Harold "Hal" Benz- Broker, GRI, ABR, SRES.

When I was younger, I loved to play baseball. Countless summer days turned to dusk and my friends and I would still be out there...playing with passion to the best of our ability... until we could no longer see in the dark of the warm summer's night. There's something about the feel of a well hit baseball on a good wooden bat. You could feel it in your hands at the moment of impact. It felt good... solid and strong. You immediately knew that your chances were good for getting on base. The coaches referred to this as "getting good wood on the ball', and it is what they tried to teach practice after practice. "It's a matter of good body mechanics and good timing" my coaches would say. But for me, it was mostly about timing.

When the game was slow, I was a real slugger. But as the kids grew bigger and stronger, their pitches came faster. Once they learned how to make the ball curve and slide away from me at the plate, the game got much, much harder. No longer would it be enough for me to get by with good body mechanics. Now I had to properly time my swing as well. I needed make a good decision as to what kind of pitch was coming, and I needed to do it quickly. Would it be a fastball or a curve ball? They all looked the same to me as they left the pitcher's hand!! I found myself taking far too long to decide which pitches to swing at. ‘Stop over thinking it" my coaches would instruct. "Just get some good wood on the ball!" But try as I might, my swing came too late. If I was lucky enough to make contact, it was rarely on the good wood...the "fat part of the bat". The feeling in my hands became different. The contact felt "thin" and weak. At times... especially on colder days, my hands stung. I finally came to understand why playing competitive ball...I mean really competitive ball...is enjoyed by so few. It's so damn hard to see the ball, decide what you're looking at, and know what to do about it before it gets past you. All the body mechanics in the world couldn't make up for this fact. And it was during these split seconds of indecision at the plate that my childhood dream of playing professional ball died.

I fear that so many of today's buyers are at risk of suffering the same cruel fate. As the market as cooled over the past few years, so many have decided to wait...believing that they can "properly time their swing" in the marketplace. The have become real scholars of price trends and watch interest rates like a hawk. I would argue that there are some that have an even better handle on these issues than many licensees working out there today. But the problem with timing the market lies in the complex ingredients that make up affordability: price vs. interest rates. Let's oversimplify things a little and plot them both out on this "V" diagram. Historically when prices are on the higher side of the diagram, affordability is achieved through lowering the interest rates on the other side. When prices are on the low end of the diagram, banks can charge a higher rate on their side without diminishing affordability too much. We are finding it helpful to have our buyer's mark a diagram like this one with the points where they believe price and interest were during different markets. During the late 1970's it was low prices vs. high interest. And in our recent run up market? We were dealing with low interest rates vs. higher prices. But what about today's market? Today's buyers are facing an unprecedented opportunity with historically low interest AND affordable prices. And yet so many of them are still waiting.

I call the bottom part of this diagram (the part circled here) the "sweet spot" in this housing market. It's the point where you will get good wood on the ball if you decide to swing. And it's the place where the market is TODAY. Could you wait just a bit longer and get to the absolute bottom point on the diagram...where prices and rates are both the lowest? Probably not. The only way to know for sure where the bottom lies is to see it from the other side. And today's real estate game is getting harder. It's tougher than ever to see the ball, decide what you're looking at and decide what to do before it gets past you. In my market, there is an enormous amount of pent up buyer demand. When the media finally shouts "swing" from the stands, it will be far too late for many. "Stop over thinking it" we implore our buyers. "Just get some good wood on the ball!" The buyers who are listening to the coach are making contact and achieving success. The ones who are still waiting at the plate could easily strike out...their dream of home ownership going the way of my major league baseball career.

"Caught looking" is what my coach used to write in his notebook when I returned to the dugout. And let me tell you first hand...it's a lousy feeling.

WHEW...What a week!! Somehow, I managed to make it to another weekend. Wait... I'm a real estate broker...I don't get weekends!! Oh well... But in the past 5 days, I've had buyers lose their jobs while in escrow, sellers refuse a terrific cash offer because their friends convinced them that their 2006 price is really still out there! I even met a qualified cash buyer this week who insisted that I find a way for her to buy her $500K dream home on her credit card so she could take advantage of the extra bonus points...or it was no deal! It kinda makes you wonder sometimes...

I find myself working harder these days to buoy the spirits of my associates. Their buyers are more stubborn (more scared, I think), and their sellers are more impatient and demanding. When they come back into my office they sometimes look like they're carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders...like they've lost their mojo. I listen to their stories, and then try to dust them off, give them a pat on the head, and send them back into the game. Some days it's easier than others. I find that keeping a big bowl of chocolates in my office is a good thing...

Real estate has had easier times. Deep down, we all knew that the run up market of the past few years was an illusion, and that there would be a tougher road ahead. But for too many of us, we simply didn't prepare ourselves for what that reality might look like. We find ourselves now with less business going on and far too much empty space in our daytimers. As your broker, I would love to see this time filled with prospecting, training and networking activities. Kicking up the business activities is the surest way to change your fortune in this, or any market. So I try to make these opportunities available weekly in my office...with modest participation. But for some, there is still too much empty time in the day...time that gets filled with negative thoughts about the market, your clients...and worse. We need to use our time better.

Here's an idea. Spend some time volunteering. Yes, the economy is tough, and our business is challenged. But you know what? Even on our worst days, everybody goes home. In my previous life as a hospice social worker and administrator, I learned this lesson well. There really aren't bad days in real estate...are there? If you have some extra time on your hands, I recommend volunteering at your local hospice program, children's hospital or nursing home. Bring flowers to a shut-in, or share your talents as a tutor or coach. If you have a VA hospital in your area, see what you can do to improve the life of a veteran...their numbers are growing far too quickly. Do you like to cook? How about preparing meals for your local soup kitchen...they're serving a lot more people these days. When society's problems grow our opportunity to help becomes bigger as well. Make the most of this.

Let's face it...there really aren't bad days in real estate. We need to keep things in their proper perspective. But there really are people who are facing the worst days of their lives... and we can help. I'm long past my idealistic days as a young social worker when I thought I could save the world on my own. We'll still need each other for that. But I remain awestruck when I see the power that a heartfelt gesture has in changing the life of someone in need. Try it. It probably won't make you feel any better about the economy, but you'll feel better about yourself. And when we feel good about ourselves, good things happen. Hey...you might even get your mojo back.

Yesterday, one of my associates brought in a direct mail piece sent by one of the competing brokers in my marketplace. This particular broker is a very small franchise office (less than 10 associates) within one of the big name brands. On the mailer, the broker made the following statement "When it is time to sell, do not pay 5 to 6% of your homes value when you can receive the same high level professional service from a name you can trust for only 3 ½%." They went on to list the services included in their "premier full service plan" and even offered an unconditional service guarantee to prospective clients. An interesting business proposition...

What I find problematic about this pitch has little to do with the advertised fee. Whether this broker chooses to take a listing at a fee lower than I might is truly not my concern here. I'm all for competition in the marketplace. In my state, brokerage fees are fully negotiable. If someone creates a business model that is more competitive, I say go for it! (And let me see it...) What really troubles me about this flyer is that the broker has set their fee on the front end...without ever meeting a client, learning about their specific needs, or seeing their property. Can a real professional establish a fee for their service without knowing who they're working with or what the job requires? Of course not! All they can do is establish a fee for the stock services that they're willing to offer...regardless of the client's unique needs. And I believe that this "one size fits all approach" is bad for our profession.

What this broker is doing is exploiting 2 unfortunate perceptions that held by the public. The first is that Realtors are paid too much, and the second is that there is absolutely no difference between who we are as professionals and what we can accomplish for our clients. It's called the "commodity theory", and discount brokers have used it to leverage the market for years. The premise is as faulty as it is simple: each one of us does the same thing as the other, and achieves the same results as the other. So if there is no difference between brokers or agents, the only thing that matters is the price. Hey...do you compare the price on bananas when you go shopping? Probably not...a banana is a banana is a banana, right?

Wrong. If we want to be taken seriously as professionals, we need to protect our professionalism. And what a professional bring to the table is not their FEE, it's their VALUE. The truth is that some brokers and some agents have a higher level of skill, better tools and resources, and just outperform their peers. They achieve better results for the client. In a competitive marketplace, their services are more valuable...plain and simple. Would I be called upon to pitch an inning of relief for the NY Yankees in a tight playoff game? Nope...I just couldn't get the job done with my blistering 53 mph fastball! But Mariano Rivera can, and he's compensated accordingly. As I tell my associates time and time again...if you can't show WHY you're worth more...you're NOT worth more! The debate must be shifted away from "what the seller pays" to "what the seller gains". (If you want a really good read, check out Waging War on Real Estate's Discounters by Bernice Ross).

The truth is always in the numbers. According to our MLS, my office listings sell for a significantly higher sale to list price ratio than this broker achieves, and in significantly less time. In fact, our numbers are among the highest in our county. And in my market which is losing value at approximately 1% per month, these numbers matter...a lot. The VALUE that my team creates (at a modestly higher brokerage fee) produces a net gain to the seller at closing that far surpasses any potential savings generated by a discounted brokerage FEE...usually by 2-4% per transaction. As professional Realtors, we need to understand that this is the playing field where we can add the greatest VALUE for our clients. We need to know our own numbers, our company's numbers, and our competition's numbers. But what if we really aren't all that competitive by the numbers? Then find out what part of your professional game needs improvement and fix it! Do you need to get better at establishing the correct list price? Could you do better with your negotiation skills? Maybe we simply need to learn how to leverage Web 2.0 to achieve greater exposure and urgency for our listings. But in my view, a professional works on achieving better outcomes for their client...not on simply reducing their fees.

In a recession, people become afraid. And when people are afraid, they reach for what's comfortable. I get that. In today's struggling economy, there is real comfort created by the "sale price mentality". But as my father (a baby of the last great depression) always said "only the rich can afford to buy on the cheap" In the end, when we're shopping for the services of a proven professional...be it a surgeon, defense attorney, major league relief pitcher or a professional Realtor...one size NEVER fits all.

In the end, your clients usually get what they pay for.

I love to cook. It's probably because I really, really love to eat. In fact, if I was not a real estate broker, I would probably become a chef. When I was a very little boy, it was my father...and ex- short order cook...who first turned me on to the joys of the kitchen. So today...on Superbowl Sunday... I've been called upon to make a few "snacks" for the big game. OK...anyone can make that 7-layer dip (which I really love) or even a decent plate of nachos or wings. But I wanted to do something different...something a little more fun.

Pears! I thought. I love pears....Bartlett, Anjou or Bosc. There's something wonderful about their flavor, texture and juiciness. I have a super simple recipe for pancetta crisps topped with goat cheese and PEARS! Add a few fresh thyme leaves, and you're done!! This recipe is always a big hit when I'm looking for some quick and funky finger food (email me if you want the recipe...it's a killer). But have you ever tried to get a ripe pear in the supermarket on February 1^st when the outside temperature is 27 degrees? What a bummer!

The problem is not that you can't find pears in the supermarket...you can. But they come in 2 basic varieties: hard as a rock, and mushy. It seems that if you want to cook using pears, you need to buy them well in advance, and then sit some weird bedside vigil...waiting for that narrow window when they become ripe...but not too ripe. Usually, I miss the timing completely. I check them out every day, hoping that they're ready for me to enjoy. They're often not, and I leave them alone. Then...I get busy. Several (many) days later, I check back on them with heightened expectation, only to find that they're shot...well past their prime, and ready for the trash. CURSES...I shout! If only I paid closer attention!! I hate buying fruit to feed to my compost bin! My local market has decided to help me out, offering "ripe pears" for a mere 40 cents/ lb more than their petrified cousins. But hey...today is the big game...so I decided to spring for the good stuff!

As I drove home from the market, I got to thinking about how our real estate leads are like pears. They never seem ready when we want them to be. We get a new lead, and just like my pears...we immediately want to put them into a recipe. But they're not quite ready. So we wait for a little while...hoping that they'll ripen quickly. But they don't... and we get distracted. When we finally check back in, it's always the same story. CURSES AGAIN...we shout!! They listed or bought with someone else. But this time, instead of blaming ourselves for not checking on them more frequently, we blame them for being disloyal... or worse.

Pears act like pears...and clients act like clients. The simple truth is that they're both going to be ready on their own timetables...not ours. Sooner or later we need to come to the realization that if we want to be successful in this business, we need to keep "checking on our ingredients". It amazes me how many agents don't have a good system for managing their database. Correction...it amazes me how many agents don't even have a database for managing their leads! They work with whoever is in front of them at the moment, and then they get distracted and move on to someone new. But the leads are never "ripe", and the outcome is never what they want.

Buying "ripe leads" is expensive. But throwing away "spoiled leads" is really, really expensive! Still....this is the choice that I see so many struggling agents make day after day after day. And it doesn't need to be that way! There's a wide variety of contact management software out there. I used Top Producer for years when I was actively selling, but there are others. Hey...even a well constructed Excel spreadsheet would be a start. The push-back I always hear from agents is that it costs money. Well, yes...a good database is not free. But did you ever calculate the cost of lost leads. Try it...it's a real eye-opener! If you need some ideas about where to begin, post an inquiry right here on Activerain...you'll get plenty of them. Learn how to stay close to your leads through drip campaigns, and regularly scheduled follow up. It's really not that hard.

But for heaven sake, let's stop wasting the pears. They're so damn good with pancetta and goat cheese!!

Last Thursday afternoon I was in the office when I heard the news. A commercial airliner had just dropped from the sky into the icy Hudson River. It was a sobering thought that immediately captured the attention of a nation.

By now, most of us know how the story unfolds... it's the birds, it's the plane...and it's Superman!Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger and his crew managed to pull off the impossible that day. Described as cool, calm and remarkably humble, he successfully landing his crippled airbus on a frozen river in a major metropolitan city... as if he did this every Thursday afternoon... threading the needle between buildings, bridges and boats in the process. Miraculously, everyone went home on that frozen winter's day. And Captain Sullenberger has deservedly been lauded a new American Superhero.

But how do you get to be a superhero? The decisions and actions of this pilot and his crew were utterly remarkable. They have been described by most as heroic. But I would propose that what we all witnessed that afternoon was flawless execution. In my view, the true heroism of this man was earned through the countless years of dedication and commitment that made this level execution possible. Thousands of flight hours, countless hours training inside and outside of flight simulators, and a dedication to teach others what he understands about flight and safety prepared Capt. Sullenberger for this one great moment with fate. His burning and relentless passion to be the best he could be at "art of flying" is what in the end, saved scores of lives. I suspect that throughout his career there were many times when it was not easy, convenient or cost effective to maintain this high level of professional dedication. But he chose to do so anyway. And it's through choices like these that professionals become experts and heroes are born. Heroism is the outcome achieved by ordinary people when extraordinary preparation meets with extraordinary circumstance.The unfolding life story of Capt. Sullenberger appears to be one of great heroism.

There's something about passion. Ask any pilot and you'll see their eyes light up when they talk about it. For some people, flying ignites a passion that is impossible to extinguish. It's passion that keeps us focused...driving us to become better than we already are or ever thought possible. It's passion that makes our lives worth living. Are we passionate about real estate?Do we share the same burning desire to be the best at our chosen profession that Capt. Sullenberger has for his? Or has the weight of our current economy broken our spirit? Try to remember how it felt when you first earned your real estate license. You were probably a little nervous, but for many it felt like "the sky was the limit" and "anything was possible". And then life got in the way and it all became a little more complicated. Are we living our passion in real estate or just going through the motions?

Become that superhero. The world needs more of them. Now more than ever before, our buyers and sellers need us to have a heroic level of expertise. We need to be able to execute flawlessly under the pressure of our market...regardless of how dire the crisis might appear. We need to push through whatever barriers are out there that are keeping us from being the best we can be. Re-commit to learning as much as you can about your market and your inventory. Learn, practice, drill and rehearse the skills of prospecting, negotiation and communication. Learn how to use the newest and most innovative technologies to improve the service you deliver to others. And above all, surround yourself with those people who keep you balanced and your passion alive.

Life is funny sometimes...we never know in advance the precise moment when we'll be called upon to become the next superhero. For 155 fortunate passengers and crew, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger was up to the task one frigid winter's afternoon. Here's to you, Sully!