Tis The Season To Reflect On What's Important

Tis the Season for reflection, introspection, sharing memories with family and friends, and planning for the upcoming year. It makes me think of one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite Christmas movies, "The Bishop's Wife” - the scene where an angel visited the good Bishop to give him guidance through a tough time. The Angel's last gift was writing this Christmas Eve sermon for the Bishop to deliver. 

"Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts. 

But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe.

For we forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in 

a manger.

It’s His birthday we're celebrating. Don't let us ever forget that. Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share: loving kindness,

warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shinning gifts that make peace on earth."

 This is also a good time for you to ask yourself, what really means the most to you? As you're preparing your goals for next year, what is your burning why? What is it you really value, really want? 

 Today I had lunch with an agent from another firm. It was originally to be a recruiting call, but became more of a coaching session. The agent is at one of the traditional firms, and is finding it to be a financial struggle. After a $5M year last year, the goal this year was $7M;  but it looks like $5M is more likely. We discussed several different points, two of which became turning points: Why the volume wasn’t there and why $7M was the chosen goal. As it turns out, it was to pay a debt. We discussed that setting a goal of debt reduction, while noble and needed, often backfires because your mind is focused on the debt. Whatever you focus on you get more of. I suggested changing the why to living a paid-in-full life.

 When I suggested how to create dreams and rewards for reaching different goals, the response I got was that not everyone is wired that way. I agree that not everyone is as an adult, but all are as children. As we grow from childhood into adulthood, we are taught not to dream somewhere along the way. We need to tap back into that childlike dream-building. Remember, God actually created us to be dreamers. Why else did He tell us about Heaven, if not to build a dream for us to reach? The Bible is full of stories of how the dream was the driving force behind accomplishment. If what you set your goals for doesn't tie back to what you really care about, it is much less likely to happen. Only you can decide what it is you care about. Maybe you desire to do something for someone you love. Perhaps you desire to leave a legacy for your children and your children’s children. Whatever it is, you have to come to that conclusion – it shouldn’t be chosen for you.

 When was the last time you read the story of David and Goliath? You will find it in 1 Samuel 17. If it’s been a while, read it below. You'll likely want to go see for yourself, because odds are, you haven't ever heard it this way before.

 David was the youngest son in his family and his father sent him down to where the army was gathered to take baskets of cheese and bread to the officer in charge over his three older brothers. This was a smart move on Dad's part because in the old way of battle those on the front row always died, so if the commander was getting goodies from some families those men tended to be moved back a few rows. David was there when Goliath came out challenging the Israelites causing them to all pull back in fear. Back in camp he heard some soldiers talking about the reward that King Saul was offering to the man who killed Goliath: he would ride upon a white horse (major status symbol), have land as far as the eye could see, from that he and his family would never pay taxes, and he would be given the Princess to marry.  Upon hearing that David said, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?" It wasn't Goliath who sparked his interest. It was the Princess, the land, the reward. He kept asking more questions until his brothers saw him. And, as family so often does, they tried to stifle his dream.

"When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 1 Samuel 17:28

 Upon being called out by his brother and embarrassed in front of the soldiers he could have done what many of us do. He could have tucked his tail between his legs and walked away. But, instead, he "turned from them unto another and asked again, what is the reward for the man who kills Goliath?" He went back to his dream.

If it's good enough for this story, isn't it good enough for your own?

How Many Years Experience Do You Bring To Your Business?

When I was hiring and managing new home sales people for builders, one of the questions I would ask in interviews was, "How many years of experience have you in the business?" After they answered, my next questions were, "Is that "X" years or one year of experience, repeated "X" times? What books have you read? What training have you taken recently? When was the last  seminar or training you attended? What did you learn? What have you adjusted or changed in your daily practice from that training? What have been the results? Have you measured them?"  Most looked at me like deer caught in headlights, indicating one year of experience repeated however many years they were in the business.

 When reading the book "Talent Is Overrated," by Senior Editor to Fortune Magazine Geoff Colvin, it is one of those paradigm-busting books that will expand your view of the world, if you will allow it to challenge your belief systems. The premise is that most of us explain away the superstars in any endeavor as "gifted or naturally talented," innately knowing we could never replicate their success without that gift. I thought about writing this blog on his conclusions, but chose instead not to rob you of the opportunity to read it and challenge your own thinking because of his. He speaks of what actually makes the difference is deliberate practice. The so-called superstars never stop trying to improve in different aspects of their craft through designed, deliberate, and focused practice.

 He spoke of something that has long been understood in learning anything new; I know I've taught it for years. That is, the idea when you first try to learn something new, You start as Unconsciously Incompetent. Do you remember your first time trying to drive? You had watched others do it for years and it looked easy; you didn't know what you didn't know. When you actually tried, you quickly realized you didn't know how, so you moved to the level of Consciously Incompetent. You were then aware of what you didn't know and were open to learn. You soon became Consciously Competent, where you could do it as long as you thought about what you were doing. However, it wasn't long before you became Unconsciously Competent, where you could drive on autopilot. That is how almost all learning experiences go: Unconsciously Incompetent - Consciously Incompetent - Consciously Competent - Unconsciously Competent. Once we reach that level, we quit growing. After we get through our first year in our business lives, we may learn things occasionally as new experiences happen to us, but we no longer see real sustained growth.  The superstars learn how to remain Consciously Competent in their practice and stay engaged in learning even finer points.

 This book, fits perfectly with the ideas that Malcom Gladwell writes of in his books "The Outliers," and "David and Goliath." They remind me of mental building blocks. I recommend you experience them all to let your own mind wander to the possibilities.  There is a movie called "Vantage Point" that shows us this thought. The movie is about an assassination attempt and the director shows us the event over and over again from several characters' vantage points, showing how differently the perspectives are. Same event, very different perspectives, just like these books, looking at the same core truths from very different views.

 How many years of experience have you? What are you doing to challenge that and take ownership of your continued growth?

The Call Of The Leader, Is It Calling You?

What does it mean to lead? 

 When put into a leadership position, far too many people immediately think it means special privileges. They seek out to take advantage of the the additional benefits of a title. This is not leadership; leadership is about putting your people first. It is about taking on more responsibilities and holding yourself to a higher standard. Leaders feel the weight of responsibility for those they lead. The decisions they make and the actions they take will directly affect the people under their lead, in more ways than one. Be prepared for some long nights, carrying those families on your shoulders as you pace the floor. One of the greatest leaders I have had always spoke of how he ate a lot of crow, because it paid well. He would always take the blame in any misunderstanding with one of his people, so they could quickly get the issue behind them and work on moving forward. He also made it very clear that while you often try to find solutions to situations that were win-win for you and your team, if ever it came down to only you or your team could win, make sure that you got the win for your team. 

 Sometimes being a leader is the loneliest place on the planet. Sometimes you have to fight battles that your team will never even know we're happening. One of my mentors had a battle that he took upon his shoulders and never let his people know what he was facing. Only his wife and family and a select few of his most inside circle ever knew. The company in which he had built a worldwide distribution business wanted to go public. Their attorney said that they needed to break the exclusive contract they had with their distributor franchises, and he was their test case. They quit paying him and withheld his contracted commissions and bonuses. He fought them in court, kept paying his people, and kept helping his organization build their businesses without knowing the burden he faced. He never told anyone, but he sold his house, his jet, his vacation home, and more. In the end he won. The company that tried to break him eventually apologized. They even thanked him for saving them from potentially ruining the business. That is one of the calls of leadership.

 You may or may not, be so challenged, but understanding the consequences of taking on the responsibility of leadership might help you be prepared just in case.

There are five levels of leadership, each have a different relationship with those you lead.

1. Position: This level is by appointment, by title. This is the lowest level of leadership. This would include most people who carry the term manager in any field. In this level, your people follow you because they have to. They follow you because their position says they have to. Here is the lowest commitment to follow, they will follow you as long as they can see you. They follow you just as far as they are required to in order to keep their jobs.

2. Permission: At this level people follow you because they like you. They like working with you, they enjoy the relationship, and they trust you. This is the first level of earned leadership. I might even go so far as to say this is the true first level of leadership, because this honor had to be earned. It will begin opening doors to growth.

3. Production: Now your people are starting to see results, starting to see the benefits of following your lead. They now follow you because they are seeing the results of your leadership in the organization, but, more importantly, in their own work and lives.

4. People Development: At this level your people follow you because of what you have done for them and the growth they see in themselves. This is the level of reproduction, where you are replacing yourself by developing leaders around you. Here, you are starting to see your people hitting some of the growth that they may have first not seen in themselves. They are reaching the goals and dreams you helped them to set and achieve.

5. Pinnacle: This level is a rarity that few rise to. It is where your people follow you because of how much they respect you. They follow you because of who you are and what you represent. This level will have many Level Four leaders following them. A great example would be the late Dean Smith. The NBA and NCAA is full of top-level coaches who played and coached under Smith's leadership. What you might not know is every year all of them would meet with Coach Smith at a weekend retreat to council and refine their thoughts; none of them would take a job or make other major decisions without bouncing it off Coach Smith. They were the top minds in their industry, but they held so much respect for their coach, they wanted to know his thoughts..

If you choose to follow the call of leadership, there is something you should keep top of mind. In any growing organization no matter what level of leadership you have earned, even if you are at that lofty level five, you will always have people who you must earn their trust and respect. This never changes. It would be a huge mistake to try to relate to someone brand new to your team as a level five when they still are trying to figure out if they really like you, can trust you, will see results, or advance their own careers under your leadership.

 If you should so choose this call, there is nothing like seeing people's lives change. To help them see themselves as more than they would have, or could have alone.

Are You Working Your Business Or Are You Chasing Your Dream?

This last weekend was my 40th Class Reunion for Noblesville High School Class of 1975. It was good seeing those who came, fun to reminisce  and catch up. A lot of the faces were difficult to place, we don't look much like the 18 year olds who parted so many years ago. However, the biggest take-away I got from this event was the words of one of my long-time mentors ringing in my ears: 

 "Are you working your business, or are you chasing your dream?" 

 In most of the conversations, the topic was how many years they had left before they retired. Many were looking forward to being retired in 4 more years at 62, some earlier with government jobs. There were even two in the Real Estate business who were on the countdown. One actually said, she couldn't wait to retire because she hates "her job." My first thought was, if you think your real estate business is a job, your working in the wrong office culture.

 It seemed like such a foreign thought for me hearing them all talk. They sounded so old, coveting the end of their working lives. I feel like I am really just getting started. I cannot wait to get up and at it each day, and cannot imagine not being in the hunt. Just the other day I was asked my plan for how long I'll stay in the game. My answer - as long as my health allows, then until they nail the lid down. If you love what you are doing, why would you want to quit doing it?

 My personal goals and visions have changed over the years, from sustenance to significance. The Mission Statement that I have long lived by is "Have Fun, Make Money, and Make a Difference." I believe if you focus on Having Fun and Making a Difference, Making Money will take care of itself. 

Right now my passion is changing people's lives for the better, helping them achieve more: more money, more control, more time for their families and things they love to do, and most importantly, more passion for what they do with their days and lives. It's about helping one agent at a time, one family at a time, until the entire industry has to shift to change the lives of thousands. 

 When Jimmy Dulin took me to lunch and shared his dream in 2010, I knew that it was what I wanted to do with my life. I haven't worked a day since, I have been chasing a dream from eyes opening to eyes closing every day. 

 The question you should be asking yourself is that same one my mentor taught me to ask, 

"Are you working your business, or are you chasing your dream?" 

 The first is a hamster wheel, where you count the days for the weekend or retirement; the latter is magic. Find your magic if you haven't already! 

There Is A Ticking Time Bomb In Real Estate, Are You Prepared?

The real estate industry is closing fast on an issue that at yet seems to have no real answer. 

The big talk in the industry is selling to the Millennial and/or recruiting the Millennial. Something that should be considered is, what are we going to do about filling the shoes of the Boomers as they retire?

 The average REALTOR today is a 56 year old female. That topic has been discussed for some time, however the average age of the Managing Brokers and Broker Owners is closer to that 65/67 retirement age. The same can be said of the leadership with most MLS's. Part of this is just a result of the birth numbers coming back to bite us. 

 The Baby Boomers were the largest population for decades. What they did drove the market for the last 50-60 years with their 78 million members. The Generation X that followed only had around 50 million, so by sheer numbers didn't make as big of market impact. Now we have the Generation Y or Millennials with their 78 million and off we go again. What we are now finding is that there are 10,000 Boomers turning 65 every single day. 

 The challenge becomes - what are broker companies doing to prepare for this shift? The real estate industry has always been highly fragmented with the vast majority of brokerages, associations, and MLS's being small organizations. We know that from NAR's 2014 Profile of Real Estate firms that 81% of brokerages have only one office and another 12 have two or three. That means that 93% of real estate brokerages are small companies. 

 With real estate, one of the biggest struggles is that companies are simply too small to have a leadership team in the first place. From the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers (CRB) membership data, we learn that 54% of the brokerage managers manage fewer than 50 agents and 41% fewer than 25.  This means that most brokerages are simply too small to have a deep pool of leadership talent. When we lose the paper-thin level of quality leadership we have at the top, we have a real issue. 

 When we look at the experience of the management we find that 59.6% have over 15 years of experience as Broker Managers. Since we have a high starting age, that means we have a very high average leadership age. Remember that most of these companies have only been led by the founder. When those individuals retire, what happens to those operations?

 There is no greater moment of risk to a company than when it has to change its leader.  Especially if the departing leader is a charismatic, driven entrepreneur, like the ones we tend to find in the real estate industry. How the organization deals and prepares for this change will then make or break them for years and years to come. 

 The loss of leadership and maybe just as important, the loss of relationships that were developed over those years, will need to be addressed. These leaders, who make thousands of decisions each and every day that affect the whole of the industry are getting older as a group. As they retire it will leave a huge leadership vacuum. Therefore one of the most urgent issues for C-level leaders and those responsible for organizational strategy is to set up a clear plan of succession and begin grooming the leaders of tomorrow, today. If not, many companies will face a longtime leader riding off into the sunset without leaving a sheriff behind. 

 This is one of the reasons we at RE/MAX Ability Plus believe that so many Broker/Owners of Independent firms, as well as with brands, are hiring us to take over that back end support of their companies. This allows them to go sell, thus taking the stress of managing their companies off their shoulders, as well as the worries of what to do next. 

Have You Tried Using Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook In Your Follow Up?

When you reach out to your database, what do you do? Do you repeatedly send emails, texts, and calls telling them why they should do business with you? Is each contact a sales call of some sort? Does your drip campaign continually ask or sell? How is that really working for you?

Have you ever heard of Gary Vaynerchuck and his book "Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook?" Vaynerchuck's claim to fame was taking his father's little liquor store into a national wine selling powerhouse through his dynamic use of marketing. His theory is that most sales and marketing professionals continue to sell with each touch to their database and it’s a turn-off those who get these "commercials." He suggests that you “Jab," or send out messages of value that have no call to action, no sales wording, in most of your correspondence. This turns your message a welcome touch. Then after, and only after, you have been serving them with value have you earned the right to throw that "Right Hook” - that call to action, that sales request. 

Yesterday I had some eye opening results. The last eight touches I have sent out, through whatever medium, were “Jabs”. I offered something that could help the recipient in his/her business, or a free party they could attend as my guest. Then yesterday, I had a couple hours where I could focus on my address book, so I contacted several on my database with a quick text to meet. During that two-hour time frame, there were five confirmed appointments made! Additionally, I had six more who are working on dates and times, and two more who asked me to get back after a certain date or event. Some of these contacts are people who have not responded to anything in more than two years. 

If you are not using the giving approach, truly giving more than you’re asking, you might want to seriously consider it. It is the ultimate win-win. 

The Three C's Change Everything

Who wants to be a "C" company? Do you have a plan to accomplish it? Michael Dell, of Dell Computers and Tony Hsieh, of Zappos.com both discuss the keys to their businesses are their three C's.

In 1999 Michael Dell spoke at the Detroit Economic Club about building a competitive advantage in an Internet economy. This was only four years since the consumer had access to dial up Internet service, so he at the time was one of the top experts with Dell Computers. He taught that there were three critical C's to building a business in the Internet age: Content, Commerce, and Community.

Content -         Needed to be compelling content, what people wanted.

Commerce -    All transactions involved, order status, simplicity of delivery.

Community -  Building a relationship with company, consumers, and providers. 

In a nutshell, Content meant that you had the products or services that people wanted to buy. Commerce meant that your systems were user friendly and your processes created a positive experience. Community was the trickiest part. In fact, in that speech Dell said no one had it figured out. The key to Community in a brick and mortar world was geographic location. Your consumer community was those places that were on the roads between your work and home, between your home and your kids' schools, and between your home and your church. Likely your grocery store, hair stylist, drugstore and more are on one of those roads. You move or change jobs your consumer community changes. 

 In the Internet-Commerce world everyone is next door, so the community has to be created by experience. If a clerk at the grocery closest to you makes you mad, you vow never to go back. And you'll keep that vow - until you need groceries next week. However, if you go online and you burn a bridge, it remains burned. As agents, how consumer-friendly are our online presences? Can we give a wow experience?

 In 2013 Tony Hsieh spoke of the three C's of Zappos.com and their company's culture. Those three "C's" are Collisions, Community and Co-Learning. 

Collisions - Are those serendipitous "bumping into" meetings. They strive to maximize the serendipitous interactions and have taken steps to help facilitate those collisions: all of their employees go in and out the front door; they have food and drinks available during working hours, but on different floors; company parties; and events are all used to encourage more collisions. 

Community - Is the ongoing interaction created by those collisions.  Culture to a company is the same as Community is to a city. Community is where Collaboration takes place. It is where those who work together and those whose work brings them into collisions from auxiliary industries come together to create fresh perspectives and possible solutions. 

Co-Learning - This is the result of the Collaboration of the Community where, organically, the members of the Community teach and learn from each other. It is not top-down directed, while it may take the form of a classroom setting. More likely than not, it is going to be organic and quick. Simply one person showing another something that the other wants to know. Then, the one learning shows what they learned to another, spreading information informally and almost virally. 

The ingredients for Serendipity are to put people together in a vibrant, populated environment created for those Collisions. There must be a culture of openness, collaboration, creativity, and optimism.

To maximize the serendipitous interaction you need a density of population in the office or community. Always prioritize collisions over convenience, and create a space that attracts different groups of people to collide. 

 In 2014 there was a group of us who went through the Zappos and Tony Hsieh's Downtown Project in Las Vegas and saw the "Three C's" in action. What most amazed us was that those three C's are exactly what the culture is at our RE/MAX Ability Plus. We hadn't named them before but the idea of Collisions is exactly what our Café-dominated offices are for. With our working patios and our events, we created Collisions with more than 20,000 people last year alone. The design of our offices and the culture of sharing and openness creates that Community of Collaboration that fosters that ongoing Co-Learning. That was the most exciting part of the trip: to finally label our day-to-day world in such a way we can focus on increasing those mutually beneficial Three C's. 

Tony Hsieh says that one of their goals in his Downtown Project is to create a Three “C’s” climate that fosters when you visit that part of Las Vegas you come away smarter. I believe that at RE/MAX Ability Plus that same goal exists, no matter if you are one of our agents, a visiting agent, or any partner from the overall industry, you too will come away smarter from the experience. 

A great brand or company is a story that never stops unfolding.

One Agent Has The Most Experience, The Other Agent Is The Quickest Learner, Who Wins Long-Term?

Which is better in today's world: being the expert or the quickest to adapt? For years we knew that answer. We sought out to be the leading expert in our field, assuring ourselves of great success. Is that still the answer? We now live in a world where change is happening at an ever-increasing speed, and while principles never changes, practices do. We still need to do the same things, but we are doing them in constantly changing ways. 

 Let's take a quick look at economic history to see the changing landscapes. For centuries we defined the time by which technology dominated. We have had the "Stone Age," the "Bronze Age," the "Iron Age," and more. In those times, change happened so slowly. People were born, lived and died all under the same age. Things have sped up, as you may have noticed.

 Here is some local economic history from not so very long ago. In 1930 there were 30 million American farmers who were barely able to produce enough food to feed the American people. By 1980 there were only 3 million American farmers who were producing so much food that the government paid them to not farm all their land. This happened over a fifty year time frame, allowing a great deal of the farmers to get old, retire, or die off, while most of their kids had to look for work in the cities, many at factories. Also in 1980, there were 250,000 people in the Mid-West  making carburetors. By 1985 virtually no one was doing so, because the technology had changed and all cars were using fuel injectors made elsewhere. Many of them went to work in Indiana and Ohio pressing vinyl records. In fact, by 1985 there were 250,000 doing so. The greatest number of vinyl records were made and sold in 1989. Bad news just one year later. Virtually none were being made in 1990 as Compact Disc technology took over, putting all those people out of work. 

 These jobs didn't disappear because of politics, they didn't disappear because of recessions. They disappeared because of new technology - a new technology that made them obsolete. Our times require a very different approach than before. Change happens faster and faster the more connected we are as a society; the faster information is exchanged, the faster things change. Entire industries come and go almost overnight. I recall interviewing a fellow for a job once, and I wanted to meet him at his home to get a better understanding of him. I noticed his house on Geist was for sale as was his Mercedes in his driveway. He started to complain about the economy under George H.W. Bush. It seems he was national sales manager for his tech company that tested microchips, and it was failing. He had once had 100 sales people reporting to him, but now only three. His income followed that trajectory. I asked if they were making less machines, and his answer was, “No, but where a circuit board used to have 10 microchips now they might have one, and that one self–tested." He was looking for a job with competitors and not having any luck. But he was so close to the forest, he couldn't see the trees. He was likely in the very best "buggy whip" manufacturer in his industry. His industry was gone. 

 What is required today is not to be the most experienced or the most knowledgeable, but to understand where and what to learn and to stay cutting edge. When I was hiring sales people for a builder, one of my favorite questions was, "How many years experience have you?" Then I would ask, "What have you learned new this year?" Most only really had one year's experience repeated by the years they had worked, but didn't continue to push themselves to learn. 

 Learn to learn, make it a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly practice. The day you say you know it all, or even think you do, is the day your career starts to die.

Is There Something Lurking Hidden That Is Killing Your Goals?

There is one factor, one culprit, that destroys more goals than any other, and it is one that is talked about the least. This one thing can work for you and create a dividend that amplifies and even multiplies your efforts. Or it can create a tax that slows down or even derails your plans. That one factor is TRUST. Most people do not reach their goals because they don't trust themselves. Is that you?

 Trust either brings dividends or taxes everything we do, depending upon whether we are in a high trust or low trust environment. Trust actually is five-faceted; you have Self-Trust, Relationship Trust, Organizational Trust, Market Trust and Societal Trust. Each one is important in your business and life. However, today we are going to focus on Self-Trust. 

 Self-Trust manifests itself in your life every time you set a goal or commitment. You set a goal and your subconscious mind says, "You're a liar, you will not." It has heard too many times before when you set a goal and didn't follow through. It likely is because you didn't really know how to set a goal, so you were just winging it. Then, when things weren’t going well you gave up. Each time, you were conditioning yourself to not believe in you, and that is a tax that impacts everything you do from there. This is ultimately why many of us simply give up on setting goals. Here is a link from an earlier blog post to help you know how to set a goal that you can achieve. How to set effective goals 

 Self-Trust is an account that you can damage in so many ways, each having a downward impact on how you view yourself. Cheating, stealing, being unfaithful, not following through on commitments, not following through on promises, or deadlines, or goals all create in you a lack of trust or respect for yourself. Where most people miss, the point here is the damage is made worse if you don't get caught. The reality is, you never get away with it. Because you know, and it has a direct impact on how you view yourself. 

In my own sales career with thousands of sales transactions there were two that haunted me for years, because I didn't respect my actions in either. In the past, when I’ve told the stories, I have had many people tell me that what I did wasn't wrong, but in my heart it was, so the damage was real. 

The first one was in 1982. I was selling Cadillacs at Lockhart Cadillac. At that time, the average commission on a brand new Cadillac there was $200. They had a used Eldorado that had been languishing on the lot for a year and they wanted to move it so they put a minimum commission of $500 on it. Everyone I met got a chance to see it; it was good looking, a deep midnight, metallic blue with white top and leather interior. But, it was one of those early diesels that were unpopular for a good reason. Finally, I had someone who really liked it. While we were looking at it with the hood up, he asked, "Has this ever been wrecked?" I had never been told whether it had been or not, but looking at it with him I saw paint overspray under the hood, which is a clue that it might have been. I simply answered, "Not to my knowledge." Technically, that was accurate, but I had suspicions. To me that was a lie. He bought the car, I felt bad about it for years. 

In the second instance, I was selling new homes in Lighthouse Cove in the Geist area. I had just taken the position to see if I could turn the community around. It had been for sale for more than a year without its first sale and we desperately needed to get a new home under construction to start to build momentum. I had a client come in who had just moved to Indy from Connecticut where she had taken a very exciting ride on the inflation train on her condo. She had tripled her money on it. She wanted to pay cash for a new home and she picked one out that was so much larger than her previous condo. She was overwhelmed with what she was going to do with all the space! The garage itself was bigger than her old condo, and this was only going to cost half what she sold the previous condo for? What I beat myself up over was, I knew that if she didn't spend the same or more for another house she would have capital gain tax on her inflation gain. I have no idea if she knew that or not, I simply didn't bring it up. To me, that omission was a lie. Again I beat myself up for years. 

 If you have things that pull down your self-trust, you can overcome it. You can act your way out of it. When setting goals, set goals that are activity goals that stretch you a bit, but not so far that you won't achieve them. If you are not good at making prospecting calls, I would much rather you set a goal to make one a day and always achieve it, than to set one for 10/day and only reach 5/day. Each day you do what you said you would, you gain respect and trust in yourself. You can always stretch them as you grow. Be very careful about making a promise or a commitment to yourself (or anyone, for that matter). Don't ever make them lightly; only do so if you are absolutely certain that you will make them happen. Don't jump on a bandwagon or join something if you are not personally committed to really making it happen. Don’t set yourself up for withdrawals in your beliefs and confidence.

 Take it as baby steps. Keep one commitment at a time. Have a commitment every day or week that you know you can make happen - then make it happen! The perception you have of yourself will soar and then the sky really is the limit to what you can do and believe you can do.

What Is Your Lighthouse?

Today I had an “Aha" moment. Last night I had one of those vividly real dreams. You know the ones - the dreams you feel like you’re still in even after waking up? I had one of those dreams, woke up, then struggled to go back to sleep - I was so caught up in all the drama of the dream. The dream had me in a firefight in the Middle East, not really sure who I was fighting, ISIS, Al Quida, Hamas. I couldn't figure out what my role was, I just knew we were fighting for our lives. Probably read too many books like "Lone Survivor and "American Sniper" recently. Finally through my dream-muddled mind, I remembered my alarm clock would be going off at seven. Then it dawned on me that it would do so no matter what. It didn't depend on geo–political contingencies; it just is a steady beacon. It became my anchor that I used to wrench my mind out of the confusion of the dream, and fell back to sleep.

The alarm eventually went off. When it did, I thought back to my experience and I realized that it was a metaphor for a story I often tell to help people understand how to reach a goal or dream. The idea that most of us don't reach our goals because we don't have a big enough WHY to see over the obstacles that are sure to get in our way. Whenever we start on the path to chase a goal we are fired up! Then the realities of life pop up in our way. Personal challenges, family challenges, work challenges, money challenges, time challenges all spring forth to clutter our minds, destroy our focus, and distract us from our goals. It is for this reason that your WHY needs to be big enough to see over your obstacles. That is what I realized the alarm clock was. It was the beacon that reminded me of the desired reality that helped me cut through the clutter that had taken over my mind. Your WHY is that Lighthouse, that Beacon that you must focus on to get past whatever storm.

As Jesus said in Luke 9:62 "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God." Anyone who grew up on a farm understand what this means. When you plow a field you first walk it off to measure and mark a spot to plow to to make a straight "headrow" or first pass. If you turn your head back and take your eye off your mark you will see exactly when you did it because you won't be straight there. Your WHY is your Lighthouse, your Beacon, your "alarm clock" to help you see past the obstacles in your way.

How Could F.O.R.M. Change Your Business?

As an industry we are always looking for that next buyer or seller. We invest significant amounts of money buying leads, paying to drive our SEO higher, and trying to capture more eyeballs which will hopefully turn to leads. All that is great, if what you are doing is giving yourself a good return on investment. If you are, then by all means continue, and keep your eyes open for new opportunities as they arise. However, don’t let yourself be caught up in “the way you’ve always done it” and allow yourself to be blind to the freebies that might be right in front of your eyes .. Or hamburger.

 Keep your eyes and ears open to what is going on around you, wherever you happen to be. Personally, I like wearing shirts and jackets that have our company logo on them. They are excellent conversation starters (plus, who doesn’t love a little brand pride?). Just yesterday, I popped into McDonald's to grab and go, or at least that was the plan. I was waiting in line another customer saw my coat with the RE/MAX Ability Plus logo and asked me, "How is the market at RE/MAX?" We talked a bit while waiting on our food before he told me he wanted to sell his home. He’s on the South right now, but wants to be closer to his grandkids on the North side. He’d like to buy a new house, too. We sat down together, ate lunch, and just visited. He now has an appointment with one of my agents to get things started. 

 Over the years, I have sold millions of dollars of homes standing in all sorts of lines in all sorts of businesses. Some of the time it was because I’m a natural salesman, natural speaker; most of the time my branded clothing did the work for me. If not wearing a logo, I engage my "Three Foot Rule” and it also works well. If you come within three feet of me you are going to hear my story. Rather, I will hear yours.

 For those who are thinking, "Well maybe it will work for you, but I am not that outgoing," let me assure you it is much easier than you might think. If your concern is you don't know what to say to start a conversation, or worse, to continue a conversation let me give you a great tool. It is called F.O.R.M.: Family – Occupation – Recreation – Message. Everyone wants to talk about the first three topics, and you might be surprised to find how many people are starving to find someone who will give them genuine interest in hearing their stories. The ice breaker can be almost anything, weather, something you see while standing in line, anything. Then you ask about themselves, their family, kids, etc. When they tell you show true interest and ask follow up questions, of course share your own quickly, then back to them. Keep the focus on them: often times you’ll find that people will share things you wouldn’t believe. Within minutes you’ll know more about them that you may have wanted to. After you’ve covered their Family, Occupation, and Recreation, offer your Message. Hit them with your elevator speech, the Buffini Mayor’s Speech, if you like. Sometimes, its as simple as being asked what you do. That might be all someone needs to ask you, "How is the market?" or "I have been thinking...." 

 You are likely walking right past clients every day who are people who you would be able to meet face to face. Develop a relationship instead of complaining about how hard it is to get an Internet lead or to respond to your emails or calls. 

Don't be a Secret Agent: remember the Three Foot Rule and F.O.R.M.

What Will The Real Estate Business Look Like In Coming Years?

There are many who predict the demise of the REALTOR, that one of the portals like Zillow will bypass agents and brokers and deal directly with the consumer. Just last week Zillow added a partnership with Uber to drive prospective buyers to listings. However, I think the death watch is way premature and unfounded.

 Statistically the numbers show a very different picture than one of people moving away from REALTORS and going to the Internet to do it themselves. National Association of REALTORS Study of Home Buyers gave us these examples:

Average Search Time By Buyers:

2001 - 7 weeks.

2013 - 12 weeks.

Percentage of Buyers Who Used A Real Estate Agent:

2001 - 69%

2013 - 88%

Average Commission Paid:

2008 - 5%

2013 - 5.4%

Research makes it pretty clear that consumers want someone to help them through the complicated process of purchasing/selling a home.

 Does that mean that nothing will change? No. I believe you have already been seeing a dramatic change in how business is being done. I believe you will also see a polarization of business models to fit different wants and needs in the market place.

In the REALTrends book,  "Game Changers" beliefs on what the real estate landscape will look like are discussed. 

The general idea is that you will see two distinct business models, the Counselor and the Facilitator. The Counselor is the agent who is a top professional, knows the market, knows how to interpret the flood of data and becomes that guide to maximize his/her client's experience. This is almost a concierge service level experience and will be valued by the consumer at a higher commission rate for the higher level of service. The other will be the Facilitator who will be there to serve the client who is comfortable doing most of his/her own research and processing of the data without expert guidance. They simply want someone who can facilitate the the buying or selling process to make sure things happen when and where they should. These consumers will choose this level of service expecting a discounted rate. 

Today, both service levels are easily identifiable, but at present the fees are not distinguishable. That is likely to change. Think in terms of Nordstom vs Wal-Mart. Both are very successful business models but cater to different consumers and at different fees. Both the Counselor-approach and the Facilitator-approach could find that their businesses and incomes increase dramatically as they better market and brand themselves to the consumer who wants the type of services  they provide. The Facilitator might end up charging less in fees per transaction but may find they have a greatly increased amount of business. Teams will likely continue to be a growing trend in both models as well.

 There is one group that may find themselves on the outside looking in, and those would be the Generalists, those in the middle. Generalists are those who aren't keeping up as the experts or aren't creating operating systems to allow them to be efficient with the facilitator transactions processes. We can look to the retail world and see what is happening to the retail generalists like Sears, J.C.Penny's and Kmart to see how the world is moving away from that model. 

 Bottom-line is this: if you have survived and thrived in the Real Estate industry over the last ten years, you should continue to do so over the next ten years as well. If you study the opportunity and position yourself to help move the ball on these changes, you will likely see serious growth.