Archive for June, 2010

The Law of the Word

  The Law of the Word  
     
 

Secrets to Successful Branding – The Law of the Word2

If, we, as the real estate community really understood the concept of branding and its importance, we would save a fortune by cutting the misplaced dollars we are spending in the name of “getting their name out there.”

Most of us are re-treads – people who fell into this business and came from some other background. In 15 years of asking, I’ve only found one person who grew up wanting to be a real estate agent (and she is no longer in the business). I can’t tell you how many people I’ve interviewed as a Broker that said the reason they wanted to be an agent was because they liked houses and people. If that is the sole reason they are here my advice to them has been – “Don’t get started in this business because in 6 months you will hate them both.”

Those that make it in this industry in today’s world are those that approach it with an amount of business prowess. Unfortunately, that isn’t taught in the “learn everything you need to know to become successful in real estate in two 1weeks” class. So, we throw the newbies to the vultures (vendors who sell BS products that do nothing but line the pockets of the vendors and serve as filler our nation’s dumps). We let them sling mud on a wall and see what sticks and hope against hope that they will be one of the very few fortunate ones who will survive the first three years.

Over time, those that emerge as mega agents realize that to truly win in this you must realize that it is a business not a career (and there is a major difference) and start learning how to become the “RainMaker.” Although we have dozens of proprietary campaigns to generate more leads, from time to time, we need to strip back to the basics and dive into the philosophy to align ourselves with the right thinking to launch our business to the next level. This week, it’s all about how to brand effectively so that you may maximize your ROI in any marketing or advertising program your engage in. From Al Ries, a master of marketing and branding in the retail sector, we take the lessons and apply the fundamentals to our real estate businesses.


In Branding , There is the Law of the Word3

There is a limited amount of real estate in our consumer’s active memory. The lion’s share of the space going to the things that weighs most heavily on their mind. Because this resource is precious and limited your brand should strive to own a single word or concept in the eyes of the consumer. You are not competing with other agents; you are competing against every other professional and service industry. You have an advantage because real estate and the client’s home equity can be leveraged as an important value on a constant basis with spikes of interest as it comes time to move. But you must keep the importance on the consumer’s top of mind with all the other competing interests vying for attention.

You want to establish yourself as the expert and go-to person for real estate regardless of where they are in the buying or selling process. Become their resource and contact. Ideally, you want to get to the point where when your perfect client drives past a competitor’s sign, they think of you.

 

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
     
  Recommended Reading –  
         
 
 

 

 
 
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
     
 

 



Notice Nuances and Early Messages

  Notice Nuances and Early Messages  
     
 

PictureJust because something is inconsequential or even irrelevant, doesn’t mean that it will always be that way. Think of Detroit and how they ignored the Japanese car manufacturers importing to the U.S. in the 60s. Or how CBS’s former owner Tisch ignored the synergy of having a cable or Internet affiliation because he couldn’t justify the investment on an immediate return-on-investment basis. Or how Hollywood is just now getting that the Internet may well take over a lot of their customers. Perhaps the details are precursors or early warning signals — they are telling you something about the future (positive or negative). Until recently, you’d have had the luxury of waiting for real evidence of an emerging trend, but now, given how fast things are changing AND how savvy others are (who ARE paying attention to nuances and details), you cannot afford to wait. You just can’t. Details are GOLD. Treat them that way.

 

 

 

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
     
  Recommended Reading –  
         
 
 

 

 
 
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
     
 

 



Sell Skills vs Service


  Sell Skills vs Service  
     
 

PictureSell the skills you have, not your service.  I see so many agents convey the great services they offer; only they fail to recognize most agents offer the same service.  Rather than sell your services, try selling “your skills.”  In an industry where being unique is very difficult, sometimes expensive and seldom achieved, I think selling your skills may be much easier.

Think about it.  What skills do you possess that “benefit” the customer/client?  Is it that your listings sell 25%  faster than the market average, your experience is more than the market average or the education you have achieved earning real estate designations? 

Perhaps it’s something as simple as you provide more information (Internet Marketing Strategy) to the seller than the average agent does.  Whatever your skills are, that’s what you emphasize and quit trying to demonstrate to consumers your “services” are superior.

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
     
  Recommended Reading –  
         
 
 

 

 
 
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
     
 

 



Getting 15% Yield from Your Book of Business


  Getting 15% Yield from Your Book of Business  
     
 

We got a real nice testimonial that I thought I’d share -

“You have taught me how to look at my business as a business and build it to be profitable, predictable, stable and most importantly consumer centric. I just got back from a 6 week trip – without my phone – and my business is still growing and thriving! I would have never even concieved it as possable before we met; much less translated it into reality.”

- Gary H., RE/MAX Broker Associacte

Instead of reveling in what stroked my personal ego, I thought I’d share with all of you something we worked on with Gary to get him to say such nice things so that you may also benefit…

 Your Sphere of Influence (SOI) is any veteran agent’s greatest asset.  Over the years, we have done some research and tracking as to what yield (the amount of return) agents are able to expect to receive from a healthy, vibrant and active SOI.  We then took those that had the highest averages and distilled down what they are doing and systematized their ideas.  We then gave them the turn key marketing system and their yields increased even further. 

Do you want to know our secrets?

Let’s start at the markers we measure. 

PictureFirst, if I asked how much of your business comes from your SOI, you’d probably tell me that it is 70-90%.  Although that is true, it is very hard to use that in a meaningful way when we are trying to grow our net income.  With our coaching, we use the yield number.  You would work through your individual yield during your initial coaching session and re-visit it annually during your yearly check up so you can stay on track.   But as a reminder, your yield is how many transactions out of every 100 SOI relationships you generate a year.

When we launched our PCG (Private Client Group) program we saw first year yields average around 15%, during the second year they increased to an average of 25% and as agents continued to use the Private Client Group program, some agents were experiencing yields that were topping 48%.  That’s 48 closed transactions per 100 relationships in your SOI!

We work a lot as an industry on the marketing needed to build your SOI and spend very little time talking about how to market to those that are already in our list of “Friends.”  Loyalty from past transactions and a job well done are great things and we have them on our side with these people, but it doesn’t give us the license to ignore them.

 

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
     
  Recommended Reading –  
         
 
 

 

 
 
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
     
 

 



 

How to Capitalize on the Next 5 Crucial Real Estate Market Shifts

Join us for a Webinar on July 14th

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Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/508860578

 

What you do in the next 12-18 months will shape the momentum and profitability of your business for the next 5-7 years.  Whether we like it or not,  the real estate industry is on the cusp of 5 major shifts that will affect every aspect of your business and even determine your survivability during the next upswing.  

We will be discussing not only how to stay ahead of these crucial shifts, but how to profit while those who stand still get crushed by the wave of change that will sweep the nation.   If you catch just one webinar this year, make this the one – your business depends on it!

 

Title:

 

How to Capitalize on the Next 5 Crucial Real Estate Market Shifts

Date:

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Time:

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

 

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

 
     
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
         
  PS. Have you seen our new individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
         
         
         
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
     
 

 





  Inspiration – The Best Way Out is Always Through  
     
 

Some things are just too good not to share, just click on the icon – I hope you enjoy!

 

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
     
  Recommended Reading –  
         
 
 

 

 
 
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
     
 

 



Having Vision Makes Solutions Easy



  Having Vision Makes Solutions Easy  
     
 

PictureDo you have a vision for yourself and for your business? Most people do not.

What is a vision? By nature, a vision is unreal, not necessarily logical, and certainly not commonly regarded as available today. In other words, with your vision, you’re carving out a new reality, much like an inventor or pioneer. It’s actually a fun process once you learn to ignore the nay-sayers and devote your energies to creating what you have in mind.

You can accelerate your vision discovery with a few “simple” questions:

1. What is something that you deeply want to do for or give to others that seems out of your present reach?
 

If you’re even thinking in terms of vision, you’re probably a forward thinker and a person who desires to provide service to others. Given this, why not go for broke? If you had the strength, the power, the delivery technology, and the language, what is the ultimate thing that you would want for others to have in life?
 

Think big. Be unreasonable. Be willing to be scoffed at. Rather than think through every linear step that it will take to reach your goal, simply identify the end. The vision must be bright enough to light your success path to it. With a bright enough vision, the needed solutions will also appear and ignoring the small minds around you will be easy.

2. Who wants what I’m thinking of? A vision that is only yours becomes a monument to your ego. After getting in touch with what you most want for others, it’s time to go find those “others” and discuss your idea with them. Listen to what they want and ask for help with how to apply the idea to what they want today, not what they should want or need. Most of us won’t buy something just because it will help us or because we need it; we must also want it (or the consequence of not getting it must appear so great) so that we just must buy it. You don’t want to have to sell your vision. You want ready buyers. Don’t get caught up in having to have your vision be a particular way. The whole idea behind a vision is to serve, not prove.

3. Let your “customers” coach you in customizing your vision.

Whether it’s the board members of your local non-profit, the employees in your company, or a few of your key customers, it’s much easier to include others in your vision from the very start. Ask them to become your partners as you develop your vision from an idea to a measurable improvement in the quality of life.

By developing your vision and applying it, you will create a new and stronger community of colleagues, customers, friends, and partners. And some of your associates won’t keep up. I suggest that you keep serving the ones who are ready and love the ones who aren’t. Don’t try to serve the ones who aren’t ready.

 

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
     
  Recommended Reading –  
         
 
 

 

 
 
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
     
 

 





  The 7 Biggest Mistakes of Marketing to First Time Buyers (and how to get them off the fence)  
     
 

Session Description -

link

The ever present first time buyer demographic can be a stable and consistent source of revenue for your business. Learn why most first time homebuyer marketing programs fail and how you can find success by stepping into the mind and emotions of this group. Learn when and how to address their concerns and objections to help them find their piece of the American Dream.

Click on the Marketing Module button to check out this week’s Mastery Coaching Marketing Module.

 

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
         
 
Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 
         
         
     
     
 

 



Under Promise – Over Deliver



  Under Promise – Over Deliver  
     
 

Promise Little, But Deliver Everything

PictureWhen you promise less than clients or recipients are asking for and reduce their expectations, you have room to maneuver and the freedom to deliver something different (not just more) than perhaps either you or the client was expecting. You can create and invent. This may serve clients better than what they had even considered possible at the beginning of your association. Remember, clients don’t usually know what they really want, so don’t let yourself get too tightly boxed in.

Be sure to give clients what they paid you for, but don’t stop there. You need to build a reserve or a gap, between what you promise and what you ultimately deliver. The wider the gap, the more vacuum you’ll create and the more people will be affected or surprised by you. The more pleasantly surprised people are, the more their voices will sing your praises.

Why Do You Make Promises?

Are you constantly in a promise and deliver mode? Some people feel that if they don’t or can’t promise, they won’t have the motivation or structure to deliver consistently. This turns promises into deadlines so that keeping your word becomes necessary. Of course, you should keep your word, but most people give it too readily. Some of the people you know might think they need you to make promises, creating a dependency. This type of promise and deliver system will cause you grief. You’ve got to stop promising anything at all and end your performance anxiety. Promising less provides freedom and begins progress.

Promise For Pleasure

Some people are so relieved when they deliver something that most of their joy comes from the delivery instead of the creation of what they delivered. Some people can enjoy both the doing and the delivery. You need to discover both what’s motivating you after you made the initial promise and how you feel throughout the project.

You may produce greatly under the pressure of deadlines, but you may come to the realization that the personal and opportunity cost of doing so is far higher than the rewards or results generated.

Don’t Promise, Just Deliver

Rather than telling people what you can do for them, rather than getting people interested enough to say yes, just be spontaneous and do something for them, without even offering to do it first. Most people enjoy surprises and there’s no delay or performance anxiety because there was no promise, just delivery.

PictureDeliver Something Different

Add a twist or an additional component to what the client expected. Don’t just deliver 11 apples instead of 10, but toss in an orange too. The orange is something to surprise them with, but you haven’t given them less apples. Perhaps the client will be fascinated by the orange and that can lead to your next piece of work.

Deliver All That Occurs

While you deliver the product or service, you may stumble upon something surprising about either the client, the product or service, or the situation the client is in. It may be totally unrelated to what you’re being paid to deliver, but usually it makes sense to advise clients what you discovered so they become fully informed. These “chance” discoveries can lead to additional work or end up being worth more to the client than the project they paid you to deliver. Don’t push what you discover; just casually advise clients of it.

Deliver Everything

Everything means you can create a bigger solution or product instead of just delivering what the client asked for. When you focus on delivering everything, you create more, and evolve both your skill set and the client. In this way, both of you progress instead of just getting current needs met. Make sure to always deliver what the client asked for, but orient what you’re working on for clients so that it brings them (and you) to the next level.

Promise Nothing

Have enough reserve to do all of these things, but do them with such grace and style that your grace and style become as much a part of your service or product as what you’re delivering. When you focus on delivering because you enjoy it, instead of delivering because you promised to, you are fed by joy instead of fear. You’re working from reserve, instead of striving to meet targets.

Can you realistically promise nothing and still be successful? Yes, but you may need to start by underpromising and over-delivering. The gap between these two is pure profit – not just financially, but also in good reputation and self-esteem. People think more of you when you deliver far more (of what they want) than they were expecting. That gap starts people talking. If you delivered even the same amount, but had promised or over-promised it at the outset, the recipients would equally benefit, but they wouldn’t be as impressed and they wouldn’t talk about you. This is a key distinction for anyone in business who wants to build a strong reputation quickly.

Promise almost nothing to your clients (just enough to close the sale), but then begin the engine of over-delivering. Every time you over-deliver, you build up a reserve, of self-confidence, self-esteem, and referrals.

 

 

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
     
  Recommended Reading –  
         
 
 

 

 
 
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  
     
 

 



Routines vs. Habits



  Routines vs. Habits  
     
 

 

PictureDaily habits are actions we take every day to make our lives better-flossing our teeth, eating five servings of vegetables or making our bed. Habits are great, but when they become a “should” or end up on your “to do list,” they become a “thing” vs. being “part of you.” You want to make the daily habits transparent so they just occur instead of you focusing/remembering/working at doing them. They will continue to be work until they hit your subconscious, then opening up mind share to start incorporating other things you want to start pursuing in your life.

 

 

 

 
  Chris Pollinger, Mastery Coaching  
         
  PS. Have you seen our individual agent and team program that combines coaching, advanced marketing strategies with hundreds of pieces of personalized print ready marketing collateral,  specialized training, and all the tools you need to get into the top 1% of agents nationwide? Check out  YourRECoach.com for more the details.  
     
  Recommended Reading –  
         
 
 

 

 
 
         
  Copyright 2007-2010 – Mastery-Coaching.com and Chris Pollinger – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.