Realty World Northern California & Nevada

What’s the #1 thing a real estate professional should do with a consumer lead?

RESPOND!

Today’s real estate professionals need to be aware of some pretty important facts:

1. Almost three-quarters of all homebuyers (including Internet consumers) consider a real estate agent’s response time an extremely “critical” factor in determining which agent they will choose to work with.
2. The agent first to respond is the winner: 47% of Internet buyers and 43% of non-Internet consumers choose the agent who is quickest to respond to their inquiry.

Don’t go unnoticed as a sales professional and don’t let your prospective leads go unacknowledged. Get back to them immediately! It’s imperative for you to know that by responding timely to a phone call or email from a prospective lead interested in seeing a home on a particular day, or ready to buy in a specific area, etc., will get you connected. It’s a domino-effect… once the connection is made and YOU’VE been the agent on top of this client’s inquiries/calls/emails since Day One, what do you think will happen when that client is ready to make a deal? YOU will be the person they choose to do business with!

In my travels each day there is an area of great wonder in my life. It generally happens out on a country road somewhere between I-5 in Stockton California and the City of Tracy. Once on this country road it takes me a little bit to pull back from my traveling at 70 mph down to 55 mph, that within it self brings up another area of wonder, although not as much as the two yellow lines in the middle of the road.

My question is “What Stops Me” from crossing over these two yellow lines when I come upon a slower traveler? I marvel at myself, that I will not cross over the double lines! Here I am out in the middle of basically nowhere, and I let these two yellow lines control me. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I am very tempted at times to cross over the lines and get on my way at a higher speed. Believe me there are many that cross over to get on with their lives, many not evening slowing to question whether they should or not even on blind curves.

It is the fear of being caught for breaking the law or is it respect of the laws that govern our lives?

I believe there are many ‘laws’ in life that need to be respected. Many of these laws are not written laws that you will be punished for if you break them, but laws that can and will make life and living a lot easier and less frustrating.

Goals, respect for others, business plans, being true to your word, are just a few of the hundreds of unwritten laws in life that should be followed. In many lives, these are not ‘double yellow’ lines, however are very much a part of a persons life or business that when implemented, makes life more organized and less stressful.

Once again, ‘What Stops You’ or me, from crossing over the double yellow lines? That small bit of conscience that stops you, should be very much a part of your life in setting goals, working from a business plan or family plan, respecting others, and in being true to your word and deeds.

Everything changes in life… it’s called “evolution.” As we grow and evolve, everything continues on this path of change: our appearance, our social skills and behaviors, our environment, our beliefs and opinions about things, our dress size or weight, our sense of humor (or lack, thereof)… the list goes on and on. We can accept change or rebel against it.

The Good

Change is constant… sometimes we don’t even notice change until it’s already happened! Some people seek change and welcome its challenges. Change promotes growth, and growth should be intentional in our lives. Growth encourages ambition and a yearning for better things; growth also inspires self-improvement.

And think about it — by nature, when we think of self-improvement, we consider changes to be that which we make better to enhance our personal lives. Not true. Positive changes consist of those negative habits that we strive to turn into good ones, regardless if they pertain to our personal or professional lives.

The Bad

I read a quote somewhere that read: “Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine!” It made me laugh, but it’s true! When you put that dollar in for a seventy-five cent item, you may not get that quarter back that you are owed. Change involves risk — stepping from the known into the unknown, and sometimes this is extremely difficult for people to do. Most people tend to resist change even though we know it is good for us.

The Ugly

Unfortunately, the most difficult part about “change” is one’s acceptance of it and adaptation to it. The hardest part of change is making sense of what difference has occurred, then moving forward to figure out how to adjust your paradigm and behavior in order to deal with it. Your level of adapting to change will increase leaps and bounds if you don’t perceive change to be this huge challenge.

Many years ago opportunity knocked at my door; I went to work for a real estate franchise company which I will refer to as “Company X.” At that time though, I was young, impressionable, and naïve to the Corporate World. Various things came into play as to why I remained with “Company X” over the next 16 years. I started with the company during a very tough market with 18 percent interest rates. Yes… no joke, 18 percent! Sure, housing prices were less, but compensation was as well. I was willing to work hard because times were tough and company budgets were tight. But I enjoyed my place of employment, first and foremost, because I was surrounded by great people. Okay… admittedly, there were a few that didn’t stand the test of hard work and time, but for the most part, I worked with hard working people that possessed great minds.

So… why the title of this blog? Bear with me… I’m getting there.

I started in the Accounting Department of “Company X” — not an area anyone would see me in today. But remember, it was a tough market, the job opening was there, and I was young with time to figure out where I would best fit in, be able to contribute, and just plain enjoy what I do.

One afternoon I approached my boss, Michael, with a question that I was a little uncomfortable to ask because, quite frankly, I thought I should probably know the answer. I found out my question wasn’t so stupid after all. But the best part was that Michael, obviously sensing my unease with asking the question, assured me that it was always okay to ask a question and most important, if I made a mistake that could not easily be corrected, to make sure I let him know. He told me, “Sometimes it’s simply all in the recovery. We will all make mistakes, so come to me and we will figure it out.” This certainly didn’t give license to being careless, but rather built trust with my boss.

Through the years, I moved to other departments, reported to others, and ultimately ended up reporting to the Company President who had a framed inscription on his wall that read: “The fool learns from the mistakes of his own. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” A little intimidating because he lived by that motto. He expected a lot from his employees, could be extremely tough, but also appreciated hard work, and rewarded people and acknowledged their commitment.

Those two quotes I’d come to know seemed to be a bit in conflict with one another, yet I decided to employ both in what I did professionally and personally. I decided to watch others, learn from their mistakes early on with the hope of preventing myself from making the same mistake… and while knowing making mistakes was inevitable, that’s where the “recovery” comes in. Recognizing a mistake and quickly turning it around can make all the difference in how others view you and, most importantly, how you view yourself. We often beat ourselves up over misjudgments, bad decisions, wrong turns in life…but quickly recognizing it and determining how to “recover” just makes things so much better.

When I held positions with others reporting to me, I made sure those who I managed knew that they weren’t on their own. We were a team. We were surely going to make mistakes. But as a group, we decided that when it happens, we’d pull together and figure out a recovery plan. It’s amazing how simply letting an employee know that you realize that they are human — just like you, since we are all human — can build trust and loyalty. For how it has served me in my personal life, I have always instilled in my child that “sometimes it’s simply all in the recovery” — that we will all make mistakes; hopefully, not disastrous ones (that’s where the quote “the wise man learns from the mistakes of others” comes in handy). As a result, I think my son trusts me and knows that I am there for him no matter what situation may arise. My husband, a teacher, often refers to that specific quote with his students. When they find themselves starting to fall behind or their behavior less than acceptable, he always asks them, “What’s my wife’s favorite quote?”

An expression that is used quite often today is ‘Invest in Yourself.’ It is very interesting how such a simple statement can be taken so many different ways. More astounding is how more than likely, because of the word ‘invest,’ many shun away from investing altogether in themselves because they don’t feel that they currently have the monetary means to do any investing… let alone in themselves.

Once a person understands their core values and what forms the foundation of these values, they may find it easier to invest in themselves. In order to increase an individual’s core values, depending what they are, perhaps the investment would be to read or research those things that will strengthen the value. It may call for investing some dedicated time to family, a hobby, or a given talent.

Especially in today’s ever-changing economy and the pressures it places on individuals, now is a great time to evaluate your profession and invest in yourself as a way to keep up with the growth you need to stay on the leading edge. A small ‘investment’ of reading, listening, or just taking the time to evaluate how to increase your value in the work place is very important.