To a bigger than life person ... may God bless Howard Brinton and grant him peace and grace as he faces aggressive bone cancer.  From the first time I had the opportunity to hear Howard speak and receive one of his famous hugs, I've been his enthusiastic fan.

 In the first year of Starpower, I suggested he interview my good friend Judy Johns and was tickled that he did!  Recently he featured another gentleman, top businessman and leader from our board, Michael Maher. He shared the expertise of his stars with all of us in a way that made success attainable to any student of our business. I feel sure that being a Howard Brinton "star" has been one of the most productive honors his experts have received.

Since the beginning, Howard's conferences, tapes, CD's and other tools have been the best available for building not only real estate businesses but real estate stars -- whether or not his multitude of "stars" ever participated in Howard's panels, conferences, or tapes.  Underneath all the tools, making them special, was Howard himself.  He is truly one of a kind! For me as a trainer, I must admit that I've had the honor of standing on the shoulders of a giant, our Howard Brinton. No other real estate educator, motivator, or coach has had a greater influence on me and through me, my clients. 

Howard's zest for life and his generosity set him apart; but being a true gentleman, he has never failed to recognize and appreciate all of us, his audience. God bless you, Howard, and all those who love you ... until we meet again.

Spencer Johnson's Peaks & Valleys

Have you ever tested your website to see how many clicks it takes to send you a referral?  Do your past clients know your cell phone number so they can contact you in real time?  Is your face in front of your raving fans every time they “talk” with their friends?

If your answer is no, consider how social networking sites can add these benefits to your business:

1.       Give your raving fans 1-CLICK access for sending referrals!

2.      Put your face on their screen when they network with friends via Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, or Twitter!

3.      Be in “1-Click” range of your key people!

As a coach and consultant, I’ve discovered that many top REALTOR® websites don’t provide 1-click referral sending to business ambassadors or even 2 or 3-click access!  Often consumers must wade through a questionnaire to send an email from your site and they frequently click off at these roadblocks.    We’d love to believe they have our numbers and addresses readily at hand when a friend or colleague needs a REALTOR, but do they?  Do they have you as handy as their friends on their favorite social network?

Consider “FaceBook” for 1-click referral contacts!  Here are the stats[1]:

• More than 250 million active users
• More than 120 million users log on at least once a day
• More than 2/3’s are out of college
• Fastest growing demographic is those 35 years and older
• More than 30 million active users access Facebook via mobile devices.
• Mobile users are almost 50% more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

When your business ambassador hears about someone needing professional real estate service, he can open FaceBook on his smart phone, 1-click you from his list and send the referral in real time!  However, if you’re not there, the lead either dies or goes to some other CRS who’s there, positively “in his face!” 51% of American web users visit or maintain a social networking profile and usage by individuals under 35 years old is virtually universal! [2]

How do we start using social network sites to build referrals?  Let’s get started. 

1.       Choose the best site for your market.  Talk to your key ambassadors and determine where they network. Statistics tell us that FaceBook surged past MySpace last year to the top position and has the largest number of users while Twitter, the newest star, soared from 22^nd in 2008 to 3^rd in 2009![3]  In I’m On LinkedIn, author Jason Alba states that the average age of a LinkedIn user is 41, his household income is $109,703, and 64% are male.[4]

2.      Take advantage of “branding by association[5]”!  When you’re linked to key people in your market area, you benefit from that relationship.  A double edged sword, this means that you must tightly control your linkages to avoid problem people but also gain credibility relating to those positive-image clients whom you’ve served.

3.      Add a appointment to work your social network daily!  Just like your other lead generation tasks, social networking must be slotted into your schedule and controlled.  It’s easy to let time slip away when you’re networking, so take command of this task but don’t avoid it because it might consume too much time.

4.      Practice demographic smarts!  Know your market, your raving fans, and your center of influence by age group so that you’re covering the types of networking that produce leads from your key people.  If you’re heavily into under 35 year olds, then text, instant message, and Tweet.  If your COI is heavily business-person oriented, then LinkedIn might be your best bet and use it to offer consumer research on your marketplace.  Know your people and their preferences!

5.      Add videos, photos, & testimonials! Today’s consumers want not only speedy responses and thorough information, but they want the human touch[6]! Give them easy access to photos, videos, and testimonials from raving fans through your social networking.

According to NAR’s annual consumer surveys[7], your best referrals sources are your past clients, friends, and family.  Stay in front of them--easily approachable and 1-CLICK reachable--and collect quality referrals using smart social networking!

Thank You's!

Thanks to all the real estate professionals who made our course in Kansas City on June 9th such a success! Thanks too to John Mayfield, my favorite "team teacher!" Lastly, a huge thankyou to Terry Murphy, Director of Education for the Missouri Association of REALTORS and a special thank you to Rob Curtis and First American Title for co-sponsoring our course!

Keys to Communicating with Your Associates & Staff: Verbal Communications

In many ways, verbal communications must be more exact then written communications because when a member of your sales team or staff receives any type of written message, they have the opportunity to read and re-read it until they’re clear about the meaning. Statements, except recorded messages, are heard once and probably often misheard! When you speak with a colleague, there are two parts to reliable communication, your speaking and their hearing. Speaking alone isn’t communication, it’s merely noise. Hearing alone isn’t communication without listening, observing, and understanding.

How often have you made a quick statement in passing which you believe communicated something important to a salesperson or staff person, only to discover later that the hearer totally misunderstood the message? When you have something important to say, be sure that the following elements occur:

• Focus on the listener. Make eye contact with the person to whom you’re speaking, being sure that they are listening and are undistracted by other voices, sounds, and activities.
• Speak clearly, making your point succinctly but effectively.
• Ask a question to determine that they not only hear but understand your statement
• If the information is critical and you are concerned about their feelings on the topic, ask how they feel about it.
• Close with confirmation if a follow-up activity is required.

When you are the receiver of an important statement, question, or comment, consider the following:

• Focus on the speaker! Make eye contact and illustrate an open, receiving body language.
• Listen for more than the statement, hearing emotion, and seeing their physical message as well as the spoken word.
• Restate the speaker’s statement, question, or comment in your own words to be sure that you understand.
• If unsure, ask if you’ve got their point and ask what they would like for you to do in response.
• Remember that not every statement, question, or comment from an agent or staffer demands action on your part!

 
In “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” author John Gray, PhD., tells us that each gender speaks and processes information differently.

“…the two biggest mistakes we make in relating to the opposite sex: men mistakenly offer solutions and invalidate feelings while women offer unsolicited advice and direction…While Martians [men] tend to pull away and silently think about what’s bothering them, Venusians [women] feel an instinctive need to talk about what’s bothering them [Source: New York Times bestseller, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray, PhD., Harper Collins Publishers].”

Wanting to grow your business in this atmosphere of turmoil and challenges?  One of the best techniques available to all of us in the world of sales, management, or business ownership is to either join or form a Mastermind Group!

If you haven't recently re-read Napoleon Hill's classic Think and Grow Rich, you might want to do so, get the book on CD or on your iPod or phone.  If you don't want to make time for those ideas, simply go to the Napoleon Hill Foundation website and read the "scrolls" taken from Hill's book.  You can find the "Success Scrolls" at http://www.naphill.org/points/scrolls/ 

My favorite tool for stepping up and out in a tough market is the Mastermind Group based on the concept of synergism or 1 + 1 = 3.  It provides the "third mind" to even two motivated, passionate business professionals who share ideas.  The new ideas, new twists on classic systems and programs, activate you and help you take a "step up" to high performance, more productivity, and the resulting increase in your profitability.

Get your mastermind group going and have a outstanding 2009!

Corky Hyatt
www.CorkyHyatt.com
Questions? Post them here or email me at Corky@CorkyHyatt.com!

Well, Real Estate Brokers, we know that our first "job" is recruiting and re-recruiting (retention)!  However, just like our sales associates, "prospecting" often falls behind our other tasks of training, managing for profitability, and administration.

How can we use "social networking" to keep in touch with and assist both our own associates and our potential associates.

Here are several suggestions for employing social networking in these important tasks.  Remember, too, that what you do for one group (potential associates), do also for your current team of agents! How many times have we heard agents say "My Broker forgets to dance with those of use who brought him!"

• Set aside a specific time period at least once a week for your social networking contacts – remember these are ongoing conversations not one-time efforts!
• Check out your own associates as well as your “target list” on Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter… Keep track of who’s there so that you know whom you can contact and with whom you can carry on conversation
•  Post positive, recognition comments on their site like  “congratulations” and “thanks for showing/selling our listing.”
• Watch for opportunities to share positive feedback!
•  Find out about social networking successes and recognize your own associates when they make connections with prospects, clients, and referral prospects using social networking -- use this recognitioin to encourage those who haven’t worked it yet.
• Blog what you’re looking for in new, “toddler,” and experienced recruits such as values, vision, technology experience, presentation skills, follow-through, and more.
• Remember to post, blog, and communicate to their generation, personality style, and interests! It's essential that we all remember that ONE SIZE STILL DOESN’T FIT ALL!  We have to consider our associates' and our recruits' generation, personality style and interests in choosing how and when we communicate with them as well as how we recognize them and their efforts and successes.
  
  Please share your ideas and suggestions and let's keep our ideas growing!