Bill Kennedy - Greenville SC Realtor

If you break down the top three things that will dramatically affect your real estate career, they are Leads, Listings and Leverage. Leads give you the ability to gain clients. Listings give you inventory to cultivate contracts and buyers with. Leverage makes it easier for you to get more of the other two, and gives you the ability to ENJOY the life you are creating through your highly successful real estate business, or at least enjoy a cup of coffee once in a while.

Simply put, leverage is multiplying your ability to get things done. It would be ideal if you could just replicate yourself a couple times, and designate one of yourselves to marketing, one to client relations, one to data entry, and so forth. Unfortunately, after extensive research, I have concluded that human replication is not possible yet. Ok, so I actually was watching the twenty-four hour Trekkie marathon on the Sci-Fi channel, but who's counting?

Leverage may come in many forms, but it can most easily be broken down into two primary components: technology and people.

Leverage through technology is perhaps the first method that the majority of agents turn to as their business grows. You can leverage your abilities through software such as Top Producer, Goldmine or ACT. The MLS systems that we use often include database software that enables us to make automatic contact with clients about prospective homes. Marketing may be done virtually, such as e-mail drip campaigns that run hands-free after the initial setup, or websites that allow you to mail to hundreds of prospects at the touch of a button.

Equally important are the benefits that leverage through people offers. Many agents are concerned that they will hire the wrong person, and that is a well-founded concern. A top agent will invest time and money into finding the right person for the job. Perhaps the worst hire you can make is a good hire. If you want talent, find GREAT talent. Good talent is just enough to get the job done, but great talent takes you above and beyond your expectations.

Don't be afraid to start a team. Most agents who utilize the services of an assistant will tell you that they should have hired that person much sooner. A great assistant will only INCREASE your income, because they will free you up from the day-to-day tasks and allow you to concentrate on lead generation.

For a detailed look at leveraging your business, with special emphasis on leveraging through people, I recommend that everyone associated with real estate read "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" by Gary Keller. The book targets leverage in an easy to follow manner that walks you from the day that you got your license in the mail, to the moment that you net one million dollars a year. My copy is a bit dog-eared, from my constant referencing. You can get it on Amazon or at most book stores. If you're an agent here in my market (Greenville, SC), just let me know and I might be able to get you one for free.

That's all for now. Have a wonderful week, and stay cool (at least we were under 100 today!).

Bill

Got your attention? My mom just sent me this fun little link. Try it out. So far I'm a bobbing bobcat.

Go mom!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf

Sometimes it's nice to have some meaningless entertainment at hand. Afterall, we don't need any more distractions, do we? I think that if I try really hard, I might actually find time to do some work one of these days. Perhaps.

I won't hold my breath yet.

On a serious note, it's nice to have mindless things to help de-stress the day, when you have a tough conversation with a client, or a hard meeting.

There are some things that you can do to help your home sell quicker and for more money. When you are selling your home, you have to think about the buyer's perspective and not your own. "The way you live in a home and the way you sell it are two different things," says home-staging guru Barb Schwarz in her book "Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money." Here are some home-staging tips to share with anyone preparing their home for sale:

Staging is not decorating. Decorating is personalizing a space, where staging is "depersonalizing" it. Staging is not about displaying a favorite color rug or ruffles someone loves. It's about selling the house. Remember, if your clients are showing a messy house, they're throwing away money.

If you can smell it, you can't sell it. Make sure your clients do a sniff test and understand that odors they might be used to have to be eliminated. It's a sensitive subject, so handle it with tact.

Clutter equates to stress. One of the biggest challenges to home staging is clutter. Remember, it's just as important for your clients to get rid of excess "stuff" as it is to clean their house. Tell your clients that clutter interferes with potential homebuyers' ability to mentally move into the house. They can't imagine their own furniture in a room if it's cluttered.

Consider painting the interior of the house. Your clients might like the navy blue walls and wacky flower-print wallpaper, but homebuyers want the house to have a cohesive, simple color scheme. Drastic color changes from room to room can actually startle potential homebuyers.

After working in the real estate industry for six years, I have found that there are a lot of people out there who think that they MUST get the most expensive home that they can afford. This can lead to a lot of problems, not the least of which is financial ruin.

WAIT??? A real estate agent is saying that people buying MORE EXPENSIVE homes is a PROBLEM???

Yes I do, but let me explain. Throughout my experience, I have run into countless people who get qualified for a loan, and they feel that they NEED to look for homes that are at the top of their price range. There is almost a desire to get the absolute best that they can. The problem is, most people QUALIFY for a lot more than they can REALISTICALLY afford.

For example, when I bought my house in 2001, I qualified for around a $180,000 loan. The most I could realistically afford, though, was $140,000, after taking into account ALL of the expenses I had each month, and the insurance, taxes, etc. that get tacked onto the payment.

With the foreclosure rates at all time highs in many parts of the country, and mortgage companies throwing in the towel each day, you can bet that there are MANY people who now wish they would have bought a cheaper home.

This all being said, the "moral" of my post is this: Please PLEASE be careful with your budgeting when thinking of purchasing a new home. Whether you can afford payments of $600 a month, or $6,000 a month, just make sure to buy a home that you will be COMFORTABLE with financially. If you worry about making your house payment each night when you go to bed, I can guarantee that you won't be relaxed or happy in your new home. I think it is PARAMOUNT for real estate agents to guide their clients through this concept, because overextending can really cause a lot of problems down the road.

Until later,

Bill

Today I step across the threshold of another milestone in my life.... the first blog entry! While I have utilized the latest in techology for many facets of my business, the wonders of the blog are relatively new to me. I think that part of it stems from a fear of learning the art of "blogging". After several conversations with fellow Keller Williams agents from across the country who maintain highly successful blogs, I came to the conclusion that this is the next step for me.

That aside, I love to write, and I love to share ideas. The blog will either turn into a great forum for me to share with the world, or it will become a playground for me to exercise my creative abilities. Either way, I'm going to have fun. I hope you do too.

Please come back soon. Have a great week!

Bill