In This Issue...
Words of a Champion
Dirk Zeller
CEO
Life gives you many opportunities to ponder, to evaluate your progress and see the results of your labor. This is one of those moments, with the mid-year point just past, to evaluate, ponder, or replay the tape.
I was recently reflecting on the question, “What is the one characteristic that makes someone successful?” It was one of those moments that you struggle to boil all of your knowledge down into one distilled thought; to remove all the dross of your thoughts to one true nugget of incredible value to all who come in contact with it. My mind zeroed in on the concept of how our effort dictates our reward in life, our effort being our work or what we do. In life we create our reward, whether it is financial or relational, by what we do. It’s not based on intent or what we plan to do but, ultimately, what we actually do.
While pondering, I realized that we do many things, and that some of the things we do have more value than others. We can often select the wrong thing to do and complete, thereby creating a lot of effort with very little result. Ultimately, results are the name of the game. We can easily get faked out with regard to what has the most important value. The key characteristic of successful people is the skill and ability to focus intensely on their most important task and do it to completion with excellence before moving on to the next task. If you work at mastering this one skill, or ability, it will transform your life. This skill will also transform your relationships in your life. Your business will explode to new heights. There will be no limits to the exceptional life that you can create.
To Your Achievement of Success in Any Marketplace,
Dirk
Zeller, CEO
RealEstateChampions.com
P.S. Are you in a changing or down market? Do you want to learn the same tactics that 84% of my clients used to have their best year ever last year, despite the poor market conditions? If you'd like to join them in controlling today's changing marketplaces, feel free to check out my brand new program below (the pre-sell discount + bonuses will be expiring in just a few more days)...
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Dear Champion Agent,
In the past few months, I've been getting absolutely bombarded with emails from both my clients and regular Coaches CornerTM subscribers essentially asking me, "Dirk, my market is the worst it has been in years. What exactly can I do to get out of this slump and drastically raise my income?".
The truth is, whether you're in a market that is moderately down or one that has totally bombed, there is actually a huge opportunity for you to take market share and greatly increase your income. With the proper tactics, you can essentially take advantage of the fact that most Agents simply don't know what to do! Find out how by clicking here...
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How to play the odds in your favor like a casino - you too can become the house and come out on top in any market |
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The Top 3 Reasons why prospects
select an Agent, and how to use them to instantly create loyalty with new clients over your competition |
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How to use the 4 Pillars of Prospecting to avoid the plague of yo-yo production numbers and achieve long-term consistency in your income |
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Dirk Zeller's personal high-converting and proven scripts that will allow you to easily convert buyers and sellers into clients |
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How to answer the #1 crucial question that could mean the difference between a prospect selecting you or your competition - Most Agents forget it completely |
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How to use Champion Sales Techniques to convince unwilling customers in a down market to price their homes competitively so you can get the listings sold |
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How to easily convert prospects to appointments every time using time-tested and proven scripts (provided to you in full) |
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...and much more! |
Find out how you can thrive in your market by clicking the link below...
Determining the Influence of Other Regional Markets
Real estate in your market area is affected by influences outside of your own region. For example, when I sold real estate in Portland, Oregon, what was happening in terms of inventory, appreciation, and activity in Seattle, Washington had an effect on my own marketplace. The two metropolitan areas are less than 200 miles apart, and one influences the other due to the easy and frequent population movement between the two cities.
The largest regional influence for my market, however, was California. There was a massive influx of people from California to Oregon, particularly from the bay area of San Francisco and the greater Los Angeles area. These geographic areas drove tens of thousands of people into the Portland metro area annually, increasing the demand for homes and raising values and prices as a result.
The population exodus started because the difference in price between the Portland market and the California market triggered the law of cause and effect. The appeal of Oregon’s lower real estate prices caused California residents to want to move, either to cash out of expensive California properties and apply the profits to better homes at lower prices in Oregon, or to relocate to an area where they could finally achieve first-time home ownership.
To determine how neighboring regional markets are affecting your market area, study migratory patterns and then research the reasons behind the population movements you discover.
Studying population migration patterns
To quantify population migration trends that affect the buyer and seller pool in your market area, determine the answers to these questions:
- Is your marketplace growing in population or losing population?
- Are people migrating into your area or leaving your area?
- Where are new residents coming from geographically?
- Where are current residents going when they move away?
- At what rate are people arriving or leaving your area?
- What are the economic factors that are driving population changes (i.e. jobs, unemployment, business growth) in your marketplace?
If your answers lead you to believe that a population boom is pending, prepare yourself and your clients to take advantage of a seller’s market and the positive affects of a high demand, low supply market situation.
Conversely, if your answers lead you to believe that a population exodus is beginning to take place, you can steer buyer and seller decisions with that knowledge in mind.
Identifying and capitalizing on market trends
To understand your marketplace and its economic condition, compare current market activity with correlating statistics from the previous year, using the following questions as your guide:
Compare number of sales and total sales volume, both on a year-to-year and on a year-to-date basis. This will help you understand and forecast trends in your marketplace.
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Is the number of sales going up or down?
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Is total sales volume going up or down?
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Is the marketplace ahead of or behind the pace of sales from the previous year?
Compare the number of listings taken. The available inventory in a marketplace is the supply half of the supply and demand equation.
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Is the number of listings up or down? Fewer listings indicate a sellers’ market; many listings indicate a buyers’ market. Is there more or less competition for buyers than in previous years?
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Is the selection better for buyers than last year at this time?
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Is the inventory of homes for sale growing or shrinking as compared to this time a year ago?
Compare last year’s average sale price to this year’s average sales price. Determine your market’s average sale price by dividing total sales revenue by the number of homes actually sold.
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Is the average sale price going up or down? If a marketplace is healthy and vibrant, the average sale price will be increasing.
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Is your marketplace appreciating or depreciating in value? For instance, if the average sale price has gone from $249,000 to $257,000, your marketplace is appreciating in value. Be aware that the average sale price must be viewed on at least a quarterly basis. A one-month change in this particular statistic a month does not indicate a sustainable trend. This is especially true in small market areas.
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How well is the inventory of homes aligned with demand? If you have an appreciating marketplace, the inventory probably is lower than the demand for homes. In a flat or depreciation marketplace, the inventory or supply probably exceeds demand at this time.
Compare the percentage of appreciation of average sales price this year versus last year and year to date.
To understand your marketplace and its economic condition, create a market trends analysis by comparing current market activity with correlating statistics from the previous year.
By knowing your market and watching regional statistics, you can be prepared and proactive. Using the tactics above, you can interpret your findings in order to arrive at conclusions that can steer your business in the right direction.
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Sailing Toward Objectives
I recently read a statement from Oliver Wendell Holmes. He said, “To reach the port of success, we must sail; sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, not drift or lay anchor.”
This quotation and thought led me to break down the approach for sailing toward a successful life. The first step for a successful sailor is to have a specific port he is trying to reach. We who seek a successful life must also have an objective. The objective must be clear and concise, crystallized and definite. Too often, we are very fuzzy as to our main objective in life. Our main objective is beyond what we do. It’s beyond the income, sales, and money we earn. It’s beyond our business and all the challenges that surround it. Too often, the objective is monetarily based. To earn X amount of dollars or sell so many homes, in my perspective, is not the main objective in life. It, at best, is a goal to be obtained along the way. The desired end is not the money itself. It could be what the money can do for us or the lifestyle it allows us to have in the future.
One of my favorite speakers is Jim Rohn. Jim talks about it not being the money that makes the millionaire. It is what that person became in order to attract the million dollars. It’s the skill, mindset, discipline, and character that person developed that are truly valuable. The money can be fleeting, but the other skills of character, mindset, and discipline last forever.
One of the hardest tasks in life is to set that clear objective. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Everyone would achieve success. We are often stopped by the difficulty of the task. The difficulty should be viewed as an advantage. Now that’s a novel mindset, isn’t it? The more difficult the task, the fewer people who will master it. The fewer people who have mastery, the lower the level of competition will be. Few people have mastered success. That’s why there is so much opportunity. Studies have shown that the peak earning years for people are in their 50’s and early 60’s. For many, it takes that long to master success. It takes years of trial and error to get it right. Most people never hit the mark or get it right. If we are progressing, learning, and moving forward, we are successful…provided we have a definite aim or objective.
The second key point in the Oliver Wendell Holmes quotation is the section that refers to ‘against the wind or with the wind.’ There will be days when things go smoothly, and we are with the wind; when we are hot, and everything we touch turns to gold. We gain appointments easily. We create trust effectively with our prospects and clients. A skilled sailor will sail long and hard on those days. He will ensure that he makes the most miles he can by sailing longer, harder, and with more focus and intensity. How often do we let up when we have things rolling, and the momentum is with us? When we have favorable wind, do we take a mental break? Do we let up? That’s the time to pour it on.
It seems human nature to let up or to ease back on the throttle of success. People often neglect what they did to create the momentum in the first place, but you must not. Carpe Diem…Seize the day! Seize the opportunity when the conditions are favorable. There will also be days, weeks, and maybe longer when the wind is against you; when you feel like you are right in the middle of a squall. A highly skilled sailor just realizes that this is a passing storm. He may not know the length and breadth of the storm, but it will pass in time. When the storm hits, you need to understand that it will pass on. You can weather the challenge. A sailor will also go back to basics in a storm. He will take down the spinnaker. He may remove the jib. He might even lower the mainsail slightly. He focuses all his attention on the most important thing to get him out of the storm. He focuses on the mainsail.
What’s your mainsail in life? What’s the mainsail in your business? Do you focus intently on the mainsail in times of trial, or are you concerned about the spinnaker? There will always be peripheral stuff in your life and business, but don’t take down the mainsail. Keep working the wind. Use your mainsail…weather the storm.
The last essential is for you to not stop, never quit. Perseverance leads to success. Champions don’t stop when they encounter adversity. They keep focused on the objective and don’t let the tides drift them off course. You can learn a lot from a skilled sailor. The skills and challenges are the same in sailing as in real estate. Decide on an objective. Plot the course. Navigate the winds and challenges. Celebrate when you arrive.
Setting Performance Standards for Your Team
One important key to building a team of Champion Performers is establishing and maintaining performance standards. The only way to measure performance is through objectivity. The only way to achieve objectivity is through predetermined standards and predetermined measurements. Champions and people who desire to be Champions don’t mind performance standards. In fact, they prefer them because they want to see how they are doing compared to their goals and the production of others. Most Champions are competitive with themselves and against others.
When I played racquetball as a child learning the game and as a young adult at the professional level, I didn’t merely want to win. I wanted to destroy, demolish, and crush the competition. My goal was to create the largest margin of victory possible. I was singularly focused on winning the tournament. That was the performance standard. The standard in my head was: There is first place, and there is losing. There wasn’t this gradient level of satisfaction.
I was recently cleaning out my garage and found a few boxes of trophies, plaques, and awards from my racquetball career. As I was taking a trip down memory lane, reliving the years of struggle to become a Champion in racquetball, I realized that all of the awards I saved were first place. I remembered how I started the habit early on of not taking home any award that was less than first. The second and third place awards were left behind because they weren’t up to my performance standard.
The world of real estate sales is very similar to my world of racquetball. There isn’t ever a second place. You either secure the seller or the buyer and lead them to a contract, or you don’t. When you and your team finish second, you have no income. Because you are the Champion Lead Agent, you must set the minimum performance standards for the team. They must know what they are expected to contribute to the team. Additionally, if you sit down with each individual to determine their personal performance standards, you will find most to be higher than you expected.
Champion Team Rule – You will first see results based on what you inspect; results based on what you expect will come second.
The first step is having strong expectations or standards, but the real power is contained in the inspection process. The acts of reporting, evaluating, comparing, and monitoring are really the power source of increased performance in human beings. This is especially true for salespeople. Salespeople are so optimistic that they are able to put on their rose-colored glasses and never take them off, even in the face of looming disaster.
Dirk Zeller
CEO |
Dear Champion Real Estate Broker,
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