Tyler, TX

"If it's not fun, I'm not going to do it"

~Terry Miller

I am assuming that if your reading this you are in the real estate business and it's because that's what you chose to do. If I could give you one piece of advice it would be to figure out what your passion in life is and figure out how to succeed financially at it. I absolutely love having a real estate business and think motivating and training new Realtors is some of the most fun anyone can have. I feel rewarded everyday that I can help someone improve their business. A Golf pro once told me to put my golf clubs in the closet at home for one month. I ask "why would I do that"? He simply said "if you don't miss them, then quit the game". You see I wasn't having any fun playing the game and it showed. The entire next lesson was spent talking about why I started playing to begin with. Then he said why I took it so serious when I would never be able to turn pro. Man did that hurt. Then, I started to smile and explained that I had taken up the game to relax and as my handicap dropped I got focused on being the best I could be. At the time I was carrying a four to an eight handicap depending on how much money that was on the line. (Golfers understand that statement). I always played for something be it money, dinner or whatever could be wagered that made sense. Even with my children we played for a soda or something. He simply asks me "WHY"? Then it dawned on me, that I was actually creating stress and tension in a game I really love. My next two lessons were playing lessons on the course just for fun and from that moment on I play for fun or the smallest of wagers. I still break par every now and then but to be honest I could care less. For me it's about having a good time with good people.

Simply put if you don't have a passion for what you're doing, stop doing it and find your passion.

When is the last time you got your hands dirty? I mean literally dirty? I had an occasion to witness something and carry the experience with me to this day. I did a transaction with an agent one time that had a buyer that loved rose bushes. Her closing gift was 3 very nice rose bushes. After closing when most agents are running to the bank to get the cash, this agent went to the couples new home and took out a pair of cotton gloves and a small hand spade as well as a bag of miracle grow potting soil. And guess what? Yes, you knew it, she helped the customer plant those rose bushes around their new home. I was there because I was picking up my sign and lock box and witnessed the entire thing first hand. To say I was impressed would be a great understatement. I learned something about customer service that day and it always serves me well. While the "Miller Team" has been the #1 listing team for awhile, I still get the most joy from seeing that buyer get that set of keys at closing. To me their joy and happiness is exactly what it's all about. Since the day with the rose bushes I have personally installed several faucets for some of our single mothers we have as clients and of course friends. The "Miller Team" has painted, mowed, hauled and installed or just about anything you can do to help a new home buyer or seller for that matter and we enjoy every minute of it. To put it as simple as possible, "service after the sale" means "SALE AFTER THE SERVICE". Not to mention the referrals and life long friendships that are irreplaceable. If you make your business about your customers and their wants and needs you will be surprised by the rewards you will reap. Set out today and everyday to help someone and watch what happens with your business.

One thing that you as a business person should always focus on is other services or products that you can offer your customers. You see there are front end types of products that get you started or "introduced" to your customer. Well, "NOW WHAT?" Of course you will email them and talk to them but are there other services or products you could provide them with that you could profit on? This is called backend sales and can be more profitable than the first or "front end" sale in some cases. For example, on more than one occasion we have sold homes to executives that were coming into our market to take over a business and expand or grow it. During the home buying process it was learned that they would be looking for commercial space in the area for expansion. In every case they had commercial Realtors helping them but giving them terrible service. We would begin to send them commercial properties in their email. You guessed it; we sold them a home and a building. Guess which one paid the best? Yes, the building of course. If you have an investor buying up property you might ask that investor who will manage the properties for them? He might not have thought of all the prate falls involved in property management.

The thing most Realtors fail to realize is that our customers are like us. They simply want good service they can understand. They don't want or need several Realtors in their life when one can handle it. Pay close attention and be that one.

There are no classes in life for beginners: right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult.
~Rainer Maria Rilke

Did you know you have a choice every morning? You and only you can decide the mood or attitude you will have that day. Remarkable isn't it? I don't care if the kids are fighting or if your loving spouse left a towel on the bathroom floor. It's your choice to either laugh about it or blow a gasket. If I could give a small piece of advice, choose to laugh it off and be playful with the situation. For starters they had the same choice you had and maybe they just weren't thinking or simply made a bad choice that day. You however are a true winner and will deal with whatever this day brings you and thrive in spite of anyone else's mood.

Henry Ford once said "distractions are what happen when you take your eyes off your goal". I think it is truly profound in its accuracy. Don't you? As a winner you will need to constantly make adjustments as your business grows and prospers. But never lose sight of the goal you have set for yourself.

Everyone won't like you along life's journey and trust me, don't worry about it. Some people are jealous, ignorant or just plain envious to the point of their own demise. If you conduct yourself and your business with integrity and consistency, you will have customers and competitors a like beating down your door to do business with you. If it's destructive or negative a winner doesn't have the time or the patience for it.

As a winner you will constantly need to feed that winning mind of yours. A mind is a computer the likes of which no man could ever create. Neither you nor I would ever knowingly download a virus on our computer, would we? Well that winning mind you have is constantly being programmed thru out every day. Guess what? We have to be our own virus protection. Just like a computer if you put garbage in you get garbage out. However if you put great things in you get incredible results out. The only one that can control what goes in is you, so make good choices. Try to read inspirational and motivational books and I choose to watch comedy or action movies or TV shows. Anything that gets you in a relaxed frame of mind without a negative message will do just fine. The best antivirus you can have is to literally overwhelm your brain with positive input. This will drown out the negative input that the world puts in everyday. I rarely watch the news anymore, choosing instead to get my news from the internet. I don't care for the news director's opinions or the news they might be trying to "create". I have a brain and can read and comprehend the "facts" just fine, thank you. To be completely honest with you, I would rather hear about a kitten getting rescued out of a tree than most of the stuff that passes for news today. But that's just me. Today, find a great motivational book or disc and feed your mind some great programming. You will be glad you did.

It is official, we are in a recession! Just from looking at the real estate market in Texas, it appears that the recession started months ago. Very few Texas cities didn't have a decline in home sales and/or an increase in median price. Tyler, TX sales were down over 20% but the median sales price increased to $139,000.

Information obtained from Real Estate Center, MarketWatch and CNNMoney indicates that a total of 16,711 existing homes were sold in Texas last month, a 17 percent decline from October 2007, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. The median price dropped 0.8 percent to $142,300 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 6.8-month inventory of existing homes.

Here is how select Texas cities fared in October (data current as of Dec. 2, 2008):

The real estate market has slowed and will continue to do so in the Tyler area due to more announced layoffs. It is definitely a buyer's market and homes are staying on the market longer.