My Big Why

Today we had our Business Planning Workshop. This workshop is designed to help agents figure out what they need to do in order to achieve their business, financial, personal, spiritual, and family goals.

Following the MREA (Millionaire Real Estate Agent www.millionairesystems.com) we have learned to follow the models and systems of those who have gone before us.

When we look at successful agents we find that they were powered by a "Big Why". The Big Why is the underlying reason that motivates you to do what you do each day. This concept can be hard to grasp and even harder to put down in words as it relates to your own life.

So what does a life worth living look like to you? Take a moment to think about what motivates you to get out of bed every day?

Try this exercise.

1. On a piece of paper write down what you want to make in the next twelve months.
2. Take out your checkbook and write yourself a check for that amount. Then write 11 more, one for each month of the year.
3. If you had that much money to spend every month what would you buy? Write it out. What would you buy this month. Next month... the next month....
4. At some point you realize that you have everything you need and want. Now what would you do?
5. What do you want to be known for?

All of this plays a part in your Big Why.

Today, a group of agents explored what it was that truly motivates them. Watch this video to see their desires. Don't miss the BIG FINISH as the end!

So my question to you is "What is your Big Why?"

News You Can Use

Happy Sunday to You!

Only 25 business days before the First Time Homebuyers' Tax Credit expires...if you have a buyer who is interested in moving ahead, we have very little time left to process a loan. Please have them call me for preapproval.

In Other News...

Continued good news from corporate earnings and from the real estate world shows us that the bottom is firming up! Don’t we all wish we could say that about ourselves! This week, according to the National Association of Realtors, the inventory of existing homes shrunk to a 7.8 month supply, down from a recent high of 10.1 months in April. New homebuilders continue to start homes at a level that is ½ of what it was in 2007, creating a similar reduction in months of supply of new homes. THIS IS KEY for the stability of home prices as the fewer homes on the market, the more pricing power the sellers have. But estimates are that 45% of last month’s sales were made up First Time Homebuyers as they rushed in to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit.

By the way, WR Starkey Mortgage is a certified Homepath Lender...more about that at Tuesday's Team Meeting.

This week, rates ranged from 4.875% – 5.125% depending on program, credit and points.

Have a great weekend. Have your buyers call me so we can get them approved to buy!

Neil

Neil Hediger
Senior Mortgage Consultant
W.R. Starkey Mortgage
THE HEDIGER GROUP Mortgage Advisory Team
115 Perimeter Center Place, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30346

Office: 678-298-1631

Gary Keller’s Writes about Leveraging the Buyer Side of Your Business

Focus on Leverage – the Buyer Side

Published

by

Gary Keller, Co-founder and Chairman

on October 1, 2009

in Uncategorized

. 6 Comments Tags: buyer specialist, SHIFT, showing assistant, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent.

In The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, we declared you could be just three exceptional hires away from having the organization of a Millionaire Real Estate Agent. That's still absolutely true. However, our ongoing research for both MREA and SHIFT has given us new insight into how these key positions evolve. Some of you got a sneak peak at Mega Camp 2009. For the rest, here's a quick look at hiring and compensating a Showing Assistant.

Leverage is ultimately about focus. You hire talent to keep you focused on your most dollar-productive activities and they focus on everything else. After entrusting your admin and marketing chores to another person, you look for help on the buyer sales side of the business. Successfully showing homes can be extremely time intensive and help here should keep you focused on leads and listings. So who do you hire?

In the past, research pointed us to a licensed buyer specialist paid on a 50/50 commission split. Today, some successful agents are first hiring an unlicensed Showing Assistant to keep their costs of sale low and their productivity high.

A Showing Assistant can literally jump into the driver's seat with your buyers while keeping you in the driver's seat when it comes to converting buyer leads, getting signed agreements, identifying wants and needs and eventually writing and negotiating contracts. A good one should be able to successfully show homes to around three to four buyers a month while earning bonuses based on 25 percent of each deal. Based on a $5,000 average commission, a good Showing Assistant could earn $60,000 a year. This is a terrific opportunity for someone. Better yet, you get to stay focused and 75 percent of the buy-side income stays on your side of the ledger.

You are still looking for someone who has the ability to grow into your Lead Buyer Specialist. So when you have someone with the ambition and proven ability to succeed with a high volume of buyers over time, your Showing Assistant earns the right to be promoted to a licensed Buyer Specialist. Your Buyer Specialist would then handle buyers from the appointment to closing and now earn 50 percent of the commissions. Again, a good one should be able to handle three to four buyer sales a month without burning out.

Burnout is a key word. Once you have identified a great Buyer Specialist, you don't want to lose them! When they burn out and walk out, guess who gets their job? You do. And you've already got a job.

When your business is generating enough leads on a consistent basis to push a great Buyer Specialist past their ability to successful manage them all, the Showing Assistant concept reenters the picture. Now your Buyer Specialist has the opportunity to hire a Showing Assistant of their own. The Showing Assistant is still paid on a 25 percent bonus; however, that money comes out of the Lead Buyer Specialist's half of each commission. Effectively, you continue to earn 50 percent of each buyer transaction, while the Buyer Specialist earns 25 percent and the Showing Assistant earns the final 25 percent as a bonus. Any buyer transactions your Buyer Specialist closes without the help of a Showing Assistant would still be on a 50/50 split.

Now your Buyer Specialist might successfully help four buyers on their own and another four with the help of a Showing Assistant. That's now eight closed buy-side transactions each month. And with an average commission of $5,000, your Buyer Specialist has the ability to gross as much as $180,000 a year while just personally showing three or four buyers a month!

Showing Assistants may come and go—each auditioning for a shot at being your Lead Buyer Specialist. But once you find one, hiring and managing Showing Assistants moves from your plate to theirs. You have found your leader for working with buyers. Any additional help needed to keep your buyer transactions on track becomes their issue and opportunity.

Showing Assistants can save you money on the frontend, reduce turnover on the backend, all the while providing the best possible service to your buyers.

Click here for a video highlighting The Organizational Model and MREA.

(with Jay Papasan)

Letter from Rocky Kaufmann an agent in my office who helped organize the first annual KW Charity Ride:

This past weekend was a great example to me as to why our office is considered one of the best places to work. We would never have been able to pull off the KW Charity Ride without help of many KW people. There are so many of you that helped with the event I am afraid to starting listing all of you because I would inevitably forget someone. All of the volunteers and participants have my sincere appreciation. I do want to name a few people specifically. Mia did a phenomenal job taking charge of the end event. She spent countless hours making sure we had a good time at H&R Ranch. Charlie Lockwood displayed his exception organizational skills while Jake Duffy provided coffee and doughnuts for everyone at the front end of the ride. Michael Martino was always there for advice and came with me for a couple of test runs. Felicia Leyva-Adams and her husband took the long way back home so that they could stop at every turn and pull all thirteen directional signs out of the ground, and she was always happy to help me print flyers and disseminate event info. And of course our team leader, Connie Carlson, was the biggest supporter of the KW Charity Ride. Connie provided the motivation and encouragement to make it possible. Lastly, Shaun Rawls took the time to not only participate, but also worked as a ride captain. The big man looked great in his bright yellow safety vest. I know that this event would have never happened without all of you.

Thank you,

Rocky Kaufmann

What's All The Hype About?

http://www.atlantaandcompany.com/article.aspx?storyid=135855

Last week it was announced that the Rawls Group of Keller Williams Realty was selected as one of the "Best Places to Work in Atlanta". Since then we have received a flood of calls and emails from agents wondering what makes us different from other real estate companies. I would be happy to share my experience at Keller Williams Realty with you and explore whether the opportunities we offer are right for you. In the meantime, click on the video above to hear a bit more about our office and what makes us unique. I look forward to your call! - Connie

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY – THE RAWLS GROUP BECOMES THE ONLY LARGE REAL ESTATE COMPANY NAMED AMONG ATLANTA’S BEST PLACES TO WORK

The Rawls Group Takes the #2 Spot in Prestigious List

September 25, 2009, Atlanta, GA -- Atlanta’s leading business publication, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, named Keller Williams Realty – The Rawls Group, to its list of “Atlanta’s Best Places to Work.” The Rawls Group ranked No. ­­­2 on the 2009 list of Atlanta’s best places to work for large companies and is the only top 10 real estate company.

Shaun Rawls, Operating Partner noted “It is truly an honor to be recognized on this list and to be No. 2 is outstanding. It is because of our real estate professionals and our staff that we are being featured and I see this as an opportunity to thank them. To be recognized for providing culture, service and for building trust in our company is extremely rewarding as we strive for this every day. When real estate companies are closing their doors, The Rawls Group continues to provide services to our agents, add value through education and coaching and gain Atlanta market share.”

“We are so fortunate to be surrounded by talented people who have built an organization to be proud of. Through the models at Keller Williams Realty, businesses have been created that can survive in any market. We believe that by providing a powerful and productive work environment and sharing our profit with our agents, the individual sport of real estate has become a team sport where everyone benefits. We are grateful and humbled to appear on this list,” said General Manager, Jeri Moran.

Atlanta Business Chronicle, in partnership with Quantum Market Research Inc., recently surveyed the metro area’s businesses and organizations to find those that have discovered how to be among Atlanta’s Best Places to Work. More than 500 companies participated. Independent research firm, Quantum Market Research conducted anonymous employee surveys to tabulate the results. Best Places to Work winners are ranked based on numerous topics including, manager effectiveness, trust in senior leaders, alignment with goals and team effectiveness, among other criteria. To find Atlanta’s 2009 Best Places to Work, the Chronicle asked readers to nominate workplaces in metro Atlanta. Nominations were accepted during June through the Chronicle’s Web site. From July to mid-August, employees of the nominated organizations filled out online surveys containing 37 questions about their work environment, co-workers and managers. All answers were evenly weighted using a six-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 6=strongly agree).

Led by Operating Partner Shaun Rawls and General Manager Jeri Moran, Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road, Keller Williams Realty Smyrna/Vinings, Keller Williams Realty Buckhead, Keller Williams Realty East Cobb, Keller Williams Realty Perimeter North, Dunwoody and Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Battle, The Rawls Group offices are “Changing the way you THINK about Real Estate”. Keller Williams Realty is the fastest growing and third largest residential real estate firm in the United States.

Balance Workshop Today at 11 am

Do you feel that you are living a willy nilly life? Want to say "I am glad I did vs. I wish I had?"

Join me today at 11 am for the Balance Workshop.