Tips, tool and techniques for those who desire to be the best of the best in the real estate business.
Pay it Forward
Each day I work hard to create an email message that inspires you, challenges you or even sometimes makes you angry enough to spring into action. Because this is Thanksgiving week I wanted to share some special messages with you to remind you to take time to focus on the many wonderful things in your life you have to be thankful for and not focus on the few that are challenging you. I would also like to ask you to take time to help those less fortunate than you, just because you can.
Today’s message comes from Eric Peterson one of our Platinum All Stars from Eureka, CA.
Hi and Happy Holidays everyone!
As most of you know I am someone who feels truly blessed. I have had a series of events that have happened that have opened my eyes and desire to affect the world around me for the better.
This last week I saw my friend Rex Bohn give up a couple evenings to call out charity auctions, heard Pam Wilcox make her yearly call out for extra blankets and coats to help the homeless, my fellow Realtors out on the charge to collect monies and toys for 4800 children, a high school Facebook friend out collecting Christmas cards for a cancer child’s final Christmas wish, and a few other inspiring acts of good will.
I have come up with an idea of how I can help others. My idea shares the idea from a movie called Pay It Forward as well as a coin used in scouting. In the movie an idealistic child is given a school task of doing something to affect the world. He decides to find 3 persons whom he can alter their lives for the better. His only request is that each of those he helps take the favor and pass it along to 3 others. If everyone pays it forward, then the favors multiply quickly, affecting the whole world.
The beauty of kids is that they can think big. I would be plenty happy if I could possibly affect those in my own town. The coin comes in handy, as it is a good reminder to be aware and ready to help when the opportunity arises. I met an elderly Boy Scout leader some years back that had a coin that I saw him pull out of his pocket. It was gold and not a typical coin seen in circulation. I asked him if I could see it and soon learned that this coin was called a “good turn” coin used in scouting. His coin had no markings on it because his was so old, having been worn smooth from being put in his pocket daily and being transferred from his left pocket to his right once he had done his good deed that day. I could only image the many thousands of good deeds he had done during that time and how he most likely had affected some peoples lives not only for the short term but possibly the long term.
And so I’d like to put it out as my gift to you and possibly those whose lives you might affect or alter. Would you like to participate and help make the world a better place, one good turn at a time? Please let me know and I am happy to send or bring by a coin for you. I am also putting up a quick web site to publish stories that you can share with me: from a smile that turned someone’s day around, to covering a cold, homeless person with a blanket like Pam, to calling a friend or family member at the end of the day that you haven’t spoken with in a long time to say I care or love you. The site should be enjoyable to peruse for ideas on what others are doing to help as well as jut to hear about the good that folks can do.
Nothing would please me more than to have more people want to participate than the 70 tokens I have just purchased. I believe that you might be interested, so feel free to call or email me today to get your coin.
Thanks Eric, I’ll be passing my coins around and looking for opportunities for “good turns”. If you have a message of thanks or inspiration you would like to share with the group, drop me an email.
Thought for today: You can get whatever you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
Customer Service 101
How good is your customer service? Do your clients and customers rave about your service?
In principle, creating outstanding customer service is pretty simple; Make sure you know what your customer wants and expects from you; be flexible in meeting those demands; treat the customer like a partner rather than an adversary or end user; and work like heck to make it easy for the customer to do business with you.
It’s a mission that’s easy to talk. But hard to walk.
Why is providing great customer service so difficult? Think about the simple haircut, a service so common and ordinary we take it for granted. It is a good illustration of just how different and difficult creating world-class, customer-pleasing service can be.
If you are a barber/stylist, you are very much at the behest of whoever walks in the door. No rejecting the raw material or sending it back to the vendor. No way to say, “I’m sorry, sir, but your head is out of round and your hair is just too think. We don’t work with substandard material.” Nor do you have control over the standards. The customer controls the standards. And the one who walks in the door with a copy of Esquire or a favorite photo of George Clooney circled has clear expectations in mind, realistic or not-and will hold you to them.
On top of that, customers don’t leave their heads for you to work on and come back at 5:00PMto survey your work. Nope, they hop in the chair and ‘help’ you do your job. “Careful, not too short!” They stay right there and tell you how to take care of business for them. and when you are finished, they are only conditionally satisfied with the job you have done.. the final, final evaluation must wait until they see how their family, friends, and coworkers rate the haircut.
That in a nutshell is the reality of delivering quality customer service today. It must be done one customer and one encounter at a time, each and every time, to the specifications of that one customer- if you are going to have a chance of getting that customer back again and more importantly getting that all important referral.
So don’t assume you are delivering customer service your clients are raving about. Count your referrals. That’s the greatest measurement of how the clients really feel about your service.
Thought for today: “People learn more from observation than they do from conversation. Be a good observer.”
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
How to Stay Young
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids?
If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’ You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key.
You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m gonna be 16!’ You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There’s no fun now, you’re Just a sour-dumpling. What’s wrong? What’s changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50, and your dreams are gone…
But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50, and make it to 60.
You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that, it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80’s, and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn’t end there.
Into the 90s,you start going backwards; ‘I Was JUST 92.’ Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. ‘I’m 100 and a half!’
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3.Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s family name is Alzheimer’s.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
Thanks to George Carlin for his observations on aging.
Thought for today: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
One Fish, Two Fish
Are you a “flounder person” or a “trout person”? I don’t mean which type of fish do you like to eat but rather which fish do you share some characteristics with. Before you answer let’s take a look at the characteristics of each fish.
The flounder lies on the bottom of the sea, waiting for its food to come along. It allows the tide to control its movements, and does not resist the natural external forces. Consequently, it’s a easy fish to catch.
The trout swims against the current, choosing carefully where it goes and what it will eat. The trout decides when to resist the current, when to go with the flow and consequently is very difficult to catch.
Correspondingly, the “flounder person”‘ reacts only to what comes his or her way. The “trout person” acts with forethought and self-discipline. The “flounder person” waits for things to happen, while the “trout person” makes things happen. The “flounder person” concentrates on what they think is urgent, the “trout person” concentrates on what’s actually important.
So, what kind of person are you? If you are not a “trout person”, you can be. To take charge of your life you must learn to control your daily habits, not let them control you. To control your daily habits, consider these 10 practical life tips:
1. Set SMART goals that keep you motivated and in control of your daily actions.
2. Start each day by following a prioritized list of things to do.
3. Work smarter not harder by being creative and innovative.
4. Allocate your time to allow for 1/3 of your day servicing 1/3 selling and 1/3 developing new business.
5. Avoid people and circumstance that waste your time.
6. Invest your time with your best prospects first.
7. Keep yourself and your systems organized.
8. Finish what you start. Winners never quit and quitters never win.
9. Practice and perfect the skills necessary to be successful.
10. Demonstrate self-discipline. Do what you need to do when you need to do it.
What kind of person are you going to be today? A “trout person” or a “flounder person”? The choice is up to you!
Thought for today: Your well being is in the best hands it could possibly be, yours!
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
Dream Big
Launching yourself to the top!
Every day I see people pushing and shoving their way through life trying to achieve some sort of success. They tear through each day, each week, each month without any idea where they are headed, without a plan for their lives either personally or professionally. Our slogan seems to be do more and do it faster, but frequently we’re like a racehorse with blinders that runs hard and fast but with no idea where it is going until it ends up back where it started in the first place. Do you ever feel like this animal?
We are all effected by certain factors that impact our daily lives. These five factors explain why we do what we do each day. The five factors of influence are:
1. Environment: Your physical surroundings, past and present.
2. Events: The external circumstances which you have no control over.
3. Knowledge: What you know and just as important what you don’t know.
4. Results of Actions: The feedback you receive from what you do or have done.
5. View of the future: Where you see yourself going.
Of these five factors which would you think has the greatest impact on your life?
The answer, believe it or not is, your view of your future! Why?
Because you must have dreams for your dreams to come true! That is exactly what your view of your future is. The greatest disappointment is the millions of adults out there who have stopped dreaming. Oh, they used to have big dreams. When they were kids they were all going to be doctors, lawyers, athletes or captains of industry. So what happens? For most of us our dreams run smack into responsibility and reality. Tempering our dreams until one day we wake up and realize we are existing instead of living our dreams.
Well, it’s time to start dreaming again. You have to get back that child-like ability to dream big again.
Of course, it’s not enough to just dream big. You must work each day to turn your dreams into a reality. How? By taking your dreams and turning them into goals. That’s right…Goals!
And it’s a lot easier than you might think. To turn your dreams into goals simply add a deadline to your dreams.
DREAMS
+DEADLINE
=GOALS
I know you have probably attended a goal planning workshop or perhaps read something about setting goals. But, if you are like most people you are not actually setting and working each day towards achieving specific, worthwhile goals for yourself.
Why is it necessary to set goals?
One of the most important characteristics of successful people is that they have a “burning desire” to become someone greater than they are now. To live up to the potential they know they have within themselves. They realize, however, that it isn’t easy to maintain desire throughout the year.
Therefore, to help themselves stay motivated, they create a clear mental image (commonly called a vision) of what they want to achieve and take deliberate action each and every day to bring it into reality. That is, successful people are always working on making their dreams come true.
Unfortunately, not everyone is this diligent.
While many people would be able to tell you what their “dream” was, few have given any organized thought to what it is today. And, if you were to ask most people, “What did you do today to help you reach your dream”? Nine out of ten would answer, “nothing”.
The do nothing people will offer you logical reasons (excuses) for their inaction. They were too busy today. They are planning to get started next week. The situation isn’t quite right to make a change. They are waiting for all the stop lights to turn green before they begin their journey.
The truth is, most people treat their dreams lightly. They don’t understand that they have the power to fulfill their dreams, if only they would devote themselves to this purpose. And so, rather than take action, they hope for luck or fate to intervene on their behalf.
On the other hand, successful people know that each person is responsible for his or her own success. They also know that, to succeed, you must turn your dreams into goals and set out to achieve them, every day.
So, start today to take control of your life and steer it where you want it to go. Get back to the basics. Do what you have done before that worked, eliminate what doesn’t work and just do it! Don’t just reach for success-seek to live successfully and achieve the dreams you have within you.
Thought for today: You MUST have dreams for your dreams to come true!
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
Success is a Choice
How bad do you want to be successful?
Each day I am impressed by the All Stars who are committed to growing both as individuals and as professionals. I see people demonstrating great strength as I observe them doing the things that others are not willing to do. I know it’s hard to be successful. I know it’s easier not to push ourselves. It’s easier to quit and be like all the others who choose excuses over successes. But many All Stars are refusing to quit and make excuses, instead they choose to make the effort necessary.
Every day you are faced with important but simple choices. Prospect or not to prospect. Do something new or keep doing the same old things. Have a positive attitude about your opportunities or choose a negative attitude.
I believe everyone wants to succeed, no question about that. Even the people who are the most cynical and pessimistic. We all have the desire to be more productive. We all want to feel as though we are reaching our true potential. We all want to feel as though we are controlling our own destiny, not being controlled by it.
Success is actually a choice. Your success in business and life comes down to the choices you make each and every day. The question is, what are you doing each day to assure you own success?
Here are ten steps that can help you position yourself to achieve success in your business and your life.
1. Set demanding goals for yourself and review them frequently.
2. Raise your level of self-esteem.
3. Establish good habits.
4. Be ferociously persistent.
5. Thrive on pressure.
6. Learn from others.
7. Always be positive.
8. Master the art of communication.
9. Develop self-discipline
10. Learn from adversity.
So, if success is a choice…. We should all choose wisely. Our future depends on it.
Thought for today: Success is not a test of skill. Success is a test of motivation.
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
ABCs of Success
Another incredible day to be in the real estate business. Can't remember a more exciting, opportunity filled time!
What are you going to do TODAY to take advantage of all of these opportunities?
Today I want to share with you the ABC's of success and happiness in your business and life.
ACT confident.
BELIEVE in yourself. Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself!
CARE about others as much as you care about yourself.
DARE to be different than everyone else.
ENVISION your dreams often.
FIND something to be passionate about.
GRANT others wishes.
HOPE hard and never give that up.
INVITE unlimited possibilities.
JUDGE little.
KEEP all of the promises you make.
LAUGH often.
MAKE new friends everywhere you go.
NEVER ever give up on your dreams.
OPEN your mind to new ideas.
PLANT miracle seeds in your mind and others.
QUESTION why things have always been done that way.
RUN as fast as you can just to see how good it feels.
STAY true to yourself and your beliefs.
TRY new things. Try old things new ways.
UNDERSTAND others point of view.
VOLUNTEER to help when there is no benefit for you.
WIN gracefully whenever you win.
X marks the spot of your dreams. Keep your eye on it.
YIELD to others who may have something to share.
ZERO in on who's important in your life and don't forget them.
Enjoy these. Post these. Live by these. Share these with those you love and care about.
Want to help more buyers and sellers say yes and feel good about it? Want to bring more opportunities to a successful conclusion? Don't forget about today's webinar, "Win-Win Negotiating Techniques". Here is the link to register:
Thought for today: It's easy to think wisely and act foolishly...It's better to think foolishly and act wisely!
Have a productive weekend.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
FSBOs
Do you have too many good salable listings? Seems like a silly question doesn't it? I don't know anyone who is serious about being successful in the real estate business who has too many good sales able listings. Some might have a large inventory of listings they can't get sold because they aren't priced to sell, but those are not good, salable listings.
The question is: Do YOU have too many good salable listings?
If not, what are you going to do TODAY to add more good salable listings to your inventory? Got a plan or a prayer?
What if you could just drive down your street and see a sign that says "Real estate agent needed: Inquire within"? Wouldn't that make your job easier? Well folks, it's time to open your eyes because there are signs just like those all over your town, only they are written in code and say "For Sale by Owner"! That's right, For Sale by Owner really means-real estate agent needed, they just haven't hired one yet.
Statistics show that 76% of all For Sale by Owners will end up using the services of a real estate professional to help close a successful sale on their property. The only real questions to be answered are, when and which real estate person they will work with. The question you need to answer is, will any of them be choosing you?
They can't call you if they don't know you exist!
What is it with FSBO's that seems to create such fear and loathing from the real estate community? The first step for successfully converting the FSBO is to give yourself a check-up from the neck up. The real challenge with FSBO's is not the FSBO, but our own perception of them. Contrary to the opinion of most low producing, coffee clutchers who hang out in the office all day, most FSBO's are not fire-breathing dragoons who eat their young. They are just like you and me, people trying to save a few bucks if they can. Don't blame them, help them!
The second step is to get on the For Sale by Owner Train. How do you get on the train? You must have get an appointment to meet the FSBO in person, see the property and evaluate the seller. This is not the time to talk to them about working with them. We don't know if we want to work with them, or if the property is even sellable. This is the time to get an appointment only. How do you get the appointment? You call them and ask them for it!
During the first meeting with the FSBO you must ask the five FSBO questions.
1. Why are you trying to sell this property yourself instead of using a professional.
2. How long are you going to try?
3. What are your plans if it doesn't sell?
4. Have you had any written offers.
5. What's more important, selling this property yourself or making the most money?
If you ask the questions the right way and get the right answers you should be able to schedule an appointment to demonstrate to them how you can actually put more money in their pocket by using you than they will trying to sell this property themselves.
How can you put more money in their pocket? The next step is the key to success working with FSBO's: The explanation of the four types of buyers. There is absolutely no better close in the real estate business than the four types of buyers close. This demonstrates clearly why the seller can't get as much money trying to sell the property themselves as they will by using a professional.
The four types of buyers:
First time home buyers 51%
New to the area buyers 27%
Local area movers 11%
Investor/speculators 11%
Of course, the most important step in a successful FSBO campaign is the follow-up plan. You must still be on the FSBO train when it pulls into the "Oh-oh I need a real estate professional to help me station." It takes time for most FSBO's to go through the cycle and decide to hire a professional. Develop a follow up plan that includes a weekly follow-up call and note to the FSBO until they list, sell or die!
76% of the FSBO's are going to use a professional to help them. How many will be using you?
Thought for today: It's not what you know...It's what you do that counts!
Go out and make it a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
A + D = L/S
Are you familiar with this equation: A + D = L/S?
If you're not, you should be. This is the equation that is proven to be 100% accurate at determining your success in business and life.
Attitude + Desire = Level of Success
The difference between a struggling real estate licensee and a successful real estate sales professional is attitude. A professional salesperson maintains and projects an attitude of success. When I discuss monthly goals and objectives with them they don't use phrases like "I would like to" or "If I get lucky", instead they use affirmative statements like, "I am going to" or "When I reach this goal".
Many people in our industry feel like they are living with limitations (excuses), and yet haven't we all heard stories of top producing real estate salespeople who dared to extend their goals beyond their low income "comfort zone" and go on to become wealthy and successful?
We can all be just as successful as our attitude dictates. I believe that your ability to attain this "success" attitude is directly related to your ability to communicate effectively with yourself (Self-esteem) and with those around you (Self-confidence). The fact is, others will see us as we see ourselves. If we have the right attitude about our abilities we will communicate that to others.
Our communication process is composed of two components; verbal and non-verbal. Verbal communication is the talking, or words that are spoken (Saying the right thing in the right way at the right time), which represents only 40% of the information that is transferred in a face to face communication. The remaining 60% is communicated non-verbally. Your "success" attitude is projected in the way you sit, stand, hold your head, walk, have eye contact, etc. By projecting the positive non verbal "success" attitudes-such as good posture, walking tall, maintaining good eye contact-the receiver picks up on them and feels more at ease about trusting and working with you.
When you are excited and really believe in your abilities, that positive energy is communicated through your words and body language and becomes contagious. Many people literally find ways to limit themselves through their communication, but remember that the only difference between a struggling real estate salesperson and a successful one is attitude. We can all be just as successful as our attitude dictates.
What is your "success" attitude going to be like TODAY?
Thought for today: You never get a second chance to make a good first impression!
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
Successful People Sell
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6:30AM EST. Watched the sun come up. Got motivated by the start of a new day full of opportunities!
I have a good friend who is a very successful real estate salesperson.
He gets up every day and feels successful. He feels prosperous. He enjoys peace of mind, financial independence, security, good health, and an enjoyable social life. His family life is great. He has the respect and admiration of everyone who knows him. Many people want to do business with him. And even more people want to be his friend.
However, he hasn't always been so successful. He can still remember the days when he tried harder but did no better than most other sales people he knows. Now he is glad that he knows what he knows. And more importantly, that he made the effort to take what he knows and put it to good use. He smiles whenever he thinks about how easily he finally learned how to prosper.
He can tell you about the day he realized that almost everyone who succeeded in life was really an effective sales person, whether they realized it or not. "Successful people," he observed, "sell others on the value of their services. Successful parents sell their children on leading happy and productive lives. Successful leaders sell their abilities to help people get what they want. Even successful scientists sell their ideas to those who provide research funds which enable them to do their work."
He remembers thinking, "If I can learn to sell well then I will do well in whatever I undertake."
What about you? Have you learned to sell well? Have you committed the time, money and energy to learn the skills and techniques necessary to grow your real estate business to the next level and enjoy the life of a very successful sales person? Or, are you one of those salespeople who don't want to learn new skills and techniques? Do you use the excuse, "That's not me, I will rely on the strength of my personality?"
Personality will make you some money, but skills and techniques will make you a great salesperson.
They is no such thing as a natural born salesperson. Becoming a great salesperson, a professional salesperson takes work, dedication, commitment and a willingness to change. What are you going to do today to learn the skills and techniques necessary to grow your real estate business to the next level? Remember, if it's to be...It's up to you!
November is 1/3 of the way complete. Focus on your goals, choose your strategies and get started today on the action steps necessary to move you closer to your objectives. No excuses. No distractions. Only a clear focus on completing the activities that will get you to where you really want to go.
Thought for today: Behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated...So, reward the right behaviors!
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
Be An Oak Tree
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Are you an Oak Tree or a Potted Plant?
To become healthy, self actualized adults we need to have a solid root structure of values and positive beliefs that become anchored in commitment and persistence so that they will remain strong and resilient even in the face of ravaging adversity or change. We need the sunlight of dreams to warm us and to compel us to grow upward and outward. And just like the leaves of the oak tree we must breath in the nourishing encouragement offered by others.
Many people are like and oak tree planted in an indoor flowerpot. They never grow to their true potential. The roots of their self esteem are cramped and the development of their skills is stunned. Their goals have low ceiling. They live in an environment void of others who give encouragement, motivating ideas, or inspirational advice.
People with such limitations on all sides tend to list the reasons why dreams can't come true, rather than look for ways to turn them into reality. Frequently they spend more time day dreaming then setting goals. They watch their heroes and heroines making money and enjoying life-on television! They sit on the sidelines or look through the windows to watch other oak trees growing taller and broader each passing year.
So what are you going to be, and oak tree or a potted plant?
Thought for today: Giant oaks DO grow from acorns. But first, you must have an acorn.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
Failure Is A Part Of Success
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Are you afraid of failure?
One of the biggest obstacles to reaching our true potential is our desire to get there without challenges or setbacks. But you can't succeed if you are not willing to risk failure. Failure is a part of the success process and you shouldn't be afraid to fail.
You've failed many, many times. Although you may not remember them all.
You fell down the first time you tried to walk.
You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you?
Did you hit the ball the first time you tried to hit it?
Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot.
(Babe Roth struck out 1,330 times but hit 714 home runs)
R.H Macy failed seven times before his store, Macys in New York finally caught on.
Bill Gates failed at school before he dropped out and created Microsoft in his parents garage
English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.
In 1990 Donald Trump was in financial trouble and his properties were all in foreclosure.
Bill Fields failed to get a listing on the first 5 appointments!
Everybody fails. Except those people who never try!
Don't worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try!
Today you need to change the way you see failure.
Stop seeing failure as final.
See failure as postponed success.
As the feedback you need to change course in your direction.
As a chance to develop your sense of humor.
As a stage we must pass through on the way to reaching our desired objectives.
Thought for today: You will miss 100% of the targets you don't shoot at!
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
Positive Mental Attitude
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Do you realize how your attitude is effecting your level of success and happiness?
I start each day with a PMA, Positive Mental Attitude. I tell myself each morning, "Something great is going to happen today." I am optimistic by design. I don't start my day with a negative thought or word. I try to foster a spirit of cooperation with everyone I meet and everyone I work with. I want other people to feel that I am forthright, cheerful, confident and determined to succeed.
When you are upbeat and positive, people will respond to you in kind. And when you are in the right frame of mind, you're more likely to feel you're going to reach your goals. To a degree, your attitude can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I'm positive and sufficiently sensitive to the feelings of others, I firmly believe that they'll be predisposed to working with me. If I'm positive, I'll be more readily accepted and people are more likely to have a positive view of me.
Name a successful person in any profession and you're likely to find a positive attitude at work. One of my favorite authors, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale built an entire empire predicated on "the power of positive thinking." Peale maintains that people have the power within themselves to succeed. I couldn't agree more.
The right attitude has been demonstrated to be effective even in battling physical ailments. When Norman Cousins, the famous writer and editor, suffered a heart attack, he went on a campaign to be positive and happy, going so far as to watch old Marx Brothers movies in his hospital room. He believed he created a positive energy that proved crucial to his recovery.
I know agents who have built incredibly successful real estate practices focusing on daily visits to For Sale by Owners. They go forward each day, ringing doorbells and risking rejection at every turn. But to succeed and reap the rewards they can obtain, they charge ahead full of determination. Anyone who succeeds in sales knows the right attitude is their most important asset.
A friend of mine, a door to door salesman, had the worst kind of luck. Day after day he'd walk up the streets with his product. No one would buy a thing. Every day he knocked on the same woman's door. Every day she turned him away. Finally he appeared on her door for the umpteenth time. Just to keep the man from returning, the woman made a purchase. The next day, my friend rang her doorbell again. "What are you doing here?" she asked, exasperated.
My friend replied, "Well, now that you are an established customer..."
Now that's a positive mental attitude!
Remember, a good attitude can be as contagious as laughter. So, go out there today and spread cheer, not jeer.
Thought for today: Think you can or think you can't either way you are going to be right!
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
Turning Fear Around
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Think about entering a new situation. To meet that situation, imagine that you received an extra burst of energy, your senses sharpened, and there was a tingling, an excitement in your body, and you became more sensitive and aware.
Doesn't that sound great? The very thing we need to do our best in a new situation! Well, its precisely what DOES happen each time we enter a new situation. Most of the time, however, we call it "fear" and we don't like it.
Contrary to popular belief, our parents didn't teach us to feel fear. Our parents did teach us to use fear as a reason not to do something.
But by eighteen-or-so we should know the difference between that which is truly dangerous and that is merely new and untried, no one draws us aside and says, "That fear you've been using as a reason not to do things- its really part of the energy to get things done."
Once you know something is not physically dangerous, go ahead and do that thing. It may feel uncomfortable (count on it) but keep moving one step after another in the direction of doing it. As you move-as you use it-the energy will transform itself from barrier to blessing. You'll have energy, not limitation.
The process of feeling the fear and doing it anyway reprograms our attitude from, "Fear means don't" to "Fear means, ALL SYSTEMS GO!"
Thought for Today: Fear gives you the energy to do your best in a new situation!
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.BillFields.com
Now Is The Time.
Good Monday Morning All Stars, 5:45AM EST. Early start on a new month full of opportunities. It's time to buckle your seat belt and get ready for a thrill ride as the real estate market takes off for a wild end of the year run. The momentum has already started. What is your plan to take advantage of this opportunity? Do you have your November plan in place? Here are a few suggestions. 1. Focus on building your listing inventory. If you have good listings it's like money in the bank. The buyers will come looking for you. The other agents will work to get your listings sold. What are you going to do in November to develop and maintain an inventory of good salable listings? Do you have a source of listing leads? Are you working expireds? FSBO's? Properties for rent unfurnished? Remember the rule of time allocation: One third of every day MUST be spend developing new business. 2. Get all of your listings positioned to sell. Price them right and keep adjusting them until they sell. You do not help your clients or yourself by denying the market reality of today. Buyers are all looking for the best value in their price range and they want a good buy on that! What about staging? Do your listings show as well as they possibly can? Let's get our inventory right and ready to sell. 3. Be a market detective. Spend a minimum of two hours each week looking for the hottest buys in the market. Search out deals. Look at foreclosures. Talk to other agents. Find the bargains that all buyers are looking for and get your buyers there first. 4. Work with prospects not suspects. You cannot service a buyer or seller into a sale. Either people are motivated to act TODAY or they are not. If you are working with a buyer who does not want to buy today, they are not a buyer! If you have a seller who doesn't care if they sell or not, they are not a seller! Your time is much too valuable to spend wasted trying to help someone who is not ready to act. Spend that time looking for and helping people who want your help to act TODAY! 5. Get your head in the game! Get both feet planted firmly in the right direction and take steps every day to move you in the direction of your goals and objectives. Don't play the blame game. Making excuses and blaming others for your lack of progress is the quickest route to failure. Do you have goals that motivate you or frustrate you? (Or no goals at all??) Now is the time. TODAY is the day. Seize the day and make it happen. Your future is in your hands! What are you going to do with it? Thought for today: Change is not a question of ability...Change is a question of motivation! Go out and make today a productive start on a productive month.
What I Know I Should Do
Have you ever wondered why so many people struggle to do the things they know they need to do each day to be successful in our business, but yet choose not to do?
Do you ever ask yourself, "Why don't I do what I know I should do"?
If you don't ask yourself this question, you should, because the answer holds the key to your future success in this business. (And life!)
So, behind this question stands the real challenge; How can I cause myself to do what I know I should do?
Until you start doing what you need to do and could do, you'll never reach the level of success you are capable of. (Or the incredible potential you have been gifted with.)
Almost everyone asks themselves questions like these, except our All Stars who are doing what they know they should do and the defeated licensees who have trained themselves not to even ask anymore.
If we don't ask, it's because we are afraid of the true answer. This conflict comes about because of one simple reason: The push forward towards our goals and objectives is not strong enough to overcome the push backwards of our fears and anxieties.
To overcome this you must establish wants and needs (personal motivators) strong enough to push you past your fears and anxieties (personal demotivators). In other words, you must create goals and objectives that create motivation and action not frustration and inaction.
It's not fear that stands in your way. Fear is reduced by the proper motivation.
What about you? Do you really have goals and objectives that are motivating you? You don't have to answer, the answer speaks for itself with your level of action or inaction. Are you doing what you know you could do and should do?
The choice is up to you!
Thought for today: It's not what you know...It's what you do that matters!
Have a productive day.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.billfields.com
Is your brightest future behind you?
The answer may depend on whether you are working to eliminate your negative habits and self imposed limitations and replacing them with a plan of action and the daily disciplines for success.
I am always surprised by the people who seem to be moving through life and acting as if they have no control over where they are going to end up. What about you, do you attribute your success or failure on good luck or bad luck? Or do you accept responsibility for the actions that will determine your luck? The choice is yours. You hold the rudder in your hands. You can steer the course you choose in the direction of where you want to be-today, tomorrow, or in a distant time yet to come.
But where are you now? Now is the time to find out. And now is the time to check your habits of thought and action, for these have brought you to where you are now. The thoughts you think and the things you do now will determine your future destination. Are you on the right course to get from where you are now to where you really want to be?
Regardless of where you are now, or where you have been, you can still become what you want to be. For as you continue your voyage through life, you, like the captain of a ship, can select your first port of call and then continue until you arrive at the next. You’ll experience calm and stormy seas as you go from one port to another, but it’s you who must steer that course.
17% of the real estate professionals control 83% of the commission dollars earned! Join us for our webinar Friday, July 31st, and learn the “Habits of Success” for this 17% of the agent base. This is your last chance to register for this program.
Thought for today: Setbacks are never final, but rather postponed success.
Bill Fields Learning Systems
www.billfields.com
We Are All Like Jigsaw Puzzles
We are all like jigsaw puzzles. Each of us is made up of many interconnected parts. And if we’re missing even just one piece of the puzzle, the picture is incomplete. Our potential and limitations make up one piece of our puzzle. Another piece is knowing where we want to go, and what we want out of life-it’s having goals.
These two pieces of the puzzle connect, because knowing your potential and your limitations is what will help you set realistic goals. And without goals, you’re like a leaf drifting in the current.
I have a friend who is a successful motivation speaker, coach and real estate superstar who credits his success on learning to set goals early on. My friend had always loved sports, so when he got out of the Army, the first major life’s goal he set was to coach for a school. However, he knew he needed a bachelor of science degree to make his dream a reality. His experience in the Army had boosted his self-esteem enough so that, despite his tough educational experiences as a youth, he decided to earn a degree. And subsequent goals led him in totally new directions. Where are your goals leading you?
Author Neil Lewis says goals setting is similar to doing the high jump. In the high jump, the coach progressively raises the bar, making it harder for the athlete to clear it each time. You should set your goals the same way. “Goals should have some stretch built into them,” he says. “you should be achieving your goals 80 percent of the time. If you’re achieving 100 percent of your goals, you’ve set them too low. If you’re achieving them only 30 to 40 percent of the time, you’re reaching too high. So try to set them in such a way that you reach them 74 to 80 percent of them time.”
You get a sense of satisfaction and self-confidence from achieving your goals, and this motivates you to go further.
So, set goals that are both challenging enough so that you feel good when you accomplish them, and hard enough so that you are encouraged to improve your skills and try harder if you fail to reach them.
Thought for today: Life is not about what happens to you…It’s what you do about what happens to you.
 Do you love your job?
Do you love your job?
Is real estate something you have to do or something you get to do?
The answers to these questions will play an important part in determining the level of success you acheive in this business. If you love your job and see each day as an opportunity to do something you want to do, your level of success will be extremely high. Don't like your job? Guess how successful you are going to be?
Oh, and by the way, prospecting IS part of your job as a real estate professional. Your job is not looking at houses and waiting for people to say "I love it, write it up". Your job everyday is to go out and find people who have a need to buy or sell real estate. You can't love real estate and hate finding new people each day, each week and each month.
So I repeat my question to you?
Do you love your job?
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