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Find New Clients Everyday—Guaranteed!

February 13, 2013 by

3 foot rule 199x300 Find New Clients Everyday—Guaranteed!

Arm’s Length is about 3-Feet

I get tickled at salespeople sometimes and then at other times I can get frustrated with them just as quickly. It never fails that salespeople will drive past people that would buy their product, while the whole time they are in search for a prospective client to work with. Let me explain what I’m referring to as it relates to the real estate industry. Real estate agents are always looking for new listing opportunities while at the same time they’re searching for people that are interested in buying real estate. Let me set the stage for what I want to tell you by causing you to think outside the box for a moment. More times than not, we do not drive directly to our destination. For example; we may be on our way to work in the morning, but first plan to stop by the gas station. Our next stop may be at McDonald’s or some other fast food place to get a sausage and biscuit. If not there we might stop by Krispy Kreme Donuts. We may not be accustomed to eating breakfast but have to have that cup of coffee first thing every morning. Then we stop by Wal-Mart for a quick visit to pick up supplies we need at the office. It is not uncommon, when going somewhere, to make [Read more...]

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First Step to Success is Focus

January 29, 2013 by
Focused on You 300x300 First Step to Success is Focus

How’s Your Focus?

I suppose everyone has dreams and aspirations of having a very successful career. Personally I have earned many times more income in my dreams than I have in reality. I have always been one to build air castles. I happen to believe that everything is initiated in a dream. I also believe that when you stop dreaming, you cease to aspire for a better life and begin descending to normalcy. Building air castles is positive stimuli which are a requirement for increasing one’s mental capacity. I’ve always heard when you stop dreaming, you begin dying. Focus on that for a moment and you’ll probably agree.

One of the problems many people have is they don’t know how to capitalize on their dreams by making it a primary goal for them to accomplish in the near future. Back in the 70’s I was an avid deer hunter and spent much of my leisure time in the woods. The only way of getting my tree-stand up in a tree was to bear-hug  a tree, plant my feet so that the teeth on my stand would cut into the tree bark, stand up and grab another bear-hug. By repeating this process I could slowly reach twenty feet high in a tree. That was hard enough but getting down proved to be very damaging to my body on several occasions. I kept dreaming of how to make this process easier and safer. A friend of mine and I finally mastered a type of scissor jack tree stand, hand climber apparatus that we made from old metal bed frames. It actually looked good and worked very well. Everyone that saw it wanted one. We made a few for close friends but never attempted to market them. It wasn’t too long afterwards that a major hunting supply company began selling a tree climber using the same method as we had used. Did we actually invent the tree climber? I don’t know and it really doesn’t matter. We didn’t do anything with the idea and someone else put it into action. A dream is only a mental thought until it is converted into a tangible thing. [Read more...]

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Overcoming Adversities

January 17, 2013 by
Time Management 214x300 Overcoming Adversities

Wasted Time is an Adversity

The greatest adversity sales people face is of their own making.  To better understand our topic, let’s define adversity? According to Webster, it is a state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune. I don’t want us to focus on life-threatening adversities but rather daily life-altering adversities. Every day we allow things and/or people to interfere with our completing certain tasks in a specified time frame. All be it a very innocent interruption, it still happened and that time is gone forever. As a trainer and productivity coach, I battle with time management and communication skills on a daily basis. I am constantly asked for help on these two issues. These two areas are probably the most important segments of a career in sales. I would almost say that time management is the main factor that causes sales people to be less successful than they are capable of becoming. Time is the most important part of our lives and we treat it with the least amount of respect.

People are created as individuals of choice. We choose what we want to do and what we don’t want to do, in almost everything. My students vigorously disagree with me about having a choice about everything they do. Their argument is they have to earn a living therefore they went to work rather than staying at home which is what they’d really like to do. Well, I totally understand their point of view but why do we work to begin with? Is anyone holding a gun to our head, making us go to work?  I think not.

I work because I chose to get married and have a family. Not only do I have the responsibility to provide for my family, but because I love them, I want to provide them the necessities of life and give them things that make life more enjoyable. [Read more...]

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Take Aim and Fire

January 10, 2013 by
Rifle 300x200 Take Aim and Fire

Taking Aim Requires Focus

I bet you think this is going be about gun control or what President Obama is doing about taking guns out of the hands of innocent law abiding citizens but it’s not. This is a new year and if we want to have a successful sales career, we need to take aim early on doing the things we know we need to do to reach our goals. I hope you took my advice back in November and began working on your 2013 Business Plan. If you did, you know exactly how much income you produced, what your expenses were, where your business came from, and exactly what you need to do on a daily bases to achieve the goals you have set for the coming year.

I love this time of the year because it offers a time of beginning. It’s almost like saying, “well I know I screwed up last year and I didn’t do the things I knew to do, but I will do better this year.” Isn’t looking at our life retrospectively much easier than looking into the future? There are so many things in my life that I would do differently if only I could. Unfortunately we can’t go back and relive anything that has already past. What we can do, is to learn from our past mistakes and exert every effort not to make those mistakes again. Yesterday is gone forever. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. It is our new beginning.  [Read more...]

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Sidetracked by the Holidays

December 25, 2012 by
Turkey 300x239 Sidetracked by the Holidays

Traditional Holiday Meal

This is the time of the year that sales people get sidetracked by all the holiday festivities and then when the holidays are over, they wonder what happened to their income.  Sale markets drastically respond differently to the holidays. Some markets thieve during the holidays while other markets seem to die. Real estate sales aren’t affected that much but those that are in the looking stage will most likely postpone looking until the holidays are over. With shopping to do, and parties to go to, there is hardly time to spare for talking to a real estate agent. Most real estate agents consider the holiday season as a viable excuse for not selling during this time of the year.  The more experienced, more successful agents view this time of the year as greatly improved opportunities to establish a meaningful relationship.

Have you ever noticed that people in general are much nicer, and friendlier from Thanksgiving through Christmas, and even New Year’s? I’m not sure why but during this time of the year, people seem to be more thoughtful of others and less quick to express their anger or short tempers. This is a perfect time for me to talk to new prospective buyers for the first time. They may be too busy for an extended conversation but they are in a very receptive mood for an introduction phone call. Such a call might sound something like this.

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Holiday Season

December 18, 2012 by

Christmas Holiday SeasonMerry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone that reads this message a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and most prosperous New Year. Enjoy all the blessings life has bestowed upon you and remember those that will go hungry and be sleeping in cold during this Holiday Season. Remember the reason for the season always. May your family be safe in that all they do!

Cheerfully,

James Anderson

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What Consumers Need to Know When Buying Real Estate in Alabama

December 10, 2012 by
Warning 225x300 What Consumers Need to Know When Buying Real Estate in Alabama

Don’t Be Afraid–Be Aware

Representation

First and foremost the consumer needs to know for sure that they have a qualified Realtor® to represent them whether they are buying or selling. Don’t take this relationship for granted; know for certain. Agency relationships that establish representation cannot be assumed or implied. They must be in writing. Let me explain a few reasons why the consumer needs to be represented by someone.

First, buying and selling real estate is very technical in the sense that certain processes must be completed and in a particular order. Buying and selling real estate is also very legalistic. Most real estate transactions close without any major complications either prior to, or after closing. It is the exceptions to that rule when the consumer finds out just how technical and legalistic real estate sales can be. After- market conflicts are seldom settled between buyers and sellers. Tempers flare, distrust and disbelief sets in, accusations are made toward everyone involved in the transaction. Finally law suits are filed to settle the dispute.

Law suits create a need for both parties to hire legal counsel. In preparation of the case it is determined that you the consumer, was not represented by the Realtor® that you worked with. At the time you began looking at homes you didn’t want to sign any type of contractual agreements. In this situation, according to Alabama law, the Realtor® was working as a Transaction Broker and was limited to the duties they could perform for you. A Transaction Broker is a licensee who assists one or more parties in a contemplated real estate transaction without being an agent or fiduciary or advocate for the interest of that party to a transaction. In order to have been represented in Alabama you would have had to sign a Single Agency Agreement with a brokerage firm. Remember, agency relationships can’t be assumed or implied. They must be in writing. After the fact is a bad time to learn that your best interest was not represented when you made the largest investment of a life-time.

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What You Need to Know About Molds

December 2, 2012 by
Mouldy Clementine What You Need to Know About Molds

Which Molds are Good Molds?

As discussed in my last post, mold is one of the nationally accepted and notable concerns affecting human health and safety issues as related to buying or selling real estate. Not all molds are bad so I told you I would discuss it in more detail. I have researched a lot of material and time will not permit me to disclose every source. The following information is published by the EPA and will help up draw a better conclusion about molds.

Introduction to Molds

Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce. Mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually. When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, and foods. When excessive moisture or water accumulates indoors, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or un-addressed. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.

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Proven Health & Safety Issues

November 28, 2012 by
Health Safety 300x300 Proven Health & Safety Issues

Pay Attention to Warnings

When buying real estate, health and safety issues are a major concern. Under Agency law that exists in Alabama, many agents prefer working with buyers of real estate as a Transaction Broker rather than a Single Agent in an attempt to lessen their liability. Without realizing it, they are actually increasing their liability but that’s a discussion for another day. In Alabama, the seller is not forced by law to disclose information to a potential buyer unless Health and Safety issues exist and then federal law trumps in and mandates all Health and Safety issues must be disclosed to any potential buyer. You can easily see how agents might quickly justify disclosing a particular issue claiming it to deal with one’s health or safety. Some of those claims will not hold up in a court of law and that could bring on additional problems for the agent and for the consumer.

Today I want to discuss some of the health and safety issues that have been confirmed and are accepted nationally as health and safety issues. Due to the difficulty of the rule-making process (which is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act), OSHA has focused on basic mechanical and chemical hazards rather than procedures. Major areas which its standards currently cover are: Toxic substances, harmful physical agents, electrical hazards, fall hazards, hazards associated with trenches and digging, hazardous waste, infectious disease, fire and explosion dangers, dangerous atmospheres, machine hazards, and confined spaces. Let’s look at them individually and define them so we can understand what they are.

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Pros & Cons of Seller Disclosures

November 15, 2012 by
Leaning 187x300 Pros & Cons of Seller Disclosures

Which Way Are You Leaning?

Buying a new house is probably the largest investment most people make during their lifetime. Naturally they want to make sure they do everything correctly to ensure a quality and profitable, financial investment. Questions begin dancing around in their head.  How can I do that? Who can I trust to help me? I can contact a Realtor® but how can they help me? What do they know about this house? I’ve got it. I need to talk to the owner because he knows more about this property than anyone. Hum mm, I wonder if the owner will tell me the truth or will they lie to me? If the shoe was on my foot, would I be totally honest and tell a prospective buyer every little thing that’s wrong with my house? I’m a good person and I’m honest but I want to sell this house and if I tell them every little bad thing I know, they might not buy it. Common sense tells me that I need to get some advice from someone who has the proper training; who has been educated in handling such matters. I need a professional I need to call a Realtor®.

Realtors Are Best Qualified To Represent You

That is a very smart buyer, isn’t it? Real estate agents have to go to school to learn their trade. It is required by state law. They must learn state and federal laws governing the sale of real estate nationally. They also learn state and federal laws protecting consumer rights, environmental issues, prohibition of Americans with disabilities, and discrimination of all peoples rights. They have been schooled in establishing market values, material and labor cost, insurance related issues, obtaining financing from lenders, as well as learning basic knowledge in all fields of the real estate industry. After they have completed the required levels of education, they are tested and licensed by the state in which they live and work. [Read more...]

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