Comments on: The purpose of this site

By: Mat

Mat — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:56:31 +0000

Hey Eve,
Yes, I understand what you are saying about the absorption of this industry and I have paid a very high price for the rewards. I can honestly say that although it is great to create success for yourself take it easy because as Richard Branson says “it is about the marathon, not the sprint race” and it’s so true. A burnt out real estate agent is no good to anyone and especially yourself. There is a saying I think about often “no amount of success with ever compensate for failure in the home”. I have learnt from this statement and the interesting thing about putting home/family/self first is you have so much more energy to give because your foundation is strong, the important things are taken care of and it creates a platform that makes you feel focused and centered. If you become one dimensional and make work your entire focus and basis of who you are you will feel tired, worn out and empty and believe me I lived it for many years. Richard Branson also talks about flowing in and out of work and his advice is so true, when you are at work it’s game on and when you are at home that becomes your focus, so in other words you flow in and out of the important areas of your life when needed and what this does is allow you to focus 100% on what is important at that point in time with little or no distractions. See the thing with real estate is your work day sort of doesn’t stop but you have to make it work the way you need it to. I haven’t mastered this yet but I am miles better than I used to be. Now I spend much more time with my Wife, kids and surfing and in doing so it has allowed me to focus on my work much better when I am there because the rest of my life is being taken care of and that’s what counts.
Anyway I hope you can slowly and surely achieve some sort of balance in your life because not only will your results be better but you will feel so much better too.
Mat

By: Eve

Eve — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:01:48 +0000

Mat,
I stumbled across this site today, saw something of interest, followed the thread, made a comment and was about to leave when i thought … hang on, just see what else is on here … so glad I did; this is an amazing resource for someone new to the industry (me). I had purchased and listened to most of what you and Lee W have put out before entering the industry and listen to hot topics constantly but this is something else again – brilliant!
Just wanted to say a heartfelt thanks. I’ll be back regularly to benefit from and hopefully contribute to this site.
6 months in to RE and already I am feeling burnt out – have never worked so hard for so little reward … so far. The listings and sales have come and I’ve sold ‘em, had some wonderful moments of huge success and therefore have a taste of what it could be but it has been at the cost of family/life balance/sleep/fitness. I know that is unsustainable so really need to do things more effectively …. your site could be my missing link. Many thanks,
Eve

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:17:40 +0000

Cobey,

I also work in the Western Suburns of Brisbane (probably not as West as Springfield Lakes) I found myself, the most effective way is to call through using the CMA Drive Script, and then drop it off to them between 5:30 – 6:30pm.

I call Tuesday and Thursday, and drop off on Wednesday, Friday. Then the following week call back and gauge the interest from the locals, and put the ones who are most responsive on my Quarterly Trail. This has been my fastest way of building a following, and locking out other agents from doing the same thing.

Just dropping them off, I have found, has much less of a strike rate, or Return on Investment.

Cheers Brett – DDRE

By: Cobey

Cobey — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:55:16 +0000

Hi Everyone,

I would first like to thank Matt for giving back so much to the real estate community and helping all agents like myself, Your site and also your audio/visual training disc’s have helped me so much, both in the way I sell real estate and also in everyday life.

I have just moved across from a Business Development Role in property management to Sales and with that, a new suburb, new office, new farm area and new co-workers… Cold Start I guess you could say. I work in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Springfield Lakes, where there is an average sale price of $375,000, a steady turnover of homes and is in a good growth area.

I have become a member of Real Estate Academy and also purchased Mat’s Training CD’s, which have been a great help being new to selling property.

A question I would love to get everyone’s thought’s on is how often to people find the most effective to letterbox drop marketing/price drive letter etc? i.e. Monthly, Quarterly etc

Thanks for allowing me to share my bit and I’m looking forward to reading about everyone else questions, ideas and answers.

Cheers,

Cobey

By: Mat

Mat — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:30:16 +0000

Hi Peter,
Yes, I think there is something in that.
Maybe a members section where you can view other agents stats, results etc and interact.
Ok, I will ponder and come back.
Also, I have just put a new post on about how more I could help, let’s see what else comes in and let’s build something amazing.
Great idea, thank you.
Mat

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:44:18 +0000

Perhaps a section or page where people write up the number of calls they make each day plus the number of appraisal they have each week followed by list and sell with their financial rewards. This could inspire people to say “hey, they’re not doing something I can’t do and I can write those figures too” and get us more focused and determined to go out there and get a mile in front. Thoughts?

By: Mat

Mat — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:15:57 +0000

Hey Guys,
Excellent tips in all of this!
Keep it going. So much to learn from every person that contributes.
Greg, that is so true about icebreaker scripts/first impression strategies are what’s next, combined with awesome follow up it will be unbeatable.
Brett, how do you keep it going? I think when your own goals drive you enough you really don’t need any other stimulation. It’s all about the Why.
Christine, commission levels vary in my area. Many of the houses I sell are priced between $450,000-$650,000 with an average fee of 3% including GST. However I do sell quite a number of homes priced over $1,000,000 which does bring up my average sale price. Although when I started writing over $1,000,000 say 10 years ago the average sale price of the homes I was selling back then was around $400,000.
You can still write large numbers on lesser priced homes you just have to have more market share.
Here is a question for everyone….. I am looking to build this site further and make it a place that people can spend time and get refocused or more focused, what do you all want to see on here?
Let me know……

By: Christine Wastell

Christine Wastell — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:15:00 +0000

Hi Everyone.

I come from Port Pirie in SA and these high figures everyone talks about – like Mat writing $2m etc. I would like to know what the average commission is around the different areas of Australia. As I have said before I have been in Real Estate for just over 2 years now and ever though I have been encouraged to keep score, I havent been very diligent at it. Since starting at Elders, I have decided to make sure I have a control board where I keep my tallies. On the 3rd of July I had already sold the number of properties I needed to and the gross commission also. The listings and the appraisals have not happened as yet but I am working on them. I am determined to reach all of my targets for the month.

What I have realised is that it is extremely important to keep track of what you need to do to get the job done. In my real estate career I will never stop using the control board now that I have made it a habit. It keeps me motivated and focused.

By: Brett

Brett — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:49:48 +0000

I have found rainy days to be the most effective on the phones, as most people have the same mentality as the salespeople. It’s wet, don’t want to go into the office, I will stay home.
I look forward to wet weather weeks, as it means I can call Monday – Tuesday and drop my quarterly’s off on Thursday – Friday.

I think the follow through on the buyers will be the key difference in their relationship with you. Our office has effectively locked out another company from listing a property they sold again by taking on their anniversary calls and giving them a quarterly report.

The hardest thing I have found is that I am consistently the top of the office by some mile, but need the competitive stimulation by the others guys to keep from being bored. How do you keep it going when you are ahead?

By: Greg Vincent

Greg Vincent — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:43:42 +0000

Christine, your story reminded me of a time when I was out door knocking with one of my team & once the umbrella blew inside out & a tree fell over near us we decided to call it a day. True Story

Dedication or Stupidity you decide, but all I know is we were laughing about it all the way back to the office & for years after.

Rainy days are also a great time to catch people at home.

Mat, I believe what it takes to be successful now is different to what it was a few years ago. The market & technology has changed the game. Whilst dedication, skills, scripts & dialogues are still highly relevant the internet has changed how we connect with people & the impression people have of an agent is being judged well before the client even contacts the agent.

Basically, if they don’t like what they see then you’re out & you don’t even get to know why.

Also, the days seem to have gone where you’d take one buyer around & show them a number of homes & build up a personal relationship with them over an hour or two. Nowadays, the buyer looks on the web, selects a number of homes they want to see & books in to see 4 or 5 homes, meeting the agents at the properties, which often means meeting up with 4 or 5 different agents.

I believe that agents icebreaker scripts & first impression strategies will become even more important as agents move forward. Follow that up with an effective, automated follow up process that keeps you top of mind & then you’re in with a better than average chance of success.