Barry Owen

Whether you understand the implications of the recent failures of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and the AIG Fed Bail-out, it is very clear that (in Seth Godin's words) "Lack of Parental Supervision" has certainly created quite a mess in the financial environment.

In conversations today, I found lots of folks looking for ways to get their Buyers approved for financing. Now that the 100% options for FHA financing are kaput, REALTORS and lenders are like a bunch mice in a big ole maze looking for creative ways to get these Buyers qualified to purchase.

It's as if this HUGE mortgage debacle and ensuing financial hurricane (vortex) have failed to WAKE UP a LOT of people. We're in this mess because of loose (unregulated) financial practices. We all want money for nothing. I have heard of agents saying that requiring 3.5% down payment for an FHA will literally put them out of business.

Come on folks . . . It's the people who did not have liquidity (much less credit worthiness) and got financed anyhow who are failing right and left. We REALTORS profited for many years as the mortgage industry artificially increased the size of the pie by continuously getting more and more creative so as to be sure that everyone who WANTS to buy a home CAN.

Things will continue to get worse until we all face the music and stop the madness (bleeding). If we really DO care for the well-being of our clients, we will quit looking for "creative ways to side-step the new regulations" and begin counseling our clients responsibly even if it means deferment of our commission dollars . . .

Let's help people build wealth and credit fortitude and know that they will purchase a home when they are appropriately prepared.

Sure, this is going to continue to unfold in mysterious ways . . . and many more REALTORS will soon leave the business . . . Many months ago, I wrote a blog about my mirror speech . . . If you find yourself unmotivated and struggling with every facet of your business, you simply MUST stand yourself in front of a mirror and ask yourself the question: "Do I REALLY want to be a REALTOR?"

LISTEN TO YOUR GUT!

If your answer is "NO" then don't wallow in your misery any longer - Move on and find happiness elsewhere . . .

If your answer is : "YES" . . . It is time to rock n ROLL!

Remember who you serve and why you are committed to serving them impeccable (your big why) and get out there and transact business.

Final thought . . . I challenge you to take at LEAST one new Buyer Agreement and ONE Listing agreement EVERY week . . . Do whatever it takes!

Best,

b

Barry Owen

Career Development Coach

Principal Broker

Keller Williams Realty - Nashville, TN - Green Hills - The FLAGSHIP!

www.theowengroup.net . . . In this game for the long haul in Middle Tennessee

www.creatingspaces.blogspot.com

Simply & BOLDLY Living the FourFold Way in Open Space!

"The market has tanked!"

"All these listings and no showings . . . Woe is me!"

"The price of gas has gone through the roof - How can I afford to show my Buyers and service listings?"

"Had an Open House Sunday - the weather was horrible and the football games were great - no-one came"

"I want to lead generate but I've already called all 22 of the people in my database!"

"Every time I meet someone new, they already have a REALTOR!"

and so on and so on and so on . . .

HOLY COW DUDE (or DUDETTE)!

Give yourself a BREAK from all of this non-productive self talk.

Who do you think you are?

Do you think you have ANY CONTROL over ANY of these things?

All this stuff/garbage has GOT to leave your head before the conspiring Universe will clear the way for you to flourish.

so . . .

The first thing you've gotta do is believe in yourself. I believe that every single person on this planet has the capacity and ability to succeed at a very high level. If you consider yourself to be human, you qualify.

Identify and Eliminate any self-imposed inhibitions you have and TAKE ACTION!

Do you realize that there are literally 100s and possibly THOUSANDS of people who you have met at some point in your life? . . . and have you considered that nearly ALL of them would LOVE to hear from you? . . . and are you aware that you can contribute significantly to their lives simply by letting them know that you remember them? . . . and that they will return the favor by supporting you and your business?

If business is waning and you are finding yourself in a pattern of negative self-talk, I am urging you to wake up and smell the coffee. There is NO competition out there for YOU! You're the only YOU on the planet. Your worth to yourself and other people is created and nurtured by YOU.

so . . .

Get to work developing your community - your sphere - your world - your own personal UNIVERSE - Do this simply by inviting folks into your community. Let them know you honor and respect them and build relationships through consistent and sustained contact.

Do you what you enjoy doing and be with people whose company you enjoy.

Have FUN!

RELAX!

Know that you are loved!

Don't worry - Be Happy!

OK . . . all of the above is MY definition of Lead Generation :-)

Some folks will read this and say: "Easier said than done" . . .

To which I respond: "If that's what you believe, you are right."

Choose to LIVE your life and don't cheat yourself of happiness and success through your own inhibitions . . . We're all in a "competition-free zone" . . . and the climate outside is not relevant.

WHEW!

Sorry . . . woke up a bit philosophical this morning . . . In some twisted way, I think this post might very well be real estate related :-)

Best,

b

Barry Owen

Career Development Coach

Principal Broker

Keller Williams Realty - Nashville, TN - Green Hills - The FLAGSHIP!

www.theowengroup.net- Visit our website and check out all the great new listings we have in Middle TN :-)

www.creatingspaces.blogspot.comBarry's other blog

Simply & BOLDLY Living the FourFold Way in Open Space!

I can only imagine what it was like to be in the midst of Ike's fury down there in the Gulf Region. I am especially glad that most people heeded the grim warnings of the "officials" prior to landfall and that those who did hunker down to weather the storm made it through without huge loss of life. For sure, there is now going to be an expensive and long period of cleaning up the messes and hope for some semblance of return to "normal" for everyone affected . . . quickly!

I admit to my own voyeuristic tendencies as I watched CNN and Fox reporting the storm for those few days. Watching the reporters (especially GeraldoRivera) tempting fate and displaying their bravado by standing in the storm and reporting the experience sure did bring the reality of the storm home.

This morning, we had a lot of high winds and rain here in Nashville resulting in a blissfully quiet hour of silence in my house because a tree had sliced some nearby powerlines and blacked out the neighborhood. This time of quiet was great. No Computers - No TV . . . no electronic noise whatsoever.

The kids quickly found some interesting things to do . . . and Deb and I moved along as we usually do on a Sunday morning . . . We used a broom instead of the vacuum . . . we talked with each other . . . we went out and visited with our neighbors . . . It was a fantastic thing being in a "powerless" world albeit for just a short period of time.

Obviously, the power is back on (I'm blogging) . . . The TV came on long enough for me to witness a Tennessee Titan WIN over the Bengals . . . and then back off. The kids have not broken their stride all day. They continue along with non-electronic play.

Do we create our own distracting noise by plugging into our electronic worlds 24/7?

Really!

When do you REALLY get away from it all?

Just give it a try once in a while . . . a self-imposed electrical black-out . . . Kill all the power in your house and turn off all of your portable devices (Phones, Laptops etc) . . . After about 45 minutes of silence, you'll "get it" . . . We tend to choose to live in a world of over-stimulation . . .

I think Ike and His co-conspirators (all the other hurricanes who have visited our coasts - or will visit in the future) are Masters at helping us all come to grips with our own mortality. Perhaps we all need a shaking once in a while to keep ourselves in perspective.

I heard a news reporter say that we are not even half way through the Hurricane season. Perhaps if we silly humans would shut up and listen carefully to what Mother Nature is telling us, the second half of the hurricane season might prove to be kinder and gentler :-)

I'm not here to say what Mother Nature is really telling us . . . yet I am almost certain that part of it has to do with the little lesson that we are NOT in control . . . and that as long as we continue to drive ourselves to distraction, we will continue to be surprised when big storms arrive.

Anyone care to draw an analogy between this particularly ferocious Hurricane season and the economic and political environment we are swimming around in?

hmmmmm

b

Barry Owen

Career Development Coach

Principal Broker

Keller Williams Realty - Nashville, TN - Green Hills - The FLAGSHIP

www.theowengroup.net - The Owen Group - Poised and ready to serve home Buyers and Sellers throughout middle Tennessee.

www.creatingspaces.blogspot.com

Simply & BOLDLY LIVING THE FourFold Way in Open Space!

The "Core Advocates" are those folks in your world who are extremely well positioned to refer business to you. These people are icons of the community - They might be owners of companies, or local politicians, or managers of large numbers of people, or "heroes" . . . or they might simply be natural "connectors" - those people you know who seem to know EVERYONE.

The bottom line is that a solid Core Advocate has the potential to bring you an inconceivable amount of business through the years. With a steady flow of 5 (or more) transactions EVERY YEAR coming from EACH of your Core Advocates, how could you NOT focus on "winning" the the loyalty and REALTOR mindshare of @ 5 core Advocates? That would generate 25+ transactions year over year simply by cultivating a strong relationship with 5 people.

How do you win with core advocates?

In a coaching session yesterday, we tackled this tough issue as a group. In the room were 3 newly licensed associates and me. One of the associates was facing the challenge of getting the attention of a person she KNEW has the potential to be a very powerful core advocate. She was having no problems getting together with this core advocate but could not seem to be able to find the intestinal fortitude to ask for the business/commitment . . . She had trepidation because she did not have the confidence that she really had anything of great benefit to offer this local icon.

It did not take us long to reach the conclusion that the key to gaining this mindshare in the world of this core advocate lies in the importance of becoming known as the "EXPERT" in all things real estate . . . beginning with the economic outlook of the local market.

How to do this?

READ READ READ READ READ . . . EVERYTHING you can get your hands on concerning economic development. Develop relationships with other local experts (Perhaps Mortgage lenders who seem to be knowledgeable) . . . become a sponge (and thereby a MASTER) of this information and learn how to communicate these in plain English . . . PUBLISH your own commentary in the form of Newsletters and/or "White Papers" to send to your sphere of influence.

Make yourself known as the EXPERT, and you will easily catch the attention of the Core advocate.

As you gain confidence in yourself and the confidence of the core advocate, be sure to educate this core advocate the best way to refer business to you . . . and then reward this core advocate through servicing those clients impeccably.

Have PATIENCE and CONFIDENCE in yourself!

Look into your sphere of influence - Identify your top 5 potential "Wealth Determiners" - and contact them IMMEDIATELY to develop them into "Core Advocates" . . . Know that you are worthy . . . Know also that these folks are not mind readers. Just because they know you and like you does not mean that they are aware that you want or need their real estate referrals. You MUST cultivate these relationships and TEACH these folks how to refer to you . . . and reward them appropriately (Pavlov's dog :-))

Do this right, and you can use these core advocates as the springboards of an insanely sucessful real estate career.

Best,

b

Barry Owen

Career Development Coach

Principal Broker

Keller Williams Realty - Nashville, TN - Green Hills - The FLAGSHIP

www.theowengroup.net - Developing Core Advocates in Middle Tennessee

www.creatingspaces.blogspot.com

Simply & BOLDLY Living the FourFold Way in Open Space!

Our office has been a bit quiet this week - I'm thinking that several people attended the Nashville Association Convention on Tuesday & Wednesday . . . and am almost certain that everyone else has been out shaking the bushes for leads, Scheduling appointments, delivering Listing Presentations, Servicing Clients, and closing deals.

But I have this nagging feeling that perhaps some folks are not as busy as they would like to be . . . or are feeling VERY busy but not getting the results they desire. I am encouraging these people to "come to the well" and dive into some of the great training opportunities available within their office or in their local, regional, or national arenas.

Don't keep doing the same things expecting different results. If your business needs a boost . . .

RAMP UP YOUR LEAD GENERATION EFFORTS - Join or create a group to meet each day @ 8:30 for Lead Generation - Commit to meet each day @ 8:30 AM for 30 minutes of FOCUS and Script practice and role playing . . . and general camaraderie . . . and then LEAD GENERATE for TWO solid hours . . . and then take 30-45 minutes to document your results and update your database . . . and then take a break.

and

PURSUE ANY/ALL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES that come within range for you. I believe you must ACTIVELY pursue learning opportunities and be willing to do whatever it takes to get what you need to keep yourself motivated. This might mean stepping out of your "box" and traveling to another city for a seminar.

You might take a gander at the Keller Williams Realty Schedule for the SHIFT Launch tour and see about attending one of those - No, you do NOT have to be a member of Keller Williams to attend that tour . . . I promise that no matter what you do to get to that event will be worthwhile - DRIVE - Take a bus - FLY . . .

My bottom line . . . I believe that many of us are at the "bottom of the dip" . . . and the simple truth is that this is the point at which the most people choose to QUIT because they do not see a clear way through the swamp . . . I believe there IS a way . . .

FIRST! Get your head out of the sand and FOCUS!

Take RIGHT Action - Stepping up Lead Generation

Seek appropriate training

Seek the wisdom and ACCOUNTABILITY of a coach, Mentor and/or Peer partner

Be willing to do whatever it takes to push through. I believe that if you are still in the game NOW, you have what it takes to push through to the "other side" . . .

And this is when I begin to get excited because the opportunity on "the other side" is nothing short of magnificent . . . NOW is the time for you to capture "your unfair share of your market" so that when everyone else notices that the markets have improved, you will be FAR ahead of the curve.

(hopping off my soap box and going to find some lunch)

Best,

b

Barry Owen

Career Development Coach

Principal Broker

Keller Williams Realty - Nashville, TN - Green Hills - The FLAGSHIP

www.theowengroup.net - Poised and ready to serve Home Buyers and sellers throughout Middle Tennessee

www.creatingspaces.blogspot.com- Barry's other blog

Simply & BOLDLY Living the FourFold Way in Open Space!