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DO OPEN HOUSES WORK? IT DEPENDS

11/27/2017

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​A survey in 2015 by RISMedia found that 56% of those surveyed said that open houses don’t work. Only 44% said they are a useful tool.

I have news for you: For those 56% of agents who feel that open houses are useless… they are. And I would bet that for the 44% that think they are a good thing, they are.

Like so many things, this tool is only as good as we think it is. If we think open houses work, we will approach them with that attitude and perform the tasks we need to in order for the open house to be successful. If we think they are pointless, we will do a lousy job setting the stage for the open house and it will flop.

How many times have you heard an agent say “I have to sit an open house today”? That’s just what they’ll do. They’ll stick a couple of signs in the yard, turn on the football game and sit through the open house. I’ve been in open houses where the agent never bothered to get off the couch. One where the agent was actually asleep in a chair and didn’t wake up the entire time my clients and I toured the house. I bet those agents thought open houses don’t work.

We’re not going to be doing any sitting in our open houses this weekend. We’re having Open House Events. You are going to select the house carefully, prepare the seller, invite the neighbors, have a special VIP preview for the neighbors, serves snacks and drinks, ask lots of questions and we’re going to get prospects from this Open House Event. Heck, we may even sell the house!

Do each and every step outlined in the strategy I’ve provided. Get started, you’ve only got 6 days! 3-2-1 GO!

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LEARN YOUR LINES, EARN BIG COMMISSIONS

11/12/2017

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    When I was a  brand new agent, one of the big trainers in real estate was a guy named Jerry Bresser. Jerry taught agents specific scripts and dialogues that we were to memorize word for word and never vary those dialogues. I believed in what he was teaching and learned those scripts (I still can recite many of them today). I credit them for much of my success as an agent and a broker.

I know I’ve already lost a lot of you. You don’t believe in memorizing what you are going to say. You don’t like canned sales scripts. But consider this.

You can repeat a memorized script without sounding canned. When you go to the movies, do the words the actors speak sound canned or mechanical? Do musical groups sound scripted when they sing their songs? Of course not. But those words and that music is memorized. In fact, they are so thoroughly memorized that they sound as if the actor or singer is saying them for the first instead of the hundredth, which is most likely.

Can you imagine plays or movies where the actors just make up what they’re going to say as they go along? Or a choir or band where the singers and musicians “wing it” when they step out on stage. Sure, there is such a thing as improvisational acting and some jazz is improvised, but even those have a structure and framework that guides what is to be said or played. 

The  best actors, those who deliver their memorized lines in the most meaningful and moving way, win the Academy Award. In music, it’s the Grammy. In RE/MAX, it’s the 100% Club, the Platinum Club or some other award level that acknowledges your excellence. It will be much easier to win those awards if you can deliver your message in a meaningful and enlightening way. And that is easier with a script.

Do you have memorized answers to clients questions? Are your listing presentations and buyer consultations memorized so that you know what you’ll say every time and won’t miss any key points?

They should be.

By having memorized scripts and dialogues you will be prepared for the questions that always come up. You’ll be sure and cover everything you client needs to know. And you’ll close more sales.

So how do you use scripts and dialogues without sounding canned? Here are a few tips:

1.    Memorize and rehearse. Over and over and over. Rehearse so many times that you can say it in your sleep. That is how you make it sound natural: you make it second nature. It rolls off your tongue and, because you know exactly what you’re going to say, you sound more natural and more confident.
2.    It will sound canned if it’s not memorized. Canned is when a telemarketer says, “Mr. Kenneth Crowley? This is Joe Blow. Can you hear me ok? Mr. Kenneth Crowley, you’ve been selected to receive blah blah blah”. That sales pitch never works because they clearly don’t know me (they use my formal name and usually mispronounce it), they use gimmicks (can you hear me?), and they are reading it so they don’t miss anything. (You won’t miss anything because you know what you’re going to say and you say the same thing every time because you have it memorized to the point of it sounding natural and unrehearsed!)
3.    Give it your own style and make the words your own. The Beatles’ song “Yesterday” has been performed and recorded by more artists than any song in history. It has been performed over seven million times and recorded more than  4,000 times. But even though all the performances and recordings use the same words and the same music, do they all sound the same? Do they sound canned? No way!. Yesterday has been recorded by Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, punk bands, hip hop artists, a capella groups, jazz groups – just about every musical flavor there is. You know the music and the words when you hear each recording, but none sound alike. Your  real estate scripts and dialogues can be like that, too.

Part of the reason we don’t want to memorize scripts is that we like to think it sounds more natural if we say things “off the cuff”. We don’t know exactly what to say. And – let’s be honest- it’s a lot of work. But I promise you real results if you start to learn, then memorize, then rehearse scripts and dialogues. And the more you practice, the more natural it will sound and the more confident you will be. Start with ones I’ve provided here or create your own. But never walk into any sales situation again without knowing exactly what you’re going to say.

Keep running! The end is in sight!


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High Five Friday! The first 5 days are done!!

11/7/2017

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Well, you did it! The first 5 days of the Blitz are behind you! Now, here's the question: Did you do your best? Notice, I didn't ask if you made every single call or completed every task. I only asked if you did your best. Did you? Not "did you do as much as you could do considering how busy you are" or "I know you had two settlements this week, so I don't suppose you got much done, did you?".
    I simply asked if you did your best. Can you look in the mirror and honestly tell yourself you gave it all you've got.
   If the answer is yes, then this: was your best good enough? Really your best? If the answer is still yes, then GOOD JOB! If not, then pick yourself up and start fresh next week.
   Ask yourself what about the calls you were asked to make kept you from making them? What secret thing are you saying to yourself that is keeping you from giving yourself 100%?  Well, good news (and bad). These tasks are still around and won't go away until you complete them. So if you didn't make the calls or gave up and left a message, or you didn't really clean up your database, you've still got time. The schedule next week calls for lots of phone calls. This time the purpose will be to try and get face-to-face meetings with the people you call. But don't worry, there's still plenty of time next week to make those calls you might have missed this week.
    So. If you did your best, high fives all around. And if not, don't be too hard on yourself. Just hard enough to do better next week.

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Beware of day 2 and other unexpected tips

11/6/2017

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I hope you’re as excited about starting this program as I am! I’ve helped agents finish their year strong with this program three times since 2012, when I first wrote this course. I can tell you, it works.

If you participate, do everything that you’re asked to do, and give it everything you’ve got, I know you will get at least one new contract before the course is over. If your average commission is, say, $5000, that’s a sweet way to end the year or start the new one, wouldn’t you say?

As I’ve coached these blitzes over the years, I’ve discovered four unexpected lessons to help you be successful with this year-end program. Want to know what they are? Good. Because I’m about to tell you:

Lesson 1: Beware of Day 2 Research has shown that the day you are most likely to quit is the second day of a program. Not day 8 or day 15, it’s Day 2. See, Day 1 is exciting. You’re enthusiastic and optimistic, confident and anxious to make this work. On day 2, the work starts and way too many people simply give up. So, when you set your sights on the finish line of 2017, don’t base it on your excitement level on day 1. Focus on day 2, then day 10, then 24, then the final date. The best way to stay excited is to finish each task and look forward to the next. Just do it!

Lesson 2: Don’t be a jerk to yourself We do more to stand in our own way to a strong finish than anyone or anything else. You’ve heard the old line “you’d never let anyone talk to you the way you talk to yourself”. The truth is, you’ll miss a day, occasionally you won’t make all your calls, you’ll forget a step here and there. Be nice to yourself about it. You’re not perfect. Just resolve to not let it happen often and recommit if and when it does.

Lesson 3: Don’t take on too much One of the reasons most people fail at New Year’s Resolutions is that they try to do too much. I’m a firm believer in BHAGs (Big Hairy A** Goals), but if you try to make up for an entire year in the next 45 days, you won’t do it. Set reasonable, achievable goals, and achieve them.

Lesson 4: Make it fun! Having fun as you work toward a goal increases the likelihood that you’ll succeed. It’s not enough to have a party at the finish line – although we will do that. Come to the weekly sessions, share ideas with the others there. I’ve planned tasks, exercises and activities that will make the journey fun.

​This blitz is about doing the things you should have been doing all year. There won’t be a lot of surprises, but we will have a lot of fun, and we can make a lot of money. Thanks for joining me on this race – hey, look! I see the finish line just ahead! Step on it!!

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No excuses!

11/5/2017

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I met an agent last week. He's with a competitor, and someone I would LOVE to have with our company. He does a really good business already - 7-8 million in sales a year. We talked about him building his team, about his plans for the future, about where he wants to be and how he might change companies. 
When he left, the manager who had introduced him to me asked if I knew how old he was. I guessed late 60s. I was wrong.
He is 88 years old!!
Eighty-eight and offering no excuses. For sure not using his age as an excuse. He is not making excuses, he is making plans. He's not taking it easy, he's taking it to the next level. He's not holding himself back, he's propelling himself forward.
So what's your excuse? Too old? Too tired? Too late? Not enough time? Not enough skill or knowledge? Not enough energy? Baloney!
Take your excuses and throw them away, because for the next 6 weeks, I'm not accepting them. 
And if you feel like you have reasons why you can't make it to the finish line by doing the tasks I'm assigning, look more closely. Sure, sometimes we have legitimate reasons. Illness or tragedy in our families are two that come to mind. But most of the time, our reasons  are just our prettied-up excuses.
Someone once said "Regardless of the difficulties we may face... the old adage is still true - you can make excuses or you can make progress, but you cannot make both!" So today you choose. Excuses or progress? That's the choice. Make the right choice. See you at the finish line

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    Author

    Ken Crowley is Broker of RE/MAX 100 and RE/MAX Realty Group. He has been in real estate for 34 years and a broker for 31 years. He has the designations of CRB, ABR, GRI, CRP and a whole bunch of other letters.

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