Sunday, January 18, 2015
10 Productivity Questions to Ask Yourself
Our days usually start out with good intentions in mind.
Then we get distracted or find ourselves caught up in other things.
I start planning the night before in making sure I'm ready.
Here's a gaggle of tips for you!
10 Productivity Questions to Ask Yourself
15 Steps to Beat Procrastination.
This is a great little article with infographics.
Everyone suffers from this at least a little bit, but if its affecting your work or life what can you do about it?
15 Steps to Beat Procrastination.
The Science of Persuasion.
No this isn't about forcing people to make decisions they don't want to make.
This isn't about forcing people to buy something they do not want to buy either.
Its much more important than that.
Persuasion Tips
This isn't about forcing people to buy something they do not want to buy either.
Its much more important than that.
Persuasion Tips
Saturday, January 17, 2015
YOUR PERSONAL BRAND - WHAT? HOW?
There's a lot of talk about Branding these days.
Everyone from Wal-Mart to the Mom & Pop coffee shop on the corner has one, or they should and so should you!
People do business with people in Real Estate.
That's why you see the odd small no-name brokerage getting a listing.
That is why some people do weird things in business, we see it all the time. It often comes back to the relationship developed and the trust gained from that relationship.
Relationships do matter!
Make no mistake about it and that is especially true if you are looking for referral or repeat business. If the consumer builds a closer trusting relationship with someone else after they purchased or did a deal with you. Then you have failed in the relationship category.
More on that later!
Your brokerage or company has likely spent thousands and yes some have spent millions on developing and building their brand.
You share in that corporate brand but because people do business with people it is very important that you also have a brand. One that goes hand in hand with your corporate brand.
You as a salesperson need to do the same thing that the corporation did.
By the way if you own any business (real estate or not), I don't care what it is... You are in sales!
So here is an interesting read on "Branding."
Have a look and if you haven't started yet, give it some thought before you go into ACTION. After some time spent on this go and build your brand!
A Guide to Defining a Personal Brand.
Everyone from Wal-Mart to the Mom & Pop coffee shop on the corner has one, or they should and so should you!
People do business with people in Real Estate.
That's why you see the odd small no-name brokerage getting a listing.
That is why some people do weird things in business, we see it all the time. It often comes back to the relationship developed and the trust gained from that relationship.
Relationships do matter!
Make no mistake about it and that is especially true if you are looking for referral or repeat business. If the consumer builds a closer trusting relationship with someone else after they purchased or did a deal with you. Then you have failed in the relationship category.
More on that later!
Your brokerage or company has likely spent thousands and yes some have spent millions on developing and building their brand.
You share in that corporate brand but because people do business with people it is very important that you also have a brand. One that goes hand in hand with your corporate brand.
You as a salesperson need to do the same thing that the corporation did.
By the way if you own any business (real estate or not), I don't care what it is... You are in sales!
So here is an interesting read on "Branding."
Have a look and if you haven't started yet, give it some thought before you go into ACTION. After some time spent on this go and build your brand!
A Guide to Defining a Personal Brand.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Email Marketing 2015
Technology is great thing and when I think of email I think of FREE mail-outs that only a few years ago used to cost REALTORS a bundle every month.
First of all make sure you have the proper permission to Email your Clients! You do not want to be charged under the Spam Law and add to that no one wants to be thought of as a "SPAMMER!"
The new laws make it very expensive should someone turn against you. This happened to a good friend of mine down in the USA. It was a very similar situation only with their "Faxing Laws."
They settled out of court for $10,000.00 over one Fax!
Email marketing when done correctly can be an excellent tool to stay "top of mind" with your clients. "Top of Mind Awareness" is something that most agents are lacking in a very big way. This is a no-no in marketing so make sure to add building "Top of Mind Awareness" for your 2015 Goals and Plan for Success!
Its not for just when your Clients are about to move.
It is for them to remember to refer you when their family or friends are moving too! Do they have a reason to remember you and if they do... Do they have a reason to refer you?
Here's a recent article on Email Marketing below.
It should also be noted that your news should concentrate on what "they" will find valuable!
Not on sales! Don't try to sell people with email!
In fact people hate to be sold at anytime - period!
Think educational, valuable, newsworthy, maintenance, funny, trends and that will help you.
How often?
I would say once you have their permission and you follow all the rules so as not to sell them try doing it once a month. In any case NO LESS than once per quarter. You will be amazed how fast people will forget about you even if you are the best REALTOR that they have ever met!
People hate to be sold to and that's the fastest way to have your subscriber list dwindle down to ZERO so be very careful!
Soon we will talk about "WIFM" (What's In It For Me?) which for many will be one of the most valuable lessons in their real estate careers!
Click Link: Email Marketing for 2015!
Remember to MAKE it a GREAT Day!
First of all make sure you have the proper permission to Email your Clients! You do not want to be charged under the Spam Law and add to that no one wants to be thought of as a "SPAMMER!"
The new laws make it very expensive should someone turn against you. This happened to a good friend of mine down in the USA. It was a very similar situation only with their "Faxing Laws."
They settled out of court for $10,000.00 over one Fax!
Email marketing when done correctly can be an excellent tool to stay "top of mind" with your clients. "Top of Mind Awareness" is something that most agents are lacking in a very big way. This is a no-no in marketing so make sure to add building "Top of Mind Awareness" for your 2015 Goals and Plan for Success!
Its not for just when your Clients are about to move.
It is for them to remember to refer you when their family or friends are moving too! Do they have a reason to remember you and if they do... Do they have a reason to refer you?
Here's a recent article on Email Marketing below.
It should also be noted that your news should concentrate on what "they" will find valuable!
Not on sales! Don't try to sell people with email!
In fact people hate to be sold at anytime - period!
Think educational, valuable, newsworthy, maintenance, funny, trends and that will help you.
How often?
I would say once you have their permission and you follow all the rules so as not to sell them try doing it once a month. In any case NO LESS than once per quarter. You will be amazed how fast people will forget about you even if you are the best REALTOR that they have ever met!
People hate to be sold to and that's the fastest way to have your subscriber list dwindle down to ZERO so be very careful!
Soon we will talk about "WIFM" (What's In It For Me?) which for many will be one of the most valuable lessons in their real estate careers!
Click Link: Email Marketing for 2015!
Remember to MAKE it a GREAT Day!
REALTOR Safety
As a retired Cop that worked in many investigations that were less than nice to talk about, I sometimes wonder if it made me a bit paranoid about the safety of those I care about?
Having said that however I think that it is prudent to be smart when agents are working alone out there!
At the very least (it doesn't matter if it's daytime or nighttime) let someone know where you are and how long you will be there and then let them know when you are clear.
For instance you get a call from a potential Buyer who wants to see a home this afternoon.
You do not know anything about him and have never talked to him before. Should that put a red flag up? I would say yes especially if you are a woman and the Buyer seems a bit pushy or in a bit of a hurry to see the place. If he only wants to see one place and glazes over any or all of your carefully placed questions add one more red flag.
Sure this doesn't happen here.
Remember that the greater Calgary area is now over 1.3 million people and is changing by the day. Calgary is attracting a lot of new people from around the world and is no longer the little Cow-town some wish it still was.
So all that I am saying is be smart and be diligent. Yes things can happen here but don't live your life paranoid either.
At the very least leave a note on your desk with the location where you will be, the address, the persons name and any other identifying info. Add in the start and expected end times.
If it were me I would text the info to someone that you can trust and that you have confirmed received the text.
The next option is take someone with you. Consider taking another agent with you or your spouse.
Here are some things that are happening in the Tech World in this regard. While some of them will not work yet in Canada, the USA is right next door. That means the Tech will be coming here too at some point.
Tech Ideas for Safety
In short, be smart, be diligent and be safe out there!
MAKE it a GREAT Day!
Having said that however I think that it is prudent to be smart when agents are working alone out there!
At the very least (it doesn't matter if it's daytime or nighttime) let someone know where you are and how long you will be there and then let them know when you are clear.
For instance you get a call from a potential Buyer who wants to see a home this afternoon.
You do not know anything about him and have never talked to him before. Should that put a red flag up? I would say yes especially if you are a woman and the Buyer seems a bit pushy or in a bit of a hurry to see the place. If he only wants to see one place and glazes over any or all of your carefully placed questions add one more red flag.
Sure this doesn't happen here.
Remember that the greater Calgary area is now over 1.3 million people and is changing by the day. Calgary is attracting a lot of new people from around the world and is no longer the little Cow-town some wish it still was.
So all that I am saying is be smart and be diligent. Yes things can happen here but don't live your life paranoid either.
At the very least leave a note on your desk with the location where you will be, the address, the persons name and any other identifying info. Add in the start and expected end times.
If it were me I would text the info to someone that you can trust and that you have confirmed received the text.
The next option is take someone with you. Consider taking another agent with you or your spouse.
Here are some things that are happening in the Tech World in this regard. While some of them will not work yet in Canada, the USA is right next door. That means the Tech will be coming here too at some point.
Tech Ideas for Safety
In short, be smart, be diligent and be safe out there!
MAKE it a GREAT Day!
KEEPING GOALS & ACTION PLANS SIMPLE
First you may have noticed that in the title I called them "ACTION Plans."
I will tell you why I do this.
Because "hands down" that is the area that most people including agents do not cross!
Then they wonder why this year was no better than the last year?
You can write down some fabulous attainable goals to improve your life and your business. But if you do not take ACTION then it is all a waste of time!
You see it is SIMPLE!
I hope that you keep your Goals and your ACTION PLAN simple too!
If you don't keep it simple then you won't follow it and its doubtful you will do everything you need to do for success and improvement.
S erious
I mplementation
M eaningful
P roductive
L ean & mean
E nding with the life you want!
I just made that up by the way!
But it works for me and maybe it will for you.
What does this mean?
When running your business, making & reviewing your Goals and FOLLOWING your ACTION Plan you need to be:
Be Serious, and make sure you are implementing
What it is you need to do, to get the high income tasks done first,
Every day,
In order to have a meaningful and productive business,
While ensuring that it runs lean and mean,
So that you can finish well, with the Life that YOU Want!
If you haven't figured out what that all means, that's OK.
Just contact me and we can discuss it.
In closing for today here's an interesting little story that I found that you may like:
HOW TO HAVE THE MOST PRODUCTIVE YEAR OF YOUR LIFE!
Until next time - Know that you can - MAKE it a GREAT Day!
I will tell you why I do this.
Because "hands down" that is the area that most people including agents do not cross!
Then they wonder why this year was no better than the last year?
You can write down some fabulous attainable goals to improve your life and your business. But if you do not take ACTION then it is all a waste of time!
You see it is SIMPLE!
I hope that you keep your Goals and your ACTION PLAN simple too!
If you don't keep it simple then you won't follow it and its doubtful you will do everything you need to do for success and improvement.
S erious
I mplementation
M eaningful
P roductive
L ean & mean
E nding with the life you want!
I just made that up by the way!
But it works for me and maybe it will for you.
What does this mean?
When running your business, making & reviewing your Goals and FOLLOWING your ACTION Plan you need to be:
Be Serious, and make sure you are implementing
What it is you need to do, to get the high income tasks done first,
Every day,
In order to have a meaningful and productive business,
While ensuring that it runs lean and mean,
So that you can finish well, with the Life that YOU Want!
If you haven't figured out what that all means, that's OK.
Just contact me and we can discuss it.
In closing for today here's an interesting little story that I found that you may like:
HOW TO HAVE THE MOST PRODUCTIVE YEAR OF YOUR LIFE!
Until next time - Know that you can - MAKE it a GREAT Day!
The Seven Strategies for Success - Brian Tracy
There are 7 disciplines you must develop if you want to achieve all that is possible for you. You can learn these disciplines through practice and repetition until they become automatic.
Goal Setting
Every morning, take 3 to 5 minutes to write out your top goals in the present tense.
Get a spiral notebook for this purpose. By writing out your ten goals at the beginning of each day, you will program them deep into your subconscious mind.
Get a spiral notebook for this purpose. By writing out your ten goals at the beginning of each day, you will program them deep into your subconscious mind.
This daily goal writing will activate your mental powers.
It will stimulate your mind and make you more alert. Throughout the day, you will see opportunities and possibilities to move more rapidly toward your goals.
It will stimulate your mind and make you more alert. Throughout the day, you will see opportunities and possibilities to move more rapidly toward your goals.
Planning and Organizing
Take a few minutes, preferably the night before, to plan out every activity of the coming day. Always work from a list. Always think on paper. This is one of the most powerful and important disciplines of all for high performance.
Concentration on your Highest-Value Activities
Your ability to work single-mindedly on your most important task will contribute as much to your success as any other discipline you can develop.
Exercise and Proper Nutrition
Your health is more important than anything else.
By disciplining yourself to exercise regularly and to eat carefully, you will promote the highest possible levels of health and fitness throughout your life.
By disciplining yourself to exercise regularly and to eat carefully, you will promote the highest possible levels of health and fitness throughout your life.
Learning and Growth
Your mind is like a muscle.
If you don't use it, you lose it. Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.
If you don't use it, you lose it. Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.
Time for Important People in Your Life
Relationships are everything.
Be sure that in climbing the ladder of success, you do not find it leaning against the wrong building. Build time for your relationships into every day, no matter how busy you get.
Be sure that in climbing the ladder of success, you do not find it leaning against the wrong building. Build time for your relationships into every day, no matter how busy you get.
Commit to the 7 Disciplines
These seven disciplines will ensure that you perform at the highest level and get the greatest satisfaction and results from everything you do. Study these seven disciplines and then make a plan for how you can incorporate each of them into your daily life.
To your success,
Brian Tracy
Check out Brian's Website here at: http://www.briantracy.com/
Saturday, January 10, 2015
WHAT STOPS YOU - Motivation, Busyness & Faith!
In my life I have come to the conclusion that there are two basic groups of people.
In the first group they are the ones who just ride life out.
They wonder why life "happens" to them, they complain about their luck and they hate their jobs. They are often the one's you know that complain and have a lack of energy for things. Sometimes they just drain your energy by being with them. They collect their pay cheques and watch TV.
The other group of people I know are the one's that enjoy a happy life. They know what truly is important and go after the things that they want in their life. They understand no one is going to do it for them. They are upbeat, fun to be around and enjoy life to its fullest. They truly enjoy the ride because they have created the life they want to live!
Most of us have a little bit of both groups in us.
If you are having trouble getting to where you want to be (professionally or personally) then it likely comes down to one or both of two things.
MOTIVATION
If you do not hurt enough where you are at today (satisfied most times) then you will likely stay where you are at. If you hate where you are at or feel regular pain from the situation you will become motivated to change it. Having said that some people can stir up the emotion within and make themselves MOTIVATED enough to go out and make change.
BUSY
A lot of people are so busy they are too tired to make the changes needed. This is common in the fast paced world that we live in. If you own your own business or are in sales you must ask yourself;
Am I too busy working in my business to work on my business?"
If you suffer from a lack of motivation perhaps you are happy with a life of mediocrity. A lot of people are not happy where they are at but have developed a habit of just being there (habits take from 21 to 42 days to develop in most cases). By just being there they develop habits of constantly complaining or just a habit of accepting this is my life.
These are sad situations. You are here for a very short time but likely for around 80 years. Do you really want to waste your life, live in mediocrity or just accept things as they happen to you versus making things happen for you?
FAITH
You use faith every day! Its like jumping on a plane for a trip somewhere and accepting that the pilot that you have never met (or sometimes never even seen) knows how to zoom you through the air at 500 mph while at 40,000 feet without crashing you into the ground - Now think about it, That's Faith!
Trusting some person you know nothing about to take you on the ride of your life (or death) is really something we should think about? However we don't we just accept that he or she knows what she is doing and we put our lives into their hands - Its crazy if you think about it long enough but its now accepted daily by millions of people just like you and me.
What am I getting at here?
Let me say that it may be that you need a little faith in your life in regards to building the life you want. Maybe you don't believe you can make the changes. Maybe you don't have the confidence in yourself to know you are capable? Let me tell you and please listen to me; I don't care who you are or where you came from with a little faith and a little bit of work you can and will do it!
If I was able to give you a list of names and introduce you to some of the most successful people in the world would it change your mind if they told you on how this strategy has changed their lives?
If I shared a story and introduced you to someone who used to live in their car, slept on the streets and came from poverty like you have never experienced who now has a wonderful life... and he or she shared their story on how this worked for them.... would that change your mind?
These are all examples of people that had some faith in the idea that others before them had used these strategies and made positive changes in their own lives. Have some faith and trust me.
I have nothing to sell you, nor do I want to make any money off of you. I merly have a passion and my passion is that this can and will change your life for the better if you take the steps. Have you ever made an investment into your own life? Now is the time to start investing in the life you want and the life you want for your family.
The man who wrote this short article below is a man I have come to respect over the years. He used to live in his car on the streets. You have a lot more in common with this man than you realize.
He has since picked up his life and realized if there was going to be any changes he needed faith, he needed to do what others have done before him and he needed to do it all because no one else was about to do it for him. Sure it may be a bit of an extreme example but there are millions out there that have stories more like you and I do. Those might not get my point across and they certainly won't motivate me, I'm not sure about you.
Read this particular Blog article twice, my notes and then the notes below from Brian Tracy whom I give full credit to!
Success is goals and all else is commentary.
This is the great discovery throughout all of human history.
Your life only begins to become a great life when you clearly identify what it is that you want, make a plan to achieve it and then work on that plan every single day.
“The primary reason for failure is that people do not develop new
plans to replace those plans that didn’t work.” (Napoleon Hill)
The three turning points in my life were these:
First, I discovered that I was responsible for my life, and for everything that happened to me.
I learned that this life is not a rehearsal for something else. This is the real thing.
In every study of successful people, the acceptance of personal
responsibility seems to be the starting point. Before that, nothing happens. After you accept complete responsibility, your whole life begins to change.
The second turning point for me, which came when I was 24 years old, was my discovery of goals. Without really knowing what I was doing, I sat down and made a list of 10 things I wanted to accomplish in
the foreseeable future.
I promptly lost the list. But 30 days later, my whole life had changed. Almost every goal on my list had already been achieved or partially achieved.
The third turning point in my life came when I discovered that “You can learn anything you need to learn to accomplish any goal you can set for yourself.” No one is smarter than you and no one is better than
you.
All business skills, sales skills and moneymaking skills are learnable.
Everyone who is good in any area today was once poor in that area. The top people in every field were at one time not even in that field and didn’t even know that that field existed. And what hundreds of thousands of other people have done, you can do as well.
© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy. Success is goals and all else is commentary.
REPORT GOALS! How to get everything you want faster than you
ever thought possible!
By Brian Tracy
The Goal-Setting Process:
1.
Decide exactly what you want in every key area of your life.
Start off by Idealizing. Imagine that there are no limitations on what you can be, have or do.
Imagine that you have all the time and money, all the friends and contacts, all the education and experience that you need to accomplish any goal you can set for yourself.
Imagine that you could wave a magic wand and make your life perfect in each of the four key areas of life.
If your life was perfect in each area, what would it look like?
1. INCOME – how much do you want to earn this year, next year and five years from today?
2. FAMILY – what kind of a lifestyle do you want to create for yourself and your family?
3. HEALTH – how would your health be different if it was perfect in every way?
4. NET WORTH – how much do you want to save and accumulate in the course of your working lifetime?
Three Goal Method – in less than 30 seconds, write down your three most important goals in life, right now. Write quickly.
Whatever your answer to this “Quick List Method” way of writing three goals it is probably an accurate picture of what you really want in life.
2.
Write it down.
Your goals must be in writing. They must be clear, specific, detailed and measurable. You must write out your goals as if you were placing an order for your goal to be manufactured in a factory at a great distance. Make your description clear and detailed in every sense.
Only 3% of adults have written goals, and everyone else works for them.
3.
Set a deadline.
Your subconscious mind uses deadlines as “forcing systems” to drive you, consciously and unconsciously toward achieving your goal on schedule. If your goal is big enough, set sub-deadlines.
If you want to achieve financial independence, you may set a 10 or 20-year goal, and then break it down, year by year, so that you know how much you have to save and invest each year.
If for some reason you don’t achieve your goal by the deadline, simply set a new deadline.
There are no unreasonable goals, only unreasonable deadlines.
4.
Identify the obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve your goal.
Why aren’t you already at your goal?
The Theory of Constraints – there is always one limiting factor or constraint that sets the speed at which you achieve your goal.
What is it for you?
The 80/20 Rule applies to constraints.
Fully 80% of the reasons that are holding you back from achieving your goal are inside yourself. They are the lack of a skill, a quality or a body of knowledge.
Only 20% of the reasons you are not achieving your goal
are on the outside.
Always start with yourself.
5.
Identify the knowledge, information and skills you will need to achieve your goal.
Especially, identify the skills that you will have to develop to be in the top 10% of your field.
Greatest Discovery: Your weakest key skill, sets the height of your income and your success.
You can make more progress by going to work on the one skill that is holding you back more than any other.
Key Question: “What one skill, if you developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on your life?”
What one skill, if you developed and did it consistently, in an excellent fashion, would help you the most to achieve your most important goal?
Whatever the skill, write it down, make a plan and work on it every
single day.
6.
Identify the people whose help and cooperation you will require to achieve your goal.
Make a list of every person in your life that you will have to work with or work around to achieve your goal.
Start with the members of your family, whose cooperation and support you will require. List your boss, coworkers and subordinates. Especially, identify the customers whose support you will need to sell enough
of your product or service to make the kind of money that you want.
Only 20% of the reasons you are not achieving your goal are on the outside.
Always start with yourself.
4
Once you have identified the key people whose help you will require, ask yourself this question, “What’s in it for them?”
Be a “go-giver” rather than a “go-getter.”
To achieve big goals you will have to have the help and support of lots of people. One key person at a certain time and place in your life will make all the difference.
The most successful people are those who build and maintain the largest networks of other people whom they can help and who can help them in return.
7.
Make a list of everything you will have to do to achieve your goal.
Combine the obstacles that you will have to overcome, the knowledge and skills you will have to develop, and the people whose cooperation you will require.
List every single step that you can think of that you will have to follow to ultimately achieve your goal.
As you think of new items, add them to your list until your list is complete.
When you make out a list of all the things you will need to do to achieve your goal, you begin to see that this goal is far more attainable than you thought.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
You can build the biggest wall in the world one brick at a time.
8.
Organize your list into a plan.
You organize this list by arranging the steps that you have identified by sequence and priority.
Sequence – what do you have to do before you do something else, and in what order?
Priority – what is more important and what is less important?
The 80/20 Rule says that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities.
The 20/80 Rule says that the first 20% of time that you spend planning your goal and organizing your plan will be worth 80% of the time and effort required to achieve the goal.
Planning is very important.
9.
Make a plan.
Organize your list into a series of steps from the beginning all the
way through to the completion of your goal.
When you have a Goal and a Plan, you increase the likelihood of achieving your goals by 10 times, by 1000%!
• Plan each day, week and month in advance.
• Plan each month at the beginning of the month.
• Plan each week the weekend before.
• Plan each day the evening before.
The more careful and detailed you are when you plan your activities,
the more you will accomplish in less time.
The rule is that each minute spent in planning saves 10 minutes in execution.
This means that you get a 1000% return on your investment of
time in planning your days, weeks and months in advance.
10.
Select your number one, most important task for each day.
Set priorities on your list using the 80/20 Rule.
Ask yourself this question: “If I could only do one thing on this list, which one activity is most important?”
Whatever you answer to that question, put a number “1” next to that activity.
Then, ask yourself, “If I could only do one other task on this list, which one task would be the most valuable use of my time?” Then write a number “2” next to that task.
Keep asking this question, “What is the most valuable use of my time on this list?” until you have your seven top tasks, organized by sequence and priority.
Here is another question you can ask, “If I could only do one thing all day long, which one activity would contribute the most value to my work and to my goals?”
Focus and Concentration are the keys to success. Focus means that you know exactly what it is that you want to accomplish and concentration requires that you dedicate yourself to doing only those things that
move you toward your goal.
11.
Develop the habit of self-discipline.
Once you have decided on your most important task, resolve to concentrate single-mindedly on that one task until it is 100% complete.
Your ability to select your most important task and then to work on it single mindedly, without diversion or distraction, will double and triple the quality and quantity of your output and your productivity.
Single Handling is one of the most powerful of all time management techniques. This means that when you start with the task, you avoid all distractions and stay with that task until it is done.
Once you have developed the habit of completing your tasks, you will earn two and three and even five times as much as other people.
The rule is that each minute spent in planning saves 10 minutes
in execution.
12.
Practice visualization on your goals.
Create clear, vivid, exciting, emotional pictures of your goals as if they were already a reality.
See your goal as though it were already achieved. Imagine yourself enjoying the accomplishment of this goal.
If it is a car, imagine yourself driving this car. If it is a vacation, see yourself on the vacation already.
If it is a beautiful home that you want, see yourself living in a beautiful home.
In visualizing, take a few moments to create the emotions that would accompany the successful achievement of your goal. A mental picture combined with an emotion has an enormous impact on your subconscious and your superconscious mind.
Visualization is perhaps the most powerful faculty available to you to help you achieve your goals faster than you ever thought possible.
When you use a combination of clear goals, combined with visualization and emotionalization, you activate your superconscious mind. Your superconscious mind then solves every problem on the way to your
goal.
Your superconscious mind activates the Law of Attraction and begins attracting into your life people, circumstances, ideas and resources that will help you to achieve your goals even faster.
13.
Goal-Setting Exercise:
Take a clean sheet of paper and write the word “Goals” at the top of the page along with today’s date.
Discipline yourself to write out at least 10 goals that you would like to accomplish in the next year, or in the foreseeable future.
Begin each goal with the word “I.” Only you can use the word “I.” Follow the word “I” with an action verb that acts as a command from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind.
Describe your goals in the present tense, as though they had already been achieved.
If your goal is to earn a certain amount of money in a certain year, you would say, “I earn this number of dollars by the end of this year.”
If your goal is to get a new car, you would say, “I drive such and such a new car by such and such a date.”
Finally, when you write down your goals, always write them in the positive tense. Instead of saying, “I will quit smoking,” you would say, “I am a non-smoker.”
Always state your goals as though they were already a reality, as
though you had already accomplished them.
This activates your subconscious and superconscious minds to change your external reality so it is consistent with your inner commands.
14.
Decide upon your major definite purpose.
Once you have written out a list of 10 goals, ask yourself
this question, “If I could wave a magic wand and achieve any
goal on this list within 24 hours, which one goal would have the
greatest positive impact on my life?”
Whatever your answer to that question, put a circle around that
goal.
Then, transfer the goal to the top of a clean sheet of paper.
1. Write it down clearly and in detail.
2. Set a deadline on your goal and set sub deadlines if necessary.
3. Identify the obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve your goal, and identify the most important one, internal or external.
4. Identify the knowledge and skills you will need to achieve your goal, and the most important skill that you will have to become excellent in.
5. Identify the people whose help and cooperation you will require, and think about what you can do to deserve their help.
6. Make a list of everything you will have to do to achieve your goal. Add to the list as you think of new things to do.
7. Organize your list by sequence and priority, by what you have to do first, and by what is most important.
8. Make a plan by organizing your list into steps from the first to the last, and then resolve to take action on your plan, every single day.
Always state your goals as though they were already a reality, as though you had already accomplished them.
9. Plan your goal in terms of the activities that you will have to engage in to achieve it, daily, weekly and monthly, in advance.
10. Set priorities on your list and identify the most important thing that you can do every single day to move most rapidly toward your goal.
11. Discipline yourself to concentrate single-mindedly on the most important thing that you can do today until it is 100% complete. Practice single-handling with every major task.
Conclusion
Resolve in advance that no matter what happens, you will never give up. Persistence is self-discipline in action.
Each time you persist and overcome the inevitable failures and disappointments you will experience, you become stronger and better.
You develop stronger and deeper character. You increase your self-esteem and self-confidence.
Your goal is to eventually become “Unstoppable.”
Decide exactly what you want, write it down, make a plan, and work on it every single day.
If you do this over and over again until it becomes a habit, you will accomplish more in the next few weeks and months than many people accomplish in several years.
Begin today.
In the first group they are the ones who just ride life out.
They wonder why life "happens" to them, they complain about their luck and they hate their jobs. They are often the one's you know that complain and have a lack of energy for things. Sometimes they just drain your energy by being with them. They collect their pay cheques and watch TV.
The other group of people I know are the one's that enjoy a happy life. They know what truly is important and go after the things that they want in their life. They understand no one is going to do it for them. They are upbeat, fun to be around and enjoy life to its fullest. They truly enjoy the ride because they have created the life they want to live!
Most of us have a little bit of both groups in us.
If you are having trouble getting to where you want to be (professionally or personally) then it likely comes down to one or both of two things.
MOTIVATION
If you do not hurt enough where you are at today (satisfied most times) then you will likely stay where you are at. If you hate where you are at or feel regular pain from the situation you will become motivated to change it. Having said that some people can stir up the emotion within and make themselves MOTIVATED enough to go out and make change.
BUSY
A lot of people are so busy they are too tired to make the changes needed. This is common in the fast paced world that we live in. If you own your own business or are in sales you must ask yourself;
Am I too busy working in my business to work on my business?"
If you suffer from a lack of motivation perhaps you are happy with a life of mediocrity. A lot of people are not happy where they are at but have developed a habit of just being there (habits take from 21 to 42 days to develop in most cases). By just being there they develop habits of constantly complaining or just a habit of accepting this is my life.
These are sad situations. You are here for a very short time but likely for around 80 years. Do you really want to waste your life, live in mediocrity or just accept things as they happen to you versus making things happen for you?
FAITH
You use faith every day! Its like jumping on a plane for a trip somewhere and accepting that the pilot that you have never met (or sometimes never even seen) knows how to zoom you through the air at 500 mph while at 40,000 feet without crashing you into the ground - Now think about it, That's Faith!
Trusting some person you know nothing about to take you on the ride of your life (or death) is really something we should think about? However we don't we just accept that he or she knows what she is doing and we put our lives into their hands - Its crazy if you think about it long enough but its now accepted daily by millions of people just like you and me.
What am I getting at here?
Let me say that it may be that you need a little faith in your life in regards to building the life you want. Maybe you don't believe you can make the changes. Maybe you don't have the confidence in yourself to know you are capable? Let me tell you and please listen to me; I don't care who you are or where you came from with a little faith and a little bit of work you can and will do it!
If I was able to give you a list of names and introduce you to some of the most successful people in the world would it change your mind if they told you on how this strategy has changed their lives?
If I shared a story and introduced you to someone who used to live in their car, slept on the streets and came from poverty like you have never experienced who now has a wonderful life... and he or she shared their story on how this worked for them.... would that change your mind?
These are all examples of people that had some faith in the idea that others before them had used these strategies and made positive changes in their own lives. Have some faith and trust me.
I have nothing to sell you, nor do I want to make any money off of you. I merly have a passion and my passion is that this can and will change your life for the better if you take the steps. Have you ever made an investment into your own life? Now is the time to start investing in the life you want and the life you want for your family.
The man who wrote this short article below is a man I have come to respect over the years. He used to live in his car on the streets. You have a lot more in common with this man than you realize.
He has since picked up his life and realized if there was going to be any changes he needed faith, he needed to do what others have done before him and he needed to do it all because no one else was about to do it for him. Sure it may be a bit of an extreme example but there are millions out there that have stories more like you and I do. Those might not get my point across and they certainly won't motivate me, I'm not sure about you.
Read this particular Blog article twice, my notes and then the notes below from Brian Tracy whom I give full credit to!
Success is goals and all else is commentary.
This is the great discovery throughout all of human history.
Your life only begins to become a great life when you clearly identify what it is that you want, make a plan to achieve it and then work on that plan every single day.
“The primary reason for failure is that people do not develop new
plans to replace those plans that didn’t work.” (Napoleon Hill)
The three turning points in my life were these:
First, I discovered that I was responsible for my life, and for everything that happened to me.
I learned that this life is not a rehearsal for something else. This is the real thing.
In every study of successful people, the acceptance of personal
responsibility seems to be the starting point. Before that, nothing happens. After you accept complete responsibility, your whole life begins to change.
The second turning point for me, which came when I was 24 years old, was my discovery of goals. Without really knowing what I was doing, I sat down and made a list of 10 things I wanted to accomplish in
the foreseeable future.
I promptly lost the list. But 30 days later, my whole life had changed. Almost every goal on my list had already been achieved or partially achieved.
The third turning point in my life came when I discovered that “You can learn anything you need to learn to accomplish any goal you can set for yourself.” No one is smarter than you and no one is better than
you.
All business skills, sales skills and moneymaking skills are learnable.
Everyone who is good in any area today was once poor in that area. The top people in every field were at one time not even in that field and didn’t even know that that field existed. And what hundreds of thousands of other people have done, you can do as well.
© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy. Success is goals and all else is commentary.
REPORT GOALS! How to get everything you want faster than you
ever thought possible!
By Brian Tracy
The Goal-Setting Process:
1.
Decide exactly what you want in every key area of your life.
Start off by Idealizing. Imagine that there are no limitations on what you can be, have or do.
Imagine that you have all the time and money, all the friends and contacts, all the education and experience that you need to accomplish any goal you can set for yourself.
Imagine that you could wave a magic wand and make your life perfect in each of the four key areas of life.
If your life was perfect in each area, what would it look like?
1. INCOME – how much do you want to earn this year, next year and five years from today?
2. FAMILY – what kind of a lifestyle do you want to create for yourself and your family?
3. HEALTH – how would your health be different if it was perfect in every way?
4. NET WORTH – how much do you want to save and accumulate in the course of your working lifetime?
Three Goal Method – in less than 30 seconds, write down your three most important goals in life, right now. Write quickly.
Whatever your answer to this “Quick List Method” way of writing three goals it is probably an accurate picture of what you really want in life.
2.
Write it down.
Your goals must be in writing. They must be clear, specific, detailed and measurable. You must write out your goals as if you were placing an order for your goal to be manufactured in a factory at a great distance. Make your description clear and detailed in every sense.
Only 3% of adults have written goals, and everyone else works for them.
3.
Set a deadline.
Your subconscious mind uses deadlines as “forcing systems” to drive you, consciously and unconsciously toward achieving your goal on schedule. If your goal is big enough, set sub-deadlines.
If you want to achieve financial independence, you may set a 10 or 20-year goal, and then break it down, year by year, so that you know how much you have to save and invest each year.
If for some reason you don’t achieve your goal by the deadline, simply set a new deadline.
There are no unreasonable goals, only unreasonable deadlines.
4.
Identify the obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve your goal.
Why aren’t you already at your goal?
The Theory of Constraints – there is always one limiting factor or constraint that sets the speed at which you achieve your goal.
What is it for you?
The 80/20 Rule applies to constraints.
Fully 80% of the reasons that are holding you back from achieving your goal are inside yourself. They are the lack of a skill, a quality or a body of knowledge.
Only 20% of the reasons you are not achieving your goal
are on the outside.
Always start with yourself.
5.
Identify the knowledge, information and skills you will need to achieve your goal.
Especially, identify the skills that you will have to develop to be in the top 10% of your field.
Greatest Discovery: Your weakest key skill, sets the height of your income and your success.
You can make more progress by going to work on the one skill that is holding you back more than any other.
Key Question: “What one skill, if you developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on your life?”
What one skill, if you developed and did it consistently, in an excellent fashion, would help you the most to achieve your most important goal?
Whatever the skill, write it down, make a plan and work on it every
single day.
6.
Identify the people whose help and cooperation you will require to achieve your goal.
Make a list of every person in your life that you will have to work with or work around to achieve your goal.
Start with the members of your family, whose cooperation and support you will require. List your boss, coworkers and subordinates. Especially, identify the customers whose support you will need to sell enough
of your product or service to make the kind of money that you want.
Only 20% of the reasons you are not achieving your goal are on the outside.
Always start with yourself.
4
Once you have identified the key people whose help you will require, ask yourself this question, “What’s in it for them?”
Be a “go-giver” rather than a “go-getter.”
To achieve big goals you will have to have the help and support of lots of people. One key person at a certain time and place in your life will make all the difference.
The most successful people are those who build and maintain the largest networks of other people whom they can help and who can help them in return.
7.
Make a list of everything you will have to do to achieve your goal.
Combine the obstacles that you will have to overcome, the knowledge and skills you will have to develop, and the people whose cooperation you will require.
List every single step that you can think of that you will have to follow to ultimately achieve your goal.
As you think of new items, add them to your list until your list is complete.
When you make out a list of all the things you will need to do to achieve your goal, you begin to see that this goal is far more attainable than you thought.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
You can build the biggest wall in the world one brick at a time.
8.
Organize your list into a plan.
You organize this list by arranging the steps that you have identified by sequence and priority.
Sequence – what do you have to do before you do something else, and in what order?
Priority – what is more important and what is less important?
The 80/20 Rule says that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities.
The 20/80 Rule says that the first 20% of time that you spend planning your goal and organizing your plan will be worth 80% of the time and effort required to achieve the goal.
Planning is very important.
9.
Make a plan.
Organize your list into a series of steps from the beginning all the
way through to the completion of your goal.
When you have a Goal and a Plan, you increase the likelihood of achieving your goals by 10 times, by 1000%!
• Plan each day, week and month in advance.
• Plan each month at the beginning of the month.
• Plan each week the weekend before.
• Plan each day the evening before.
The more careful and detailed you are when you plan your activities,
the more you will accomplish in less time.
The rule is that each minute spent in planning saves 10 minutes in execution.
This means that you get a 1000% return on your investment of
time in planning your days, weeks and months in advance.
10.
Select your number one, most important task for each day.
Set priorities on your list using the 80/20 Rule.
Ask yourself this question: “If I could only do one thing on this list, which one activity is most important?”
Whatever you answer to that question, put a number “1” next to that activity.
Then, ask yourself, “If I could only do one other task on this list, which one task would be the most valuable use of my time?” Then write a number “2” next to that task.
Keep asking this question, “What is the most valuable use of my time on this list?” until you have your seven top tasks, organized by sequence and priority.
Here is another question you can ask, “If I could only do one thing all day long, which one activity would contribute the most value to my work and to my goals?”
Focus and Concentration are the keys to success. Focus means that you know exactly what it is that you want to accomplish and concentration requires that you dedicate yourself to doing only those things that
move you toward your goal.
11.
Develop the habit of self-discipline.
Once you have decided on your most important task, resolve to concentrate single-mindedly on that one task until it is 100% complete.
Your ability to select your most important task and then to work on it single mindedly, without diversion or distraction, will double and triple the quality and quantity of your output and your productivity.
Single Handling is one of the most powerful of all time management techniques. This means that when you start with the task, you avoid all distractions and stay with that task until it is done.
Once you have developed the habit of completing your tasks, you will earn two and three and even five times as much as other people.
The rule is that each minute spent in planning saves 10 minutes
in execution.
12.
Practice visualization on your goals.
Create clear, vivid, exciting, emotional pictures of your goals as if they were already a reality.
See your goal as though it were already achieved. Imagine yourself enjoying the accomplishment of this goal.
If it is a car, imagine yourself driving this car. If it is a vacation, see yourself on the vacation already.
If it is a beautiful home that you want, see yourself living in a beautiful home.
In visualizing, take a few moments to create the emotions that would accompany the successful achievement of your goal. A mental picture combined with an emotion has an enormous impact on your subconscious and your superconscious mind.
Visualization is perhaps the most powerful faculty available to you to help you achieve your goals faster than you ever thought possible.
When you use a combination of clear goals, combined with visualization and emotionalization, you activate your superconscious mind. Your superconscious mind then solves every problem on the way to your
goal.
Your superconscious mind activates the Law of Attraction and begins attracting into your life people, circumstances, ideas and resources that will help you to achieve your goals even faster.
13.
Goal-Setting Exercise:
Take a clean sheet of paper and write the word “Goals” at the top of the page along with today’s date.
Discipline yourself to write out at least 10 goals that you would like to accomplish in the next year, or in the foreseeable future.
Begin each goal with the word “I.” Only you can use the word “I.” Follow the word “I” with an action verb that acts as a command from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind.
Describe your goals in the present tense, as though they had already been achieved.
If your goal is to earn a certain amount of money in a certain year, you would say, “I earn this number of dollars by the end of this year.”
If your goal is to get a new car, you would say, “I drive such and such a new car by such and such a date.”
Finally, when you write down your goals, always write them in the positive tense. Instead of saying, “I will quit smoking,” you would say, “I am a non-smoker.”
Always state your goals as though they were already a reality, as
though you had already accomplished them.
This activates your subconscious and superconscious minds to change your external reality so it is consistent with your inner commands.
14.
Decide upon your major definite purpose.
Once you have written out a list of 10 goals, ask yourself
this question, “If I could wave a magic wand and achieve any
goal on this list within 24 hours, which one goal would have the
greatest positive impact on my life?”
Whatever your answer to that question, put a circle around that
goal.
Then, transfer the goal to the top of a clean sheet of paper.
1. Write it down clearly and in detail.
2. Set a deadline on your goal and set sub deadlines if necessary.
3. Identify the obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve your goal, and identify the most important one, internal or external.
4. Identify the knowledge and skills you will need to achieve your goal, and the most important skill that you will have to become excellent in.
5. Identify the people whose help and cooperation you will require, and think about what you can do to deserve their help.
6. Make a list of everything you will have to do to achieve your goal. Add to the list as you think of new things to do.
7. Organize your list by sequence and priority, by what you have to do first, and by what is most important.
8. Make a plan by organizing your list into steps from the first to the last, and then resolve to take action on your plan, every single day.
Always state your goals as though they were already a reality, as though you had already accomplished them.
9. Plan your goal in terms of the activities that you will have to engage in to achieve it, daily, weekly and monthly, in advance.
10. Set priorities on your list and identify the most important thing that you can do every single day to move most rapidly toward your goal.
11. Discipline yourself to concentrate single-mindedly on the most important thing that you can do today until it is 100% complete. Practice single-handling with every major task.
Conclusion
Resolve in advance that no matter what happens, you will never give up. Persistence is self-discipline in action.
Each time you persist and overcome the inevitable failures and disappointments you will experience, you become stronger and better.
You develop stronger and deeper character. You increase your self-esteem and self-confidence.
Your goal is to eventually become “Unstoppable.”
Decide exactly what you want, write it down, make a plan, and work on it every single day.
If you do this over and over again until it becomes a habit, you will accomplish more in the next few weeks and months than many people accomplish in several years.
Begin today.
Tactics for Better Marketing
It all Starts With the Headline!
Content marketing is nothing new, but content marketing that works well is something every agent still struggles with.
There are two parts to a great content marketing strategy:
There are two parts to a great content marketing strategy:
1. Distribution (spreading around the content) and
2. Return on Investment, or ROI (producing results through the content after people read it).
The Headlines!
Want someone to click the link you posted on Facebook, call from your newspaper ad or actually read your content? It all starts with the headline!
BuzzFeed built its entire business off great headlines, and it’s something the website tries to improve every day.
Taking this same ruthless approach to your real estate content can be what separates your content from the rest of your competition.
Taking this same ruthless approach to your real estate content can be what separates your content from the rest of your competition.
Don’t build headlines for only search engine optimization (SEO) purposes. I'm told an optimal headline length is 60 to 100 characters, and headlines of 16 to 18 words have higher click through rates.
If you do not measure your ads and marketing, how do you know if its even working? How do you know if you are wasting your limited marketing dollars?
Use internal links for more than SEO
By now most people with a basic understanding of SEO know that linking to your website inside your own content is beneficial for ranking on Google reasons.
Another great reason that is often overlooked is that people actually click the links inside your content if they are worthy!
When you’re not just linking back for SEO juice and you actually put natural links into your content, people will visit those pages!
This gives you another chance to capture a lead on another page.
When you’re not just linking back for SEO juice and you actually put natural links into your content, people will visit those pages!
This gives you another chance to capture a lead on another page.
ALWAYS Use an effective Call to ACTION!
Every advertisement or post should include a call to action. Tell your audience what you want them to do! You will be surprised at how many will respond.
Next give them a reason to respond. Offer something up front!
Down the road we will get into "Direct Response" marketing and other tips to increase your ROI.
Next give them a reason to respond. Offer something up front!
Down the road we will get into "Direct Response" marketing and other tips to increase your ROI.
Format your Content
Easy-to-read content means more people will finish reading it. And as more people finish reading the post, they are also more likely to share it with someone they know.
Using bullet points and proper breaks in between paragraphs is important; you should also always include interactive content such as images, video and audio.
When online know that Google likes this stuff, too. It’s a win-win.
Why? Because you want the Google Search to find and use your site, this will improve your rankings as you need to be on the first page of any Google search related to your business in your area!
When online know that Google likes this stuff, too. It’s a win-win.
Why? Because you want the Google Search to find and use your site, this will improve your rankings as you need to be on the first page of any Google search related to your business in your area!
Create specialized offers inside your content
Another high-conversion technique you can use with your content to turn more of your visitors into leads. It’s a little bit more complicated, but if you have any newsletter skills, you should be able to set it up pretty easily.
The setup works like this:
- Create an offer for each post you write, such as a free e-book or report to encourage readers to subscribe to your blog. If you don't have a Blog then start one. Go to Google's Blogger or perhaps Wordpress if you are Blog Savvy.
- Create an opt-in form where readers can get alerts about new content and include it in each blog post.
- All the top email newsletter providers should offer an auto-responder. Set it up to reply to any new subscribers with the reward of the offer you gave in the article.
- Enjoy your third way to convert visitors on your real estate website!
Once you get all of these tactics working for you, the next step is to figure out what verbiage to use to convert even more visitors into leads.
Remember: Measure everything you do. Every time you get a call or email find out how they came to contact you? Without this knowledge you will not know what is working. Worse yet you will not know what is NOT working. If this is costing you time, money or both then you need to know this stuff! Guessing is the first step to bankruptcy!
Friday, January 9, 2015
LINKEDin A Tool Like No Other!
Linkedin is a great tool for meeting either like minded people or people that normally you wouldn't have a way of getting in touch with.
No remember I always share that there are NO SILVER BULLETS in this business and the same can be said here and now for Linkedin. It will help you dramatically increase your "Sphere of Influence" if done correctly.
Focus on building Trust, Credibility and Value but don't use it for closing and trying to sell.
Remember another thing I preach and thats to "Give First and Tho Shall Receive." Im not saying give away the farm, more on that another day!
From a professional real estate standpoint there are certain rules to adhere to and that is good. Just don't collect their emails and add them to your email database that is a big no-no and it protects both you and I.
I encourage you to join Linkedin.
If you know the value of Networking then you will understand why.
Build your profile and include your picture. As with all online content I suggest that you do not put your birth year in and perhaps consider changing the day of your birth slightly in case of identity thieves (rare).
I have been using various online systems such as this, Twitter and Face Book for years and have never had any security issues.
Why should you use Linkedin?
First the last thing you want to be is a Secret Agent. You need to simply be out there promoting your business services and with all the agents on Linkedin you need to be there too.
Over the years I have collected approx. 6,000 contacts on Linkedin!
A couple of years ago I was recognized by Linkedin as one of the most connected people in Calgary.
The reasons I did this vary and are too long to put in here but I will say it rewarded me time and time again financially, in meeting good people and learning a lot of good things for my business.
Another good reason to be here and connect is that a lot of the people here are professionals in business. If they want to do something in real estate it might as well be with you, right!
Time and time again I have experienced that when I work with business professionals my presentations go easier and they better understood the realities of both selling and buying a home much better than the average client. They often understand business! In other words and simply put they were often a higher quality client so much easier to work with the higher up the executive rope they were!
The magic of compounding interest.
Networking is just that... only with people.
If you can not personally go to Networking events this is the next best thing! If they utilize your services and enjoyed the experience they may share that with people in their network if they have that networking mindset. If they are on Linkedin they have at least the beginnings of the right mindset.
It's FREE Promotion.
Another thing I like about Linkedin is free promotion. At one point I was invited by them to write as a Blogger on their "Pulse" Section of the site. While I am sure their are a ton of people writing here it is one way to stand out within your network as a professional and perhaps even a bit of an expert on the topics in which you work. (educating your masses). Its easy to start building "top of mind awareness" with those in your network.
Add to that a good marketing strategy is having the public see you as somewhat of an expert in your field. By writing articles on the industry, news items of interest and educating the public in builds your credibility in many ways.
In fact make sure you put this and other online programs that you are involved with into your presentations. Make your potential clients know that you are cutting edge and knowledgeable with today's technology!
Like any computer program it is only as good as the input.
So you can join and if you don't do anything with it do not expect any rewards from it. If you utilize it expect to make some great connections.
After the initial build of my profile I normally spend no more that 15-30 mins. in the mornings per week. I often go there before I start work. I go on for 10-15 mins at a time. When I write an article I usually write them in the mornings also so add a few more minutes for that. At night when I have nothing else to do I often find myself there as I enjoy reading the educational articles and building my network.
In short; you need to be here. It was built for people like us and it is free. There is a paid for portion but I have never bought into it and still had much success making a good financial return.
As a REALTOR I would not use it to connect with other competing agents. If they send you a connection I'm not a jerk so I accept them but I never sought them out. I want my Network to be potential clients. However if I connect with agents from out of town it may be very good for future income. Building agent relationships for future referrals always helps.
Now as a manager and recruiter (who is always looking for good talent) I do connect with other agents and it has helped me like no other tool could.
My advice is once you have done a good job of building your profile, connect with those you know who are not Realtors. Then you can do custom searches of people to see who else you want to add. They say to only connect with those you know. I have connected with 1000's I didn't know and if you do small amounts at a time and no one complains (rarely if ever happens) about you, its a great strategy to build your network up.
Remember: Its not always the people in the room or the people that you know. Its the people that they know and refer you to that count!
I recommend this tool! I highly recommend you get to know it, how to use it and take advantage of it.
Go Here to start your profile. Do not sign up for the Free Premium program (it will cost $50/mth later on) just use the regular Free Sign Up program.
Linkedin.Com
Here's an article about it from someone else on Inman.
Use Linkedin for Real Estate
No remember I always share that there are NO SILVER BULLETS in this business and the same can be said here and now for Linkedin. It will help you dramatically increase your "Sphere of Influence" if done correctly.
Focus on building Trust, Credibility and Value but don't use it for closing and trying to sell.
Remember another thing I preach and thats to "Give First and Tho Shall Receive." Im not saying give away the farm, more on that another day!
From a professional real estate standpoint there are certain rules to adhere to and that is good. Just don't collect their emails and add them to your email database that is a big no-no and it protects both you and I.
I encourage you to join Linkedin.
If you know the value of Networking then you will understand why.
Build your profile and include your picture. As with all online content I suggest that you do not put your birth year in and perhaps consider changing the day of your birth slightly in case of identity thieves (rare).
I have been using various online systems such as this, Twitter and Face Book for years and have never had any security issues.
Why should you use Linkedin?
First the last thing you want to be is a Secret Agent. You need to simply be out there promoting your business services and with all the agents on Linkedin you need to be there too.
Over the years I have collected approx. 6,000 contacts on Linkedin!
A couple of years ago I was recognized by Linkedin as one of the most connected people in Calgary.
The reasons I did this vary and are too long to put in here but I will say it rewarded me time and time again financially, in meeting good people and learning a lot of good things for my business.
Another good reason to be here and connect is that a lot of the people here are professionals in business. If they want to do something in real estate it might as well be with you, right!
Time and time again I have experienced that when I work with business professionals my presentations go easier and they better understood the realities of both selling and buying a home much better than the average client. They often understand business! In other words and simply put they were often a higher quality client so much easier to work with the higher up the executive rope they were!
The magic of compounding interest.
Networking is just that... only with people.
If you can not personally go to Networking events this is the next best thing! If they utilize your services and enjoyed the experience they may share that with people in their network if they have that networking mindset. If they are on Linkedin they have at least the beginnings of the right mindset.
It's FREE Promotion.
Another thing I like about Linkedin is free promotion. At one point I was invited by them to write as a Blogger on their "Pulse" Section of the site. While I am sure their are a ton of people writing here it is one way to stand out within your network as a professional and perhaps even a bit of an expert on the topics in which you work. (educating your masses). Its easy to start building "top of mind awareness" with those in your network.
Add to that a good marketing strategy is having the public see you as somewhat of an expert in your field. By writing articles on the industry, news items of interest and educating the public in builds your credibility in many ways.
In fact make sure you put this and other online programs that you are involved with into your presentations. Make your potential clients know that you are cutting edge and knowledgeable with today's technology!
Like any computer program it is only as good as the input.
So you can join and if you don't do anything with it do not expect any rewards from it. If you utilize it expect to make some great connections.
After the initial build of my profile I normally spend no more that 15-30 mins. in the mornings per week. I often go there before I start work. I go on for 10-15 mins at a time. When I write an article I usually write them in the mornings also so add a few more minutes for that. At night when I have nothing else to do I often find myself there as I enjoy reading the educational articles and building my network.
In short; you need to be here. It was built for people like us and it is free. There is a paid for portion but I have never bought into it and still had much success making a good financial return.
As a REALTOR I would not use it to connect with other competing agents. If they send you a connection I'm not a jerk so I accept them but I never sought them out. I want my Network to be potential clients. However if I connect with agents from out of town it may be very good for future income. Building agent relationships for future referrals always helps.
Now as a manager and recruiter (who is always looking for good talent) I do connect with other agents and it has helped me like no other tool could.
My advice is once you have done a good job of building your profile, connect with those you know who are not Realtors. Then you can do custom searches of people to see who else you want to add. They say to only connect with those you know. I have connected with 1000's I didn't know and if you do small amounts at a time and no one complains (rarely if ever happens) about you, its a great strategy to build your network up.
Remember: Its not always the people in the room or the people that you know. Its the people that they know and refer you to that count!
I recommend this tool! I highly recommend you get to know it, how to use it and take advantage of it.
Go Here to start your profile. Do not sign up for the Free Premium program (it will cost $50/mth later on) just use the regular Free Sign Up program.
Linkedin.Com
Here's an article about it from someone else on Inman.
Use Linkedin for Real Estate
Friday, January 2, 2015
The Foundation - The Basics Needed For YOUR Business!
Having your own business is similar to a house or a structure.
You will need to have a strong foundation (the basics) to build on!
I will keep this as brief and to the point as possible but know that this is one of the most important things that you MUST have in order to have any form of success.
Without a foundation you will either fail, not have enough money to pay your bills or enough profit at the end of the day to pay yourself. Remember this: Pay Yourself FIRST!
If you begin to think this way from the get go you will start having the right mindset. In order to pay yourself FIRST in reality however you do have to pay your bills or you will not have a business. It is that simple!
PAY YOUR TAXES & BILLS!
What do I mean by this. I have seen way too many people not able to pay their taxes from their business. They get caught in a vicious circle of chasing the money needed to keep the tax-man off their backs.
Know that this is very dangerous and they will come after your personal possessions if you mess with them! They will even take your home! Pay your taxes by having a separate account that you dump money into every time you make money!
Add to this; their are others you will need to pay in order to operate.
Make sure you set that amount of money aside every time you make money too.
Note that I have not said to put that money aside every week, two weeks or every month. That does not work!
Do it every time you are paid, every time you get a cheque!
It hurts less doing it this way. When you don't have that money in your hands in the first place and once you have your system set-up for this you will not have to worry about bankruptcy and other bad things that can happen to you.
Depending on your taxed income rates in your area develop a percentage of what you need from your income for your taxes. Don't forget to pay sales taxes (G.S.T. and/or provincial taxes in Canada, others in the USA). Take that percentage right off the top and do it right when you cash or deposit your cheque - every time!
Knowing your operating expenses inside out is the same. Figure out the percentage and before you even get to see the money from your next cheque dump that money into an operating account to pay your bills from. I know some people that have even up to 7 accounts to pay bills, taxes and save for retirement with. Do not put this off!
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!
You will need to know your numbers in a number of different areas of your business and start this in the beginning and make it a habit.
For staying out of trouble you must know what your weekly, monthly and yearly costs of doing business are.
Like noted above, once you know this you can set aside a portion (or percentage) of each cheque into a separate account for this too.
There is nothing more that can hurt you worse than debt and collectors knocking at your door. It will kill your drive mentally and discourage others from doing business with you. Know this stuff inside and out!
VISION
Before you start your business have a Vision of what you want it to be.
What do you want it to look like? Who will it serve? How much money will it make? How much money will it cost you? Will you eventually have staff? How many hours and when will you work?
This list goes on and on and know that parts of it will change as you move forward and perhaps even change your ideas of what you want it to look like. Make sure you are honest with yourself and dealing in reality.
Having a business usually requires more hours of working than being employee. If you came into this thinking you could work part time and spend most of your days on the golf course ask yourself if that is reality?
MARKETING
Don't confuse marketing with advertising. It is much bigger than that and includes many things.
How will people and potential clients know you are in business? How will they know and be sure that you are someone that cares, can be trusted and will deliver on what they need? In short write down a list of how you will market your business. Where will you advertise and how, what will all this cost?
Knowing your numbers counts in advertising too. What works and what doesn't work? Where are you wasting money? Can you measure the results and what do they add up to? In most cases you can save yourself money and dump what is not working. More on that another day.
Do you have a "Brand?" How do you build a brand, how much do you spend on branding and where?
YOUR TABLE
Think of your business as a table top. It has four legs underneath holding the table top up.
What are those legs? Marketing, Advertising, Internet, Web Site(s), Flyers, Open Houses, Party's, Networking, People, Charity support, Cold calls (I hate these), Door to door (I hate this too) or what?
In other words what strategies and tasks do you need to do on a regular and timely basis to keep your business up and running?
Once you know your four basic legs then you will develop other supports (more legs) to assist in keeping this business up where it needs to be. Without at least four legs, your table will fall over and land on the ground and that my friends means you are either broke or going broke!
GOALS
Along with your Vision of the business you will need to have Goals.
I won't spend a detailed amount of time on it here today. Every business and sales person needs to have Goals. You are about to start hearing a lot of repetitive language and it is for a reason... Here we go!
If you have a Goal, you must have a way to measure it!
If you have a way to measure your Goal you must re-visit it on a regular basis (this means daily in some cases) in order to make sure you stay on track and in order to have success at attaining that Goal.
Know your NUMBERS! (Notice how this is repeated, that means it is very important and you will hear this until you are sick of it).
If you have a financial Goal for each year (it may not be a calendar year) how will you know if you are on track towards meeting your Goal?
Here are some very simple tips (more on this later):
If something is going wrong and you do not know it (off course from your business plan perhaps?) how can you take ACTION?
You will need to have a strong foundation (the basics) to build on!
I will keep this as brief and to the point as possible but know that this is one of the most important things that you MUST have in order to have any form of success.
Without a foundation you will either fail, not have enough money to pay your bills or enough profit at the end of the day to pay yourself. Remember this: Pay Yourself FIRST!
If you begin to think this way from the get go you will start having the right mindset. In order to pay yourself FIRST in reality however you do have to pay your bills or you will not have a business. It is that simple!
PAY YOUR TAXES & BILLS!
What do I mean by this. I have seen way too many people not able to pay their taxes from their business. They get caught in a vicious circle of chasing the money needed to keep the tax-man off their backs.
Know that this is very dangerous and they will come after your personal possessions if you mess with them! They will even take your home! Pay your taxes by having a separate account that you dump money into every time you make money!
Add to this; their are others you will need to pay in order to operate.
Make sure you set that amount of money aside every time you make money too.
Note that I have not said to put that money aside every week, two weeks or every month. That does not work!
Do it every time you are paid, every time you get a cheque!
It hurts less doing it this way. When you don't have that money in your hands in the first place and once you have your system set-up for this you will not have to worry about bankruptcy and other bad things that can happen to you.
Depending on your taxed income rates in your area develop a percentage of what you need from your income for your taxes. Don't forget to pay sales taxes (G.S.T. and/or provincial taxes in Canada, others in the USA). Take that percentage right off the top and do it right when you cash or deposit your cheque - every time!
Knowing your operating expenses inside out is the same. Figure out the percentage and before you even get to see the money from your next cheque dump that money into an operating account to pay your bills from. I know some people that have even up to 7 accounts to pay bills, taxes and save for retirement with. Do not put this off!
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!
You will need to know your numbers in a number of different areas of your business and start this in the beginning and make it a habit.
For staying out of trouble you must know what your weekly, monthly and yearly costs of doing business are.
Like noted above, once you know this you can set aside a portion (or percentage) of each cheque into a separate account for this too.
There is nothing more that can hurt you worse than debt and collectors knocking at your door. It will kill your drive mentally and discourage others from doing business with you. Know this stuff inside and out!
VISION
Before you start your business have a Vision of what you want it to be.
What do you want it to look like? Who will it serve? How much money will it make? How much money will it cost you? Will you eventually have staff? How many hours and when will you work?
This list goes on and on and know that parts of it will change as you move forward and perhaps even change your ideas of what you want it to look like. Make sure you are honest with yourself and dealing in reality.
Having a business usually requires more hours of working than being employee. If you came into this thinking you could work part time and spend most of your days on the golf course ask yourself if that is reality?
MARKETING
Don't confuse marketing with advertising. It is much bigger than that and includes many things.
How will people and potential clients know you are in business? How will they know and be sure that you are someone that cares, can be trusted and will deliver on what they need? In short write down a list of how you will market your business. Where will you advertise and how, what will all this cost?
Knowing your numbers counts in advertising too. What works and what doesn't work? Where are you wasting money? Can you measure the results and what do they add up to? In most cases you can save yourself money and dump what is not working. More on that another day.
Do you have a "Brand?" How do you build a brand, how much do you spend on branding and where?
YOUR TABLE
Think of your business as a table top. It has four legs underneath holding the table top up.
What are those legs? Marketing, Advertising, Internet, Web Site(s), Flyers, Open Houses, Party's, Networking, People, Charity support, Cold calls (I hate these), Door to door (I hate this too) or what?
In other words what strategies and tasks do you need to do on a regular and timely basis to keep your business up and running?
Once you know your four basic legs then you will develop other supports (more legs) to assist in keeping this business up where it needs to be. Without at least four legs, your table will fall over and land on the ground and that my friends means you are either broke or going broke!
GOALS
Along with your Vision of the business you will need to have Goals.
I won't spend a detailed amount of time on it here today. Every business and sales person needs to have Goals. You are about to start hearing a lot of repetitive language and it is for a reason... Here we go!
If you have a Goal, you must have a way to measure it!
If you have a way to measure your Goal you must re-visit it on a regular basis (this means daily in some cases) in order to make sure you stay on track and in order to have success at attaining that Goal.
Know your NUMBERS! (Notice how this is repeated, that means it is very important and you will hear this until you are sick of it).
If you have a financial Goal for each year (it may not be a calendar year) how will you know if you are on track towards meeting your Goal?
Here are some very simple tips (more on this later):
- Know your numbers!
- How much does your business cost you each year?
- Know exactly what your expenses are!
- How much money did you make last year? (Gross income).
- How many days do you work a year, quarter, month, week, day.
- How many days of holidays do you want each year & when?
- Make your Goals very specific and measurable.
- Do your Goals stretch you a bit further each year?
- Are your Goals realistic - Can you actually attain the Goal?
- Do you have a real plan to reach each Goal?
- Write out your Goals!
- Write out an actual detailed plan for reaching Goals.
- Much like a road map, write it out so you can see where you are at.
- If you are off-course on your plan, can you get back & how?
- Are your Goals related to your business (or your life)?
- Are your Goals meaningful to you?
- Look from 10,000 feet above and design your life and set Goals.
- Where do you want to be in 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years?
There is so much more to add here. We will delve deeper into Goals and Plans later on.
All Businesses that are successful have Goals for each and every month, quarter and year.
Do not start or run your business without writing down your Goals and your Plans on how to get there. Put them in a red binder on your desk or where you will see them and deal with them every day!
A PLAN!
As much as Goals are a must for both your business and personal life so is a business plan.
How will you get there? What tasks do you have to do yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily to make it happen?
Some things you won't have to do as often as others, some things will need to be done every single day. What are they?
Write all these ideas and tasks down. Keep your rough notes and begin writing out your plan. Like your Goals know that your plan may have to be adjusted (or changed) to get to your destination.
The "Winds of Change" will come your way!
Like a pilot in a jetliner know that you will face bad weather, winds and even some disasters along the way.
Like a pilot in a jetliner know that you will face bad weather, winds and even some disasters along the way.
What will you do when this happens? How will you know if you are off course if you do not have a map that you are constantly referring to? Make sure you do this and make sure you use and refer to it regularly.
If you are like me you will need to form this into a habit or you will forget! That alone will blow you off course because unlike a modern jetliner you do not have "auto-pilot" to rely on!
REWARDS
Another strategy that I have seen work for many others including myself are "rewards."
The money I made in itself did not reward or stimulate me enough to do what I needed to do.
Rewards that I could see, that were tangible and touchable and made me emotional were what I needed. This all to keep motivated in doing what I needed to do to keep at all the tasks required.
I would attach a reward to almost every Goal I set for myself. The bigger the Goal the bigger the reward!
I would remind myself various ways of these potential rewards and for me that was my daily motivation. Especially with tasks that I found boring or rarely seemed to have had time for.
I will let you figure out what rewards to set for your Goal attainment.
Mine were things like dinners at nice restaurants, new cell phones or technology, clothes, holidays on nice beaches, cars and other things I wanted and liked.
TOP OF MIND AWARENESS & REWARDS
You might think that this is something you need for your business when the consumer thinks about your product or service and it is.
But my point here is that you need it for the important tasks and rewards inside your business as well.
For my Rewards I had a "Vision Board."
This board was placed on or right beside my desk. It had photos of the car, the beach or the other things I wanted to reward myself with.
This board was placed on or right beside my desk. It had photos of the car, the beach or the other things I wanted to reward myself with.
It worked really well for me to remember why I was doing all this especially on the bad days or during the tough times.
A visual reminder on my key chain helped here too.
I had a little picture (of the beach or car etc) that I had laminated.
I punched a hole in it (to put on my key ring) for me to see every time I unlocked my car or went into my house.
VISIONING & MIND GAMES
This too is a big topic and we will just touch a bit of it in today's post.
Know two things!
1. Some days are going to be tough and depressing.
2. Having a positive attitude will get you through.
1. Some days are going to be tough and depressing.
2. Having a positive attitude will get you through.
Knowing how to go from depression, rejection and desparity towards positive action will be a valuable tool for you and you need to think about this right now. The faster you bounce back the better!
Visioning is a little different than your vision for your business which we touched on above. This is a proven method for success. Google it, think about it and then accept it as part of your life! Simply put, vision your life, vision your rewards, vision yourself doing things successfully and so on.
What do you know of that will change your mood to a good one?
For me one thing is some good old 70's music. Within five minutes my mood and my attitude get back to being a positive one! I use it when
For me one thing is some good old 70's music. Within five minutes my mood and my attitude get back to being a positive one! I use it when
something gets me down or I feel all worn out. What works for you?
Positive Self-Talk.
This is something we all need too.
Most people will run into times where they catch their inner self telling them they can't do this or that? It may be innocent sounding or even things like "I just need to get through this."
Whatever it is for you it is negative and negative is going to set you back big time!
Practice positive self talk. Use motivational talks on tape or whatever you feel you need to get this going. Replace "I can't" with I can!" Keep telling yourself this on a regular basis (driving your car, when going to bed etc) that you can and you will do this. Keep positive phrases handy and use them!
You must understand that whatever your brain focuses on is what you will attain. Your brain and your subconscious are very powerful either way. Use them towards positive things!
If you focus on the negative or scary... or maybe all reasons why you can't... or why you are scared to do something... then guess what... You will get exactly that... and you won't succeed and if you do it will be marginal at best.
This is big stuff for many of us out there.
If you decide now to focus on positive self-talk techniques and make a habit of using them regularly it will help you to focus and it will help you to gain confidence and it will help you to be successful!
TIP
Google anything you do not understand or know about. Read more than one reputable article on it to learn what it means.
Also don't believe everything you hear on TV, read in the papers or on the Internet!
Also don't believe everything you hear on TV, read in the papers or on the Internet!
COACHES, MENTORS & FRIENDS!
All professional athletes of any worth have coaches!
So do highly paid executives and CEO's. None of them got any where, none of them ever won a contest, game, contract, sale by allowing their brain to tell them they can't do it!
Call this whatever you want, Coaching, Mentoring, A Friend to chat with, Someone to bounce ideas with, someone to listen. It doesn't matter.
What does matter is that they listen to you and offer practical, proven advice that works. Someone who has been there, has experience and knowledge to help guide you.
When you are under pressure to perform you need a little bit of what some call a positive ego. You need to somehow convince your inner self that you can do it. You need to tell yourself and be confident that you can do it.
I promise you that you can do a lot of things that you thought you couldn't and some you will find you can do very well!
Years ago I was deathly afraid of speaking in public.
I found myself in a position on a regular basis where I would have to do it in front of a crowd of people. The negative thoughts were coming from the fact that I had no real experience in doing this. I was scared I would fail and be laughed at and the list goes on about all the negative thoughts in my head.
I learned to talk positively to myself before going on stage. That helped to build my confidence. Confidence that others who did this (public speaking) were no better a person than me!
They just had more experience doing it.
I convinced my inner self that I needed this experience and when I started to get it (even after one presentation) I started to feel more confident.
Later I was sent on a two week course which helped me a lot too.
I still get the willy's but you know what?
I don't even worry about it any more. My willy's are just there to tell me to do as good a job as I can - End!
I don't even worry about it any more. My willy's are just there to tell me to do as good a job as I can - End!
LEARNING
If you are dealing in reality you have come to figure out that when you start your own business you will wear several hats.
You may work long hours doing your books and accounting and other tasks you didn't think about before starting this business. That's OK.
Many of us got into our own business because we hated working for a large corporation, didn't like our boss, were tired of the routine, wanted flexible hours or....
One thing that matters is learning.
You need to be a "Life - Long Learner."
This may be as easy as reading books. It should include going to informative conferences, networking events with good speakers, having a mentor and the list goes on.
The beautiful thing is that there is more free information out there now than ever. Way more than when I first started in business when there was not Internet.
Be cautious of what you learn and from who. Some of it may be old, out of date or simply bad. Other's may be very valuable.
Do not overwhelm yourself in learning.
Sometimes this can happen and cause way too much stress even if you are not aware of it. You need something left over so you can have the energy for work too. Be smart on what you do learn and then apply.
ACTION
This is where most people fail!
This very line in the dirt is what kills most businesses!
Failure to take action is akin to poisoning your brain with the wrong information in the first place!
This very line in the dirt is what kills most businesses!
Failure to take action is akin to poisoning your brain with the wrong information in the first place!
Some do not take action in learning anything new. They keep doing the same old things while expecting different results.
They are left to wonder when the Fairy Godmother will come along and sprinkle them with knowledge and money to be a success.
You need to learn, you need to take ACTION when you do.
If something is going wrong and you do not know it (off course from your business plan perhaps?) how can you take ACTION?
If you learn something valuable like how to stay out of trouble with the Tax Man you need to take ACTION to make it work. Things do not happen by themselves. You have to make things happen and that is called SMART ACTION.
DO NOT become one of the statistics!
Learn and then Apply = ACTION!
Learn and then Apply = ACTION!
WORK ON YOUR BUSINESS - NOT JUST IN YOUR BUSINESS.
This one simple sentence when turned into a strategy (Action) changed my business and my life!
Set blocks of time into your schedule on a weekly basis to work "on" your business!
Most of us get so caught up working in our businesses (like employees) that we have nothing left over or don't even think to work on our business.
You are now the CEO of whatever it is that you do to make income.
You need to ACT LIKE IT! (I said I would be blunt at times).
Working on your business on a regular basis will include a multitude of tasks and I can not cover them all here. Things such as:
Accounting, Book-Keeping, Marketing, Advertising, Relationship Building, Goals, Plans, Budgets, Cleaning, Knowing your NUMBERS and so on.
Accounting, Book-Keeping, Marketing, Advertising, Relationship Building, Goals, Plans, Budgets, Cleaning, Knowing your NUMBERS and so on.
Once you get more successful and make more money... then you will need to strategically plan when to delegate certain tasks out to others.
This may include hiring a Bookkeeper, Accountant, Janitor, Assistant and so on. Do not do this too early and be very careful about hiring someone for your marketing. That should be the last thing if you ever even delegate it at all.
So in short, make sure you block time and work on the tasks that have to be done in order or be the CEO and properly run your business. One day we will talk about how to pick which tasks first and how to prioritize when you get too busy to do everything you need to do.
When I started to write this post this morning I did not expect for it to be this long.
My passion is in all of these things and it is hard to explain some of it even slightly and stay brief. I want to ensure that you get the right ideas and not misunderstand what I am trying to get across to you.
So be prepared some posts may be long but I will ensure they are worth it!
I think by now you are getting my point about building a foundation.
This is work and sometimes its hard. Once you sit down and start writing it all out you will feel accomplishment!
You will also gain confidence in yourself and in your business. The data will keep you focused on task and in line if you refer to it regularly.
You will also gain confidence in yourself and in your business. The data will keep you focused on task and in line if you refer to it regularly.
Until next time... do your homework!
It won't be as hard or take as long as you may think! Do what needs doing and work "on" your business this week!
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: (This should be read by everyone!)
The E Myth by Michael Gerber.
Click Here
It won't be as hard or take as long as you may think! Do what needs doing and work "on" your business this week!
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: (This should be read by everyone!)
The E Myth by Michael Gerber.
Click Here
You can do it... Now go get it... and have fun!
Jim
Introduction to Jim's Business Report
If you are new to this Blog/Report then I hope that you will take the time to read this introduction. I say this as I believe it is important for you (the reader) to know a bit about myself and about where I am coming from.
First off;
I was born and raised in a place called Calgary, Alberta Canada.
I am happily married to my wife of over 30 years and together we raised a family of three children and now very much enjoy our grandchildren!
I have experienced work in commercial and residential construction, the criminal justice system having retired (first retirement) after close to 30 years as a General Duty responder, Major Crimes Investigator and Manager.
For many years I owned a business in motor sports which started as a hobby in the early 1970's as a Race Car Driver. This hobby grew into a business and we eventually found ourselves with a second full time job on the go as we climbed the ranks into Pro Motor Sports.
Besides racing cars we also developed a business as a Racing School for the public and for experienced race car drivers to improve on their skills at the track.
I worked on contract for several of the largest automobile manufacturers. The job here was showing the public the manufacturer's product's on a performance level at race tracks and courses.
Through all this I was learning how to build, deliver and execute marketing programs for both on and off the track.
During my racing career I had the fortune of working with several large corporations who became marketing partners with us. They included a major automotive manufacturer (General Motors), a restaurant chain, international car rental agency, major tool manufacturer and retailer and many others. You would recognize every one of their corporate names.
During this time I found a passion for studying and activating marketing programs. We were very successful on the race track with several national and regional championships. Records that still hold to this day.
I found the marketing end of the business to be challenging, addictive and exciting. This experience proved that it was what we did on the marketing level Monday to Friday for consumers that really mattered.
I have owned a total of 3 successful businesses and was also the Founder of the Calgary Business Network. Seven years later I sold the business network while planning my second retirement.
I came out of my 2nd retirement due to a position offered to me as VP of Marketing for a professional level NASCAR Race Team in the USA. I simply could not say no to this opportunity.
After that project I planned my 3rd retirement. A year later I was then offered another position which I hold today as the Business Development Manager at Royal LePage Integrity. We are a well known real estate firm based in the Cochrane & Calgary areas of Alberta, next to the beautiful Rocky Mountains!
As you can see I do not do well with retirement.
I call it "bored" and my wife wonders if I have some form of A.D.D! The truth is I love challenge and my passion lies in both marketing and coaching others, helping them to be successful in business.
My background of being an Instructor with the Police Service, Owning the business network and in running a Race Car School business helped me to realize another passion and that was teaching.
In the late 90's and early 2000's I worked at two other businesses doing their marketing. All the while being a full time police officer. What really was happening in the background was I was learning about marketing & understanding real-life business issues. Along with that, I was learning about activating viable and successful solutions to our partner's corporate needs.
I also learned a lot about the value of sleep during those years!
In 2004 I obtained my Real Estate License and spent close to ten years in the real estate business along with almost 5400 local competitors!
I enjoyed this career and especially enjoyed the marketing, advertising and people part of sales. I was able to activate many of the things I had previously learned into this real estate business. I also tested some other strategies too.
At the same time I hired an awesome "Business Coach" from the east coast of the USA and attended many seminars, training sessions and courses all centered on the very areas of business that I had come to love.
All in all, over the past 40 years I have gained a fair amount of experience in marketing, teaching, business, negotiation and the management of people & business. Most importantly I enjoyed working with and learning from a lot of great people along the way.
I also had my fair share of mishaps, stumbles and what some might call failures along the way. I choose to call these failures "learning opportunities" not only for myself but for others that I get to share my stories with.
I learned that being positive, open to new ideas and thinking in the right ways can carry one to a complete new level in business and in life.
One of my first lessons learned was that you do not have to re-invent the wheel. Many have gone before us and want to share what they too learned along the way.
Why waste a ton of money and years trying to experiment with what has already been done or has failed? Your time is better spent with what has worked.
Other well learned lessons included how to separate oneself from the clutter of the competition while at the same time serving the client's best interests and needs.
At one point it was suggested that I should write a book about my experiences as a major crimes investigator, race car driver and all my other experiences including business. At this point in my life I am still much too busy to sit down long enough for writing that book.
So this Blog is the next best thing and my hope is, that it will help you too.
My belief in setting and attaining goals worked well enough for my wife and I that we have enjoyed early retirement three times while travelling each and every winter. I have been blessed in this regard and now I can do the work I love from almost anywhere. In fact we still travel while working.
I will be sharing why Goals and Action Plans are important in building for your life and business. This is a basic requirement and a foundation for your success.
This Blog is my Book.
In it I share ideas, some of them very random. Some of them come to me in the early morning hours or in the middle of the night. So they are not in any specific order. Add to that I am not an editor or publisher so please bear with me!
Many stories, strategies, articles and links are from people who have excelled in their lines of work. Some of them are at the TOP of their game. Some are famous and some sit quietly in the background while building the life they want with the strategies they have learned from others or devised themselves after a lot of trials, errors and hard work.
I could spend half an hour on the "why" you should follow this Blog.
I won't bother doing that. I say that because for some it won't matter how much I prove that these strategies work, they still won't follow this. I hope you see and understand the value and the concepts. If not, I encourage you to take the chance!
I started to learn about negotiating in the early 1980's as a police officer dealing with people and finding solutions to their problems. A few of these times it was with a weapon in my face! That tends to get your attention and help you to learn a little bit faster.
I have received excellent training and have enjoyed many courses on different subjects over the years.
I am a strong believer in lifelong learning.
Let that be one of the lessons, if you want to be successful in life, sales or business.
I hope that you find these ideas, tips and proven strategies of help to you in both your personal life and in business. If applied I know they will help!
While I primarily write this for and refer to Realtors in their businesses the majority of this can be applied to most any business.
Due to the fact this Blog is in the "public domain" any one has access to it and everyone in business can find value in it. So, whether you own a bakery, a retail outlet or are in any form of sales, many of the principals will apply for you too.
I will stick my neck out here with a statement and say;
Whether you know it or not, you are in sales with any business that you own!
If you do not realize that now, then change that thought!
If you are not willing to learn sales & marketing you are in trouble right out of the gate!
Even if you do not sell to the public, don't have a store-front or a brick and mortar location you are still in sales one way or another!
Many of the things you will find here are from other authors, coaches or people with successful experiences. So don't be afraid. This is not all coming from me!
Much of it comes from experts in their fields and people with proven backgrounds.
Think of this Blog as a "One Stop" location for all of this learning.
I know you will save yourself a lot of valuable time.
Time which we all know can not be replaced!
Again, I hope you enjoy this Blog!
Feel free to leave your comments or email me.
You can either sign up for updates or check back often for new posts.
Sincerely,
Jim Messner
First off;
I was born and raised in a place called Calgary, Alberta Canada.
I am happily married to my wife of over 30 years and together we raised a family of three children and now very much enjoy our grandchildren!
I have experienced work in commercial and residential construction, the criminal justice system having retired (first retirement) after close to 30 years as a General Duty responder, Major Crimes Investigator and Manager.
For many years I owned a business in motor sports which started as a hobby in the early 1970's as a Race Car Driver. This hobby grew into a business and we eventually found ourselves with a second full time job on the go as we climbed the ranks into Pro Motor Sports.
Besides racing cars we also developed a business as a Racing School for the public and for experienced race car drivers to improve on their skills at the track.
I worked on contract for several of the largest automobile manufacturers. The job here was showing the public the manufacturer's product's on a performance level at race tracks and courses.
Through all this I was learning how to build, deliver and execute marketing programs for both on and off the track.
During my racing career I had the fortune of working with several large corporations who became marketing partners with us. They included a major automotive manufacturer (General Motors), a restaurant chain, international car rental agency, major tool manufacturer and retailer and many others. You would recognize every one of their corporate names.
During this time I found a passion for studying and activating marketing programs. We were very successful on the race track with several national and regional championships. Records that still hold to this day.
I found the marketing end of the business to be challenging, addictive and exciting. This experience proved that it was what we did on the marketing level Monday to Friday for consumers that really mattered.
I have owned a total of 3 successful businesses and was also the Founder of the Calgary Business Network. Seven years later I sold the business network while planning my second retirement.
I came out of my 2nd retirement due to a position offered to me as VP of Marketing for a professional level NASCAR Race Team in the USA. I simply could not say no to this opportunity.
After that project I planned my 3rd retirement. A year later I was then offered another position which I hold today as the Business Development Manager at Royal LePage Integrity. We are a well known real estate firm based in the Cochrane & Calgary areas of Alberta, next to the beautiful Rocky Mountains!
As you can see I do not do well with retirement.
I call it "bored" and my wife wonders if I have some form of A.D.D! The truth is I love challenge and my passion lies in both marketing and coaching others, helping them to be successful in business.
My background of being an Instructor with the Police Service, Owning the business network and in running a Race Car School business helped me to realize another passion and that was teaching.
In the late 90's and early 2000's I worked at two other businesses doing their marketing. All the while being a full time police officer. What really was happening in the background was I was learning about marketing & understanding real-life business issues. Along with that, I was learning about activating viable and successful solutions to our partner's corporate needs.
I also learned a lot about the value of sleep during those years!
In 2004 I obtained my Real Estate License and spent close to ten years in the real estate business along with almost 5400 local competitors!
I enjoyed this career and especially enjoyed the marketing, advertising and people part of sales. I was able to activate many of the things I had previously learned into this real estate business. I also tested some other strategies too.
At the same time I hired an awesome "Business Coach" from the east coast of the USA and attended many seminars, training sessions and courses all centered on the very areas of business that I had come to love.
All in all, over the past 40 years I have gained a fair amount of experience in marketing, teaching, business, negotiation and the management of people & business. Most importantly I enjoyed working with and learning from a lot of great people along the way.
I also had my fair share of mishaps, stumbles and what some might call failures along the way. I choose to call these failures "learning opportunities" not only for myself but for others that I get to share my stories with.
I learned that being positive, open to new ideas and thinking in the right ways can carry one to a complete new level in business and in life.
One of my first lessons learned was that you do not have to re-invent the wheel. Many have gone before us and want to share what they too learned along the way.
Why waste a ton of money and years trying to experiment with what has already been done or has failed? Your time is better spent with what has worked.
Other well learned lessons included how to separate oneself from the clutter of the competition while at the same time serving the client's best interests and needs.
At one point it was suggested that I should write a book about my experiences as a major crimes investigator, race car driver and all my other experiences including business. At this point in my life I am still much too busy to sit down long enough for writing that book.
So this Blog is the next best thing and my hope is, that it will help you too.
My belief in setting and attaining goals worked well enough for my wife and I that we have enjoyed early retirement three times while travelling each and every winter. I have been blessed in this regard and now I can do the work I love from almost anywhere. In fact we still travel while working.
I will be sharing why Goals and Action Plans are important in building for your life and business. This is a basic requirement and a foundation for your success.
This Blog is my Book.
In it I share ideas, some of them very random. Some of them come to me in the early morning hours or in the middle of the night. So they are not in any specific order. Add to that I am not an editor or publisher so please bear with me!
Many stories, strategies, articles and links are from people who have excelled in their lines of work. Some of them are at the TOP of their game. Some are famous and some sit quietly in the background while building the life they want with the strategies they have learned from others or devised themselves after a lot of trials, errors and hard work.
I could spend half an hour on the "why" you should follow this Blog.
I won't bother doing that. I say that because for some it won't matter how much I prove that these strategies work, they still won't follow this. I hope you see and understand the value and the concepts. If not, I encourage you to take the chance!
I started to learn about negotiating in the early 1980's as a police officer dealing with people and finding solutions to their problems. A few of these times it was with a weapon in my face! That tends to get your attention and help you to learn a little bit faster.
I have received excellent training and have enjoyed many courses on different subjects over the years.
I am a strong believer in lifelong learning.
Let that be one of the lessons, if you want to be successful in life, sales or business.
I hope that you find these ideas, tips and proven strategies of help to you in both your personal life and in business. If applied I know they will help!
While I primarily write this for and refer to Realtors in their businesses the majority of this can be applied to most any business.
Due to the fact this Blog is in the "public domain" any one has access to it and everyone in business can find value in it. So, whether you own a bakery, a retail outlet or are in any form of sales, many of the principals will apply for you too.
I will stick my neck out here with a statement and say;
Whether you know it or not, you are in sales with any business that you own!
If you do not realize that now, then change that thought!
If you are not willing to learn sales & marketing you are in trouble right out of the gate!
Even if you do not sell to the public, don't have a store-front or a brick and mortar location you are still in sales one way or another!
Many of the things you will find here are from other authors, coaches or people with successful experiences. So don't be afraid. This is not all coming from me!
Much of it comes from experts in their fields and people with proven backgrounds.
Think of this Blog as a "One Stop" location for all of this learning.
I know you will save yourself a lot of valuable time.
Time which we all know can not be replaced!
Again, I hope you enjoy this Blog!
Feel free to leave your comments or email me.
You can either sign up for updates or check back often for new posts.
Sincerely,
Jim Messner
PLEASE NOTE:
In the areas such as but not limited to legalities, accounting and taxes I am not recommending or advising on any of this.
These authors, strategies or general areas of expertise are mainly shared for informational purposes to stimulate your thought and perhaps action.
I am merely sharing information.
It is solely up to you to determine the legality and permissibility on both a civil and criminal basis for your geographical area and/or jurisdiction.
If you are not clear about something be sure to get proper civil, legal, tax, real estate and/or accounting advice. Always ensure the advice you seek is from a true, verified, legal and licensed professional in that area of expertise. A person that you know you can trust!
In the areas such as but not limited to legalities, accounting and taxes I am not recommending or advising on any of this.
These authors, strategies or general areas of expertise are mainly shared for informational purposes to stimulate your thought and perhaps action.
I am merely sharing information.
It is solely up to you to determine the legality and permissibility on both a civil and criminal basis for your geographical area and/or jurisdiction.
If you are not clear about something be sure to get proper civil, legal, tax, real estate and/or accounting advice. Always ensure the advice you seek is from a true, verified, legal and licensed professional in that area of expertise. A person that you know you can trust!
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