Panaceas, Placebos and The Practical – Random Thought Particles On Real Estate Seminars

To Do or Not To Do

Yes.  The more you know the more valuable you are.  Attending seminars under certain circumstances is smart.

If a seminar centers around what you already know, but you’re too lazy to do what you know you should, don’t go.  Instead, kick yourself in the skirt and get to work.

If a seminar is designed to fire-your-butt-up, and you need firing up, go set yourself on fire.  While you’re there, learn how to keep your blue-flame burning.

I loathe the seminars where they pelt you with 3 hours of old-school sales technique in a heavy handed blitz to sell their CDs, systems and other forms of Success Silver Bullets. Scram charlatans.

Personally, seminars that delve and swirl around communication, presentation and human nature are more interesting and practical than “How To Sell Real Estate” seminars.

I’ve been reading books, listening to audio and attending seminars for 30 years.  I always learn something new and remember winners I’ve forgotten.  Even when the program sucks beyond excruciating, I learn “what not to do”.

The hour we think we know it all, is the day we’ve Jumped The Shark. It’s all bad TV after that.

Occasionally a real estate speaker stands out, because they focus on communication, presentation and human nature.  Like this guy…

Terry Watson

I spent 4 hours listening to Terry Watson.  I took 5 pages of notes.   I can barely read my scribbles writing.  Here’s what stuck.  He’s worth your time.

1.  Cut your costs to the bone.  ROI is Queen.  If it’s not generating bankable business, quit it.

2.  You know this.  I know this.  Are we living it?  Get a strategic plan.  Hope is Bad Strategy.

3.  Being different pays more.  Amen.

4. Green is good.  Add Green to your constellation of knowledge. Include Green in your blogging and digital promotions.

5.  Be the source of the source, but not the source.  This means sharing links and being an information amplifier. Like I’m doing in this post.

6.  Let go or be dragged.

7.  Where’s your freaking Youtube channel.  Get one.  Pronto. Here’s mine.

8.  Put Nitrogen in your tires and you’ll save big on your gasoline bill.  WTH right?  It’s true

9.  When your buyers want to engage some random, low-low-fees mortgage company – use the Implode-O-Meter site to show what horrors befall the wayward.

10.  The person that does not read has no advantage over the person who can’t read.  What have you read lately?  Oh, you’re reading this blog post.  You rock!  Keep reading my friend.

11.  Look at the 7 people you spend the most time with.  Average their income.  Your annual income will be within 10% of theirs.  Huh?  Don’t know if this is true.  It sounds directionally correct.  Bottom line, are we hanging with the right people?

12.  Word Power is the name of the game.  Foreplay With Wordplay comes to mind.  Here’s a couple from Terry.

a.  Just Bought vs Just Sold

b.  Right Price Analysis RPA vs CMA

c.  Market Rejected vs Expired Listings (during an RPA conversation)

c.  Competition vs Active Listings (during an RPA conversation)

d.  Qualified Buyers vs Buyers

13.  Stop telling and start showing.  Provide 3rd party proof.

14.  Create your own FAQ for all the commonly asked questions about buying and selling.  Post them on your blog and provide them in your PreListing Appointment Packages and Price Reductions.

15.  Are you a reasonable person?  If you live a reasonable life, you will be dominated by unreasonable people. “Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. “Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.” ~ George Bernard Shaw.  I need to be more unreasonable, more often.  And you?

16.  NAR has some cool free stuff found at The Right Tools section.  This information on the 2009 First Time Home Buyer Credit is handy.  Flash forward, etc.

17.  A sense of humor is attractive.  Should you incorporate humor in your blogs and Facebook and Twitters?  Terry Sez you might want to have a humor section on your blog.  I’m shareing some of the funny stuff, like this video on Transparency and chuckles I find at Failblog.org and Youtube.

Panacea, Placebos and The Practical

Find things that work and do them.  We knew that, now let’s go do that.

Cheers.

PS.  Are there any Silver Bullets in your Success Bandoleer?  Care to share?  Spill it in the comments.  Thanks.