Rich Levin's Real Estate Blog

Active Listening

Rich Levin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:27:08 GMT

Interesting situation, one of my Clients, an Agent in New Jersey went on a listing presentation. He was one of four Agents interviewing, competing for the listing. He was third. There was still one more agent after him.

He got the listing. He asked why? The Seller told him. You weren’t pushy. You listened. You were comfortable. We trusted you.

When he got there they were insistent on a price. The two Agents that preceded him had agreed with the Seller on their price. He listed the house $30,000 below, that’s right thirty thousand dollars lower than the price they had in mind.

This is the power of good communication and sales skills; leading with questions, active listening, being present, and staying focused on their needs.

Join me each weekday on my free coaching webinar for more tips.

www.FreeCoachingWebinars.com

Insane Opportunity with the Least Effort

Rich Levin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:44:28 GMT

The first week in January it was obvious that Buyers were coming into the market at a pace we haven’t seen in years. It was apparent between Christmas and New Year’s Day for those working during that time.

So, on my free Daily webinars (www.FreeCoachingWebinars.com) I advised Agents to make contacts with:

1. People who you were showing houses to in 2011

2. People who said, wait until spring

3. Your sold Clients from 2011

4. Your referral sources from 2011

5. Leads left over from 2011

6. People you met during the holidays

Real Estate is on people’s minds. One Agent after another related stories about getting business from these calls. One Agent made five listing appointments in one day. She said it was so much fun she just kept calling people; checking in on how they enjoyed the holidays and asking what their plans were for the New Year.

When they asked how the market was, she was smart to do two things. She was very positive and she asked if they were thinking of doing something.

The lesson is: Right now, early in the year, snow, rate, sleet, or sun, make contacts. Be nice. They don’t care about how you are doing until you care about how they are doing. When asked about the market, be positive and close with a question about their plans.

We are entering one of those delightful markets where it may be a lot easier to do business.

Marketing and Networking to be chosen...

Rich Levin — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:02:48 GMT

Mary Ann’s dentist had a Real Estate need. His mother moved to an independent living residence and he, the dentist, needed to sell her house.

He told Mary Ann that he had forty Real Estate Agents who were patients of his. She was one of three that he chose to interview for the listing. Mary Ann has been in Real Estate three years. The other two Agents he chose to interview had fourteen and twenty three years of experience. Both sell more than Mary Ann. One sells a lot more with a team of administrative and selling staff.

The dentist told Mary Ann that he wanted to choose her except the high producing Agent with the team was offering one percent lower commission.

Mary Ann told the dentist to ask the other Agent how quickly she or someone on the team will get back to interested Buyers or back to him for that matter. He said that she asked an interesting question because he had called her office the previous day and hadn’t heard back yet.

He asked about the one percent lower commission and if Mary Ann would match that. Mary Ann said to ask the other Agent what services she provided and what the other Agent does for her commission; and then compare the services of the two. He said he didn’t need to do that because he had seen what both Agents offer.

There is more but that’s enough. The point is that Mary Ann obviously did a good job marketing and networking to be one of the three out of forty that were chosen to do a listing presentation.

It is clear that she has personal credibility or the Client would not have given so believed her so quickly when she contrasted her work with the top producing team. Mary Ann obviously does a good job of marketing a listing and presenting her marketing plan.

Mary Ann is a coaching Client of mine. Each of the last three years her business grown; this year it has nearly doubled. She does things right. To be fair she has a background in negotiating. But the integrity, follow through, attention to detail, and commitment to continuous improvement; those things that define the character of her work, are the reason she got this business and will continue to grow and succeed.

The best kept secret in Real Estate www.1stFifteen.com

Property Need Lead Generation

Rich Levin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:54:33 GMT

For some reason this is working better right now than ever in the past.

Agents that I coach all over the country are using this and literally everywhere it is generating listing leads.

You have a Buyer who you have shown everything on the market and they can’t find what they want. So, you send what I call a “Property Need Letter.”

You drive the Buyer around the area and select the specific homes and or the specific blocks of streets that truly have what they are looking for.

Then you send a letter to those specific houses. The letter has to have a specific structure and language so that it is credible. In fact, don’t do this unless it is real. The letter gives some details about the Buyer, what they are looking for and what they are not finding. It offers a confidential one time showing request.

My coaching Clients have been doing this for many years. Right now it seems to be more effective than ever. Perhaps because there are so many Sellers who are waiting for the market to improve but given the opportunity they would like to sell and move.

If you would like a copy of the property need letters, e-mail me. Although they are one of hundreds of documents exclusively for our coaching Clients, I’ll offer them to you to encourage you to listen to our free webinars www.FreeCoachingWebinars.com and to introduce you to a bit of our Success work.

Negotiating Tough Offers – A True Story

Rich Levin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:32:10 GMT

It’s one of the most interesting parts of my job. When an Agent that I coach is in the middle of a tough negotiation I ask them to call me. Debbie did.

The asking price was $769,000. The offer came in at $625,000.

Debbie is smart and talented. As the owner’s anger and frustration arose, Debbie calmly explained that, “All offers are good offers,” that in this market Buyers feel that owners may be desperate. The key is that she kept the owner objective.

She did not disparage the offer, the other Agent or the Buyer. She didn’t compliment them either. Instead she kept it objective.

The owner countered at $725,000. The Buyer came back at $640,000. Again, as you might expect the owner was angry and frustrated. Again, Debbie kept her cool and told him. “I want to be as upset at you are but my job is to keep my eye on the goal of getting you the price you need to get the job done. So, let’s decide do we want to tell them we won’t respond until they raise their offer? Do we want to make a small concession and keep inching closer? Or do we want to go to or close to your bottom line and send the message that we want to get this done with less “Mickey Mouse” back and forth.

She explained the risks of not responding and allowed the owner to lead the decision making with her guidance.

So many Agents who are far less skilled negotiators than Debbie empathize with their Client in ways that paint the other Agent or the other party as wrong, greedy, etc. Debbie demonstrated three key negotiation skills of a talented negotiator.

She kept the negotiation and her Client objective.
She kept the conversation and the negotiation focused on the goal.
She kept herself objective and focused on the goal.

The best kept secret of Real Estate Coaching www.FreeCoachingWebinars.com.

Buyers Are the Rest of the Game

Rich Levin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:03:39 GMT

My recent blog about listings got a lot of positive comment, thank you.
Let’s be clear on another thing.  If listings are the name of the game, Buyers are the rest of the game.  You don’t make a commission with a Buyer.  In fact, a qualified, motivated Buyer with an urgent need is as good as the average listing (particularly in today’s market) any day; in fact, the better the listing, the more of those valuable Buyers it will attract.
So, as I said in the previous blog, keep taking listings.  At the same time, keep searching for qualified Buyers who are eager and ready to buy.  The key is to be rigorous in asking the Buyer questions about their financial qualification, motivation and urgency as early as possible in the relationship (with complete respect for Agency and Agency laws).
Yes, I saw the statistics on how much more money is made by Agents who focus on listings.  And I completely agree that consistent success is based on a listing focus.  I coach Agents every day to extraordinary listing success.  But the statistics are flawed.  Here’s why.
Most, possibly all, Agents with a team focus on listings.  On their team are Agents who focus on Buyers.  In fact in many those ‘Buyer Specialists’ refer all of their listing leads to the Primary Agent.  The team leader (I call them the Primary Agent, thank you Patrick Daily) gets a portion of all the Buyer sale commissions.  This enormously skews the statistics.  The more accurate measure would be individual Agents who focus on Listings versus the ones who focuses on Buyers.  The problem with that is that the vast majority of individual Agents necessarily focus on both.
The point is that focusing on Buyers in a smart way is necessary for Agents with or without a team.  For the teams it would be a waste to get all those listings and not benefit from the Buyers they would attract.  For an individual Agent it is also most often a matter of survival.
Buyers or Listings there is opportunity in this market. It absolutely takes more talent and effort to find it and close it in this market. Those who tough it out and learn to succeed in this market will be the top Agents and the leaders as a healthy market re-emerges.  And with a bit of blessing, it will.

The best kept secret of Real Estate Coaching www.FreeCoachingWebinars.com.

Let’s Be Honest and Professional About Pricing

Rich Levin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:19:35 GMT

What does “priced right” mean? It means the price that, with normal marketing, will sell the property in three weeks or less. The only exception is the house that is truly unique.

But wait, what if houses were selling last month for $350,000 all over the neighborhood but this month they are not selling. Does that mean they are now overpriced? The answer is yes. Will they come back to the $350,000 price range next month or in the spring? Maybe, but for this market this month, it’s not “priced right.”

In this economy it’s possible that next month or in the spring the price could be less.

An Agent that I coach had sold seven homes in a neighborhood for prices between $620,000 and $720,000 right up until the summer of 2010. Between the fall of 2010 and the spring of 2011 she had five others on the market. None were selling. She lost one listing to a bank foreclosure. The bank put it on the market for $549,000. It sold in a week. This year four others have sold in the neighborhood; all for less than $600,000.

It hurt her to see her Clients sell for less than they bought. For too long she was saying that the houses were worth more and that they were priced right when they weren’t selling. Her heart is in the right place. This is not easy for Agents or Sellers.

But let’s be honest and professional about pricing. Let’s learn the skills, approach, and language required to help Sellers make the best decisions even when they are difficult decisions.

Keep Taking Listings

Rich Levin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:50:23 GMT

Keep Taking Listings

Here’s why.

First, I know that in many markets listings are not selling very quickly. The listings have to be priced right, in very good condition and still may not sell. (Although by definition priced right means they will sell. The problem of course is that priced right last spring, just four months ago may not be priced right now in September)

But keep taking listings. Kyle Killebrew has taken 88 listings so far this year. That is about 30 more than previous years. His listing sold percentage is way off from previous years. He has sold just 68% of them. Oh, that’s 60 of them isn’t it? And from the leads generated from all those listings he and his team have sold another 52 houses to Buyers. Even if less listings sell, having more of the listings means you sell more.

It is tougher to get listings sold in this market. The Clients’ situations are often negative. There are job losses, divorces, and involuntary moves. We are always dealing with these types of situations but in this market and in this economy there are a higher percentage of those negative circumstances.

There are more Sellers who believe their house should sell for a higher price. A higher percentage of Sellers who sell are disappointed with the price they get.

All of that is true and keep taking new listings, getting price reductions, and re-listing because there are flurries. A flurry is when, suddenly, for no apparent reason a bunch of properties sell. The Agents with the listings benefit from the flurries. These listing Agents benefit in two ways.

First, their listings sell. Second, Buyers contact them.

Kyle said, “Rich, you are right about the flurries. We sold six properties the first week in September. School starting, right after Labor Day, I wouldn’t have expected it. But I’m glad to have had the inventory.”

Keep taking listings.

A Strong Finish to 2011 or Risk 2012 – Seven Steps

Rich Levin — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:35:10 GMT

It is the day after Labor Day. The decisions that Real Estate Agents make about their business today and this week, shape the next six months.

There is one basic decision. Get active, get busy. Or be passive.

Getting busy ensures both a strong finish to 2011 and a strong start to 2012. Being passive risks a weak finish to 2011 which means suffering low income and a slow start to 2012.

Get busy following up on your leads, prospecting, marketing, blogging, networking, communicating with people.

What you communicate and how you communicate it is important.

Communicate the opportunities in the market, low rates, soft prices, and the fact that this will not last forever. When it changes, and it will; just a 1% rise in interest rates can mean having to buy less house in a less desirable neighborhood.

And communicate it positively.

When an Agent communicates the difficulties in the market with a discouraged tone of voice then the message to the listener is that this Agent lacks confidence in the market and their ability to succeed within it. Some Agents say to me, “But Rich, I don’t have confidence in the market or my ability to succeed in it.”

I say to them, “Then get another job. Or better yet, let’s talk so can realize that there is tremendous opportunity for the people who are able to buy in this market or sell and buy in this market. It’s scary. It’s difficult. It’s frustrating. And those that succeed through this market will be the most successful, extraordinarily successful as we eventually emerge from it. And we will.”

When an Agent communicates positively with confidence, the listener notices. It haunts them. It sticks with them. It spreads your reputation as the person to go to and refer to get the job done even in this challenging market.

Be honest. It’s not easy. And be confident. If it can be done, you find a way to do it. And you are constantly looking for the opportunities.

The decisions you make today and this week will dictate your success for the next six months.

There is an article posted on my home page www.RichLevin.com entitled Seven Steps to Insure a Strong Finish to The Yearthat details how you can be sure to finish strong.

Obvious and Seldom Kept Secret to a Successful Team

Rich Levin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:15:32 GMT

Arnold is launching an Internet Company. It is a terrific idea. He has a partner. He contacted me for advice. He said that he called an important new Client yesterday. It turned out that his partner spoke with the same Client earlier in the day about the same topic. And they didn’t present the same information. They didn’t contradict each other. They didn’t support each other either. It is not the impression they want to make. And it is a sign that he and his partner are not communicating regularly.

I told him to do what Chava and I do every day. Meet. His partner is in Florida. He is in New York. No problem, speak on the phone. Use e-mail, text messaging, GoToMeeting, Skype, and any number of other simple tools to conduct the meeting the same way as you would conduct it in person.

Schedule it for just 15 minutes so that it is not a burden. Take longer if needed. Schedule longer only when necessary. Make it at the same time each weekday. Have a simple agenda/outline of topics to cover so that there is consistent structure to it. This structure stimulates creative thought.

If you miss it, no biggie, recommit and make it the next day. If you miss it for a week or weeks at a time, no biggie, stay committed to it. Eventually, it is so much the right thing that you will do it consistently and right.

WAIT!!! No biggie if you miss it for weeks at a time, but that sucks. That’s mediocre. That lacks integrity. It is also perfectly normal for a human when you are building a new habit, even a very valuable important habit before it takes hold.

My life and my work continue to teach me that when you berate or belittle yourself you will stay stuck. But, when you stay positive and committed, you advance more quickly, correctly and creatively.

We talked about hiring good people too. I’ll save that for one my next posts.

Limiting Beliefs, Nonsense, These Are Career Killing Beliefs

Rich Levin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:10:26 GMT

A Coaching Client sent me this in an e-mail.

“I don’t believe that if I do put in the effort that I can see the financial results. Because of that I hesitate to initiate the work. Even the most successful agents are struggling today. ”

There are a number of major, and I mean major problems with this statement. Obviously, if an Agent does not believe his or her effort will produce results that belief immobilizes the Agent. Second, hesitation shows up as a lack of confidence to the prospects or Clients. The Clients feel like there is something wrong. So it slows down or stops their decision making. Finally, the last statement isn’t true. The most successful are doing just fine. Many are succeeding and having best years ever. I have many coaching Clients who are having their best years ever.

This is a deep seated belief. I asked the Client if he experienced that sense of disbelief in other areas of his life, with his marriage, his children, his hobbies, etc. Sure enough, in some areas like personal relationships it didn’t seem apparent, thank goodness. In others, it was the same, a belief that his effort would not produce results.

Now, I am not a psychologist but it shows up that way sometimes. I asked him to describe the careers of his mother and father. Sure enough, he described his parents as working very hard and being extremely frustrated with their results.

This will take a truly monumental effort on his part to overcome. He will have to battle emotions that show up as fatigue, frustration, fear and more. It will require him to keep doing the right things, calling leads, conducting presentations, marketing and more despite those limiting beliefs and negative emotions. As he slogs through the work, and it will feel that way to him at first, he also needs to consciously put his body and his mind into a positive state. That will cause his emotions to follow.

If he does it, his Real Estate career will turn out to be the catalyst for a life with greater fulfillment and satisfaction than he can now imagine.

As a coach, these are the Clients that you think of when you go to bed and when you wake up. Their success is what drives my world.

How Bad is Your Listing Presentation

Rich Levin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:15:10 GMT

Sorry about the tone, I wanted to get your attention, particularly those of you who know that your listing presentation needs help.

An Agent with three years experience just started coaching with me. She did her listing presentation for me. It was clear that she had never had professional help on it.

A few keys, she was doing a two step approach. Many good Agents do a two step. The first step is just looking at the property and having an informal rapport building conversation with the owner in which you also subtly probe for motivation and urgency. This Agent was sitting down and presenting her entire marketing plan, then coming back the second step for pricing the house. This is a bad approach for a lot of reasons. The point is that she didn’t know better.

There were almost no questions. She talked on and on without asking a question and without checking in to confirm the level of attention and understanding. Presentation is really the wrong word for a listing presentation. It really needs to be called a Listing Consultation or better yet a Seller Consultation. A consultant is continuously asking questions to understand the situation. Then as he or she presents possible solutions, a consultant continues to ask questions for two reasons. One is to ensure attention and agreement. The other is to create positive (yes) momentum.

As she was discussing her marketing plan for the property she reviewed the listing contract, and then at the end presented pricing. This structure is very weak. There is a simple strong structure for a listing presentation; build rapport, present marketing plan, present pricing and value, review Seller’s expenses and net, review paperwork and ask for a decision.

The point of all this for you is this. Do you have confidence in your listing presentation? If you don’t, get with your Broker, Manager, a Trainer, a Coach, or work with a successful Agent. Get professional help. Even if you think your presentation is good but you don’t have real confidence in it. Work on it with someone that will be really honest with you about it and who can help you make it as strong as possible. Don’t let this weakness persist. It will erode your integrity and your confidence.

Four Quick Daily Keys to Survival in This Volatile Market

Rich Levin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:10:56 GMT

Every day on our Free Webinar (www.FreeCoachingWebinars.com) we reinforce four things that lead Agents to survive and succeed in this market.

Remind yourself every day, at the beginning of the day, what you want your Real Estate career to do for your life; and why you want it.
With that in mind, consciously and intentionally put yourself in an empowering attitude, a positive mental and emotional state by using the triad of your physiology, your focus, and your self-talk. In its simplest form stand up, stomach in, shoulders back, chest out, and smile. Focus on what would make it the best possible day. For the self talk, use affirmation, expressions of gratitude, prayer, or whatever leaves you feeling good and strong.
With that positive mindset look at your numbers. Look at your weekly, monthly and year to date goals. This is tough sometimes. That is why you want to establish that empowered state before you look at your where you stand in relation to your goals. (On the daily webinars we teach you how to set those goals in the simplest and most effective way.)
Then with your focus on what you need to accomplish to reach your goals open your calendar to organize and prioritize your day. We recommend some consistent priorities for specific days, prospecting, marketing, technology, service, skill building, and planning.

These four steps will take as little as ten minutes; up to thirty if you really get into it. This daily habit gets you motivated, focused and into action. At the same time it gives you the perspective to not get caught up in petty distractions, stay focused on your goals, and build greater confidence in every action and every decision.

The Best Answer to “How’s the Market”

Rich Levin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:07:26 GMT

Regarding Real Estate is the worst of times and it is the best of times. It is worst for those who are out of work, out of money, and in debt. It is the best of times for people who have some cash, decent credit, and a secure job. It is best for them because prices are soft and money is available at low rates. Is that true? You as the Agent have to see it and believe it.

Once you believe it then you can turn the question, “How’s the Market” into business with the following strategy and script.

Two parts: Answer the question honestly and directly; then ask the question that you most want to ask. The question you most want to ask is this. “Why do you ask? Are you guys thinking about doing something or know someone who is?” Or, “Why do you ask? Are you guys thinking about making a move or know someone who is?”

And here is a sample of answering the question as honestly and directly as possible, “It’s horrible, for the people with no jobs, damaged credit, and debt. It’s actually a time of terrific… amazing opportunity for people with secure employment, some cash, and decent credit. Why do you ask? Are you guys…” Or, “Here in (area), there are not many houses on the market. So when houses do come up they are selling quickly. At the same time in (other area) there is a lot of inventory so prices are soft. So, there are problems and some amazing opportunities. Why do you ask? Are you guys…”

Notice two things. The answer is direct, honest, and it shows insight and intelligence from the Agent. Also notice the question following the answer. Whether it is true or not respond to the question, “How’s the market?” as if half the people who ask it are asking because they are thinking of buying or selling; or asking for someone who is. They probably are.

Please be our guest... Live Skills Webinar

Rich Levin — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:43:00 GMT

Five Simple Steps to Control Your Time

Join Rich Levin for a Webinar on Thursday May 12, 11:00 AM EST

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
585-244-2700
E-mail: Chava@RichLevin.com

The bad news is that a successful Agent is always in a state of disorganization. There is too much going on for it to be any other way. The good news is that there are simple steps to gain as much control as possible. It does not involve an unrealistic schedule of time blocking. It does involve structures with smart flexibility.
There are a few simple tools that nearly every Agent already owns but may be using improperly. There are couple simple systems that put all the pieces together.and require almost no time to learn. Organization and time management can be an Agent's biggest curse and most costly weakness or the key to their continuous growth, success and confidence.

Cost: $9.99 to non coaching clients

This Webinar is FREE for all Rich Levin's coaching clients.

Title:	Five Simple Steps to Control Your Time
Date:	Thursday, May 12, 2011
Time:	11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

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

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Top Agent Interview with Successful Young Agent about Investing

Rich Levin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:50:00 GMT

Kyle Killebrew is a Top Agent selling over 100 properties per year. He is also creating personal wealth by adding multiple investment properties to his portfolio every year. We are very excited to have Kyle share his experience and advice on this complex topic.

If you invest now or ever considered investing, you don't want to miss this one!

In this skills webinar you will learn:

The Pros and Cons of Personal Real Estate Investing.
Tips Before you Get Started.
The Criteria of a Good Investment.
The Financial Implications of Investing.
How to Build Personal Wealth through Real Estate Investing.

Prevent an Objection

Rich Levin — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:25:00 GMT

Preventing and Handling real estate objections are a skill that needs to be learned and cultivated over time.
Rich shares with you in this short video how to prevent objections before they arise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzFpPTwNG-I

Prevent and Handle Objections to Win More Business

Rich Levin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:04:00 GMT

Our next scheduled skills building webinar will be held Thursday, March 10 at 11:00 AM EST and it's going to be available to everyone.

We are going to open this event up to any one that wants to participate. Come listen and learn from the best. This is just one of the great benefits of the Daily Coaching Program. You will more then cover the costs of the program by the ideas you will learn from this one event alone. The webinar replay and workbook will only be available to RLSC coaching clients.

DETAILS

Topic: Prevent and Handle Objections to Win More Business

Date: Thursday, March 10

Time: 11:00 AM EST (10:00 AM CST, 9:00 AM MST, 8:00 AM PST)

Cost: COMPLIMENTARY REGISTER NOW

MARK IT ON YOUR CALENDER NOW

The Addictive Cycle

Rich Levin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:17:02 GMT

Addiction: The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.

We have always been taught that addiction is negative but I would like to suggest that you can have a positive addiction. You could choose to have the addiction to “knowing your numbers” in your business or “improving your personal life” for example. An addiction used the right way can be very powerful and motivating.

I would like to share with you two charts, the chart on the left is the negative addictive cycle and the chart on the right is what it looks like when it is positive. Think about an aspect of your life that you would like to improve.
You could choose to create a positive addictive cycle to accomplish it.

1st Fifteen Guest Speaker

Rich Levin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:44:00 GMT

Friday, February 25, we are going to have a guest speaker talking about how he goes about discussing issues with the house during the Listing Presentation. I thought it was pretty interesting.
We are hoping to have more guest speakers throughout the year to get different perspectives, ideas and thoughts on a wide range of topics.
We are committed to bringing you our best each and every day.
If you haven't yet registered for our Free Daily Coaching Webinars, take a moment to do so now.
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/693960530 Yes they are completely free!