Linda McCaffrey

The Business Plan of New Agent Kevin.

It is 2011 and where does a a first year rookie Realtor start with a plan? First, I needed to identify my ideal client. I sent out a letter to limited people(about 100) that I am a full time Realtor. The theme of letter was "I am your home counselor". My philosophy in serving a client's needs is from a hyper local perspective. It is about knowing and being able to establish value based on local conditions and knowledge. I will give advice to homeowners based on the local factors that impact the value of a home so the price can be selected and together we can develop the best marketing strategy to get it to sell to the Right buyer at the Highest price possible. My ideal client is local and may actually stay local. That will include move up, move down, first time buyers and divorce situations as well as local people who are having financial difficulties.

I defined my USP (Unique Selling Proposition) or what are reasons a home buyer or seller would feel comfortable with me. I am an honest, caring and positive person. I negotiate from knowledge (about the market and about the parties involved) and with an attitude of win-win. I am part of the fabric of our communities. I am good listener and put the client's goals ahead of my own. Lastly, I am loyal and faithful like a Golden Retriever.

Now I need a road map, my business plan for this year. Sales come from contacts. My wife, Linda, has two thousand contacts. My list is at 150. You need activities that have positives and gives people a chance to get know you. I have targeted five groups; giving back to kids/schools, golf, cancer (since I am a Cancer survivor), town politics (behind the scenes) and Chamber of Commerce. Next, I need to develop my data base around these groups with new contacts and map out quarterly goals and informational campaigns for each group. Some people farm geographic areas. I decided to farm interest groups.

In the realm of schools/kids, I have gotten involved with a group trying to raise funds for a building on the High School Athletic Fields. I am on a committee to create a "brick walk" where parents will buy engraved bricks for their children.

I am starting a McCaffrey Golf League and am looking forward to an excuse to play more golf this year (if the snow ever melts).

I have volunteered to help with support groups at the local Cancer Volunteer Center.

I will meet the new and existing Brookfield Chamber Members to develop them into referral venders. I will find other people that they need to meet and provide them with any resources I might know of to help grow their businesses. I will also take advantage of chamber seminars on improving prospecting methods.

As a member of the Republican Town Committee I will expand my involvement in the political process by attending meetings and providing ideas and support in order to make Brookfield a better place.

In addition, I will continue to use social media tools to expand my contact base. I will also need to improve my basic computer skills by taking classes. Other skills I need to improve this year are sales techniques and processes and using social media effectively. My personal development also needs to be addressed and I will execute a physical workout plan and define family goals. I will formalize this by working out 5 days, golf weekly, a quarterly sales training event, social media daily and family calls to kids weekly and wife events every 24 hours. (Linda wants to know what that means)

Networking needs to be part of my being and my daily plan.

The 2011 plan will be formalized and in writing by this week as I have my meeting with my Boss (Linda) on wednesday.

I have to admit, as a comuting, corporate person for 40 years, that I have enjoyed the people I have met and getting involved in the community these past several months since I "took the plunge" into Real Estate. I like the feeling of participation and contribution on the local level. I can make a real difference in the lives of those around me. Being a Realtor is about more than selling houses.

How is Your Realtor Rated??

Just like restaurants and hotels, Zillow.com has begun rating real estate agents. Now consumers who have accounts on Zillow can not only find the "zestimate" of their homes but research the consumer feedback on agents in their areas and also post a review of an agent that they may have worked with in the past. More valuable than the testimonials posted to agent websites, these reviews are unedited by the Realtor. Quoted in a related article in The Commercial Record, Connecticut's monthly business magazine, McCaffrey Agent Dana Voelzke is quoted as saying, ‘This is already the same thing that happens among neighbors,. They call each other and they share the dish about agents they worked with and who did a good job and who didn't. It's just happening online for the world to see now."

The reception of this technology from agents nationally has been very cool. Agents at McCaffrey are encouraging their clients to post reviews at Zillow.com. Ms. Voelzke, who was the 2009 Top Producing Agent at McCaffrey Realty also sees the 1-5 star rating system as a positive step. "I'm sure agents are going to complain about this- anyone can have a bad experience with a client," said Dana Voelzke. "Putting all that out in the open and allowing other consumers to be made aware of the experience, I'm quite sure there's going to be some negative reaction. Ultimately, however, the ratings feature may have a positive impact in helping to sort good agents from bad."

When Ms. Voelzke first started using Zillow she did it because, "it was essentially free advertising for my listings. Over time I started answering consumers' questions on the site and I think that the rating system is the natural next step. Now, rather than seeing a smiling picture and here are my listings, consumers can actually see how you work with people. To the extent it brings more transparency to the real estate market, I think it is a good thing. Consumers should have the ability to know what they are getting up front."

"Not all Realtors provide the same level of service, experience or knowledge, stated Linda McCaffrey owner of McCaffrey Realty. " Through both the consumer questions that are answered by the Realtor on Zillow as well as the rating system, consumers will finally be able to judge for themselves the differences and choose the professional best suited to their individual situation."

ARE YOU MOVING FORWARD OR IN A CIRCLE?

Yesterday I listened to a webinar by Richard Flint which made me pause. It is half way through January. Most of us have made our resolutions or created our business plans. His point was that the New Year is a time to start over; to start ANEW. I, for one, realized that you cannot do that until you confront the struggles from the previous year. If you don't do this, you will not be moving forward you will be moving in a continuous circle of failed promises to yourself. There are four questions that need to be answered if you want to leap forward:

•1- What do I REALLY want my life to be this year?

•2- Why do I REALLY want to invest my time in this vision?

•3- What behaviors do I need to improve not to sabotage my journey?

•4- Am I REALLY willing to pay the price to get there?

I hear people hoping that this year will bring them everything they hope for. BUT...

"It is not about what the year will bring to you. It is what are you willing to bring to this year."

The first question defines your VISION. It is your direction and sets your internal compass for the year. Without setting this FIRST you have no chance of achieving your desired outcome. It is like going on a trip without the directions. You need to see this for business, family, health, relationships. Setting one without the others will be like sitting on a stool with legs that are uneven. Another way of saying this is- Where your FOCUS goes your ENERGY flows.

The second question addresses the MOTIVATION. Why do you want this life?? It needs to by YOUR reason; no one else's'. It defines and reinforces your COMMITTMENT to stay on the path towards the vision above.

The third is where the tires hit the road. It is recognizing the BEHAVIORS that need to change in order to change your direction. Behaviors do not lie. Behaviors are driven by DISCAPLINE. They are also identified by self reflection. Sometimes routines need to be interrupted. Sometimes it is not " I need to START" but "I need to STOP" or "I am BECOMING". I like the later as it is more positive and puts your focus on the correct behavior.

Finally you must recognize that there is a price to pay for change. Change is hard. Change is uncomfortable. Change gets you outside of your comfort zone. Is your vision worth the price? If it isn't then don't start the journey.

Sometimes we face our resolutions or our business plans like a to-do list. Maybe some of you will relate more to this technique. I will tell you that it is not easy to answer these questions. You need to get away from the noise of your life and sit and reflect. If you would like to hear a more in depth discussion on this topic I have attached the link to the recording of the webinar.

Everyone Should Have a Real Estate License.

Blasphemous words coming from a full time professional Realtor. My colleagues would string me up by my shoelaces (if I had laces). Hear me out on this one. Each of us knows 200+ people pretty well. Of those 200 about 10 will move next year. You have a couple of choices:

•1- Don't get involved. It is their business who they do business with.

•2- Refer them to your favorite Realtor. You want to help out your Realtor but also you know that he/she will do a great job for your friend, You want you friend to have a good experience. Your friend will be grateful. Your Realtor will be grateful. Your Realtor will also send you a thank you card and a small token gift. She may even take you out to lunch. That is ALL he/she can do by law.

•3- You have a license and you refer them to your favorite Realtor for the reason above except NOW you can ask for a referral fee of between 10-25%!! On an average house, after the spit with the company that hlods your license, that means a check to you of about $1500 just for giving your favorite Realtor your friends' name. Oh yeah, and also saying lots of great stuff to your friend about your Realtor.

To Become a Referral Agent:

To get your real estate license you need to take "Principles and Practices". It is a 60 hour course and costs around $400. When you pass the test for the class you take your state licensing test and pay for your license $293/year in Connecticut. You will need to take 4- 3 hour classes every 2 years. That's it. So let's review.

•1- An initial time investment of 60 hours and an initial financial investment of $693.00

•2- Ongoing time investment of 6 hours of continuing education each year and an annual expense of $293 for your license and about $70 for the 2 classes.

New Class Starts Monday

The main reason that I am posting this at this time is that our Northern Fairfield Country Association of Realtors is sponsoring a real estate licensing class (Principles and Practices) and it starts MONDAY!! It will meet Monday and Wednesday evenings 6:00-9:00PM. The cost is $399. There is still space available in the class. You can sign up over the phone on Monday by calling 203 744-7255. The class is being held at their office at 15 Stony Hill Road (route 6) in Bethel CT.

Need More Information

At McCaffrey Realty Professionals, we hold monthly career seminars to explain all of the levels of "Realtordom" from referral agent to full time producer. We talk about time commitment, training options, potential earnings and answer all of your questions. For the next scheduled seminar call Linda McCaffrey at 203 775-3634 ext 102.

The McCaffrey Report - a Look Back at the Market in 2010

2010 was a year where the statistics do not tell the whole story of what has been happening in our local real estate market. Although the numbers show a slight upward trend in pricing, this is due, in large part, to a greater number of sales of higher priced homes. The percentage of sales over $500k in 2009 was 27% because of job market uncertainty and rose to 30% sales in 2010, skewing the average price upward. In actuality, prices continued to fall, driven by the abundance of short sales and foreclosures. 15% of the closed sales in 2010 were distressed properties, versus 9% in 2009. This is far below the national level where on average one third of all sales were distressed. We believe this will continue for the foreseeable future. We expect further price depreciation as the pace of buyer demand slowly rises, but not enough to absorb the inventory of retirees and distressed sellers in our area. Most economists predict a further price decline of 10% nationally.

Interestingly the volume of homes sold has already begun to improve locally from historic lows of 2009. In 2010 we saw a solid increase of 10.8% whereas the numbers nationwide recorded an all time low of 4.4million homes sold. Buyers are returning to the market as they realize that between the historic low interest rates and the market adjustments to pricing, affordability is the most favorable since statistics have been kept. The number shows that the volume of homes sold in the nine town market are off 49.8% from the BEST year in 1998!! We are still 40% below a more average year such 2001, showing much room for further improvement.

Although we don't think that the recovery is yet underway, we do see some early positive signs. With the advice of many local economists, it appears that the real estate market is in for a slow leveling off with true recovery beginning in 12-18 months with modest but steady price increases. At McCaffrey we will continue to monitor and evaluate.