The 4th Quarter!

 

So here we are; beginning the 4th quarter of 2018 and there are many choices to be

made. To some, it’s a time to relax and take it easy now that the summer real estate

rush is over. To others, it’s a time to look at the year and see where they stand in

relationship to their projected outcomes. For me, it’s a time to push my people not

to give up on the valuable momentum they have generated year to date. The sad

part in general is that so many people won’t even acknowledge that we are at a

critical point and therefore they do nothing!

 

For those that coach athletes in team sports the fourth quarter is a time were the

best step up and produce. It’s a time when even a less talented group outperform

those with more ability because they were in better shape and were able to execute

under the pressure! It’s the time when the training and your system all come

together and form a collective energy to accomplish great things. This is what

changes the numbers on the scoreboard and creates real accomplishment! In our

business, it also generates all the energy to start the next year off at full steam!

 

So let’s take a quick look at some key things we need to be doing right now.

• Check your math! What are your numbers?

• Who is hot and who is not?

• What does my calendar look like?

• Halloween?

• December?

• Prepare for Business Planning in October!

 

These are all small and simple steps that need to be done. No false images, no

hoping or guessing; just do the math and do the work! There are a ton of

opportunities coming your way and you can really benefit because others are

backing off and winding down.

 

Time to focus on the four “Bs”:

• Balance

• Birthday Calls

• Banker Calls

• Business Plan

You have to balance your prospecting to reflect your time and outcome verses the

actual relationship between opportunity and outcome.

 

You have to schedule and physically make your birthday calls every day!

 

You have to have make your ten to fifteen banker calls every month!

 

You have to set aside time to prepare your business plan for 2019!

 

The fourth quarter is here and you get to make some critical choices. If everything

is going well and you are exceeding all of your projections, make larger

projections for 2019! If not, what around you has to change?

 

The Business Planning Worksheet for 2019 is already on the website

(IMTCoaching.com). If you are a manager or owner and you are interested in the

one day business planning event, please email me and we can talk about the

details. For those of you who have been through this before, the Business Planning

coaching call and the worksheet we get you ready and prepared.

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

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“Business Planning for 2019”

It’s the end of September and we are quickly heading toward the end of another year. Many in our industry are winding down their busy schedules and looking forward to a slower pace while others are looking at these last ten weeks as an opportunity to do better for this year and next.

For the last 20+ years October has been “Business Planning Month”; a time of the year to look back at the prior year and prepare for the coming year. I make sure I do this because I want to have time to analyze, review, inspect, implement, and schedule the things that have to be blended into the business for the coming year.

We have all heard the famous quote: “those who fail to plan, plan to fail”, but it’s not just good enough to plan, it’s important to have a well thought out and disciplined plan ready and rehearsed by the time January arrives!

Our industry is facing challenges on multiple fronts. Pricing issues, technology issues, compensation, education, staffing, social media, data basing, and many more are all in need of attention. We also are being invaded by those companies who think that most of the people can be replaced by an algorithm and then handed off to a much less experienced or qualified professional.

Are you prepared for Zillow real estate and mortgage?

Does the idea of “Rocket Real Estate” cause you concern?

Will the Amazon one step $1,000 total transaction have you up at night?

What will you do to keep yourself seen as a vital member of an exceptional real estate experience?

If you haven’t thought about these issues, or if you have and aren’t clear as to the path to follow, it’s important for you to at least take part in “Business Planning 2019” process.

We make it simple for you to take part in the process. Mortgage Companies and their real estate referral partners can participate in a live one day event at your location for as many people as you wish to attend; both originators and their realtor referral partners are welcome. What you get:

• We work from 9am to 4pm at your location
• Every attendee gets “Access” to all the tools on the website and personal coaching assistance for 90 days via email.
• Managers get a weekly follow-up coaching call for ten weeks
• Three monthly group calls live with the coach to answer questions and provide guidance.

All participants will have an opportunity to enroll in private coaching or continue with their “ACCESS” for discounted rates should they desire ongoing support.

Managers, this is a golden opportunity to help your sales team and your realtor referral partners work together in using real life strategies that provide real opportunities!

If you have issues with:

• Opportunity generation
• Social media
• Use of video
• The power of data basing
• Time management
• Effective communication
• Compliance
• Rate shoppers

Zillow, Quicken, and others trying to put you out of business, are you going to sit back and let them do it?

Limited number of events and dates are available, for more information, please email me: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

“First Crossroads Event Completed”

It is always an adventure putting together a new program and getting the first live event scheduled and executed. If you never have had to do one, it can be a massive undertaking! I need to take a moment and thank my wife MJ for all of her hard work in making sure it all came together, and with only a couple of minor exceptions, the event went very well and the mixed group of Realtors, Originators, Brokers, and Managers, all interacted with each other and connected with an exceptional degree of commitment to keeping people relevant to the profession.

I really enjoy live events, but generally try and keep the numbers to 35 or less so it can be kept highly personal. This event we went over a hundred attendees but since we were a really mixed group of interested participants, it all played out like it was a smaller and more intimate group. My belief is, the interaction between those groups provided a real chemistry of identifying challenges and working through a series of joint solutions.

If there is any message I take away from this first event, I think that people are willing to make changes and work in concert with others to provide a mutual benefit if we understand the joint strategies we are going to execute, the reason and value of each person’s function, and how we can support each other in generating both short and long term opportunities.

It never fails that we always find both Realtors and originators who have never been taught some of the most fundamental skills of our business, and all of us should take some responsibility in not coaching and mentoring those coming behind us. It was also very uplifting to see some of the younger people working with some of the older people on using some of the technology we were discussing, and maybe the oldest attendee at the event showing one of her younger associates her Facebook and LinkedIn pages! When you mix in the people representing Title, insurance, and MI companies, it was easy to see we all had a significant interest in the success of each other, and all offer opportunities to connect and convert business!

Congratulations to all of those who won the door prizes and sponsor giveaways, and a special thanks to Seacoast Bank who brought the most people to the event, they earned a one day training ($3,000 value) at their location for those efforts!

We have a number of Crossroads Events already schedules around the country. If you have an interest in putting together an event, please just email us and we will schedule a call and go over all of the details.

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

“The Numbers Don’t Match Up?”

In a series of reports recently published, a series of numbers just don’t seem to add up. Year over year home purchases are up 2%. Home prices are up more than 6%. Then you hear that the average income for Realtors is down more than 10%. How does that work out?

I have been playing it through my mind over and over again and the only answers I seem to come up with are:

• Realtors are reducing commissions?
• Less people are using Realtors?
• Realtors are making more financial concessions?
• Realtors are spending more to find opportunities?

Maybe there are more answers than these, and I would like your thoughts on this because it seems like these things really don’t add up. It certainly makes for an interesting set of dialogs to drill down and find out what is the connection or reasons these numbers don’t seem to align.

In other news, Barry Habib of MBS Highway took Diana Olick to task on her report about now being the time to sell your house and rent. Barry does a masterful job of sharing FACTS on housing, not just isolating some pieces of information to make a case that suits Diana’s long standing negative view about home ownership. If you haven’t read or seen the video, you should really look at this piece and share the truth with your clients and referral partners.

Last piece of information, next Wednesday September the 12^th, I will be at the Embassy Suites in West Palm Beach Florida for the first “Crossroads Event”. I will spend the morning sharing my view of the changing housing and mortgage industry with local mortgage and real estate professionals. If you would like to attend, you can get more information and register at www.imtcoaching.com and reserve your seat. We are booking this event around the country, and we have just a few open dates left in mid-November and early December if you are interested in hosting this event in your area. For more information, email me mike@IMTcoaching.com for dates and details.