How many bad predictions do we need to read (hopefully not rely on) before we decide that there must be a better way to prepare for our future? How did the following turn out? Did they help you prepare?

“It may be too soon to say that it’s over. It may not be too soon to say that the worst is over”, said former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in an October 2006 speech.

In a November 2006 speech, his successor Ben Bernanke said he saw some “encouraging” signs in recent housing reports.”

In 2006, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said “ NAR expected only a 1 percent drop in the pace of existing home sales, and a 1 percent gain in median prices.”

To be fair to these learned men I’ll quote Yogi Berra: “Prediction is very hard, especially about the future.”

So is optimism wrong? I don’t think so. I like optimism. I am generally regarded as optimistic but here is my definition of optimism – planning for your circumstances to get better because you will do things to make them better. On the other hand is foolishness - circumstances in general will get better and will help your situation be better. Why would you depend on circumstance and aren’t you a little tired of waiting for them to get better?

Here’s another more serious quote from the famous writer, management consultant, and self-described “social ecologist” Peter Drucker. He said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.“ Now that works for me… a little control and a lot of personal responsibility.

Fools refuse to look at the facts and even criticize those who do as negative. As unreliable as the weather forecasters’ predictions sometimes are, when planning an outdoor event we’d consider it foolish to refuse to listen to the weather forecast; we would be even more foolish to listen and disregard these forecasts. Optimists look at the facts and determine what it will take to succeed. I’d rather be an optimist; prepared for success even if circumstances don’t get better. If they do get better, I double my win.

I’ve been around a long time. This is the third downturn I’ve lived through. Each time it’s been tough for a different reason, but tough just the same. I’ve seen people come and go and I’ve seen them succeed (some magnificently) and fail (some spectacularly) and I’ve learned from both. The successful have gotten more skillful, grown stronger and built better, deeper relationships with everyone they know.

The great thing about the real estate industry is that when we prepare for tough markets we win no matter what circumstances come our way. How can having better skills, abilities and stronger, deeper relationships turn out badly? So my point is, I can’t predict the future but I can prepare for whatever comes. I can learn better skills, strengthen my abilities and build deeper relationships for a better, brighter future for me and everyone who depends on me. I’m optimistic because I’m prepared!

Steve Hammond is a partner in The Real Estate Learning Group. He is an instructor of Real Estate Sales Advantage, an eight week program built on the world class foundation of Dale Carnegie Training combined with the expertise of The Real Estate Learning Group. Graduates of this program master the skills of relationship building and consultative selling – and grow their business by an average of 250%!

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If you are an avid Gmail user, you may have noticed a new tab, Buzz, alongside your Inbox, Sent, and Draft labels in the lefthand column. Buzz is essentially Google’s version of a Social Network.

According to Google, Google Buzz helps you start conversations about the things you find interesting. It allows you to post status updates, share photos and comment on other people’s activity. (If you have used FriendFeed, Google Buzz is very similar.) Google Buzz also has a nifty social integration tool, which allows you to link Google Buzz with your Twitter, Picasa, YouTube & Google Reader.

How can Google Buzz be helpful to Real Estate Agents?

Google Buzz can be especially valuable to real estate agents who primarily use Gmail as their main email address. Once you are signed into Gmail, Buzz automatically suggests that you begin to follow the contacts you already have in your Gmail contact list. If you have been using Gmail as a main email address, you could literally have hundreds of leads and clients in your contact list. By ‘following’ those contacts, you will be allowed to see and comment on their status updates, photo uploads and all other activity they share.

For more information on Google Buzz, check out these “5 Buzz Tips” from the Gmail Blog.

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There is still time to sign up for the FREE Efficiency Maine Certification Program Course being held in Brewer on Tuesday, February 23! The class is being held from 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM at Jeff’s Catering, 15 Littlefield Drive in Brewer.

As professionals in Maine’s real estate industry, we are in a position to point consumers to accurate information and resources provided by Efficiency Maine(administered by the Maine Public Utilities Commission). Your instructor Bill Childs is a certified building analyst with 20 years of experience in the construction and energy auditing fields. You will experience first hand how Bill conducts an energy audit using a blower door, infrared camera, and other tools of the trade. Upon completion of the class you will earn the designation of Efficiency Maine Real Estate Specialist.

If you are unable to make this course, click here to see a list of other available times and locations.

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Yesterday we showed you how to export your contact list out of Top Producer. Today, we’ll show you how to upload your contact database to Facebook and start connecting to past, current and potential clients.

Step 1. Click on Friends -> Find Friends in the left-hand column under your picture on the Home page.

Step 2. Click on Upload Contact File.

Step 3. Browse to upload your contact file (.csv) and click on Find Friends.

Step 4. Facebook will then display those who are registered with the same email you uploaded as well as encourage you to invite those who are not.

Step 5. Clicking on Invite to Join will send those clients who are NOT currently on Facebook an invitation to join.

Once you’ve connected with those clients on Facebook and invited those that are not, be sure to drop them a quick message to say “Hello“.

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It’s Tech Tip Tuesday! In the past few weeks, I’ve worked with several new clients who are eager to get started in Social Media. Besides actually setting up the profiles, the next most important thing is adding friends and connecting to people you already have in your network. My recommendation to get started is to use the contacts in your existing email database. Since many of my clients use Top Producer, I thought it might be a good idea to give you instructions on how to export your contact database from Top Producer 8i into a CSV file so you can then use it to connect with your contacts in Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

The following instructions come from: www.propertysource.com

1. From the main menu, select Contacts, then select Search for Contacts.
2. Browse to locate the records you want to export.
3. From the Search Results table, use the check boxes to select the contact records you want to 
        export.  To select all records in the search results set, select the check box in the table/
 column header.
4. Click Export Contacts.  The Export Contacts screen will open.
5. Select your export options. For more information on the data each option will export, see the 
        “Export Contacts Screen” reference topic in your Top Producer program.
6. Click Export.  The File Download dialog box will appear.
7. Click Save.  The Save As window will open.
8. In the Save In field, browse for a convenient location (i.e., your Desktop or a folder on your
 computer) to save the export file.  Remember the location to which you are saving the file
 – you will need to access it later in the process.
9. In the File Name field, create a memorable name for the .csv export file .
10. Click Save. An Exporting Records to File dialog box will appear. The process may take a few
      minutes. 
11. When the Export Complete dialog box appears, click OK.

Tune in tomorrow to find out how to upload your newly created CSV file in Facebook.


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Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

Is this what you are doing with your real estate career? It’s a new year and you have new business goals, but how are you going to achieve those goals? Are you going to do the same things you did last year and hope that this year brings better rewards or are you committed to doing things differently this year? If you are (and we hope you are), we encourage you to join us in Portsmouth, NH on March 3, 2010 for a free preview class of the Real Estate Sales Advantage Course brought to you by The Real Estate Learning Group and The Dale Carnegie Institute.

The full eight week course starts on March 25th and is designed to help you increase your confidence, sharpen your skills, and have fun while you learn. Our past students have seen a dramatic +350% increase in their business as a result.

For more information check out this quick intro video about the Real Estate Sales Advantage class. Follow us on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

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Yesterday I came across this article about how to use social networks like LinkedIn & Facebook to increase lead conversion. As a Social Marketing Consultant, I’m always open to new ways to use these social networks in all facets of business. However, the method discussed in this article, seemed a little too aggressive for my taste.

The article suggests that once you receive a lead, that you attempt to locate the individual on Facebook or LinkedIn and send them a quick message saying something like:

Hi Robin,

I saw you were searching for Memphis homes on my real estate site. I wanted to connect with you personally and learn more about what you’re searching for and your needs.

Best
Realtor Bob

As a broker, I can see why one would use this approach, you want to immediately connect with this lead and strike while the iron is hot. As a buyer, however, I personally would be turned off…it seems a little stalker-ish and desperate to me. An agent would have to go out of his way to take my information, go to a social network (or many of them) and search my name, weed through the ones that share my name, find me, then send me a message? If I left my phone number or email, why wouldn’t he just contact me using one of those methods?

To further prove my point, the article goes on to say that the method gets a relatively low response rate, only 25% of leads accept a friend request on LinkedIn and 10-15% on Facebook.

What do you think? Is this desperate or an acceptable way to nurture your leads using Social Networking? Comment away!

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