Market Commentary for 9/27/12 -  Mortgage bonds are weaker this morning after a better than expected initial claims report for last week.  Initial claims dropped to 359,000, the best number we have seen in a while.  In other important news GDP was revised all the way down to 1.3%, and durable goods sank by over 13%... the worst drop in over 3 years.  Overall the economic news is concerning, to say the least  but GDP and durable goods look backwards, while initial claims is a more forward looking indicator.  This likely explains the market’s reaction, at least initially so.

 

Be the Gate Keeper Take Control of the Lead The Law of The Gate Keeper states: The business professional that refers out the most business will create the most reciprocal referral relationships in return. Translation: The business professional who controls the lead WINS! Regardless of your vocation, there will always be other business professionals that you should seek to align yourself with because they represent a potential increase in business for you through referrals. The easiest way for you to develop relationships with the people you want to work with is to start off the relationship by referring new business to them. This is The Gate Keeper concept in its truest form. Start with knowing what your own clients need. Position yourself to refer out a significant amount of business by first knowing the needs of your own clients. When you begin working with clients, ask a lot of probing questions to get an idea of their needs. Are they happy with their existing real estate situation? Are they happy with their existing accountant, or their financial planner? Are they happy with their current insurance situation? Are they happy with their lender? Do they need to be introduced to people who provide these other types of services? The more you position yourself with your clients as a conduit to professionals in other areas of finance and commonly needed services, the better off you will be in the long run. In your marketing material, you must continually remind your clients that you want to be in the forefront of their mind at all times when they have important decisions to make in their lives. Make sure they know that they should always consider you to be a resource in the future. Too often we leave our relationships with our clients open ended, and we fail to educate them on the role that we would like to play in their lives. The more you make your clients aware that you wish to be an ongoing resource to them, the more they will use you and, in time, they will provide you with more business to refer out to other professionals. Learn more about the professionals with whom you want to have a referral relationship. One of the easy ways to go about putting yourself in a position to refer out a business is to sit down with the parties that you desire to refer business to and ask them to educate you on how they would like you to represent them in a conversation. Ask them to provide you with the proper scripting you will need to refer business to them. You will find this to be a very successful appointment with the prospective strategic partner that you are seeking to align yourself with. Use their wealth of knowledge on how they sell themselves and learn how to sell them. Be the Gate Keeper of the lead, and the rest will take care of itself. Let's discuss ways we can refer business to one another!

 Mortgage backed securities opened slightly higher this morning, as they continue to be weighed down by this week's Treasury auctions and low volume.  Prices are being supported this morning by a dip in Stock's, after German exports slid and fast food giant McDonald's reported same store sales that were a bit lower than expectations.  This afternoon's $24B Treasury offering will sway sentiment, as prices may not be able to push much higher than current levels.  

Influencing Others What Everyone Should Know Dale Carnegie's classic book, How to Win Friends & Influence People*, was first published in 1936 and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Carnegie's book is a primer for how to be truly likable, genuinely kind, and lovingly followed. Somewhat sadly, kindness and sincerity don't make for good drama, and most of the entertainment out there shows people at their most base, most selfish, and most cunning. It's easy to forget how a real leader should behave in light of the bad examples that have been set in recent years. With that in mind, I'd like to expound on some of the tips from Carnegie's section on How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking. I highly recommend the whole book, as Carnegie's examples and stories are both entertaining and inspiring. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. This is not to say that you should be non-confrontational. When you know that a subject is likely to get tempers hot, be the first to cool down. Never approach a subject with hostility or anger. Trying to "win an argument" is a true exercise in futility. Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately. Begin on common ground, and appeal to points you know the other person will agree with. "Would you agree that..." is a great way to make certain you are on common ground. Keep that positive momentum as you segue into discussing what you want. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers. What's more important - the credit for the idea, or the idea's success? If you can plant your ideas into the minds of others, and let them take credit for them on their own, you will be well on your way to achieving all that you desire. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires. Managers know that the best way to defuse an angry customer is to show empathy. Say things like, "I can imagine how upsetting this must be for you. I'd feel the same way." From there they are ready to believe you're on their side, and much more apt to listen to what you have to say. Remember, though, that the key is sincerity. If your attempts at being conciliatory are insincere, you'll find resistance to your ideas even stronger than before. Call me when you have a client who needs special assistance with their loan program!

Websites All Realtors Should Know!!!!!!!

Get Inside the Mind of the Consumer:
Websites Every REALTOR® Needs to Know

Studies indicate that over 80% of today's home buyers visit the Internet long before seeking the professional assistance of a REALTOR®. This means that, thanks to popular realty-themed websites that compete for your business, your clients are already armed with more information than ever before.

That's why today's savviest real estate agents must change their perspective and fight back. And the best way to do this is to visit and become familiar with these kinds of sites and the features they offer. This data will not only prepare you to answer any questions your clients might have, it will allow you to provide a more complete service that your clients will want to recommend to all of their friends and family members.

Some websites you should visit include:
1) Redfin.com
2) Trulia.com
3) Maps.Google.com and Bing.com/maps
4) Walkscore.com
5) GreatSchools.net

Government Websites: Government loan programs offer great opportunities for many consumers in many regions across the country, especially first-time buyers and veterans. The following websites are likely one of the first of many sites potential home buyers visit during this process:

1) HUD.Gov is the official website for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D.) This site lists HUD homes and provides information for home buyers, including financing options and home buying programs available through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
2) Homeloans.va.gov: This site houses information about government home loan programs specifically for veterans.

Give me a call if you think of any more sites I should add to my list. I look forward to developing ways that we can grow our business together.

The Perfect Purchase Transaction

The Perfect Purchase Transaction It All Starts with a System Have you ever wondered what the Perfect Purchase Transaction would look like? Close your eyes and dream about it for a minute: Few inbound phone calls. Your cell phone never rings. Clients leave so ecstatic with your service that they hand you three names of people they know who are ready to sell their homes or want to buy in your area. You enjoy shorter workdays during the process because everything clicks. Okay, WAKE UP! The dream has ended. Yet, that dream is possible. Although you work in an innately reactive business, it is possible to be proactive and stave off the reactive nature of day-to-day dealings. But, you must create a system. Think through each step of the process and ask yourself, "How can I make this better?" or "How can I take this reactive activity and be proactive to curtail it?" Here's the key: Create the Perfect Purchase Transaction. The drill: Sit down with all of your team members, those individuals on your immediate staff as well as your extended team - your lender, escrow officer, title representative, home inspector, handy man, home warranty representative, etc. Then on blank index cards note the steps that take place pertaining to any purchase. The first card would document the initial phone call or touch point The last card could describe the note you send on the one-year anniversary since the transaction closed, congratulating your buyers on that memorable date. Each of the middle cards should highlight and detail every contact required throughout the process to ensure the Perfect Purchase Transaction. In the lower, right-hand corner of each index card, jot down the initials of the individual tasked with executing the particular activity. It would be helpful to conduct this meeting in a conference room with a table long enough to spread out the index cards for easy viewing. Create a snake of index cards, beginning with the first point of contact. As you sift through this snake and examine each index card, determine where any snags or breakdowns occur. Contemplate any ways to improve each interaction. From there, separate the index cards into stacks, sorted by initials. Are any of the stacks top heavy? Do any of the stacks contain more activities than it's humanly possible to service at the level of professionalism needed to "WOW" a customer? Do any cards in these stacks need to be redistributed? Can any cards be discarded? This will help you visualize every point of contact and critical element of your Perfect Purchase Transaction process. I'd love an opportunity to discuss the systems I use to consistently WOW my clients!

3 Tips for a More Productive Day  

Do you start each day with a plan for action?
Most people do. Whether they make a to do list or leave emails in their inbox to work on throughout the day, they have some way to manage their tasks and projects. Each day, however, we manage more than just time. We manage conversations, meetings and interruptions.

Have you ever noticed your productivity actually goes up the fewer times you're interrupted during the day? This is the reason some people block time on their calendar; it is a way to specify the hours (or minutes) of the day that will go toward a specific task or project. For many people, however, they don't have that much control over their schedule or calendar. If that is the case, here are three habits to practice to have a more productive year:

1. Arrive early. To meetings, airports, appointments, to the office, etc. When you arrive early, you are refreshed and relaxed. Instead of scrambling at the last minute and being stressed out from traffic, delays or other "unscheduled" surprises, you will be able to find a place to sit down and perhaps even review the meeting materials, or read something you have been waiting until you had time to read. This sets you up for success. You have a cushion of time if there is a delay or if you arrive early and can get something done (see tips below).
   
2. Make fewer agreements. For the next 5 business days, be sure to write down each and every thing you say you are going to do...and what others say they will do for you. Once you have this complete inventory, prioritize the ones that are the most important and start to renegotiate (or eliminate) the rest. One way to manage your agreements most effectively is to use some kind of Promise Guide (http://www.thepromiseguide.com) so you can visually see all you have to do and track your progress over time. The more items you complete, the better able you will be to manage all your actions and tasks. Then, slowly and over time, make fewer agreements, but make sure they are the most important ones!
   
3. Ask for assistance. Sure, at one time (in university, especially) it was very important to be able to work by ourselves, and demonstrate our capacity for productivity. However, now in an era of uber-connectivity it's very important that we recognize the experts in the world and reach out to them for assistance. Often, these people are just an email (or even a phone call!) away. Reaching out to ask someone for assistance will save us time, and expand our community and network. As we head into another decade of a considerably flattening world, it's going to be more and more important that we know WHO we need to know so that we can do WHAT we do better.

For the next few days, consider testing these new habits. They probably won't form themselves overnight, but practicing with them will give you some ways to improve your productivity, one day at a time.

Action is Power: Tips for Getting Started

Action is Power: Tips for Getting Started It may be true that knowledge is power, but knowledge without action is not very powerful at all. In fact, it is very common to see talent wasted because no action is taken to produce results. The following are a few tips for taking action, which is perhaps the single biggest key to success, in business and in life. Don't over-analyze tasks. Sure you need to think things through, but you can over-think them too. If you worry too much about getting it perfect before implementation, you can lose momentum, lose your window of opportunity, or worst of all...never do it at all. A good strategy is to be sure your idea is ethical and legal. Then, if you think your chances of success are at least 70%, implement your idea. Successful people tend to make decisions quickly and change them slowly, where many unsuccessful people make decisions slowly and change them quickly. Be a part of the first group and implement your ideas. Break a large project in to bite-size pieces – your action steps. If a project or plan that you know will improve your business just seems too large or overwhelming, break the plan down into manageable steps. Determine what action needs to be taken first, then go ahead and do it. After all, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And the same concept should apply for large projects. Don't procrastinate. Easier said than done, right? But the truth is, the longer you wait to do something, the less the chance you will ever do it. Rather than putting it on your endless list of "to-dos," do it right away – right now if possible. You will impress your clients – they will love it! Don't you love it when you are the customer and you get service right away? You may even impress yourself and start getting into the habit of "doing it right now." Believe in yourself and the power of taking action. Did you ever think of a great idea at night, only to talk yourself out of it in the morning? Worse yet, have others talked you out of it, ultimately denying you your dream? Believe in yourself...take chances...go for it. Sometimes we spend so much time thinking about the task that it becomes daunting. Don't think about it. Go ahead and get started. Just do it! It doesn't matter how many great ideas you hear or see. It doesn't matter how many great plans you come up with for yourself, your business, or your life. What matters is how many of these ideas, plans and dreams you actually put into action and make a reality. Do you have something that's been on your to-do list for months? Do you have a great idea you've been kicking around? Do you know the next push you need to move forward in your career or your life? Grab it right now – don't wait another day. Take a step, make a decision, put your plans into motion and enjoy the rewarding feeling of having taken action! Give me a call. Let's take action to increase our production and grow our businesses.