By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
Author and real estate pro Richard Steinhoff held a book signing during the REALTORS® Conference & Expo Sunday in Anaheim, Calif. He and his wife Elaine sold copies of his recently released Turning Myths into Money: An Insider’s Guide to Winning the Real Estate Game. Steinhoff said the addition of his book in the Conference Book Store was so successful that he ended up making a special trip back to his Orange County home to get more copies to sell. Turning Myths into Money unravels 90 real estate myths and misconceptions that trip up buyers and sellers. Read a Q&A with Steinhoff published on The Weekly Book Scan in June.
Richard Steinhoff book signing with his wife Elaine during the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Anaheim, Calif.
From bouncing back from rejection to finding inspiration, Harvey Mackay, author of The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World, talks about becoming the best salesperson you can be. Learn how to hone your strengths and amp up your drive — while staying genuine and true — to provide the best customer service possible to your real estate clients.
What makes a good salesperson?
Mackay: There are many traits, but if I had to name only three that make a great sales representative, they would be: hungry fighter, hungry fighter and hungry fighter. That’s how much I think of this trait. Every good salesperson I’ve ever encountered is driven. They have a strong work ethic and a high energy level. They work harder and longer than their peers. When the economy is poor, they are still out there pounding the pavement, making calls.
The stereotype of a good salesman is a smooth talker. Is this true?
Mackay: Believe it or not, being a good listener is more important in sales than being a good talker.
You can’t learn anything with your mouth open. For too many people, good listening means, “I talk, you listen.” Listening is a two-way process. Yes, you need to be heard. You also need to hear the other person’s ideas, questions and objections. If you talk at people instead of with them, they’re not buying in—they’re caving in.
What job taught you the most lessons?
Mackay: The job that taught me a lot was the paper route that my father, who headed the Associated Press Bureau in St. Paul, Minnesota, encouraged me to sign up for at age 10. I learned about hard work, promptness, focus, persistence, customer service, and accountability. Now, after 40-plus years of working with another kind of paper, I can honestly say that the job that launched my career was pivotal. Everyone has to start somewhere. You never forget your first job. Continue reading »
Breaking News: Jack Cotton, real estate agent and author who was featured on the Book Scan last year, made it to the top of Amazon.com’s bestsellers list this month. On Oct. 6, his book Selling Luxury Homes hit number one in the real estate book category. His other two books, 12 Secrets Luxury Home Sellers Know That You Can Use Today and 12 Secrets Luxury Home Buyers Know That You Can Use Today, climbed to numbers two and three, respectively, in the category of bestsellers in the buying and selling homes book category.
“It was phenomenal to have three books hit the best seller list on the same day,” said Cotton. “In this challenging real estate market, the books are a resource not just for agents, but for buyers and sellers who need a competitive edge.”
Since the release of the three books, Cotton continues to work as an agent at Sotheby’s International Realty in Osterville, as well as speaking and signing books at events throughout the country. For the past two years, he has been a featured speaker at the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo. For more information on the books, visit www.jackcotton.com, follow him on Facebook or Twitter @jackcotton, or email jack@jackcotton.com.
By Meg White, REALTOR® Magazine
It’s hard to imagine someone with business interests ranging from Hollywood to wine-making to wedding dress sales being worried about becoming the proverbial cog in the machine, but Wayne Rogers avoids this fate at all costs.
Rogers, known for his role as Trapper John on the TV series M*A*S*H, recently wrote a book with co-writer Josh Young that helps translate the success he’s had in performing as well as investing. The result is an entrepreneurial self-help book for people who can’t stand entrepreneurial self-help books.
“I have no interest in telling you what you should or should not do or in giving you lessons about how to get involved in a business, start a business, or run a business. I have no step-by-step plan for success or surefire tips to becoming a millionaire,” Rogers writes in his introduction. If readers have a problem with that, he boldly suggests “there is always the trash can,” and moves on to chapter one.
Instead of following the usual self-help script, Make Your Own Rules: A Renegade Guide to Unconventional Success (AMACOM Books, 2011) uses case studies to illustrate the impact creativity, research, and careful partnership can have on the timely seizure of opportunity. Rogers’ emphasis on turning distressed assets into successful ventures takes special note of today’s market volatility, as does his advice to buck trends and disregard the status quo. His new spin on tired business clichés such as “the customer is always right,” gives readers reason to dust off these old paradigms and repurpose them for a new generation. Along with his many property development and acquisition case studies, real estate professionals will especially appreciate Rogers’ innovative ideas, self-reliance, and independence.
Rogers recently spoke with REALTOR® Magazine about his new book and his unconventional path to entrepreneurial success.
In your book, you say you devote the same amount of energy to a $10,000 investment as you would a $100,000 investment. Real estate practitioners often work just as hard to sell a $200,000 house as they might for a house two or three times that much. How do you stay focused and motivated to do your best in those situations? Continue reading »
By Agnes Masnik, Freelance Writer for REALTOR® Magazine
More than 10,000 Baby Boomers a day are turning 65 starting this year, according to the Pew Research Center. And home owners are responding to changes in the economy by exploring the option of turning a single-family house into two homes.
Commonly known as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), these dual housing arrangements were quite common up until the end of World War II and the boom of suburbanization. ADUs are now making a comeback. The “New Urbanism” planning trend includes ADUs in a wide range of affordable housing choices, particularly for the elderly, disabled, empty-nesters and young workers.
Michael Litchfield, author of In-laws, Outlaws, and Granny Flats: Your Guide to Turning One House into Two Homes (Taunton Press, 2011) helps answers the question if an ADU is right for your clients.
From the book: 3 Key Points for REALTORS®
1. Get to know the various types of Accessory Dwelling Units.
2. Understand common zoning standards for ADUs to better advise your clients.
3. Gain an understanding of the family dynamic surrounding a life change and how to best meet clients’ housing needs.
Litchfield walks the reader through the decision-making process from the details of popular designs to tips on how to choose appliances and materials for energy and space saving products, as well as navigating plans and permits. He chronicles 30 in-law units and personal stories in the U.S. and Canada. Litchfield offers a richly-illustrated and informative guide to transforming a single-family house into a property with independent living spaces.
From the book: 7 Take-Aways For Home Owners
1. An ADU allows for family to live close by. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and, of course, the Grateful Dead. Classic bands that transcend time and genre; beloved far and wide by many.
How did they do it? How did they achieve and maintain such an inspiring level of success? There are many lessons these bands can teach real estate professionals and other entrepreneurs.
In the same vein and a great piggy-back to our video interview with “Come Together” author Richard Courtney, this short documentary features David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan at the Gathering of the Vibes Festival last year. It offers a captivating (and musically delicious) inside look at their recent book “Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead.”
The Dead knew how to get in front of people, as is pointed out in the book and this short film. They toured nonstop throughout their career, reaching out to their fans, creating personal connections and lasting relationships. Plus, they had a recognizable brand that they stuck with. Sounds like key elements real estate practitioners can implement in their careers.
Check out the book, check out this video, and share your thoughts: How can you be more like the Grateful Dead of real estate?
Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead mini-documentary from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
“
Honesty is the best policy.” — An old saying that rings truer today in real estate than ever before.
REALTOR® and author Mario Jannatpour, a sales associate with RE/MAX Alliance in Louisville, Colo., is making honesty his mission in his recently-released second book, “The Honest Real Estate Agent: A Training Guide for a Successful First Year and Beyond as a Real Estate Agent.”
“Honesty is what our clients want today from us as REALTORS®,” says Jannatpour. “Combine honesty with knowledge, expertise and skills — this completes the profile.”
Jannatpour spoke with REALTOR® Magazine about his new book and the power of honesty in business:
Can you talk about the importance of honesty in agent-client relationships?
Jannatpour: In preparing to write this book, I did research on Twitter and Facebook. I spoke with people who were never my clients, asking them what they believed was most important when working with a REALTOR®. “Honesty” just kept coming up as an answer. It’s honesty in that you’re always doing the right thing for your clients, even maybe at the expense of killing a deal. You should always have the mindset, regardless of the deal, that you tell the truth because that’s what your clients need to know. Let them make the decision based on the information you present.
I’ve been in sales all my life and I’ve experienced situations where the sales professional holds back information. In real estate, you can’t do that. The house that people live in is the most important purchase of their lives.
How can real estate professionals break the stereotype of dishonesty?
Jannatpour: I actually have a chapter titled “I Hate Real Estate Agents.” That’s a thing we all deal with as REALTORS®, especially throughout the past decade in light of foreclosures, short sales, and the mortgage industry meltdown. Some real estate agents played a part in that, unfortunately. And we have an industry that includes a lot of people – over 1 million members of NAR – so there are going to be a few bad eggs. I think the way you counteract it as a real estate agent is by simply doing the opposite of the stereotype. Focus on the needs of your clients, be honest to them, and be honest to yourself. Some of my best clients are people who had bad experiences with other real estate agents in the past. When you show them you can do a good job and be honest, they really appreciate that.
What are some of the biggest mistakes new agents make? Continue reading »
The most popular marketing-related books this week from Amazon.com.
1. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Kindle Edition (MacMay, Apr 25, 2009) Originally published by The Ralston Society, 1937.
“Think and Grow Rich is a motivational book written by Napoleon Hill and inspired by a suggestion by Scottish-American billionaire Andrew Carnegie. It was published in 1937 during the Great Depression. At Andrew Carnegie’s bidding, Hill studied the characteristics of the high achievers from past and of his day and developed 15 “laws” of success intended to be applied by anybody to achieve success. Think and Grow Rich! condenses these laws further and provides the reader with 13 principles in the form of a philosophy of personal achievement.”
2. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell, Paperback (Back Bay Books, Jan 7, 2002)
“The premise of this facile piece of pop sociology has built-in appeal: little changes can have big effects; when small numbers of people start behaving differently, that behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or “tipping point” is reached, changing the world. Gladwell’s thesis that ideas, products, messages and behaviors “spread just like viruses do” remains a metaphor as he follows the growth of “word-of-mouth epidemics” triggered with the help of three pivotal types. These are Connectors, sociable personalities who bring people together; Mavens, who like to pass along knowledge; and Salesmen, adept at persuading the unenlightened. (Paul Revere, for example, was a Maven and a Connector). ” –Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information Inc. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
The only way you’ll be winning the real estate game is if your clients are. Industry veteran Richard Steinhoff wants to help you help them. With more than 30 years under his belt, Steinhoff drew from his plethora of client-centric experiences to write his new book, Turning Myths into Money: An Insider’s Guide to Winning the Real Estate Game. He’s blowing open misconceptions and busting myths that may be tripping-up your clients’ real estate process.
Q&A with Richard Steinhoff:
How did you get your start in real estate?
Steinhoff: I had a friend who just got their real estate license and they needed some help getting a house sold. I already had a college education and I decided to get my broker license. We opened our own office and that’s how I got started. My specialty was in commercial, but our office dealt with both residential and commercial real estate and we grew to have about 40 agents.
I’ve wanted to write a book for years and my daughter always encouraged me. When the market took a turn and I started to see all this bad information out there, it became apparent that this was the right time to write a book that helps people by giving them good advice from someone inside the real estate industry.
You include 90 real estate myths in your book. Which ones, in your opinion, are the most important to understand?
Steinhoff: I originally write more than 100 myths, but we cut them down to 90. There’s a whole section on how to find a good agent. Also, the section on short sales and foreclosures are must-reads for people.
What do you cover in the short sale section of your book? Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
Do you want to shake things up, build a powerful brand, and attract more clients? Drop the “business-as-usual” mentality and find inspiration in Andy Stefanovich. Let’s face it, with a title like Chief Curator and Provocateur at Prophet, a branding and marketing consulting agency, Stefanovich commands creativity. His mantra is LAMSTAIH (pronounced lamb’s tie) – Look At More Stuff; Think About It Harder.
Stefanovich explains LAMSTAIH in his new book, “LOOK AT MORE: A Proven Approach to Innovation, Growth, and Change,” (Jossy-Bass/Wiley, 2011) though a framework called the 5 M’s: Mood, Mindset, Mechanisms, Measurement, and Momentum. Each section is brought to life with stories of business innovation in action.
The following is an excerpt of Chapter 3 – “Mechanisms” – where he shares a number of examples regarding his work with the chamber of commerce in Richmond, Va., to revitalize the downtown area.
EXCERPT:
There are a variety of methods for exploring opportunities, but an essential first step is to create lists of the characteristics that define the issue or objective. This isn’t a counting-things-up kind of inventory. What we’re doing here is assessing three types of characteristics to find the components with the most opportunities for delivering growth and change: Continue reading »
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