Life Is Like a Box Of Chocolates...

Every new agent has a unique experience of starting in real estate.  A few do well right out of the gate, most of the rest have challenges along the way.  I remember walking in a little late to one of my new agent training sessions when I was a newbie and finding everyone in the room having a meltdown thinking that there was no way they could do this.  I was the odd man out in the room – I KNEW I could do it and I did – I sold 25 houses in my first year. 

The Success Factor
There is no way I can tell you that without meeting you and talking with you how successful you'll be.  In fact, out of anyone on the planet, you are the person most qualified to tell you how well you’ll do.  It's all in the attitude and the actions. 

Qualities of Successful New Real Estate Agents
Here are the things I’ve seen as factors for why some people succeed and others don’t.  If you have these qualities, then you’re likely to survive:

1. You love people – you talk to people everywhere you go and you are intensely curious about them
2. You’re a problem-solver.  If there’s a problem, you’re the person most people turn to to make it right.
3. You’re flexible and resilient – if you get knocked down, you get right back up and try again.  You don’t focus on the fall, but on the goal in front of you.
4. You love to learn.
5. You’re not easily discouraged – you believe there is always a way to make something work – it’s just a matter of finding it.
6. You’re good at making connections with people.  People like you and are comfortable with you – even if they can’t quite put their finger on why that is.
7. You don’t mind flying by the seat of your pants, so long as you know there is a backup system in place if you should falter.
8. You have a sense of adventure and excitement about learning new things and meeting new people.
9. You’re good at not taking rejection personally. 
10. You have the discipline to stick with your project and not mess around playing solitaire all day.

Don't Just Survive - Thrive
If you want to do well, then you have to add one more criteria to the list – you follow-up and follow-through.  Your word is your bond.  This is the factor that sets the so-so agents apart from the super agents, so learn this one well. 

My Best Advice
Don't just get your license.  Become a training junkie.  Training does three things for you:

1. It educates you and makes you feel more confident.  When you feel confident, then you're more open to telling people what you do and asking them to work with you.
2. It motivates you and keeps you focused.  When you're learning, you're engaged.  This keeps you moving forward.
3. It challenges you to improve.  When you are constantly making improvements, you're constantly excited by your work.  This shows in how you interact with people and it makes them want to work with you.

Every Rookie of the Year I've ever talked to has been a training junkie.  There's got to be something to that.  Good luck and happy hunting!

Start off right - get your free copy of my 10-part audio training program on Selling According to the Stages of Life.

Hey guys!

I wanted to talk to you about something. I'm in the process of creating a new sound for my company.  A sort of "audio brand" that represents me. I was looking for something exciting and animated and motivating and rich feeling.  I wanted it to make me feel something.

I've had an intern working for days listening to audio clips on Opuzz royalty free music and we've got it narrowed down to two choices.  Can you please tell me which you prefer?  (Or tell me if you hate them both, I'm open to all types of feedback.)  I'm in the process of rebranding all of my podcasts, so if you're one of my podcast listeners, I'd vote if I were you because you'll hear it at the beginning and end of each one, and it would suck for you if you hate it.

I really appreciate the help.

Audio Brand Option 1

Audio Brand Option 2

Thanks!

Back in 2006, after spending many years dating and many years working with coaching clients in real estate, I clearly saw the places where the two overlapped. It didn't take me long to get Realtor Magazine to agree that it was a fun topic that agents would enjoy.

So I wrote an article for Realtor Magazine called "10 Dating Rules That Can Help Your Career".  It was a smash hit with the readers.  And evidently hit home so hard with one Realtor, Ryan Shaughnessy, that he clipped it out and kept it in his file for reference.  Well, back in April, he wrote his own version of it, but from the Buyer's perspective rather than the agent's.  It's called "Understanding Your Relationship With Your Real Estate Agent - Simply Apply Dating Rules"I liked it so much that I didn't want you to miss out on it.  SO go to his blog and check it out for yourself.  It's really creative.  I'm sure you'll enjoy it.  (And don't forget to read my original version first, so that you can compare the two.)

I'd be interested to hear what you think after you have a chance to read them both.  I'd be even more interested to see if someone could come up with a version for sellers as well.  Anyone up for the challenge?

This is my fourth year attending Podcamp Boston (#pcb4)(which, for those of you counting means that I've been to all of them).  It is always fun, enlightening and a LOT geeky.  This year, I had the added benefit of also getting a bonus where one of the attendees actually got the virus off my computer that had been sitting there for months while I tried to figure out how I could do without it for a week while Staples worked on it.  A wonderful good samaritan (who will remain anonymous by request) did it while we sat in sessions and chatted at breaks.  It was painless and done gratis because he likes me and it was easy for him.

It's funny.  I usually come back from Podcamp with a TON of new tech toys to talk about.  I have a few this year (which I will share over the next few days), but not as many as in years past.  I think this is partly because of the format of the breakout sessions as "discussions" rather than "presentations", so there wasn't as much touting of "cool new stuff".  Part of it was because of the economy - there just isn't as much new stuff.  And part of it is that I've been coming for four years, so I know all of the basics and I have heard about a lot of the new stuff from my friends that I met at previous Podcamps or discovered it on my own by searching for tools I needed.  It seems that this year I graduated. 

This year, the newbies were coming to me for advice.  This year that experienced people and I were talking on a peer level.  This year, I knew more.  I didn't feel so clueless.  There weren't any discussions that I just couldn't follow.  I'm telling you - it was wierd.  I'm used to being out of my depth.  There's a TON of stuff to learn in the internet sphere.  And it seems, that as much as I'm constantly learning something from someone, I've finally gotten to the point where I'm not running to keep up.  Whew!

I felt so comfortable, in fact, that when one of the discussion leaders didn't show up, I offered to facilitate the conversation for the room.  The conversation was lively and a lot of people learned a lot of things - including me.  The great news was that I got to facilitate and I didn't even have to sign up or schedule the room or pick a topic or anything.  Many thanks go out to the person who failed to show. 

Michelle Wolverton, @Chelpixie to her Twitter fans worked her butt off making the event a success.  I wanted to publicly say "Thank You" to her, Chris Penn, Chris Brogan, and Whitney (sorry I don't know your last name) as well as the other organizers.  You guys rock.  And they do it all for free - in fact - they pay to attend the event.  How's that for passion?

All I can say is that if you have the opportunity to attend a Podcamp (and they happen all over the world now), do it.  You'll never have a better time with a more kind, caring, giving group of geeks.

I had a friend of mine recently ask what RSS was.  (You know - those little orange radio wave looking things that are on every blog and podcast.)  Seems she had gone onto Wikipedia and other sites to figure it out and nothing made sense.  I remember doing this too when I first learned about RSS.  Nothing made sense.  I thought that some of you might also share this confusion.  So I'm going to share with you what I used to explain it to her.

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” which is like setting up TiVo. You use a reader (like Google Reader, My MSN, or My Yahoo) and you tell it what you want to read by subscribing to the RSS feed for different sites. For instance, I might like to read The New York Times, the Speaking of Real Estate Blog put out by NAR, The Onion blog, and see what the White House is saying today. So I would go and subscribe through the RSS reader for each of those sites. Then I would open my reader program each morning and read what those sites had to say that day, rather than having to go to each site individually to get the information.

I hope this helps!

OK - So I wrote you guys a few days ago about pimping my Twitter profile background.  I used the one that I referenced then (Twitbacks.com), but it just wasn't ENOUGH for me.  You know how that goes? 

So I was touring other people's sites and found one I liked that said:  This background created with MyTweetSpace.com, so I checked it out.  Sure enough, there were a LOT more choices for cool things to do with my background.  So, yet again, I repimped my profile.  You can see it here:

KelleSparta

I also did the profile for the FreeRealEstateTrainingBlog that I run.  You can see that one here:

FreeRETraining

Limitations
It does have a section where you can enter text, but I wasn't able to find a font where most of the text I entered was readable.  Ultimately, I opted to not have the text.  Plus, is you have too much text, it doesn't show the logo at the bottom of the sidebar.  (The background doesn't scroll with the text.)  BUt, still, I think it's pretty cool.

Pretty Cool Huh? 
I like this one a LOT better.  Let me know what you think...

Have you noticed recently that the world seems to be delayed? 
I placed an order on Amazon.com for my Thai Deoderant Stone (great product BTW - before I dropped the last one and shattered it into many, many pieces, it had lasted me for over 5 years), but my order didn't get shipped for a week!  It still hasn't arrived and I ordered it on the 13th.  Then there's my custom vitamins that I get.  Those haven't arrived yet either and I run out in two days.  Those are the minor details of life, but annoying nonetheless.  Plus, deals that I've put together and partnerships that are pending seem to be stuck in transit as well.  My doctors' appointments are being cancelled or rescheduled, I have to find a new dentist for my new health care plan and I can't seem to get several projects that I'm working on completed.  As fast as the world is moving and as fast as new opportunities are arising, the details seem stuck in the mire.

Patience Is a Virtue - Bah Humbug!
Yeah, I know - be patient.  I have to tell you that patience has never been my strong suit.  In fact, I suck at it.  I want it yesterday!  You too?  Yeah - we're in this together.

What To Do
My answer to this dilemma is to keep plugging along.  I'm making progress towards my goals even if I'm not at completion.  My theory is this:  if I keep making progress, eventually completion is guaranteed - no matter how long it takes.  (Soon, I hope!)

Hang In There! - I know I will.

I sent out a tweet today with Lily Tomlin's quote "Forgiveness is giving up all hope of a better past."  I love that quote because it's so true.  Forgiveness isn't saying that it's OK something happened.  It's not saying that you'd want it to happen again or that you're willing to be a doormat, kicking post, punching bag, etc. in the future.  It's simply saying that you've come into acceptance of what happened as being true - without value judgement - and stopped putting energy into being outraged or angry or victimized by it. 

Where Are You Putting Your Energy?
When we don't forgive, we are the ones who pay the price.  It is in the letting go that we regain our equilibrium and our power.  And think about all of the energy that you are holding onto in feeling upset about the past that could be rechanneled into new items.

Where Do You Get Your Energy?
People ask me all the time where I get my energy.  I seem to have boundless amounts of it.  And, yes, I would say that I am a more energetic person than most people.  But I've also learned over the years how to not fritter my energy.  I avoid drama and I try to forgive quickly and often.

I Feel Deeply, But I Also Move On Quickly
Being the intense scorpio that I am, I feel very deeply.  People's comments, positive or negative, can affect me - especially if it's someone close to me.  I can be incredibly hurt or incredibly loving in the flash of a moment.  I love my emotions, but I've had to learn to take control of them over the years lest they sweep me away in a torrent.  I used to think that in order to forgive someone, it meant that I had to put them back into a position of trust again.  This is not true.

Forgiveness is NOT a Lack of Discernment
To forgive someone doesn't mean you have to trust them again.  Trust is earned and betrayal takes time to become trust again.  Forgiveness is just getting over it - not letting it happen again.  To be honest, forgiveness is getting over yourself.  I find that I have to get over myself a fair amount (especially when I'm hormonal).  It means taking responsibility for the part I played in the situation (if any, but probably I played some part) and moving on from being upset.

Finding Fault - Huge Waste of Time
I want to be clear that I'm not saying that everything is your fault.  What I'm saying is that fault is irrelevant to moving on.  I take responsibility for my part because it allows me to feel empowered to avoid the same situation again in the future.  I do NOT beat up on myself for the mistake.  It was a mistake and I'll learn from it.  Move on.

Move On
What do you need to move on from today?  Are you blaming the economy, your mother, your spouse, or "those people"?  The moment you can stop blaming and start focusing on the future instead of the past is the moment that you can make real change in your life.  Are you ready for it?

Setting Expectations
When my business partner and I decided to start selling houses together, we also decided that having a partnership agreement in place was a good idea.  We figured that the more we spelled out in writing, the more we identified who was responsible for what and what the expectations were, the better off we were.  We also wanted an agreement in place for how we would deal with jointly acquired leads and past clients if we split. 

Good Planning Pays Off
This was the smartest thing we did as partners.  Because a year later when we determined that we weren't a good fit as business partners and our joint business together went up in flames of anger and upset, we knew that we had an agreement to fall back on if we couldn't be reasonable in the moment.  Thankfully we were good friends first and business partners second, so we worked it out amicably.  But having that agreement in place made all the difference in having peace of mind as we negotiated our way through the process.

Thinking of Partnering Up?
Think carefully.  Having a business partner is a great thing. It means:

• You're not alone in the business
  
• You can actually have a day off
  
• You can go on vacation and not take your cell phone
• You can do more business
• You can likely jointly afford to hire an assistant

It's awesome.  It's also dangerous. It also means that:

• You are on the hook for anything your partner promises
• You are liable for anything unethical or illegal that they do
• You have to cover for them if they just disappear
• You'll be smoothing things over if they don't get along with a client
• You'll have to deal with the issues if your partner isn't good to your assistant or abdicates responsibility for them

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
You see, for every upside, there is also a downside.  Add to this that if your values don't match, there is a whole other level of challenges that you have to face.  And, even if the two of you get along, if your partner and your broker don't mesh (which is one of the things that happened with my partner and myself), you;ll be faced with moving companies too.

Look Before You Leap and Lay Out a Cushion At the Bottom
This is why you should lay out all of the details before you go into business with someone.  Write down, in clear, unambiguous terms, exactly what is expected of both sides and what the hierarchical structure will be (especially important if there are more than two people on the team).  Who had the final word?  Who has creative control?  Who is the promise-keeper?  Who is the problem solver?  Who gets to decide how to spend money?  Who is on the hook if you go over budget?  These things are more are important factors.  And, just in case, have a plan to part ways so that you have the advantage my partner and I had all those years ago.

I was reading Chris Brogan's newsletter recently and he referenced a great tool that I am now using.  It's a downloadable egg timer.  Basically, you set up the amount of time you want it to count down and it will do that until it reaches the end and then it makes a sound of your choosing (I chose "Yabba Dabba Do!")

So what I do when I want to stay focused is that I start the timer for about 30 minute intervals.  Then I get down to the task at hand (a specific task).  This week, I'm updating my popular First Time Homebuyer Seminar.  I don't stop working on it for anything (calls, people, emails, etc.) until the timer goes off.  It's stunning how much you can get done in a half an hour.  Last time, I outlined all the things I would have to do to update all of my products and to pick out a new fulfillment company.  It's crazy effective.

Try it out for yourself:

Egg Timer Windows Version

Egg Timer Mac Version

Oh, and don't forget to make your $5 donation.  I guarantee that using this program will yield you more than $5 in return.

Enjoy!