completed my plan, I asked my question.  If I could only ensure he got one of these because my life was cut short, which one would I select?  It took me a few minutes to decide which one.  My decision was discipline.  Now, you might have selected something else from the list for your child.  The reason I selected discipline was because, if he got that, he could acquire any of the others in my plan when he needed it.  If he really needed something later in life, his discipline would give him the basic building block to achieve it.  I also recognized at that moment that, if he learned and acted in a disciplined way, his success was guaranteed.  It doesn’t mean he won’t have hardships and challenges; it means he would have the primary skill necessary to work through them.  A Champion Listing Agent is no different.  To really be at that Champion level, they have to acquire discipline.

Discipline is the most fundamental building block for successful people in life.  Nothing of significance can be accomplished in life without first developing and then mastering the skill of discipline in a key area.  It enables you to capture your motion and wisdom and translate them into action.  Discipline is the bridge between thought and accomplishment – between inspiration and achievement – between necessity and productivity.  Most of us align the word discipline with negative emotions as fear and guilt.

Here is our challenge in life: You must do things you don’t want to do … so you can have the things in life you want to have.  It is the process of purposeful delayed gratification.  An immediate reward for lack of discipline is a Friday at the golf course.  A future reward of discipline is owning the golf course.  It’s not a matter of if but of when.  If it is later, the price is greater.  You will pay a greater price for your success if you put off doing disciplined action to achieve that success.

Discipline is action:  an act of will and self-management aligned with your priorities.  Real discipline is having total control over the yes’s and no’s of life

“Life is a series of problems.  Discipline is a basic set of tools that are required to solve life’s problems.”
                                                                        ~M. Scott Peck

A Champion defines discipline as:

“A personal system of skills and personal techniques, developed by an individual, that are used to correct questionable behaviors and promote positive growth, personal development, integrity, and a strong character.”
                                                                        ~Dirk Zeller

Success is not something you pursue.  Success is something you attract by the person you become.  Our mandate is to develop disciplines of success first in ourselves and then help others on the team acquire those disciplines, as well.

Success finds you when you are:

• Disciplined
• Diligent
• Consistent
• Mentally strong
• Have impeccable skills in sales and time management
• Striving for greater knowledge

Most people create a large list of undisciplined habits that they posses.  We all know the things that we do that lead to our demise.  We resolve over and over again to wipe out those undisciplined habits from our lexicon in life.  We resolve to quit smoking, quit eating certain foods or too much food.  We try to attack and wipe out the negative in our lives.

For most of us, we can’t focus too much on what we aren’t doing in a disciplined manner.  That can lead to disappointment, lack of motivation, and in extreme cases, hopelessness.  Too much focus on the “have nots” rather than the new “haves” is really the wrong approach to a disciplined life.  The correct approach is to focus on something new, to establish a new habit or discipline.  We need to feel the good feelings and good rewards of starting and keeping with something that is beneficial to us and something new.  We need to gain an advantage over the bad habits by establishing new, good ones.

If you'd like more information on how you can build your own real estate team, get your free copy of "The Champion Real Estate Team™ Guide"... here.

Help Your Friends

If you have friends and colleagues who would enjoy the Coaches Corner™ please forward it and invite them to subscribe. We appreciate your help since your recommendation is how we grow.

Real Estate Champions is committed to partner with you to create abundance in your business and life.

REALTOR^® is a Registered Trademark of National Association of Realtors, Inc.

I Want to Learn More

Teleseminars
• 7 Keys to building a marketplace-dominating Real Estate Team

- September 13th

Get Dirk Zeller’s Award Winning Books and Download Real Estate Champions PDF Ebooks!

The Champion Real Estate Agent Now In-Stock!
Here First!

by Dirk Zeller

Success As a Real Estate Agent For Dummies® Dummies Now In-Stock!
Here First!

by Dirk Zeller

Your 1st Year in Real Estate: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional

by Dirk Zeller

• Prospecting?

• Lead Generation?

• Listing Presentations?

• Scripts & Dialogues?

• Objection Handling?

• Converting?