What’s your plan for the next 4 months? Do you have one? Have you had one for the past 8 months?

If you started the year with a plan, did you follow it? Every day?

Did you meet

your targets? Surpass them? Fail to meet them? What happens now?

There’s the real question – what happens now?

I read recently of an agent in Washington whose team has closed 302 transactions YTD; he raised his annual goal to 600. Think he’ll get there? I do.

Why do I think he’ll get there? Because success is built on systems, scaleable systems, and once the system is set, it’s a fairly simple step to turn the dial up just a bit. How are your systems doing?

Do you lead generate every day? For how long? How many contacts do you make? How many past clients do you ask for referrals every day? What do you do if you don’t have an appointment on any day? Golf, or lead generate?

What questions do you ask yourself every day about your business?

There’s a reason for the saying ‘Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail’.

Want to talk about where you are at and how to get where you want to go? Email me. No charge for a conversation – we both learn from it.

STOP IT! NOW!! RIGHT NOW!!!!!

Seriously, stop spending so much money. I bet, really, I bet that you are throwing away thousands of dollars every year in your business. Come on, look at yourself in the mirror, be honest with yourself (yes, I know this is hard for some of you, but do it anyway – your spouse will thank you later)

I’ve been thinking about the topic of this post a lot lately, and was inspired to write it by an email I just received that tells all about how some rockstar gets a couple of referrals every week from the mail he sends out, along with all these newsletters, thank you cards and everything else.

I’m sorry (not really) to contradict the ‘guru’ who promotes this methodology, but I know far too many agents who have bought into the hype and had to get a JOB because of it.

Now don’t get me wrong here – I do accept that referrals are a critical part of the business; that’s a no-brainer. What I cannot accept is that people get these email tips from all kinds of coaches, and they never mention the one critical component of any program. They just push their passive-business tools that line their pockets (while mostly emptying the pockets of the people they sign up).

Know why they do that

? Because they know that 75% of their target sucker group won’t do the real work, and they don’t want to scare them away from buying the system or the coaching they offer by telling them they have to do it to get results.

Some of these guys are incredibly lacking in integrity in the way they push their programs. You know, you get these emails that say ‘this special ends on Sunday at midnight!’ And then, Saturday, you get another email saying that the response is so great that the special has been extended until Wednesday because their staff can’t keep up with demand. And then Tuesday, you get another email saying that they are just blown away by the response being so great, they are finally going to cut off the special on Sunday at midnight. I get these emails all the time, as I’m sure you do too.

Well, I hope you look at those emails and dissect them into the different piles of codswallop they really are. Think about it for a second – if the product or service was so great, it wouldn’t be on sale, and if they were so busy filling orders that their staff couldn’t keep up, why would they encourage more orders? Could it be they are trying to trick you into buying stale inventory of a product? Or services that people don’t want? Just a thought thrown out there.

Here’s a newsflash for ya . . . .

There’s one sure way to get business . . . . .

Ready . . . . .

PICK UP THE PHONE!

Okay, you can drop by and visit with friends, acquaintances, former co-workers, etc., but that is such an inefficient use of your time. Besides, even if you do mail them stuff, you’ve still got to pick up the phone to finish the service you started offering to them by mailing them something in the first place.

If you’re the kind of agent who needs 5, 6, or 10 extra sales in the next 90 days, claim your free coaching call (it’s a $597 value!) by submitting the form over there to the right. I won’t lie to you, deceive you into thinking that this business is easy, and I certainly won’t tell you to spend your money. Invest it, yes; spend it, no.

Several recent experiences have caused me to really understand that you get what you ask for, and you have to give to get. Let me explain. I just returned from a short business trip to Boston, and wanted to change my return flight. I asked the lady at the check-in counter when I was leaving Buffalo and she told me that it was going to cost me more to change the flight than to just buy another ticket. Okay, if you know me, you know that ain’t gonna happen! I asked what my other options were, and she told me to go to the check-in counter in Boston and they would let me go on the immediately-prior flight for no charge. Awesome, says me.

Yesterday, I went to the counter and told the guy there that I wanted to change my flight, and really didn’t want to spend any money to do it. The agent, Vincent, told me my options – pay $40 and get a guaranteed seat on the next flight, or wait and try to go stand-by on any flight. He checked the next flight, saw that it was half-full, and said ‘here – you don’t need to spend $40 – just go to the gate and tell them Vincent said you’d get on this flight, no problem’. Awesome, thanks Vincent!

Off to the gate I went, and the flight ends up being delayed. Passengers are lined up mercilessly harassing the check-in staff, so I got in line and when I was at the front, I used something I learned from a speaker, (maybe John Maxwell, I’m not sure) and I said to the lady ‘I don’t really need any complicated help. I saw how much these people were harassing you, blaming you for the plane being delayed and cursing at you. Just take my standby boarding pass and take a few moments to get re-centered and forget those jerks’. Well, she beamed this massive smile at me, and after a few minutes told me how much it meant to have had those couple of minutes to purge her frustrations silently. Cool, I thought, and went away to wait until the rest of the passengers had boarded.

Finally, the boarding started and I was shocked to hear my name being called. This lovely lady had not only assigned me to a seat, she had assigned me to a business class window seat! How cool is that!!

So, I asked for a free switch of flights, and I got it – totally awesome. I then gave some respite to the gate agent, not expecting anything more in return than the good feeling I get from helping someone out, and I got rock star treatment as a result!

Everywhere I go, I ask if they can give me a better deal, whether it’s hotel rooms, airfare, pretty much everything. I’m never upset if they say no, however, I will push a bit because I know that they never offer their best rates on things without a bit of back-and-forth. If they are skilled enough at the game and hold their ground, I will pay the price they ask and congratulate them on standing firm. Gee, I wonder if maybe some of your clients test you that same way? I bet they do.

If you’re the kind of real estate or mortgage agent that needs another 5, 6, or even 10 extra sales before the end of the year, then these skills are exactly what you need to get them closed. Request your free coaching call (a $400 value!) by submitting the form to the right. You’ll be amazed at how much your business will change as a result of coaching with me.

Make sure you read all the way through . . .

The number one thing you can do to keep control of your clients is to TAKE control from the beginning. How?

The first time you talk with them, you have to tell them what to expect. The easiest way to do this is by using power words and phrases that clients pick up on unconsciously.

Here are a few phrases you can use in your first conversation with a client.

1. Once I show you our marketing techniques, you’ll never want to list your home with anyone else.

2. After you see the homes I’m going to show you, you’ll be trilled that you are working with me.

3. Six months from now you’ll look back and realize how much better your life is since you moved into your new home.

In your first conversation with a client, their sub conscience already has picked up that they are going to list their home, work with you, and move into a new home.

Now that’s control!

We’re giving away a ton more free persuasion information. Just fill out the brief from here: Free Persuasion Report

You know, it’s interesting to me that taking control is such a natural thing to do, and such a necessary thing to do, and yet it is so opposite to how so many agents run their business. I watched an awesome lecture by Randy Pausch, on Time Management, and one of the things he said really struck a chord.

The chord was struck not because it was a novel idea, as it is something I’ve practised for years; it was novel because it is so rarely ever heard.

What Randy said was that you just need to take back control of your communications and you will discover so much free time in your day. If you have a Blackberry, set it so that email only comes when you choose; same goes for an iPhone – make it so that you have to retrieve email rather than it arriving in a continuous stream all day and night. I get hundreds of emails a day, typically between 600 & 700, and it is so liberating to only get them when I choose to get them. Same goes with your phone – record your voice mail so it tells people when you will be calling them back and asks for a number they can be reached at during that time. Little things that put you in control of your business!

A number of agents have asked me lately, ‘How is it possible to make 130 phone calls an hour, leaving voicemails and sending emails automatically?’

The answer is two-fold really – it’s part technology and part mindset. I write almost every day about the mindset part of the equation, so today I want to talk a little about the technology I use.

I use a system called REPhoneburner, which you can check out here (get the 15-day free trial). This excellent system is a powerful calling – voicemail – email dialing system that is in complete compliance with all Federal, State, and Provincial laws regarding phonedialers, unlike many of the multi-line dialers.

I use my Skype account to call in to the dialer service, not only to make my calls, but also to record any special voicemails I want to use. For a headset, I use a Logitech that I picked up about 3 years ago.

Here’s the FAQ’s from the site: