This is the 2nd installment of a three part recap of the seminars I attended along with my colleague(Monica Walters) during the recent the NJ-NY-PA "Triple Play" real estate confab in Atlantic City.
The 1st part of this series was the based on the featured post "The Top 5 Things I Took Away From The Millionaire Maker Potato Chip Marketing" Seminar.
Many of you may know about Darryl Davis, while others may not be as familiar with him. Darryl is a popular motivational speaker/real estate trainer/coach/author, who infuses humor with his authentic New York persona to create his unique, high-energy presentation. The two books he's written are "How To Become A Power Agent in Real Estate" and "How To Make $100,000 Your First Year As A Real Estate Agent."
At first I was kind of shocked to discover that Darryl is also a former actor and current stand-up comedian, who continues perform at NYC's legendary Caroline's Comedy Club. However, after watching him give his rapid-fire, animated seminar, it all made sense.
Darryl shared very personal stories during the 3 hrs we spent with him. He reflected on everything from reconnecting with his mother before she died of an incurable illness, to having an emergency medical moment that had him feeling like he was experiencing a heart attack, to running the the 26 mile ING Marathon in an effort to raise money for sick children (despite not being in the best of shape...his words, not mine...lolol). To hear him speak was inspiring, heart-breaking, invigorating and inspirational all at the same time.
Did I mention that Darryl Davis also is an ActiveRain member? Click here to read his profile.
Below are the 7 benefits from the seminar "Attitudes of a Top Producer."
Again, these are geared toward real estate practitioners like myself, but they can be used in other professions as well. The over-arching theme of this session was essentially how to take your career to the "Next Level" (a popular phrase that Darryl actually owns the trademark to). Are you surprised?
#1 - Change your mindset, and you'll change your life.I touched on a similar topic in a recent featured post, "You Are A Living Magnet...So What Are You Attracting Into Your Life." What you think (good or bad) is what you attract into your life. Commit to a positive goal or something that is bigger than you. Remain enthusiastic, enlist the support of people who really care about you, and you'll become empowered to accomplish anything!
#2 - Stay focused on your goals in a very disciplined fashion. This is VERY important, because it's one of the top reasons people "fall off the wagon." We say we're going to "get in shape," New Year's comes around, we develop a fitness routine, do it for a couple of months weeks and then things go right back to normal. Yet, we see that small number of people who set out to accomplish the very same goal, but some how they actually achieve it. Sound like the ole' 80/20 rule, eh? Is it because those who are successful at achieving the fitness target are smarter than us? NO! Are they're luckier than us? NO! The difference is that small group of people was far more focused and disciplined than the rest of us...period!
#3 - Direct your attention on helping other people, and you will help yourself in the process. This concept isn't necessarily about generating leads by focusing on other people. I perceived it as being more about developing an attitude of humility, as well as learning to enjoy serving others people's needs, which will in turn heighten your sensitivity to serving the needs of your clients. Great client service will help your business soar!
- Clean up past relationships (both personal and professional).
- Do something unexpected for your family (i.e. take them on a vacation, out to dinner, surprise gift).
- Join a community service effort that may take you out of your "comfort zone." Perhaps you're afraid of needles but you decide to volunteer with the Red Cross or maybe you don't like cooking & doing dishes, but decide to donate a few hours to a local soup kitchen to feed the homeless.
- Help find a job for a friend who may be unemployed or dealing with a financial crisis. In fact AR member Cedric "Ced" Reynolds wrote an excellent post about this.
#4 - Manage your business "like it's a business"....not a hobby or a job but like you are the CEO of your own company. In other words, place more emphasis on increasing your market-share (aka the number of listings you have) and increase your dollar volume & profit (aka getting more of your listings SOLD for the best price).
- Create a system of communication (i.e. letters, postcards, email blasts, etc.) where you directly solicit prospects to generate new leads. Checkout this great read from AR member Liz Ward Small entitled, "The A-List of Top 10 Lead Generation Tips For Greater Results."
- Focus on marketing your listings to agents (not just to buyers). Increasing the commission package and/or adding a bonus is not a bad idea. It gives agents an even greater incentive to show & sell your listings.
- Get your current sellers to lower their asking price to reflect the current market value, by using 3rd party validation, i.e. local news articles about current market conditions, housing & mortgage outlook reports, statistical data from your local real estate board.
#5 - Make it clear and obvious that you believe in yourself when you attend listing appointments. That doesn't mean get all cocky, but rather aim to exude confidence. How are you going to convince sellers that you can do a phenomenal job for them, when you haven't even convinced yourself? Trust me, sellers can smell "fear." Using Darryl's R.E.A.L. approach below may help:
- R. - Rapport building is the key...If you don't establish good rapport, the listing presentation is going nowhere.
- E. - Engage the sellers with compelling information.
- A. - Advise them on how you will solve their problem
- L. - Listings will be YOURS!
#6 - Become a "master rainmaker." The more leads you generate and follow-up on, the greater the likelihood you will turn those leads into appointments, then turn those appointments into writing contracts, those contracts turn into closings and those closings turn into CASH! Rainmakers get PAID despite the stormy real estate climate.
- Prospect, prospect, prospect....constantly work towards generating leads.
- Always look to schedule as many appointments scheduled as you can handle.
- Actually attend as many appointments as possible.
- Listings, listings, listings and more listings is the name of the game.
#7 - Be sure to hang around positive people. We are often a reflection of our environment. When we hang around positive people, their positive attitude, optimistic outlook and good habits will rub off on us. Choose the company you keep carefully!
NOTE: BY MONDAY I WILL CONCLUDE THIS 3-PART "TRIPLE PLAY RECAP SERIES" WITH A RUNDOWN OF THE 3RD INFORMATIVE SEMINAR I ATTENDED (LEAD BY UPSTATE NEW YORK BROKER/AGENT, JIM PUGILESE).
Stay motivated,
Amber
