Last week I got a chance to go home to Ireland and spend a few days with my mam and dad. My mother is a veritable treasure trove of one liners, quips and homespun wisdom. So in talking about a purchase she'd made in the past, she made a statement that the price of what she purchased was $7K but the cost was $9K. She had automatically calculated the interest and her mindset was the purchase she’d made she referred to as the fully burdened cost.

It hit me like a ton of bricks.

If only I could get all the people I train to think like that. Just imagine if every time you purchased something on credit that you translated the monthly payment – interest included – into the overall price you paid. Not only would this make you think twice about the true cost of what you were buying,  it would also give you a sense of the total expense you’d already committed to. So next time you finance something – which is just fine to do by the way – make sure to count the whole cost in your plan. And if the purchase represents significant value to you, then by all means go ahead and do it.

As mam always says, “Make every penny a prisoner!” In times like these it’s good advice for all of us.

It’s a good life!

Brian

 

In a recent blog I shared that I don’t believe we have a serious real estate problem; we have a banking problem. This week has certainly confirmed that.These are turbulent times indeed and nobody has a crystal ball. However…the world’s greatest investor just bought $5B of Goldman Sachs stock – which is why he is the world’s greatest. He was buying when everyone was bailing.

How this whole government bailout program works out is anybody’s guess but I do know this; people keep having babies, folks are living longer and economics is based on supply and demand. As time goes by excess inventory will be picked up, prices will continue to stabilize and the market will find a new normal.

I can’t control the financial markets and neither can you but I can control my attitude and my activities. So keep the head down working hard. As you keep selling the dream and moving folks into homes, not only will you take care of your own income, you’ll be contributing to the greater good. Let’s see what this week brings. And take it one day at a time.

It’s a good life!

Brian

 

Over the years many of you have heard my buddy Joe Niego talk about not having a spray and pray approach when it comes to the focus of your business and how to generate a lead…and he is so right. That’s why we teach the working by referral system – to help you maintain your focus.

However, in order to get an offer accepted today, the rules have temporarily changed. Helping a buyer has always been a process of elimination. You educate a client in a geographic area and start eliminating homes that they don’t want until they find the one or two they like the best. You then write an offer, negotiate, get it accepted and work on getting it closed.

Today if you write an offer on a short sale or a foreclosure you have approximately a 1 in 4 chance of getting it accepted – even if it’s the best offer. You have a 1 in 3 chance of even getting a response. Many of us are frustrated because this is not how the business is supposed to go. Well folks this is how the business is going today. You need to educate buyers that we’re going to follow the spray and pray approach.

“We’re going to find a home you like, write an offer and there’s a pretty good chance we may not hear back. There’s also a pretty good chance the offer will expire without hearing back so immediately after writing an offer, we’re going to look at more homes. We may have to write offers on five homes to get one accepted.”

This is not how I like to do business and I’m sure it’s not how you like to do business but right now we need to have different expectations and so do our clients. As long as short sales and foreclosures are the first choice of buyers we have to educate them that they going to have to put up with a season of frustration for the opportunity to get one of these deals.

As I told a young buyer the other day; you’re buying this home for $100K less than it sold for a year ago…it will eventually regain it’s value and how long would it take you to save $100K?

So yes we’re going to have to spray a lot of offers into the market but don’t forget to pray. You’ve got to have faith in this market: Faith that things are going to work out; Faith that the market will turn; and faith in the intrinsic value of real estate itself.

I have faith in you.

It’s a good life!

Brian

If you’ve been following the national news recently regarding the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the stock market getting hit and Fannie and Freddie being taken over by the government, these are all the classics signs of the bottom of a market correction.

Right now, we don’t have so much of a real estate problem as we do a banking one. Prices have mostly stabilized across the country and in the short sale and foreclosure market we’re seeing multiple offers. Although I do believe there are a couple more banks in trouble and there’s not yet a full complement of mortgage products to satisfy all the buyers in the market, trust me that will get sorted out. For thousands of years lending money has been one of the most profitable businesses in the world. Banks make money by lending; not by deposits. So they will figure out ways to package loans and get cash into the hands of consumers. I believe this is the final cleansing process and in the next six months we’ll start to come out on the other side of this.

Make sure your clients don’t get caught in the “cudda shudda wudda” of taking advantage of this market. Make sure all your investor clients are fully aware of all the deals that exist and if there’s any way possible, see if you can pick up one of these real estate deals as part of your own investment strategy. We won’t know what the bottom is until after but I believe it’s pretty close. Keep your head down working hard.

It’s a good life!

Brian

On my travels this year, I’ve noticed a lot of people working harder than ever to make the same or even less money. And myself and the staff at Buffini & Company have been doing everything we can to try to encourage, motivate, challenge and train all of our great Members. However there’s one element that you must introduce regularly to your mental diet and that’s a good belly laugh.

Studies have shown its physiological healing qualities, researchers have analyzed its psychological benefits, however it just seems to me that at times like this there’s nothing like putting your head back and allowing yourself to have a good laugh. This was part of the thinking that went into the "Referral Brothers" skit Joe Niego and I did this year at this year's MasterMind. We had just received the first copies of our new book, Work by Referral. Live the Good Life! and we wanted to come up with a creative way not only to gift our audience with the first edition, but also provide some comic relief and allow people to throw their heads back and just enjoy.

So make sure you put yourself in an environment or spend time with someone you know will provide a good laugh. And if you don’t have anything planned for today, check this YouTube clip out and maybe it’ll do the trick.

Keep working, keep trying, and keep laughing.

It’s a good life!

Brian

We had a blast at this year’s MasterMind in San Diego. 4500 of our favorite Members and their families joined us on opening night for a performance and interview with YouTube sensation, Paul Potts. What an inspiration!

On our first full day, I challenged people to live life without limits and rather than reinvent themselves rediscover the core of who they are and who they’re destined to be. We examined the character qualities of immigrants who came to America and made this country so great:

* Ambition

* Faith

* Perspective

* A Sense of Adventure

* Perseverance

* Drive

* Hard work

Just before lunch, Joe Niego and I released the first editions of our new book Work by Referral. Live the Good Life! And we decided that our audience needed their spirits lifted, a special surprise and a good belly laugh. Check this YouTube clip out and see for yourself.

In the afternoon we heard a spectacular presentation by Nido Qubein who is a living embodiment of the rags to riches American story. We finished the night off by discussing how to simplify our lives – reducing the complexities that cause us so much stress.

On the last day of MasterMind, I took the opportunity to reenergize people about taking control of their finances and the ways to do it. Marcus Buckingham enthralled the crowd with his hilarious stories and anecdotes that reminded us all to rely on our strengths.

In the afternoon, we set five-year goals and built a personal accountability letter of what we will achieve by MasterMind 09 – due to arrive to each attendee 90 days before next year’s event.

I finished up Day 2 by challenging the audience to live life without giving into excuses and to being willing to make personal sacrifices. This was embodied by a surprise visit by Patrick Henry Hughes. Born without eyes and the ability to straighten his limbs, he not only inspired us with incredible renditions of America the Beautiful and Believe, but also stole the entire show with hilarious insights coupled with the world’s greatest attitude.

Someone once told me it’s impossible to shine a light to someone else’s path without lighting your own. I do all these things and organize a program like this to renew and recharge our Members – especially at a time of market instability. And yet the one who comes away most rejuvenated and recharged is me. I’m very thankful I get to do this as my work and so appreciative of all of you who attended.

It’s a good life!

Brian

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

- Rudyard Kipling

Some say that Rudyard wrote this poem to encourage soldiers in the war. It seems rather applicable for Realtors®, lenders and those working in the service industry in this market.

It’s a good life!

Brian

There’s an old tale about two friends walking through the desert. At some point along their journey they begin to argue and one slaps the other in the face. The friend who was slapped was hurt but didn’t react – instead he silently wrote in the sand the words: “My best friend slapped me in the face today.”

Later on in their travels the two encountered an oasis. They stopped to rest and bathe but the friend who had been hurt got stuck and began to drown. His friend reached out and saved him – dragging him to safety. After recovering he walked to a stone and carved the following words: “My best friend saved my life today.”

Confused, the other asked him, "Why is it that earlier you wrote in the sand yet now you carve in stone?”

The other replied "When we experience hurt from another we should write it down in sand so the winds of forgiveness can blow the memory away. But, when someone does something good for us, we should memorialize it in stone so no wind can erase it."

It can be easy to focus on the pains or challenges we experience in life. But like the character above, I’d rather set the good stuff in stone and let the others blow away in the wind.

It’s a good life!

Brian

 

DESERT PETE by The Kingston Trio

"I was travellin' West a buckskin on my way to a cattle run
Cross a little cactus desert under a hot blisterin' sun
I was thirsty down to my toenails, stopped to rest me on a stump
But I tell ya I just couldn't believe it when I saw that water pump
I took it to be a mirage at first, it'll fool a thirsty man
Then I saw a note stuck in a bakin' powder can
"This pump is old", the note began, "but she works so give'r a try"
"I put a new sucker washer in 'er, you may find the leather dry"|

"You've got to prime the pump, you must have faith and believe"
"You've got to give of yourself 'fore you're worthy to receive"
"Drink all the water you can hold, wash your face, cool your feet"
"Leave the bottle full for others, Thank You kindly, Desert Pete"

"Yeah, you'll have to prime the pump, work that handle like there's a fire"
"Under that rock you'll find some water I left in a bitters jar"
"Now there's just enough to prime it with so dontcha go drinkin' first"
"You just pour it in and pump like mad, buddy, you'll quench your thirst"

"You've got to prime the pump, you must have faith and believe"
"You've got to give of yourself 'fore you're worthy to receive"
"Drink all the water you can hold, wash your face, cool your feet"
"Leave the bottle full for others, Thank You kindly, Desert Pete"

Well I found that jar and I tell ya nothin' was ever prettier to my eye
And I was tempted strong to drink it, cuz that pump looked mighty dry
But the note went on "have faith my friend, there's water down below"
"You got to give until you get-I'm the one who ought to know"
So I poured in the jar and I started pumpin' and I heard a beautiful sound
Of water bubblin' and splashin' up outta that hole in the ground
I took off my shoes and I drunk my fill of that cool refreshing treat
I thank the Lord and thank the pump and I thank old Desert Pete

"You've got to prime the pump, you must have faith and believe"
"You've got to give of yourself 'fore you're worthy to receive"
"Drink all the water you can hold, wash your face, cool your feet"
"Leave the bottle full for others, Thank You kindly, Desert Pete"

"Drink all the water you can hold, wash your face, cool your feet"
"Leave the bottle full for others, Thank You kindly, Desert Pete"

Like the thirsty traveler, you’ve got to give of yourself to get. It’s not about money; it’s about keeping up all the work you are doing to get leads. All the calls, notes and Pop-Bys are your version of priming the pump. And one of these days the referrals will start to flow.

It’s a good life!

Brian

Says that, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” Wise words from a wise man! Despite the pressures of the market and the demands of clients worried by negative media tales or water-cooler stories, it’s important to stick to the fundamentals and keep your head down. The habits you’ve formed through Working by Referral will help you stay the course and keep your eyes trained on the brighter side of this market adjustment.

More and more, people are looking for a professional to steer them through the maze of information and guide them in the process of buying or selling a home. Yes, they may be more tech-savvy and have access to the tools the Internet provides, but they also want that peace of mind element that only a sales professional can provide. I’ve yet to meet someone who’s clicked on ‘add to shopping cart’ when buying a home!

Positive press reports and inspiring stories are out there so find them and make that your reading material. Commit to doing the best you can with your clients and serve them in such a way that - regardless of outcome - they’ll enthusiastically refer you to those they know.

The motivation Mr. Rohn speaks about we can get from stories, classes, events and those around us…but remember to look inward for those habits that keep you going. Find your own ‘why’ for the work that you do; it will absolutely impact the future of both your business and your life – and no one knows that more than you guys using the Referral Systems every day.

It’s a good life!

Brian