Mark Lyon, PA, CRS, CRB

For Real- Keller Williams Agents in Pembroke Pines Are. How often do we have to deal with one of our customers not facing reality? Like the buyer wanting to pay less than market value and the seller wanting to sell above market value. We say there not realistic. I hear a lot of people these days saying, "Is that for real." When they find something surprising, being real is important to people, it's trustworthy, it shows character and integrity.

So are you real as a real estate professional? When asked or when the customer or client suggest some idea or thought that you know won't happen do you bring them to reality, I know that Realtors like to talk about the reality of the market to their customers, but are you as a human being real with your customers.

Being real means putting their goals ahead of your commission. Are you doing that with your customers or just buying the listings and telling them what they want to hear to avoid confrontation? Being real you will earn close more transactions because your customers will grow to trust you.

The Waddle and the Soar Keller Williams Agents Know How to Soar We are not all born eagles, some of us are ducks, with that in mind let us, remember eagles soar and ducks waddle. Let us learn to recognize those among us who are ducks and by far they are the majority of people and treat those ducks as they want to be treated like ducks they don't want to be eagles. Ducks are very useful, they swim well, are friendly and social, they move slowly, we're not really sure of where they are going we just hope they do, they are non-threatening, show much enthusiasm when they see a free meal. While the eagle glides the skies high above, gracefully looking for its next opportunity. No wonder we all like to fancy ourselves as eagles.

As in John Maxwell book Leadership Gold, he writes good people are found not changed. They can change themselves, but you can't change them. Maxwell also writes about the mysteries of the mind. Why are some people motivated and others not? Why does one salesperson see his first prospect at seven in the morning, while the other sees his first at eleven? I don't know. Call it mysteries of the mind.

We all attend seminars and one walks out and says, "I'm going to change my life." Another walks out with a yawn and says, "I've heard all this stuff before". Why is that?

The wealthy man says to a thousand people, "I read this book, and it started me on the road to wealth." Guess how many thousand go out and get the book? Answer: Very few why wouldn't everyone get the book. Mysteries of the mind.....

To one person you have to say, slow down your working too hard, you can't possibly go, go, go, you'll have a heart attack, the other person won't get off the couch. What is the difference? Why wouldn't everyone strive to be wealthy and happy?

Chalk it all up to mysteries of the mind, and don't waste your time trying to turn ducks into eagle, find people who already have the motivation and drive to be eagles and then just let them soar.

Here are three good reasons not to send ducks to Eagle School

1) If You Send Ducks To Eagle School You Will Frustrate The Ducks
Let's face it Ducks are not supposed to be Eagles.

2) If You Send Ducks To Eagle School, You Will Frustrate The Eagles
There is a saying "Birds of a feather flock together." Eagles don't want to hang around with Ducks.

3) If You Send Ducks To Eagle School, You Will Frustrate Yourself
Here is a familiar nursery rhyme that reads

Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been?
I've been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse under the chair

Why did the cat start chasing a mouse in London when he was there to visit the Queen a once in a lifetime opportunity? Because he was a cat! What else would a cat do?

Cats do what cats do, ducks do what ducks do and eagles do what eagles do. Don't try and train a duck to do an eagle's job!

When building your team look for eagles, trust me your life will be easier and happier

I Think I Can, I Think I Can- Keller Williams Agents Know They Can. "The Little Train That Thought It Could" brings back fond memories to me. Many of you will probably remember the story of that little train that did. I can remember my mother reading that story to me as a young child. This story goes like this I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. Do you remember it?

Well the little engine thought it could, and it did get over that steep mountain. When we think we can, we do. Now I' m sure that little train worked awfully hard, and what we need to say to our self as Realtors is, just one more call to make, one more door to knock on one more mailing to mail, that's what the little train did. Athletes say one more lap, one more round, one more hole, one more bowl, and one more dive, that's the thought process of champions. There is no quit. Many people quit just inches from success without ever knowing how close they were.

In The Olympics we watch these tremendous athletes from around the world, have you ever wondered what it took to get there? I don't see any quit in their faces regardless of whether they win a medal or not, they are all winners because they think they can and they go out and perform as though they will, they give it their all. Now some don't get the prize on that day but they win on another day many of life's winners loose more than they win. Thomas Edison had something like 1700 different inventions and he is only remembered for three, the light bulb, electricity and the phonograph. I recently heard Warren Buffet say in an interview, you only need to win a few times to be a success, what I don't think he meant was you only have to try a few times to achieve, it is a continuous push forward, knowing you can.

Are you giving it your all? You became a Realtor by choice; why not choose excellence, your best. I can tell you this if your manager, team leader or broker is not encouraging you to reach for excellence, fire them today and find one that will. But first ask yourself if excellence is what I really want, because if it is, there will be growing pains that come with it , but the reward of accomplishment and being a pro and helping others are all well worth the climb up the mountain.

High Five Benefits- Keller Williams Agents Know How to Celebrate A high five is a celebratory gesture made by two people, each raising one hand to slap the raised hand of the other - usually meant to communicate mutual satisfaction to spectators or to extend congratulations from one person to another.

In real estate sales we need to high five each other a lot more than we do which will get those positive endorphins flowing in our brain. I have seen so many agents over the years get listings and close deals and for some it almost seems like a chore. I come from a sporting back ground of horse racing and every win was an occasion to high five. I was a leading trainer on my circuit for several years and during those best of years my win percentage hovered around 14%. That means for every hundred of my horses that ran in a race I only won 14 races. In other words my closing ratio as it is known in real estate was 1 in 7. 1 win for every 7 starts. When I was out listing homes on a daily basis my closing ratio hovered around 70% which meant it took me 1.5 listing appointments to get a single listing.

My son who is also a Realtor, and has been for about 10 years asked some time ago, in a nice way, why I still get such a big thrill or, as he put it, a big head when I get a listing after all these years in the business. I thought about it and the only conclusion I could come to was the thrill, the thrill of victory, getting the signature. I believe that it is that thrill, the releasing of the endorphins that keep me coming back. I think in part the best of the best also have this release no matter how many goals they score, races they win or listings they take, the thrill is still there. Could you imagine a pro ball player getting a touchdown or hitting a home run and hanging his head down and his team mates acting as though they did not see the points being scored and all acting as if it's just another part of the job, such as having to go over an inspection report with a seller. What an exciting game that would be for us to watch. Zig Ziglar commented "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."
 

So the next time you or someone in your office get a listing or makes a deal, give them the high five, release those motivating endorphins by creating excitement in your office.

The Lighter Side of Rejection- Keller Williams Agents in Pembroke Pines Know How To Handle it.What is rejection? It's not what we tend to think it is, so let's define this term rejection. Webster's Online Dictionary defines it as; refuse to accept, consider, and submit to.

Real estate agents think they have an exclusive on rejection. Well they don't. Let's take prospecting via the phone for FSBO'S expired listings or just cold calling. Having been a major fan of cold calling and having done my share of calling the expired listings and FSBO'S I know what you are talking about.

Let me share with you what I discovered about this rejection thing. The more I called the less rejection I felt, even though I was getting rejected in greater numbers than I had ever been in my life, but what I also discovered was, I was getting my share of yes's in there, and from those yes's I had a regular pay check. Here is the point I am trying to make, just like the server who offers hundreds of diners coffee on a given day and they refuse, she does not take offense and say I am not serving anymore coffee today. What the person on the other end of the phone is really saying, in a not so nice way, is no thank you, just like the diner is to the server, but why doesn't the server get upset? Because she knows she has many more diners coming in later on in the day who will accept her offer.

What rejection really is guys is when you go home and find that your spouse has changed the locks on the front door, that is rejection, but for a moment let us pretend we had, depending on your gender a harem of women, and for you ladies your harem of men or, what ever you would like to have in there. If one of these harem members were to change the locks on their fun house that you planned on visiting after a busy day at the office and get some pampering, I doubt if you would be that upset, as you know you have many more opportunities for companionship and pampering from another member of your large harem.

I hope you get the point here, I am of course make fun to show you that by working greater numbers, you have heard it's a numbers game right, that you will not notice this rejection because you are working from the position of abundance and not scarcity.