I just re-read one of my favorite little books “The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey”. It can change your life!

Take a look at the latest post on http://www.smdrablog.com. What do you think about being a salesman?

Salesmanship

I had lunch today with a broker who asked why the term “salesman” seems to have dissapeared in our industry? He, like me, has been in the business a long time and remembered when our licenses from the state of Colorado actually called us all salesmen instead of brokers or broker associate.  So what happened?  Did we all become consultants to our buyer and sellers? Well yes I think we did.

So then are we salesmen? The answer is–Positively.  You are constantly selling yourself as their preffered provider of real estate services.  How do you do that? do you have a plan or do you just hope and pray they will use you in the future?  I don’t think that hoping and praying is much of a plan. So here is a goal for the new year: build an active plan to be able to sell your service.  work on your appearance (wear a tie more often) Work on your handshake and your smile. Dress for success. Work on your script, if the ask you “how is the market”? saying “great” might not be the smartest thing you could say when all the national media is saying the opposite.  Are you materials first class? Are you the most knowledgable and the person most committed to customer service-I mean real service?

Are you the best at what you do or do you settle for mediocrity or even worse. Tune up YOUR salesmanship.

Professionalism

The Twitter world was alive with the discussion between REALTORS on the subject of professionalism.  Their seemed to be an outcry for a greater emphasis on REALTORS being more professional in the way they conduct their business.  I pondered the statements and here are a few of my disconnected thoughts.

1.  Everyone has different definitions of the term “professionalism”.  I think that most people think of themselves as professionals and everyone else as questionable. 

2.  Like it or not professionalism is consumer driven.  I assume that most of the employees of Nordstrom are more professional than the average employee of Walmart.  This being said I think that most of the public chooses Walmart over Nordstrom for their purchases.  Isn’t that the same in other businesses.  If the consumer wanted the employee better trained, dressed better, better educated, etc wouldn’t that likely cost more?

3.  I want “professionalism” where ever I go. Here is a sad reality: what do you call the person who graduates last in medical school-Doctor.  Some agents are awesome and some not so much, just like doctors lawyers and other professionals.

4.  We must allow many different models in the delivery of real estate.  Some offer tons of time, knowledge and energy and some don’t.  Some ask for high fees and some don’t.  Some offer lots of services even value added services, and some don’t.

After all of that I am totally confused. How about you weigh in on the subject

“I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.”
General George S. Patton

Great Douglas County Housing help is now availalble

The Douglas County Housing Partnership (DCHP), a Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Authority, was formed as a cooperative effort between businesses and local and county governments to address the issue of the lack of affordable housing for people who work in the area.

The DCHP operates with financial support from the jurisdictions of the City of Lone Tree, the Town of Castle Rock, the Town of Parker and Douglas County as a political subdivision and public corporation of the State of Colorado. 

http://www.douglascountyhousingpartnership.org/

Metrolist and the Boards

SMDRA had the opportunity to sit in a linkage meeting today with Metrolist.  We were very impressed by the open communication and the real sense of  team Metrolist has.  The are giving maximum  effort to bring the finest of MLS services to our members.  Metrolist has gone through an amazing transition year with many bumps but they really moved forward. 

They are encouraging our members to continue to provide suggestions for what changes Metrolist might consider.  Let me know and I will pass them on.  They really are listening!!

The Weather Outside is Frightful!

But the classroom at SMDRA is delightful.  The first of the CREC update classes for 2010 was today and I sat in it.  I really enjoyed getting new information when it is hot off the presses and still relevent. The class had a focus on Short Sales and Froeclosures as you might expect.  It seems to me that if you are going to practice in those areas in 2010 you better know what the commission is requiring of you.  Damian Cox, ESQ taught today and brought an awesome energy to the class. Thanks Damian.

I think that many small businesss (I include our members in that group) are stuggling to find the right technology for their 2010 business plans.  Everything from the compexities of WordPress to the ease of Facebook confounds us.  Honestly, at our house, we are having trouble deciding if we should get rid of the land line, get rid of the fax machine, get rid of the credit card reader, etc.  Is Twitter going to make you a little richer or not?  Is Facebook going to build a business for you? I don’t know any of this but I do think it would be naive to think that you can ignore technology in your business plan.  Take some time and make sure you have a category for the growth, costs, time  and implementation of technology! Have a great 2010

Happy New Year from SMDRA

We are watching the Rose Parade and celebrating the new year with lot’s of coffee.  Thinking about resolutions.  This blog is one of those resolutions.  We hope this becomes an interactive way to communicate.  Let’s hear your resolutions for 2010