NEWSFLASH: IF YOU DON’T HAVE A GOOD SET OF MARKETING STRATEGIES THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO IMPLEMENT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE A PIPELINE FULL OF CLIENTS!!!

September is a great month to tackle your pipeline. I love September, it always feels like a fresh beginning; probably a feeling left over from school days. Vacations are over. My kids are safely tucked away in their respective activities and my energy always surges. Do you feel the same?

Would you like to bring a new dimension to your business? I think in business our year to year should be September to August. We can’t start making goals in January; we need to make them NOW. We can tweak them after the first of the year – we just take a break for the holidays and jump right back in to the thick of things so our business doesn’t take a holiday as well.

Do you feel the same about back to business once Labor Day is behind you? Would you like to jumpstart your marketing program, fill your pipeline and guarantee yourself a few more commissions before year-end? THIS CAN ONLY BE ACCOMPLISHED IF YOU KNOW HOW TO GET YOUR MARKETING MESSAGE OUT THERE!

Join me beginning Monday September 20, 2010 where I will deliver to you each day for 30 days 1 fresh new 2010 marketing strategy.

Marketing is telling people what you do …over and over. There are many ways of telling people—in person, in writing, through the media, by phone—but you have to tell them. You can’t just wait for the phone to start ringing. You have to tell them over and over using multiple marketing mediums.

Each day you will receive:

• A marketing strategy delivered to you via email.

• A short video (2-10 minutes)

• A PDF file including step-by step instructions when appropriate.

Click here to see the specific 30 Day Strategies we’ll be covering!

The idea is to determine which marketing strategies resonate with you and can be easily implemented resulting in MORE CLIENTS!!!

Implementation and consistency are key and it will be important for you to choose only those strategies that you determine will result in success for your business.

By receiving these emails daily you will be able to build a reference library of videos and PDF’s for viewing periodically as you move forward with these strategies.

So, not only will you be able to listen at your convenience, you will be able to listen over and over until it is no longer necessary and just part of your routine.

Click Here To Register

If you’re wondering what the marketing strategies are, let me tell you. You will receive a combination of online, offline and a handful of the good old basics. Each strategy will be a stand-alone unit that can be implemented by itself and have the ability to produce results. I will provide you with a toolbox of tried and true strategies that will guarantee success if implemented on a consistent basis.

This program is a no-brainer at just $97 for the entire “30 Days/30 -2010 Marketing Strategies” program. Implementing just one ought to make it worth your while.

I want you to understand that with your investment you will receive handouts for each daily strategy and a short video. In addition there will be a Q & A webinar on October 13, 2010 at 1:00 PM EST (N.Y. time).

Click here to register now!

My Personal “Make-You-Happy” Guarantee!

I need to know this program is going to work for you. So you can test-drive the first two marketing strategies for this course and if you’re not 100% thrilled I want to send your money back. If you’re not happy, then I’m not happy.

So, if for any reason the “30 Days/30-2010 Marketing Strategies” course doesn’t meet your expectations, just email or call me to cancel before the start of the 3rd email. No reason needed. And that’s my promise.

Click on the secure order link below, and learn all the marketing strategies you need in just 30 days!

All videos and handouts will be in your mailbox daily. They will be available starting Monday September 13, 2010. HURRY and you can begin implementing the marketing strategies that will result in more commissions.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW

One Payment of $97

Don’t delay – “30 Days/30 2010–Marketing Strategies” begins September 20, 2010. Don’t let the competition get a head start!

It’s 2010 – Do you know where your customers and clients are “shopping” for their goods and services?

Fact: People are shopping and learning in a whole new way as compared to just a few years ago and I bet you don’t even realize it – most don’t. Bottom line – you need to adapt or risk extinction. But How?

Fact: People now use the Internet to shop for goods and services as well as to gather information. But the real question is specifically where are they going and how are they using the Internet for this?

Let me explain:

1. First, people shop and gather information via the Internet using search engines such as Google, Yahoo and others. The average information seeker conducts dozens of searches each day.

2. Secondly, Blogs are quickly becoming a primary source for gathering information and evaluating services. With over 100 million blogs (and growing daily) you can just imagine. Virtually every industry and consumer niche you can think of has representation; many quite good. Be warned, your target audience is no longer just reading the trade publications and asking for referrals, and instead is searching Google and subscribing to pertinent blogs.

3. Thirdly and finally, people learn/shop in the social media arena. Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Digg, YouTube and others. These sites are quickly becoming mainstream, don’t get left behind!

To be successful, start generating leads the 2010 way – have a strong online presence. You won’t regret it! If this is all foreign to you, pick one strategy and learn it before moving on to the next. Before you know it you’ll wake up one day and know where your customers are once again.

It’s a jungle out there. You are all surrounded by the enemy vying for the same bounty. The enemy is trying to steal your business or better yet, make sure no new business comes your way. These enemies are disguised as other real estate professionals, the very ones who greet you at conventions with a smile and ask about business. They stand waiting for you to get turned down for business and then swoop down for the kill.

These enemies thrive on competition. These guys are out to get you and get you good. But there is good news – by implementing a dynamic marketing program, you can beat your enemies at their own game! All you need is a solid marketing program consisting of approximately 10 of the Marketing Weapons listed below (part 2 and 3 of the list will appear in the next few weeks).

Just make yourself a marketing calendar (a marketing calendar is simply a document that lists your marketing weapons and shows when and how often they will be implemented) through the end of 2010. Make sure this marketing calendar lists your marketing weapons, the action step(s) required for each one, date(s) when each will happen, as well as a place to record the results. You need to record as you’ll soon learn which weapons work, the ones you’ll keep.

The 27 Marketing Weapons – Part 1:

1. Competitive Advantage: Make sure you’ve got the competitive advantage within your target market. Be professional, referable, and provide outrageously good service. This is a good example of a daily marketing weapon.

2. Have a prospect List: Have a prospect list, keep it updated, and review it daily.

3. Follow-Up: Believe it or not follow-up is a marketing weapon because 90% of commercial real estate professionals stink at it! The best way to make sure your follow-up is working for you is to review your potential deals, deals in progress and deals under contract daily – determine what action steps are needed, make a list and then block out 1 hour of your time when you will not allow yourself to be interrupted and go for it. And, don’t forget all of those things you’ve promised people you’d do. There are many other ways to create a follow up system – call me if you’d like to explore this.

4. Get an 800#: This number is easy to get, and you only pay when someone calls you. You can use it for pre-recorded messages. This is an easy way for anyone to contact you, a way to get some business from Canada (it is costly to call Canada and some people therefore don’t), and it gives you a very professional image.

5. Website and Online Presence: This one’s easy. Get a website (better yet, a blog) and make it work for you. Then you can send prospects to your site for more information about you. And, while you’re at it, give away a free report in exchange for capturing their name and email address and possibly even content information.

6. Make an Audio CD Interview: This is cool. Go out and buy yourself a digital recorder (I recommend the Olympus DS-2, because you can download the recording directly to your computer and make CD’s from there), have a colleague get on a phone call with you and interview you about business. Have a list of questions prepared in advance so there are no surprises. You can then send a CD made from the recording to prospects or better yet, post it on line. This will give a taste for what you’re all about. Be sure to capture the “benefits” a client receives when working with you.

7. Host a breakfast: Send invitations to 6 of your favorite prospects and invite them all out to breakfast. Don’t be concerned with having them all together at the same time, promote this as a way to meet new people and network – even call it a networking breakfast! Before they leave, in addition to thanking each person individually for coming, give something of value (a copy of your favorite book, a gift card to Starbucks, anything). This is a great tool for a monthly or quarterly marketing weapon.

8. Postcards: Start a monthly campaign. It takes 7 to 9 times for a prospect to see your name before they will pick up the phone and call you. Remember, people do business with those they like, know, and trust. This builds trust and makes the prospect feel like they know you.

9. Speak at Conferences: For those who like to speak, this is a great way to quickly gain credibility. Just think of the times when you attend a conference and hear people speak, don’t you automatically view them as an expert? Speak on subjects you are comfortable with, that way it will be effortless.

Next issue, in Part 2, I will give you 9 more Marketing Weapons. But don’t wait until they are all published, start today! Good luck and remember: “The difference between very successful people and everyone else is basic, the very successful simply take more action steps!” So get into action now. Today!

Why Action is Important – 12 Steps for Success

“TIME KILLS ALL DEALS” and “MONEY LIKES SPEED” are two of my favorite sayings. And appropriately so because they tell the truth!

Have you ever lost out on an opportunity with a potential client because your follow up was weak? How about the time you lost a deal because some other broker got to it first?

It’s my experience those who don’t sit on opportunities make more money – period!
I know I personally have experienced both things and it’s no fun. And what’s most frustrating is it’s avoidable.

Follow these 12 steps; stay in action and you’ll never lose a deal again:

1. Have a “Positive Mental Attitude” (first coined by W. Clement Stone)
2. Believe you can achieve
3. Create a productive environment for yourself and your business
4. Learn something every day
5. Plan daily
6. Be a resource (If you don’t have the answer, get it)
7. Seize every opportunity
8. Take responsibility
9. TAKE ACTION DAILY; FOLLOW-UP ALWAYS
10. Be willing to make mistakes
11. Take risks
12. Keep focused (keep your eyes on the prize)

To make this 12-step system perfect – take one step each month and make it a habit!

By: Robert Knakal

Is the Investment Sales Market in a Mini-Bubble?

The investment sales market has been steadily improving over the last few quarters, as fundamentals begin to improve and economic recovery, while sluggish, is upon us. With regard to fundamentals, we have seen rent concessions evaporating and occupancy rates improving. The economy is moving in a generally positive direction but is having difficulty finding momentum as employment growth is well below expectation and last week it was reported that consumer spending experienced a decline of 1.2% in May, the first drop since September of 2009. While the investment sales sector appears healthy, the future of the market, however, is uncertain as market indicators are presently difficult to interpret. These conditions beg the question: Are we in another bubble at the bottom of a cycle?

Today, nothing is impacting the investment sales market more than the supply / demand relationship. Real estate markets are always dependant upon the supply / demand dynamic, however; it appears to be impacting the market more acutely now than we have seen in the past. Presently, there is excessive demand met by a relatively weak supply of available properties for sale.

Demand drivers are active from every segment of the purchasing arena. When we first started to tangibly feel the impact of the credit crisis in the summer of 2007, the institutional capital, which drove up value in the bubble inflating years of 2005 -2007, all but evaporated from the marketplace. The overwhelming majority of investment properties that Massey Knakal closed from mid-2007 until recently have been purchased by with high-net-worth individuals and families that have been investing in the market for decades. Recently, we have seen a reemergence of institutional capital as these investors have formed distressed asset buying funds and opportunity funds to take advantage of perceived opportunities in today’s market. Add to this the significant numbers of foreign investors and we have a demand side of the equation that is overwhelming.

On the supply side, we have seen historically low levels of properties for sale. Typically, the supply of available properties is fed by discretionary sellers who decide it’s time to sell. Typically, when values decrease, as happened beginning in 2008, discretionary sellers withdraw from the market. As this occurs, normally distressed sellers will emerge to fill the void left by the withdraw of discretionary sellers. In this cycle however, this has not occurred. Everything that has happened from a regulatory perspective has provided distressed sellers the ability to avoid dealing with their problems if they choose to.

The result is a very low supply of available properties to satisfy the excessive demand that exist in the marketplace. Due to these conditions, properties are selling for more than fundamental economics would dictate they should be selling for. Consequently, the “great opportunities” and “great deals” that were expected at the onset of this credit crisis have simply not emerged.

The supply of available properties is, however, increasing. We have seen a tangible increase in distressed assets coming to market and these distressed sellers are being joined by discretionary sellers who are, once again, coming back into the market. They have been waiting for a while to implement sell decisions and they simply are not willing to wait any longer to pull the trigger. Some of our clients are selling today because of the looming increases in capital gains taxes next year. Others are selling because of the likelihood that “carried interest taxes” will increase next year from the capital gains rate to the ordinary income rate.

The opinion that discretionary sellers are returning to the market is supported by the fact that we have seen a palpable resurgence of 1031 exchange transactions. We know that these are the result of discretionary sales as distressed transactions rarely have any residual equity which could be reinvested utilizing the 1031 mechanism.

Given this increase supply and the excessive demand that exists, we expect investment sales volume in 2010 to increase by at least 40 percent over 2009 levels. Granted, we are coming off anemic levels last year, but a significant increase in activity will be well received by market participants. In a couple of weeks we will be releasing our first-half 2010 statistics which will be a good indicator of how the year is progressing and should tell us something about what we can expect for the balance of 2010 in terms of volume.

With regard to value, as stated earlier, prices are increasing to levels above what economic fundamentals would dictate. It is almost as if the market is experiencing a mini-bubble at the low point in the cycle. Cap rates have remained at low levels after expanding significantly in 2009 and, remarkably, note sale recoveries have been extraordinarily high relative to collateral value. These conditions seem extremely positive today but, “Where we are headed?” is the bigger question.

Last month’s disappointing employment data has showed that employers are still leery about making commitments to new employees given the uncertainly surrounding the economic recovery and the vast array of tax obligations that are likely to increase substantially in the near term. Consumer spending and consumer confidence remains weak and GDP growth is challenged. Economists are, in increasing numbers, predicting a higher likelihood of a double dip recession.

We anticipate that the investment sales market, for the balance of 2010, will be very healthy as current dynamics continue. However, moving forward there are things to be concerned about. The deleveraging process, which is already in full swing, has a long way to go before all of the properties in negative equity positions are recycled or resuscitated. The 2006 and 2007 vintage loans, which are in the most distressed positions, don’t mature until 2011 and 2012 and are often being kept alive by advantageous loan terms such as interest only periods, interest reserves or are floating over LIBOR which remains at miniscule levels.

The anticipation that interest rates will rise, and rise dramatically, is still looming over the marketplace as well. Interest rate increases will have significant negative implications for the investment sales market and it is only a question of when, not if, these increases will occur.

With regard to supply, a regulatory change impacting the ability of lenders to hold loans on their balance sheets at par, even when they know the collateral is worth significantly less, could lead to significant increases in supply, exerting significant downward pressure on value.

Lastly, the expectations of increases in taxes of all kinds creates significant trepidation on behalf of participants in the marketplace. Capital gains taxes will increase from 15 percent to 20 percent when the Bush tax cuts sunset as they are expected to at the end of the year. Obamacare will add to this capital gains increase and personal taxes on federal state and local levels are sure to rise as politicians across the country demonstrate an inability to effectively cut spending. This is the case in all that but a couple of states which have seen shifts in policy recently.

Therefore, it is easy to understand how bearish participants are using this opportunity to sell and take advantage of the extraordinary supply / demand imbalances, very low interest rates and a, currently, friendly tax environment.

Mr. Knakal is the Chairman and Founding Partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services in New York City and has brokered the sale of over 1,075 properties in his career having a market value in excess of $6.4 billion.

6 Easy Steps to Setup Your Facebook Fan Page Today

Social Media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, YouTube and others are quickly becoming mainstream. And now we have to add Facebook Fan Pages as well. A Facebook Fan Page is a great way for you to promote your business and services.
Do you want a Facebook Fan Page but don’t know how? Well guess what? Below are 6 easy steps:
STEP 1 – Login to Facebook
• Login using your personal account (even if you rarely use it)
• Go to www.facebook.com
• Enter username and password
• If you don’t have a Facebook account, proceed with the setup of a Facebook fan page
STEP 2 – Go to the Advertising Section
• Once you have logged in, scroll down to the very bottom of the page and click on the “Advertising” link (bottom right)
• Select the “Pages” option from the toolbar at the top of the page (you will see a small flag icon next to it)
• Click on the green button that says “Create a Page”
• You will now be re-directed to the page that will allow you to begin
STEP 3 – Create Your Page
• Designate your category (you’ll probably use “Local Business”)
• Depending upon your choice an additional drop down menu will appear – choose the most relevant – probably real estate or professional service
• Enter your page name
• Enter your page name in the box designated for “Page Name”
• This will become your Fan Page Name
• Confirm you have authority to create
• Click “Create page”
STEP 4 – Design Your Page
• Now you will need to add photos and information so that visitors will want to visit you. Think of this like you would if you were creating an attractive storefront
• Upload a profile picture (select this option at the top of the page)
• Choose a picture that represents your service or business
• Add information about your service or business with the “Add information to this Page” link underneath the profile page. Include:
o Website
o Contact information
o Other important information
• Make your page dynamic by adding applications
STEP 5 – Publish Your Page
• Now the fun part – take your Fan Page live by clicking the “Publish this Page” link
• Become a fan of your Fan Page from your personal page
• Stay active with your Fan Page by doing things that will attract Fans – In otherwords – ADD VALUE!
STEP 6 – Maintain a Good Fan Page
• You will have to keep your Page interesting by:
• Posting valuable articles
• News clippings
• Videos
• Information about your business
• Free offers
• Contests
• Anything that will keep your fans interested
Good luck with your new Facebook Fan Page – stick with it and you will begin to see results!
If you’d like to learn more about how to effectively use social media for building your commercial real estate business stay tuned – I am going to offer a Five – Part Webinar course on the subject! Email me if you’d like to know more immediately – cindy@cindyspivack.com or call me at 847-562-0030.

Fifteen Ways to Contact a Prospect

With over 27 million small businesses in the US there are at least a handful of clients just waiting for you! Not sure what’s the best way to contact them? No worries, below are fifteen ideas, keep reading…
1. E-Mail – Send an email to 100 prospects introducing yourself
2. Office Voice Mail – Leave a voicemail letting the recipient know you have area comps they’d be interested in
3. Cell Phone – How about a “text” message
4. Social Media (Facebook, Twitter are two) – Social Media is the HOTTEST new way to prospect
5. Blog/Website – Have great content that your prospects can profit from; learn how to get your website/Blog on page 1 of google
6. Newsletter – Again, content is king. Pass along great tidbits of information; include a request for business as well
7. Internal Company Advocates – Get referrals from with the organization (hint: ask); let them know why you’re the “go to broker”
8. Snail Mail (Letter Or Direct Mail) – The good old US post office still works wonders
9. In Person – Nothing beats a face-to-face meeting when it comes to getting the business
10. Fax – Send a fax if you’d like to get someone’s attention – this really works
11. Networking/Social Function – Get out and see the people (and get seen)
12. Another Vendor/Salesperson – Again, referrals can be a great source of business, just remember to give more then you get
13. Trade Shows/Industry Functions – If you work these shows with one goal and one goal only – New Business – you’ll succeed.
14. References – Become the “go to broker” in town, be the best reference source around
15. Concierge – Get to know the concierges around town, they are viewed as valuable resources when it comes to information; ask them to refer you

What are you waiting for – try a few of the above strategies today, right now!

Sperry Van Ness President and CEO Kevin Maggiacomo explains why social media is important within the commercial real estate industry, read on…

By now it should be no secret that I’m a big fan of social media. The statistics validating social media’s ability to positively impact performance more than serve as adequate evidence that commercial real estate professionals should be actively engaged in social media marketing. That said, not a week passes where the naysayers and apathetic scoff at social media as if were just a waste of time. If today’s post seems like a bit of a rant, it’s because it is…In the text that follows I’ll share a few brief thoughts in an attempt to reason with those still not switched-on to the many benefits of social media.

I want to begin by addressing the three most common objections (translation: cop-outs) that I encounter from the unimpassioned or uninitiated:

1. Real business people don’t use social media: The inference with this excuse is that social media is somehow not worthy of their attention – that “real businesses” simply don’t market using social media. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, if you do a bit of digging you’ll quickly see that the category dominant personal and corporate brands in virtually every sector are engaged at some level with social media. Moreover, most of them are dramatically increasing their investments into social media while cutting back on investments into traditional media. On a global level, marketers report an increase of 30% in digital expenditures in the last 12 months alone. While this “social media is for teenagers and college students” excuse may make for a nice sound bite in your mind, in reality the only thing you accomplish with this position is to demonstrate outdated thinking to those in the know. In fact, according to Neilson, the over 35 age category is embracing social media faster than any other demographic, while growth among teens and college aged users has been flat to negative.

2. I don’t have time to use social media: This statement smacks of naiveté at best, or of arrogance at its worst. Since when doesn’t a person have time to engage people in a way that builds trust, engenders confidence, and accelerates the efficiency of communication. Saying that you don’t have time to engage your prospects and clients where they want to be engaged is nothing short of flawed thinking. What many fail to understand until they experience it first hand is that social media doesn’t replace real relationships, it enhances and accelerates them. You simply don’t have time not to be involved in social media. Learn how to leverage social media to increase the frequency of quality, live, business development meetings, and your productivity will increase. Learn that social media serves to enhance all of the activities that you are otherwise too busy focusing on, and you will run a commercial real estate practice which features greater profits and efficiencies. Fail to understand this and you’ll fail to maximize your potential.

3. It doesn’t work for commercial real estate: News flash – as much as you may want to think differently, our business is not any different from other businesses. Believing that certain immutable business principals don’t exist for commercial real estate professionals is very dangerous thinking. Not only have I personally benefited from social media on several levels, but I am also aware of numerous examples of both service providers and end-users alike that have received benefit from their investments into social media. Commercial real estate almost always lags behind other industries in terms of adopting new technologies and means of information sharing. We will see a repeat of this trend as the number of social media naysayers is reduced to a scant few within the next 24 months. As an aside, as of April 2009, more people spend time on Twitter, Facebook, etc., than they do on email. Do you really believe that our industry is so unique that we are immune to these revolutionary changes? If you haven’t benefited from social media yet, my guess is that you’re either 1.) not participating in social media; 2.) new to social media, and/or; 3.) not committed to doing what it takes to be successful with social media.

If you’re still not buying-in to my logic, I’m going to cut right to the chase and outline a few representative examples below of the benefits of social media for commercial real estate professionals:

Benefits for Practitioners

Social media increases your presence and visibility on the search engines, your exposure to deals, prospects and information, your ability to engage in meaningful conversations, the ability to shorten selling cycles and improve relationships, the ability to improve your position relative to competition, the ability to demonstrate subject matter expertise by expanding distribution for your thoughts and ideas, the ability to reach more people with greater velocity, and the list could go on and on…The bottom line is this: It has been said that as high as 80% of all purchasing decisions and diligence efforts begin with an internet search. What possible reason would you have for not wanting to be found where your prospects and clients are looking? Put another way, and as if our business couldn’t be any more difficult right now, why would you want to add to the existing set of new business challenges by having a poor Internet/social media presence?

Benefits for Clients

Clients and end-users are turning to social media in increasingly larger numbers when looking for information, advice, properties and professional expertise. Clients looking for increased transparency and accountability from their professional advisors will be looking for social proofing that is easily found online in reviewing a professionals social media presence. Clients looking to buy, sell or lease property will turn to and value the professionals that have the greatest visibility online and access to the toolsets and platforms most likely to benefit them.

Regardless of where you are in the commercial real estate value chain, you won’t be able to ignore social media and remain competitive in today’s marketplace. I would offer my strongest encouragement to anyone not actively involved in social media to develop a strategy for implementation.

Let’s get real here – successful brokers are different, here’s why:

1. Big Goals – All successful brokers have big goals. After all if you can’t
think big, how on earth do you expect to achieve big? Successful brokers
aren’t afraid to think big; thinking big results in big goals and big goals
get you BIG RESULTS.

Just imagine, what would happen of you actually declared a big goal you are
secretly wishing for but afraid to act on? You’d probably reach it!

2. Daily Planning – An extremely successful broker wouldn’t dream of starting
his (or her) day without spending time first thing in the morning planning
the day. This includes creating a list of calls to be made, emails to be
sent, deciding what correspondence needs to go out, reviewing what action
steps to take, and so on.

Daily planning guarantees you will be in action all day doing the things
that support your (big) goals. This method sure does beat spinning your wheels!

3. Delegation – Successful brokers have great support teams in place because
they realize can’t do it all alone. I recently heard about a rule of thumb
stipulating that for each $300,000 in commissions netted by a broker one
full time assistant is needed.

Who’s on your team? Make a list of everyone who helps you get your job done.
People like your assistant, virtual assistant, lawyer, accountant, webmaster,
marketing assistant, possibly a runner, a college student who is doing an
internship and anyone else you need on your team to do your job and do it
with excellence.

Who’s missing?

4. Time Blocking – A time and a place for everything, successful brokers
practice this with ease. Wouldn’t things be easier if you knew what you needed
to do and when?

What would it be like if you knew that everything that needed to be accomplished
would be, and exactly what day and time it would happen?

If your clients knew you returned your calls every day between 10 and 10:30
and then again between 4:00 and 5:00, if they knew you’d respond to their
email daily at 11:00, or were available every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
afternoons after lunch to meet – would they be clear what to expect from
you? Would life suddenly be easier for you? This is called Time Blocking.

Write out all activities you do each day and week and set times in your weekly
calendar to complete them. Treat them as you would a doctor’s appointment.
After all you’d never cancel a doctor’s appointment because you’d be charged
a fee and wouldn’t get in to see him until the next opening – often a couple
of weeks later.

Time Blocking Guarantees Success when followed.

5. Systems – Do you ever notice how the top brokers in your office seem
to get so much done? That’s because they have systems in place. Systems such
as office operations, goal setting, time management, lead generation, marketing,
sales, closing, even a system for follow up. (For more information on these
systems, join my Commercial Real Estate Success Inner Circle being re-launched
within the next 30 days).

Having systems in place takes the guesswork away. It becomes easier to get
more done in less time because you know exactly what to do and exactly what
to delegate.

A great book to read to learn more about having systems in place is, “The
E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber. It’s worth reading; or get the audio
CD set and listen to it while driving.

6. Accountability – Top brokers have accountability in place. They are accountable
to themselves, their team, their business coach, their clients and their
families.

Make sure you have at least one person or support system in place to help
assist you in your business goal accountability. It’s amazing how much more
you will accomplish if you have only two choices: just doing it; or reporting
failure to your accountability partner.

7. Follow Through – This is where the distinction is made between the best
and the mediocre. Do you have a follow up system in place? Do you know what
requires follow up and how often? Do you ever procrastinate following up
only to discover too much time has past and now you’re embarrassed to follow
up?

Create a follow up checklist for each client and prospect and refer to it
daily during your planning time to be certain nothing falls through the cracks.
Go beyond what most do for expected follow up.

Believe me, if you don’t sharpen and improve your follow up skills, there
are 99 other brokers waiting to steal your business.

Over the years I’ve discovered that most things in life can be improved with
a good spring-cleaning. Your business is no different.

After all, you choose to do a spring-cleaning because stuff accumulates.
Whether it’s dust or dirt or junk mail or clutter or just “stuff” in general,
it’s good to take some time and get rid of it all. Then you can start fresh
and clean.

Your business is the same way. Whether it’s piles of old files that need
to be thrown out or relationships that are no longer serving you, sometimes
it’s good to take stock on what’s working and not working in your business,
clean out what’s not working so you can open up the space to more of what
you DO want. And yes, this sounds sort of woo-woo, but it actually does work.

So ready to get that “spring clean feeling” in your biz? Here are a few places
to get started:

Environment —

1. Get rid of your stacks. File them, toss them, and delegate them. Do something
with them, but just get rid of them.

2. Clean out old client files. This works like a charm. The moment you clean
out old client files, whether that means filing them into long-term storage
or tossing them, you’ll discover new clients starting to contact you. I first
discovered this when I was a freelancer – every time I wanted new clients
one of the things I did (along with marketing and picking up the phone) was
clean out my old client files. And it worked!

3. Get rid of the clutter in your office. Are there things that need to
be mailed (for instance, books you borrowed from people and need to be returned)?
Or do you have things you really need to donate? Box them up and ship them
out!

Relationships —

1. Are you in relationships that are no longer serving you? Maybe you’re
in different places or one of you has changed and it’s no longer a good fit.
Be honest here. And be thorough. Look at your friends, associates, and biz
partners, JV or affiliate relationships, clients (yes even clients) and team
members. If something isn’t working (and yes, you know it’s not working,
your gut has probably already zeroed in the relationships you need to take
a closer look at) then you probably need to move on. (Or at the very least,
change the relationship.)

2. Difficult conversations. Are there some difficult conversations you’ve
been putting off? Maybe someone owes you money or didn’t live up to some
other promise? Maybe they did something you don’t agree with? Whatever it
is, spring-cleaning is a great time to get that cleaned up so you can move
forward.

Habits —

1. Are there things you’re either doing or not doing that you know would
move you forward? Maybe you want to start exercising regularly, meditating,
journaling, or just getting your ozone out each week? Or maybe you’re wasting
a lot of time on things that aren’t serving you or moving you forward in
your business? Take a look at what you’re doing on a daily basis to see if
that’s helping you or hindering you.

None of these tasks are necessarily things you’re going to enjoy, but once
you do them, you’ll be amazed at how good you’ll feel (and how much energy
it frees up for you). And don’t be surprised if you start seeing a flood
of things you want come pouring into your business.