The Seven Step Blueprint for Getting a Home Sold--and for Winning the Listing!

This week in a coaching session I was chatting with a newer agent who was excited about some upcoming opportunities to list homes in great areas. He said the folks had asked about his marketing plan so he wanted to focus on that.

I suggested that he implement some strategies from our Buffini Peak Producers training that address not only a solid marketing plan for the house, but also touch on some issues that 99% of Realtors probably would never think of mentioning! Buffini, in his training session on “Working with Sellers,” recommends establishing our professionalism by sharing with the seller our “Blueprint for Getting a Home Sold.” This seven-step process will immediately differentiate us from the competition! Here’s the Blueprint:

1.     In-depth MARKET ANALYSIS. Okay, nothing too surprising there. So, be sure you know the neighborhood inside and out! BUT, be sure to do this LAST! We all know that 100% of sellers, no matter what they say, have an idea of what they think their house should be worth and it’s usually based on something far removed from fact. So if we cover the pricing discussion first, chances are they will be disappointed in what the market will tell us the price should be and of course they won’t hear another word we say after that! (I recommend telling them up front you’ll cover this last since it is so important and you want to set the context for that discussion.)

2.     Property ENHANCEMENT checklist. I love the way we can use words and their connotations and that word, enhancement, covers issues we often discuss but rarely position so positively! This list will of course include many basics like cleanups and fix-ups, maybe some additions or repainting, and, depending on the price point, bringing in a professional stager at our own cost! I like to say these things enhance the value!

3.     Comprehensive PROMOTION and MARKETING plan. Most sellers tend to fixate on this aspect so we need to have a great plan and do a good job of positioning its strength. But frankly most agents stop here, thus opening the door for us to show our real value with the next items.

4.     CRYSTAL clear COMMUNICATION. Wow, we all know that our business overall suffers from a poor reputation in this area, and maybe your potential new client has experienced it in past transactions. I encourage setting expectations and letting the seller know your plan for proactive updates—and of course finding out how they prefer we communicate with them.

5.     NEGOTIATING and STRUCTURING the sale. Wow, how many sellers ever consider this as one the professional services we provide? And very few agents ever think to address it in their presentation either. So, here’s a huge opportunity to differentiate ourselves by addressing this and our experience and expertise in handling this often tricking element of our services. By the way, we’ll cover The Seven Styles of Negotiator in a future Playbook so you can even mention a couple of those in your presentation.

6.     COMPREHENSIVE Transaction MANAGEMENT. I love this one as we all know that even though we may have an accepted contract, there are many potholes and hurdles between that and the closing table. Again, most sellers have little knowledge about these pitfalls, so by simply mentioning them and our expertise as part of our services, we immediately differentiate ourselves from 99% of the competition!

7.     Client APPRECIATION Program. Yes, we’ll be available to assist the seller with any ongoing real estate or property needs—like recommending a painter or plumber—even if they move out of town or state—or country! Remember, we all know the best way to grow our business is by referrals from clients, so why wouldn’t we stay in touch and offer appreciation to the sellers? Even if they move to Topeka or Tuscany, they probably still have friends or family in our market, or maybe they still work for the same firm they were with here . . . and maybe one day they might be transferred back! Bottom line, in our long term, relationship approach to our business, doing the right thing will help our business grow steadily!

Okay, the market is starting to heat up and there is still a shortage of listings so the competition will be fierce. Don’t forget to roll up your blueprint and take it with you for your next listing presentation to improve your winning percentage!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development

Huey Lewis and the Big D!

For those of you who weren’t able make the trip to Dallas for the BHHS Convention this week, the trip was both exhilarating and exhausting! Well, at my age, anyway!

We got to see Gino Blefari’s excitement as he talked about 2016 being one of those “Tipping Points” where a company—in this case, OUR company—really finds its stride and explodes to new levels of success. The BHHS network expanded in 2015 from 32,000 agents to 42,000 agents and the company will be opening its first global franchise later this year with a search capability for homes in the US translated into many foreign languages so don’t delete that client who moves to Germany or to India!

And speaking of success, our very own BHHS Indiana jumped from the 29th position in GCI in the BHHS network all the way up to 22nd! Congrats and thanks to all!

We got to see Billy Beane, of Moneyball fame, tell the story of how his baseball team, the Oakland A’s, found a way to make the most of each player’s individual and unique strengths to produce a winning team.

We got to see and meet both Tom Ferry and Dermot Buffini—Brian’s brother—and to hear them present on “How to 10x Your Business” and “The 7 Steps to Success.” One of the best stories was Tom Ferry’s intro of a team from Long Beach, California, who had listed and sold—and just closed a day before-- a home owned by the parents of the owner/founder of Zillow! Not only did they sell it and have BOTH sides, the home sold for something like $8.5 million while the Zillow estimate was something like $6 million! Booyah! Both Tom and Dermot had some great ideas and we’ll share them in future Playbook posts.

We got to become “fascinated” with a presentation by Sally Hogshead about a great new personality profile assessment similar to those that many of us have done before. Sally’s, though, is unique in that it focuses on “Your Fascination Advantages,” those elements in all of us that, at our best, attract folks to want to work with us and be around us. Her point is that we should, first of all, be aware of those strengths we have, and then to be more of them! The best part is that she has offered free profiles for BHHS agents so all you need to do is go to:

Howtofasinateyou.com/You and enter the code BHHS16.

It takes less than five minutes and is very clever—and fun—in its results as you’re shown your two “Fascination Advantages”—mine are Innovation and Power, which combine to make me “The Maverick Leader”—“pioneering, irreverent, and entrepreneurial.” The cool thing is that ALL of the archetypes have very spiffy positive connotations we can use in bolstering our strengths and enhancing our relationships!

We got to then finish up our time in the Big D with a celebration of a dozen young cancer survivors supported by The Sunshine Kids foundation and we were all touched by these youngsters’ courage and fortitude—and then we got to meet all of them. Each of them was escorted by a TV personality, mostly from the current show Major Crimes, so that was also a kick!

We then got to finish out the night dancing and singing in the mosh pit along with Huey Lewis and the News—and hey, he’s almost as old as I am!!

And next year . . . Phoenix Arizona right in the middle of the Cubs’ spring training in Mesa!

Don’t miss it!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development

Make Sure You Get Your M.E.D.S!

In our most recent Peak Producers training class, we talked about “The Attitude of a Peak Producer,” and Brian Buffini encouraged everyone to focus on a positive, consistent attitude to help us through the potential snares and pits of the real estate business. His comments reminded me, once again, of Gino Blefari’s presentation at our Annual Business Conference last year and again when many of us got to see him last week.

At our conference, Gino focused on time management and attitudes, and he made the point that in order for us to perform and live at our best, it’s crucial that, every day, we make sure we get our M.E.D.S.  No, not those little pills or powders or essential oils we my take, but an overall way of living to promote our health and wellbeing so we can be at our best. Here are Gino’s M.E.D.S:

M is for meditation or prayer. Gino carries his rosary beads in his pocket but his point is that we should ideally begin our day with some form of introspection and centering so that we ground ourselves before we plunge into that whirlwind of family and business and life in the 21^st century. If you can find even just five minutes of quiet practice to attend to your inner, spiritual, self each day, you’ll feel the difference.

E is for exercise. Yes, exercise can fatigue us, especially if we’ve been out of the habit, but if practiced regularly, it will not only improve our strength and conditioning, but it can also energize us. No matter where you are in your age or physical conditioning, you can find improvements in your wellbeing and your attitude by starting or enhancing an exercise program. Even just getting out and walking a bit can be a great way to get your E!

D is for diet. Of course, we all know this is important and we’ve all tried to “diet” in the sense of the word as a nasty verb for eating nothing but rice cakes and iceberg lettuce with no dressing! Yuck! The D in Gino’s M.E.D.S. really applies to what we eat over the long term and is reflected in changing our eating habits and behavior so that healthy eating becomes our norm, not torture. By the way, when we have a healthy diet, that occasional, rare, treat tastes far better than it ever did when we indulged on a daily basis! In his Peak Producers class, Brian Buffini notes that in our culture we actually don’t have an idiom for this positive approach to diet or business but we do have one for the opposite: Garbage in, garbage out! Plus, Buffini suggests this axiom also applies to our mental diet as well! We are what we watch, read, and experience among the ten people we hang out with most, so choose wisely. One usually doesn’t become a better person watching “The Real Housewives of . . .” whatever!!

S is for sleep. Have you ever told your sick child that sleep is the best medicine? We know it’s absolutely true and we really hope that youngster will get a good rest and feel better in the morning. And yet, even though this “medicine” is free for all of us, all too often we forget to take a proper dose! Early to bed . . . you know the rest, right? Yet even if we turn out the lights fairly early, if we’ve just been watching an exciting TV show or playing a video game, chances are we won’t get a restful sleep since we’re still chasing those terrorists or wondering what will happen in next week’s show (thank goodness Downton Abbey is now finished at last!) Sleep is truly the best medicine and if you rise early you’ll also give yourself an extra hour or two for the M. and E. so you can focus on what’s most important to making your business—and your life—a success and a joy. Several brokers in our Peak Producers class have set goals for early to bed/early to rise and they’re sharing their results with their accountability partners!

Spring is on the way—even though it snowed a day or two ago—and that whirlwind of serving our clients will reach gale force. Make sure you get your M.E.D.S. so you can enjoy the ride!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development

More of Gino's Thoughts on Leadership--Live from Indiana!

It was great to see Gino Blefari, CEO of HSF Affiliates, in town for part of our Annual Business Conference activities over the last two days and I hope many of you got a chance to meet and chat with him. I’ve already shared a couple of Gino’s weekly blog posts, Thursday Thoughts on Leadership, in the Playbook and I encourage you to sign up to follow his posts—see below. Of course, in our business, leadership is critically important as we always achieve our best results and create long-term relationships when we lead our clients through a complex process, making sure we don’t cross that narrow line into pushing them. So Gino’s Thursday Thoughts on Leadership are always insightful and inspiring. And yesterday’s TToL came straight from Indiana.

Here’s Gino’s latest Thoughts: Win the Earnhardt Way

This week my travels find me in Indianapolis to meet with the talented team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Indiana Realty. Spending time with the agents and managers at Indiana Realty, including co-founders Kevin Kirkpatrick and John Dick, as well as Chief Operating Officer Craig West, was an incredibly rewarding experience, and all attendees were in warm spirits despite the cold weather and impeding snow.

While driving to the Indiana Realty event, I had the opportunity to catch glimpses of the Indianapolis skyline from my car window and it’s difficult to be in that city without thinking of its most iconic event—the Indianapolis 500. The race is especially front and center this year, as the Indy 500 is set to hold its 100^th running May 29.

The Indy 500, known as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, first began in 1911, with an inaugural race won by a man named Ray Harroun. Today, more than a century later, the race has featured some of the best, brightest and boldest to ever drive 200 laps around the famed course: Mario Andretti, Helio Castroneves and A.J. Foyt. One of my personal favorite racers was the late Dale Earnhardt, whose son Dale Earnhardt, Jr. still drives in competitive racing today today. Though Earnhardt, Sr. raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway he never actually participated in the Indy 500.

However, despite not being in the actual race, of all the celebrated racers throughout history, I’ve always been particularly fascinated by Dale Earnhardt, Sr., not only because he was an award-winning driver, inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010, but also because of his ever-present grit and determination to win.

“You win some, you lose some, you wreck some,” he famously said, perhaps hinting at his oft-mentioned aggression on the race track. Earnhardt was lovingly nicknamed “The Intimidator” because when he got behind the wheel, his competitors knew he was virtually fearless. It’s a trait we as leaders must always remember to embrace as we rev up our own engines, preparing for any kind of business race, even if don’t wind up being the first to cross the finish line. “Finishing races is important,” Earnhardt said, “but racing is more important.”

So, what’s the message? Fear being anything less than fearless. Put all things in perspective and don’t “let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones,” as Earnhardt once warned. Because winning is not a race but instead a mindset and if you believe you’ve got the strength and determination to succeed, then you’ve already won.

GINO BLEFARI is CEO of HSF Affiliates LLC. You can follow Gino on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, plus sign up to receive his Thursday Thoughts on Leadership at http://rethinkreport.com/2016/02/25/thursday-thoughts-on-leadership-win-the-earnhardt-way/

Thanks Gino! The spring selling season is at hand, so get out there and be fearless in your leadership!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development