REALTORS, The Disruptors are at the Gates!

 The Disruptors are at the gates, the industry is seeing more clamoring to get into the middle of the transaction than we have seen in many decades. We are watching Wall Street dump billions into the home selling sector. They are not doing that without the belief that they can take the lion's share of the commissions currently going to Brokerages and Agents.

When I mention disruptors to most agents, most seem to think that the "new cool kids" broker model is what I am speaking of, I am not. While those types of "disruptors" might be disruptive to brokerages for a period of time, but that has been going on for the entire time I have been in the industry and longer I am sure. These remind me of a big Ferris wheel, who's cool this year is old next. Every hot cycle also spawns a lot of new low fee brokerages to attract agents, they are popular while it's hot and disappear when it's not. Those are not the disruptors I am speaking of.

 The disruptors I mean is the game changer big data companies, and even more so this potential lawsuit against NAR and the industry practises. Anyone who thinks this is nothing isn't paying attention to who is involved, and the argument they are making. I see no way that we won't have a big change coming in the next 3-5 years when it concludes.

 We have allowed them space in the market, just as we did Zillow, by not focusing on client experience and believing that our value was simply our control of information and data. As an industry most gravitated to a transactional model and away from a consumer focused one. This allowed our services to become commoditized making it vulnerable to these outside threats.

 I am doing a deep dive study in my family's ancestry and since I'm a history and economics nerd I'm seeing some real lessons we should pay attention to today. As I look back across the centuries in my family almost all were farmers. Each generation the oldest living son would take over the farm. This went on from the 1600's until my siblings and I were the very first generation that no one stayed on the farm. This was in the late 70's to 1980. My dad and I tried to keep it going but to create enough cash flow to support two families we had to increase revenue per acre. We tried to put in a confinement hog operation to do that but were shot down on zoning. When you look to economic history you would see that in 1930 there were 30 million American farmers producing just enough to feed 100 million Americans. By 1980 there were only 3 million farmers producing enough for 300 million Americans as well as those all over the world. In 50 years technology eliminated 90% of American farmers. But this was fifty years so it wasn't as noticeable until about 1985 when Willy Nelson was having Farm Aid to try to save family farms.

 I believe we are at the tipping point right now in the real estate industry and will see a similar sea change take place.

  I had my "Scarlett O"Hara" moment, that "As God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again," was in 1999. It was the early days of the Internet, when we still called it the World Wide Web, the public was only introduced to it around 1996. I was running two businesses, one was selling new homes for a builder, the other was a marketing and distribution company. At our meeting on Tuesday morning the builder said that all of our contracts were going to be going online and paper would be no more. This was terrifying to me, because I had never touched a computer, anything with a keyboard intimidated me. I recall thinking that I would just put all my effort into my distribution company. However, that Saturday at a convention we were told it was going 100% online. I have never felt so terrified. I saw myself living in a cardboard box, wondering if there was even a place for me in this new world.  I made the decision to learn, immersing myself in not only the Internet, but online marketing, reading, going to every seminar where the stars at the time were speaking. Michael Dell at the Detroit Economics Club really helped me see more clearly. Ever since, I am committed to never get left behind, to jump in front of whatever I see on the horizon to see if it is something that will be the disruptor or not.

 My beliefs are that there will be two models that survive and thrive and those will he large super efficient systematized teams that will be transactional. They will be the Walmart lower cost per transaction to make everything happen quickly and smooth but the client will be responsible for more leg work. This will be lower commission but high volume. The other will be the Nordstrom model as professional concierge level service for those who value their time and experience more than trying to do it as cheaply as possible. This will be a higher commission rate for higher service levels. All those in the middle become Sears with similar futures.

All of this will require running as a true business model not the traditional self employed model where agents get lost doing all the transaction activities "pushing paper" and not focused on the ONLY two things they should be doing, giving their clients a wow Experience that they will refer and pay more for, and communicating with database and doing business development. Anyone who doesn't figure out how to systematize all their back end processes are going to be the farmers heading into town.

Where's Your Cheese?

  We are watching Wall Street dump billions into the home selling sector. They are not doing that without the belief that they can take the lion's share of the commissions currently going to Brokerages and Agents. We have allowed them space in the market, just as we did Zillow by not focusing on client experience and believing that our value was simply our control of information and data. As an industry most gravitated to a transactional model and away from a consumer focused one. This allowed our services to become commoditized making it vulnerable to these outside threats.

  I am doing a deep dive study in my family's ancestry and since I'm a history and economics nerd I'm seeing some real lessons we should pay attention to today. As I look back across the centuries in my family almost all were farmers. Each generation the oldest living son would take over the farm. This went on from the 1600's until my siblings and I were the very first generation that no one stayed on the farm. This was in the late 70's to 1980. My dad and I tried to keep it going but to create enough cash flow to support two families we had to increase 7 revenue per acre. We tried to put in a confinement hog operation to do that but were shot down on zoning. When you look to economic history you would see that in 1930 there were 30 million American farmers producing just enough to feed 100 million Americans. By 1980 there were only 3 million farmers producing enough for 300 million Americans as well as shopping all over the world. In 50 years technology eliminated 90% of American farmers. But this was fifty years so it wasn't as noticeable until about 1985 when Willy Nelson was having Farm Aid to try to save family farms.

  I believe we are at the tipping point right now in the real estate industry and will see a similar sea change take place.  My beliefs are that there will be two models that survive and thrive and those will he large super efficient systematized teams that will be transactional. They will be the Walmart lower cost per transaction to make everything happen quickly and smooth but the client will be responsible for more leg work. This will be lower commission but high volume. The other will be the Nordstrom model as professional concierge level service for those who value their time and experience more than trying to do it as cheaply as possible. This will be a higher commission rate for higher service levels. All those in the middle become Sears with similar futures.

 All of this will require running as a true business model not the traditional self employed model where agents get lost doing all the transaction activities "pushing paper" and not focused on the ONLY two things they should be doing, giving their clients a WOW Experience that they will refer and pay more for, and communicating with database and doing business development. Anyone who doesn't figure out how to systematize all their back end processes are going to be the farmers heading into town.

Have You Ever Felt Blown Off Course? Thanks

 Isn’t it amazing how your paradigms can change with a new experience?
For most of my life I have tried to model my actions towards any goal or vision as described in the verse “But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." As an old farm kid, I knew clearly what this meant by experience. When you start to plow a field you “walk off” or measure it on both sides make a mark and drive straight to the mark. If you are tempted to look back you will forever see that swerve from the mark that entire year. So, to me, on any quest it meant you doggedly push towards the goal, fighting through any obstacles that may try to get in your way. When things don’t work you don’t change the goal but go back to the drawing board and go again. 
 Today I was reading in Stephen Covey’s book, "The 8th Habit" and he said, "The truth is we're all off track most of the time, all of us- every individual, family, organization or international flight to Rome. Just realizing this is a significant step. But, for many of us, the feeling of being off track brings with it discouragement and despair. It needn't and shouldn't be so depressing. Knowing we're off track is really an invitation to realign ourselves with true north principles and recommit ourselves to our destination.
 Remember, our journey as an individual, team or organization is like the flight of an airplane. Before the plane takes off, the pilots file a flight plan. They know exactly where they are going. But during the course of the flight, wind, rain, turbulence, air traffic, human error and other factors act upon the plane. They move that plane slightly in different directions so that most of the time to it is not even on the prescribed flight path. But barring anything too major, the plane will still arrive at it's destination. 
 Now how does that happen? During the flight, the pilots receive constant feedback. They receive information from instruments that read the environment, control towers, other airpanes, even sometimes the stars. And based on feedback, they make adjustments so that time and time again, they return to the original plan."
 Personally, I had a new experience last Sunday that made this message pound home. I was piloting a boat across Lake Michigan. It was the first time I drove something where there was nothing in view to point towards. That the destination was only visible to me by looking at gauges and by a compass. With the choppy waves of that great lake hitting my hull the bow seemed to constantly be pointing in a different direction. I was rarely directly on course, it was a state of nonstop corrections. But ultimately the destination was on target. What struck me even more so, was one of my compatriots who had driven before me, complimented me on how smooth I was, and how he found it so difficult. I had felt the exact opposite, that he was so smooth and I was all over the place. In both instances our perceptions changed dramatically when we saw how we were constantly fighting to stay on course as opposed to enjoying the smooth ride. 
 Isn't this how it feels in all our lives as we set our course and then face the never ending shifts we must to reach our own shores? Don't get weary in well doing, set your course and then understand it's going to ebb and flow by your corrections as you go. 

Build A Life Not Just A Living!

 As I sit here at a wrestling tournament that my son is coaching it made me think of a critical message I want to share. It is why I do what I do. It had driven decisions throughout my life. Too often I got it wrong, but thankfully got it right on some big ones. Don't get so busy making a living that you miss out on your life. In real estate that is an easy thing to do.

 Too often we become poptart agents who pop up every time a potential client pops up. We don't live our lives or businesses with intention but spontaneously, we are reactionary instead of proactive. As such we risk looking back and realizing we missed the most important things. A couple nights ago my son and I were talking about the tournament series, he mentioned a memory from his senior year at the "Medal Round" to go to State. He was down 8-1 going into the final period and looking up in the stands he saw me holding my face in my hands. He recalled thinking "Not again" he had lost an advancement round match the year before on a bad call. He came back to win and go the State Championship. I don't recall my head in my hands but not surprised if I did. The important thing was I was there. A few years earlier I took a huge pay cut and went into management to free up my weekends from my job in New home sales for a builder. Because that job requirement was working weekends. As REALTORS, you have the choice to run a business or a job.

 What gets me up in the morning now is helping agents take control of their businesses and their lives. When I hear one of our agents who is committed to learning and putting into practice the Complete agent business and systems training tell me that he best month in her more than a decade long successful career was in October with 12 pendings and that same month she realized for the first time in her career she had time to go to all her grandkid's games. I couldn't be more proud of her taking the risk to make changes and putting in the effort to take mastery of them to change her and her family's lives!

 I recall an old AT&T commercial where a mom was getting ready for work and her daughter came in asking to go to the beach. She told her daughter "I can't go to the beach, I've got an appointment with an important client. At that the daughter asked, "When do I get to be an important client?"

 It is those clients of yours I most enjoy working for with you and your business!

Please excuse typos etc I wrote this on my phone between matches the kids my son coaches, I'll edit later.

Are You A Natural REALTOR Or An Ongoing Student?

So many of us get into sales, or real estate, because we have been told our entire lives that we “have the gift of gab,” or “could sell ice to Eskimos.”  The difference in outcomes comes from if we continue to do it naturally or become students of our craft.

 There are seven key result areas in our industry. They are like digits in a telephone number, you must dial each in sequence if you want to get through and make a sale.  Your performance and effectiveness in each of these key results areas determine your overall success and height of your income.

 These key results areas are prospecting, building rapport, identifying needs, presenting through a conversational approach, answering objections, closing the sale and getting resales and referrals. Your own self-concept in each of these determines your performance and over all income.

 Fortunately, everyone who is good in any of these areas was once poor at it. Every professional in the top ten percent started in the bottom ten percent. The good news is if you can drive a car or operate a cell phone, you can become excellent in each of these seven critical skills. It is simply a matter of learning and practice.

 If you have a poor self-concept with regard to any particular sales activity, you will avoid it whenever possible. The only reason you avoid taking action in a particular skill area is because you are not yet good at it. You have not yet mastered the skill. If you are not good at something, you make mistakes. You will feel awkward, angry and frustrated. It would be normal and natural for you to avoid that activity.

 The solution for your fears, or reluctance in any key skill area in selling, is for you to master that skill. Fortunately there are countless books, audios and our own Momentum Complete Agent Development courses available to you. There is no reason for you to be held back from joining the top of this profession simply because you are currently weak in a particular skill.

  You can learn how to prospect effectively. You can be taught how to build high levels of rapport and trust with prospects. You can become skilled at how to ask questions and listen carefully to the answers. You can develop calmness and confidence in your interactions with others. You can learn anything you need to learn through practice and repetition.

 It is the same with any skill area. You can become an expert at accurately identifying the needs of the person you are talking to and qualifying the prospect by asking more and better questions. You can become excellent in your sales conversations, growing so effective that people are asking you to close them. You can learn how to answer the prospect’s objections and concerns, responding so satisfactorily that the objections disappear and never return. Also you can learn to create a never ending chain of referrals and repeat customers for your business.

 The better you get in any area, the more positive your self-concept becomes in that area. The more confidence you have in your abilities, the happier you feel when you are doing that part of your job, and the better results you will get. You never feel uneasy doing something you are good at. You only feel anxious doing something that you think you are not particularly good at. Every single step that you take to improve in any area raises your self-confidence and increases your likelihood of success each time you try it.

 In 2018 there are Small Groups that will be working together with Jimmy's guidance to hone your skills and develop your businesses, there will be our ongoing classes and boot camps to refine those seven skills. There will be monthly accountability sessions to assure that you are making defined progress and private coaching to work on your own specific business needs along with two retreats were you will be introduced to new challenges to stretch your thinking and a deep dive into one area of your business.

 So, whatever future success you desire is available to you for the taking.

What Is Your Crutch?

 When we are learning a new skill or technique, we are often dealing with learning new terms or new understanding of definitions of terms along with the actions required to implement them. This can cause confusion and frustration in the learning process. We can get overwhelmed and retreat back to what we know and give up on our change we wanted, or at least thought we wanted. 

 Last month on this blog I talked about how in any learning curve we go through four stages.  Starting with Unconsciously Incompetent, where we don't know we don't know. Then to Consciously Incompetent, where we learn that we don't know.  Then hopefully to Consciously Competent, where if we are focused on doing the new skill we can do it, and eventually to the Unconsciously Competent where we just do it without even thinking any longer. When was the last time you have experienced this? If you are taking the Momentum Complete Agent Development program, I am sure you can relate by now. It is a tried and true system, but one that is foreign to the experiences of most in our industry, thus why it is a complete game changer for those who fight through. 

 It was ironic that I wrote about this last month because I just have had a serious "Ah Ha" moment on it personally yesterday. I have learned through my surgery that words have different meanings from my experience previously and how the doctors used them for surgery recovery. When I hear "rehab" or "your body will tell you how much you can do," I understood them to mean what they did for rehabbing dozens of injuries over the years. Yet, there is obviously a huge difference, where I was always trained to push them to build strength, that didn't work well at all. I pushed too hard on the ninth day post surgery, not realizing it until later when my body slapped me down hard.  I have never experienced that level of pain before. After that I was kind of like the cat that jumped on a hot stove, I was very reluctant to jump on a cold one for fear of getting burned again. So I was going along Unconsciously Incompetent, not knowing I didn't know the meaning of those words by my doctor, and was shaken awake to a very Conscious Incompetence. At this stage, I became overly cautious and retreated back to not wanting to feel the pain. How much is that like when we decide to try a new script or process we are learning and it blows up in our face because we didn't know it as well as we thought? That is the purpose of SPAR (Study, Practice, Action and Review) but in the middle of the pain of the moment that isn't the first thing we want to do. 

 On Tuesday I went to my one month post op appointment with my doctor and something he said took about 24 hours for me to hear. He off handed said when I grabbed my cane, "you should use that when you walk for long distances." It didn't register at the time, but did he mean not to use it otherwise? So I made the decision yesterday to try it, and it was awkward and felt scary just like any time you are working on those new skills and scripts. Then I learned something even more interesting, when I was consciously thinking about walking "normal" heel to toe without "protecting" the leg I have been protecting for the last six years and intensely protecting the last four weeks, it worked much better with much less discomfort. However, whenever I wasn't thinking about it and fell back into the habit of protecting it, it was more awkward and painful. So, I have advanced to Consciously Competent, now I am looking forward to that wonderful day when it becomes Unconsciously Competent and no longer have to focus or think about it at all. 

 Whatever it is you are working on learning you will go through these four stages, just do not get weary in well doing, keep pushing through it, keep SPARing and you will make whatever it is you want to learn a part of your every day life. 

It Starts With A Step

When we begin to learn any new skill, we begin by being Unconsciously Incompetent. This is like before you tried to drive, you had ridden with others driving for all your life and it looked easy, you were unconsciously incompetent, you didn't know you didn't know. As soon as you tried to drive and found out it was much harder than you thought, you graduated to Consciously Incompetent, you then knew you didn't know. Very quickly, you started figuring it out and as long as you concentrated on what you were doing you could drive, you were then Consciously Competent. Soon you could drive, mess with the radio, drink a coffee and eat a donut all at the same time and were Unconsciously Competent. We go through all of those phases on every new skill we learn. Far too often once we become Consciously Incompetent, we get frightened that we might look foolish and retreat back to our comfort zones. 

 Personally, I have my own fear of the unknown to face right now, to overcome my own uncomfortable comfort zone. As I type this I am five days from going into the hospital to have a total hip replacement. I will admit, I have never been so scared in my life. I have never been a patient in a hospital before, I have never been under sedation, most definitely never had anyone cutting on me. Believe it or not, I have grown comfortable with the pain in my hip. I have had it on and off since high school, but pretty much nonstop for the last six years. Until recently, I tried to hide it from everyone. Over this period of time, I have developed a lot of life hacks to make it through my day with very little discomfort by learning how to do things without really bending that hip. Of course, I have had to give up a lot of things I love to do, no more walking trails or exploring woods or forests, no more climbing or horse back riding.  Running has been impossible for several years even to avoid oncoming traffic. Then there are the little things like being able to put on a sock without a device or actually tying a shoe. By avoiding the things that hurt it,  I can get through my day without much pain, however, once the surgery happens there will be no avoiding it for the next few weeks. I have had to focus on what I want the results to be, even though, I really don't know if they will or not. I have been told the most common thing someone says who has this done is "Why did I wait so long?" I am collecting things I want to do to focus on, like taking my granddaughter walking through parks, climbing hills with her on my shoulders, taking her horseback riding, and being able to go for walks with my Bride once again. Of course there are no promises how anything like this will go, you are acutely aware of that when you sign all the waivers of what "could" happen. But it is the dream of what can be that helps you take the step into the unknown. My goal is to take baby steps, my first two goals are to graduate past using a walker in a week and then graduate from using a cane the second week. 

 When you look at the tasks of learning the new skills that are in front of you, my best suggestion is to dream of what might be once you have become Consciously Competent and even more so when you reach Unconsciously Competent. The days, weeks, months and years will pass no matter if you use them to reach those dreams or not. My prayer for you is that you choose to live a Glad You Did rather than a Wish I Had life. 

Step out, one step at a time.