“Real Estate – You Gotta Luv It”

Thank you Rick and good morning everyone. It’s my privilege to speak at your sales meeting.An important part of this morning’s program is to honor those realtors who had a winning year in 2007. I thought you and I would take a little time together and do some thinking about winning, winning strategies, and specifically winning strategies in real estate.

In preparing for my talk today, I phoned a number of you and asked, “What do you think this year will be like?” “How do you read this market?” Your answers ranged from a Woodside realtor telling me, “I’ve had the best January ever, I think it will be a great year”. A San Carlos realtor saying, “Our market is hot”. An Atherton realtor said, “I’m guardedly optimistic”. From Marin I heard, “The silver lining in this market is that buyers are intrigued by the lower prices”. A realtor on the Peninsula said, “We may have a good Spring but after that I just don’t know”.

From a San Francisco agent, “I thought the Bay Area was insulated from the problems being faced in other parts of the United States. We are feeling the impact and frankly this market scares me.” Is it Feast or famine…which will it be?

I brought along something that might help guide us, a “Magic 8 Ball”. It’s that black crystal ball you often see children playing with. The kind where you ask it a question, roll it around, and read the answer that pops up in the window. With your permission, I’d like to ask it a question for you this morning?

Oh, great Magic 8 Swami, “How will the Real Estate market do in 2008?”. (shake the ball and look in the window) That’s curious, it says “Cannot predict yet”, hmmm. Okay (shake the ball) How will I do in real estate in 2008? (look into the ball) Swami says, “It’s up to you.” It’s up to you.

I’m reminded of a quote by Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” I think Henry Ford is referring to the power of “expectation.” Expectation is confidently believing in a future event. Confidently believing. So what are your expectations for 2008? What do you confidently believe? Do you expect a banner year, a winning year, a breakthrough year or a so-so year? Because whatever you think, whatever you expect, you’re probably right.

Well, why are expectations so important anyway? Because out of your expectations, come your game plan and your focus. Let me illustrate by looking at coaching strategies from two basketball teams. This is the beginning of March madness for college basketball teams around the nation. And whether or not you like the game there is something we can learn from this sport.

My husband and I are big fans of Stanford men’s basketball and we often go to the chalk talk given to fans before each game. We are told the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team and find out what’s the game plan.

Stanford’s Head Coach, Trent Johnson actually told his players at the start of this season, and I quote, “This is what I expect of each one of you. Just one thing! I ask you to get better every practice, and every game”, end of quote. That was his singular goal…get better every game. I believe he knew that success is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. Let me say that again, success is not a matter of chance, it’s a matter of choice. So the question for you this morning is, “Are you choosing to get better every listing presentation, every escrow every client call?”

Another famous coach, John Wooden, of UCLA fame, said it this way, “When you stop getting better, you stop being good.” Think about that for a moment: “When you stop getting better… raising the bar for yourself…you stop being good.”

YOU are the Head Coach of your real estate team…not your manager, not Coldwell Banker, not me. Some of you have a partner or assistant, but for most of you, it’s a team of one. Either way, you’re the Head Coach. What will you tell your team this year? Do you have the courage to say, “I will do what it takes to get better every game!” Only you can set that bar for yourself.

So let’s talk for a minute about winning game plans. Just as the homes you sell need to have firm foundations so does your real estate game plan. What underlying pillars or practices support your business? Let me suggest five pillars that I think are critical to a sustainable, winning career. I can count them on one hand…opportunity, attitude, education, relationship and integrity.

Let’s take a closer look at these pillars.

The Countdown…

#5 Opportunity: A winning strategy in real estate starts with taking a realistic assessment of your market followed by looking for the opportunities. Successful agents have always known that there are opportunities no matter whether the market is up or the market is down. Those opportunities just change as the market changes. So examine your market then move confidently toward the opportunities.

#4 Attitude: Remember, attitude is the one thing you have control over…not the market but your attitude about the market. People want to work with someone who is excited, upbeat and positive. One realtor recently told me and I quote, “My strategy for 2008 is the same as 2007. I am telling everyone who will listen about my successes and what the strengths in the market are right now. No one wants to hear more bad news. They want to work with a winner. 

If we don’t have hope, who will?” end of quote. Attitude is like the weather…cloudy, rainy or sunny. How’s your attitude forecast for today? It’s your choice

#3 Education: Education manages the expectations of your client’s. One of the key roles as a realtor is to educate sellers and buyers on what to expect given changing market conditions. This education “calms the waters” and insures that transactions go more smoothly.

#2 Relationship: Success in real estate always boils down to relationships. For each of you I would ask that you take a close look at client satisfaction, client retention and client recognition. Real Estate is not just about e-mails, ads, mailings or listing alert, although those are very important tools and I’m not minimizing them, but when you take them away, it’s about you and your relationships. Call clients more often, thank them more often and let them know you care. Let your clients know you are their partner and that together you are a great team.

And, finally…

#1 Integrity: Sometimes integrity is underrated when in fact it is the critical pillar of your business foundation. I heard integrity defined this way, “It’s what you do when no one is looking.” Ask yourself every day, “Am I taking the high road or the short cut?” Following the Golden Rule is probably more important now than ever before. When you put your clients needs ahead of your own they know they can trust you. Their loyalty to you is there for years to come.

To summarize, this morning you’ve been asked you to look at your expectations for 2008. Do you think you can have a great year or do you expect you can’t? You’re probably right. You’ve been told that you are the Head Coach of your real estate team. Are you willing to do what it takes to get better every game because when you stop getting better, you stop being good. And we’ve outlined a winning game plan that has five pillars for a sustainable career…opportunity, attitude, education, relationship and integrity.

These are my final words of advice, “Real Estate…You Gotta Love It!”

I close with a quote from Mother Theresa,

“You may be exhausted with work, you may even kill yourself with work, but unless your work is

interwoven with love, it is useless.”

Real estate…You Gotta LOVE it.

Thank you! My very best to you! Have a GREAT 2008!

 

Coldwell Banker, March 3, 2008, Barbara Tyler