Bartikoski + Paul

Perhaps you missed it. My local newspaper only gave it one sentence in a sidebar. But it jumped off the page as if it were on fire. According to the United Kingdom's National Association of Mental Health, New Year's resolutions are now "bad for your mental health" because they focus on poor self image and unrealistic goals. In other words, the same "let's not keep score so we'll all feel like winners" philosophy that permeated little league has now become a major league doctrine. All I can say is: God, help us. Because the NAMH certainly won't.

If there's one thing a lifetime in business has taught me, it's that a life with goals is no life at all. The idea that "If I don't try, I can't fail" may offer some comfort to the insecure, but it ultimately leads to more insecurity. Without goals, without measurement, we're forever at sea and flounder like a rudderless ship. And the sad truth is that if "we're all winners" then, technically, none of us really are. Goals provide direction, direction helps define purpose, and that sense of purpose is what builds self esteem.

As the parents of two boys, my wife and I have always encouraged them to participate in a wide variety of sports and other games. Not because we're hoping they'll earn a scholarship or pro contract, but because, in addition to all the lessons they teach about teamwork and sportsmanship, sports are one of the few venues available to our youth that provide tangible rewards for commitment and perseverance. The self esteem that comes from incremental improvement - from being able to do something you couldn't do last month - is a level of self esteem you'll never get from ignoring the score or avoiding the game. But it begins by first recognizing your limitations and then developing new skills to work around them.

Self esteem aside, what bothers me most about the NAMH hypothesis is that it's a direct contradiction of successful business practice. In his first book, "Built to Last," Jim Collins and his partner, Jerry Porras, studied a variety of category-leading companies that had managed to maintain that position for at least 50 years. The ultimate objective was to identify the principles and practices that allowed these companies to do so well for so long. So, what do you think they found? You guessed it. Among a few other common denominators, every one of these companies routinely established what the author called "BHAGs" (or Big Hairy Audacious Goals), around which employees could rally and derive their collective purpose.

So, what kind of goal have you set for the New Year? What's your BHAG? If you're like most, it probably isn't all that big or hairy or audacious, is it? If you're like many, you've looked at the forecasts and listened to the newscasts and scaled back on your aspirations for 2009. Well, don't. As a goal oriented guy, I've always liked the beginning of a new year and the chance to resolve myself to changing something that could everything. Most years, I settle on just one thing. This year, I've picked 12. Twelve things I'm going to start doing or stop doing or keep on doing - while everyone else sits back and waits for things to happen.

C'mon. Let's resolve to blow through the projections and blow off the pundits. (The bar has been set so low we could trip over it and still win the race). Let's resolve to set some new goals, try some new things, and make 2009 the most important year of our careers.
And I'll resolve to make my next blog a little shorter.
Robert

I doubt I'm the only one who's glad to see time run out on 2008. But don't be too quick to forget it, my friend, or this year could be just like the last. Perhaps the best thing we could do over the next few days would be to reflect on the last few months; to revisit all the things we did (both right and wrong) and identify opportunities to do things better.

First, let's make a plan. Let's make it a NEW plan. A new, written, professional, business plan. I know so many agents who say they have one - but they really don't. Or they still use the same one from five years ago. Don't be one of those agents. The market changes every year and so should your business plan. It doesn't have to be some 30-page detailed manifesto with tabs and graphs and charts. It can consist of just two or three simple strategies to generate new business. Just concentrate on what you truly believe will make you money, set some specific sales goals and resolve to maximize your time.

In a tough market (or any market, for that matter) there are always areas that are thriving. As I sit down to write this little rant, Foreclosures and Short Sales are huge. But they also take time and some unique skills to execute effectively. So, lately I've focused on Expired Listings and found them to be an amazing source of immediate new business.
And if I can do it, so can you.

Think about it: Some other agent has already invested all the effort, done all the dirty work and incurred all the brain damage of prepping and carrying an overpriced listing - just to hear the owner say "Your time is up." Then you walk in as their knight in shining armor and show them how to fight the good fight. Sellers love to hear the reasons they should keep their home on the market instead of taking it off. They also love to hear about our detailed marketing plan and all the tracking we have for the marketing we do. Best of all, these sellers are generally more motivated to cooperate and more willing to price their homes aggressively.

There are hundreds of Expireds in every market and I have no problem calling them all. In fact, I utilize an expired listing program that does all the work for me. So, I just make the calls - every day - before I do anything else. I know I can do them a favor by listing their home and know I have the tools that demonstrate that expertise. I have a great listing presentation, a personalized marketing plan and a commitment to communicate with them every step of the way. In other words, all things their previous agent didn't have. And since most of these sellers will become buyers once they sell, it's a two-way technique for boosting your income.

So, if you're digging for new opportunities in 2009, Expired Listings are a gold mine. Just get a system and rhythm going, stick to your system and, before you know it, you'll become unstoppable. Happy New Year!
Mark

A few days after the Republican National Convention, I wrote a little piece about Sarah Palin's acceptance speech and how America just seemed to eat it up (Hockey Mom in the White House, Sept 08). Then, within a few more days, she said enough to make me eat my words. So, being an eternal optimist, I'm going to scrape the egg off my face and try to cook up some sort of instructional omelet. Hope you've got a strong stomach, because today's special is a heaping helping of Brand Identity.

A lot of people confuse Brand Identity with Brand Recognition, and that's understandable. But your brand identity consists of more than just the ability to recall or recognize your brand name. It's comprised of the consumer's 360-degree experience with your brand - both personally and otherwise. In other words, your brand identity isn't built in the media or marketplace. It's built in the mind of the consumer. One impression at a time. For better or worse. As consumers, we really do notice the car you drive and the clothes you wear (even if someone else went out and bought them for you). We pay attention to the words you use, the ones you don't, and the ones others use to describe you. We care what you name your kids, if you can name a newspaper, and if you've ever been named in a criminal suit.

Granted, none of these things may have anything to do with your work or your ability to perform it. But we've all heard the bit about Perception vs. Reality, and brand identity relies much more on the former than the latter. Every little thing you say or do - or don't say or don't do - all make a tiny little deposit in the "identity bank" that exists in the mind of your prospects and customers and the people who will never become your customers but could influence the people who might.

It's chilling to discover that people you don't know - and who don't know you - may already have an opinion of you. But that's the way brand identity works. It's even more chilling to discover that the cumulative effect of all those positive identity deposits can be bankrupted by one false move. (That's why no one names their kid Judas anymore and the word "Lewinski" still makes people snicker). So, to those who might tell you not to sweat the little things, I'd say the little things are the only ones worth sweating. More often than not, build-ing a positive brand identity is little more than managing impressions and word-of-mouth.
Do you think differently?
Robert