CHAPTER 4: THE PLAN
PEOPLE DON’T PLAN TO FAIL, THEY FAIL TO PLAN.
One of the best examples of this concept of failing due to a lack of planning was so grossly evident in a couple who started out as clients then became friends through myself and family reaching out and trying to help in trying times. It was only later did we learn that most if not all their problems had been and continue to be caused by their own poor decisions.
I had met this couple when they called to view a home. They were anxious to view a particular home so I made immediate arrangements and met them there an hour later. As they approached the driveway in a brand new Mercedes SUV I couldn’t help to think this was ‘it’. This was going to be a good day in real estate. To confirm my wishful thinking they told me to prepare an offer even before finishing our tour of the property.
Well our offer was too low and so we didn’t get it. This continued for several weeks, and then months then a year had gone by. In that time I found out that although one of them was a professional with a high paying income they had NOTHING that they owned; everything was on credit and the banks owned everything.
Normally we would find very little in common with a couple that spent so recklessly but we felt we were providing some guidance and support during some very troubling personal relational issues. As I am a trained tax accountant they asked if I could help them prepare their taxes as they were several years delinquent. I reluctantly agreed against my wife’s wisdom and advice only to find out they were not really interested in getting them done. They were professional procrastinators.
I remained patient with them for months of writing and preparing ‘low ball’ offers on properties that stained my relationship with my fellow realtors as well as trying to encourage them to spend less then they made. However, as much as I tried nothing seemed to ‘sink in’.
Admittedly, the closer we got to leave on our trip around the world the more ‘I just wanted to sell them anything’ and be done with it all. They wanted to buy a place and I wanted to sell them something so I committed and continued to work very hard finding them places and writing offers. I should also mention that several months into our relationship I had them sign an Exclusive Buyer’s Agency which basically committed them to working exclusively with me and me with them.
As time passed and their lease term ended the same day we left on our trip around the world I was very busy searching for properties. There was no shortage of properties that met their criteria the problem was them offering a fair price. I was looking everywhere: multiple listings, exclusive listings, for sale by owners and I even canvassed by phone and feet!! I was getting very worn down and weary.
The ‘straw that broke’ my back was when I had got information, previewed and negotiated a selling commission of a home listed privately and then passed it on to my clients only to be asked why I expected to collect a commission as this property was listed privately. I explained that if I didn’t negotiated a selling commission paid for by the seller then they (the buyer) would have to pay the commission. My client/friend said they wanted to save the commission so they could purchase at a lower price. After working for them for a year, writing offers, helping with their finances and counseling they wanted nothing to do with me.
I basically fired them on the spot and have not heard anything from them in months. The moral of the story is that when you don’t plan and match your income with your expenses and your relationships are based on an ‘advantage’ then you will make poor decisions that will just cause you a whole world of trouble. I strongly suspect that these people will be chased by Canada Revenue Agency for tax evasion, immigration for breach of their status, and the banks for delinquent payments.
As a parent I think to myself and sometimes remind my children that “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. This is a great line for all of use to remember. Whatever the situation, problem or dilemma we won’t see clearly the answer until we are ready to learn. Most of us have already concluded that we know everything and that we shouldn’t even be confused with facts as our mind is already made up. This type of attitude causes many problems and difficulties. All one has to do is think back over the past six months and the problems faced. I will guarantee that those problems could have been avoided, minimized or handled differently.
In Real Estate as in anything, one has to be deliberate in his or her actions because based those actions (or in-action) one will get a result. Everything you do, or don’t do in life will keep coming back to a basic truth and ultimately the most important question any of us will ever have to face. Many of us I’m afraid never get to the point of even asking this important question. The question: What is my purpose or why I am alive? Whether we search for the answers or not we are still faced with the ‘question’. We can go thru life acting as though we know without determining the answer BUT you must face the fact that at the end you may have been wrong. Some advice: don’t wait!! If you wait then everything you do up to that point may have been for nothing.
Without a plan’ there really is no purpose. We can be busy doing things and keeping extremely busy as most of us are right now but we better be certain that all that ‘busyness’ is worth it. Hopefully this is just a refresher of the earlier chapters and you now know the ‘why’ to life and now we can be sure we keep on the right track.
Most of what our culture teaches is the OPPOSITE of how we must operate our businesses and lives. For example, we are taught to take care of ourselves first. However, the truth is we can’t be taken care of until we take care of everyone else first. A quote I often think of and reminds me of the order of priorities is “People don’t care what you know until they know you care.”
Once you have determined what your purpose is then filter everything you do through that purpose. Decide before-hand how hard you want to work and then keep to that plan. You have little control over how much money you make but you do have control over the amount of your efforts. For example, I would go out and door knock to find out what is really happening and what was important to my potential customers. Admittedly this is not necessarily the most productive method to real estate sales but it is a great way to best understand your market.
If you do the same thing that everyone else does than you will get the same results as everyone else. I support the old adage that 10% of the people make 90% of the money AND THAT 10% IS NOT DOING WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING. I remember that while training for the Ironman Triathlon that everyone I met didn’t like the swim portion as it was their hardest event. Initially I was worried because when I decided to do Ironman I couldn’t even swim!! As my swimming ability was nil I could only improve with practice. So I trained and trained and trained until I knew I could go the distance AND that few others really looked forward to the swim. The most important thing I did with respect to the swim was accepting it and even welcoming it. On race day the swimming event was my best event.
In real estate, for example, nobody likes to knock on doors or solicit direct business. We as realtors and ultimately people are afraid. The reason I continue to knock on doors and call people is to get over the ‘fear’ factor. Another example is advertising. There are two components to this rather large expense. As realtors we are trained by our home owners who are trying to sell that they want to see their ‘castles’ in print (ie, newspapers, internet, radio, and television). On the other hand, as realtors our egos make us promote ourselves so we say things about ourselves in print (and pay through the nose) that make us look and sound good.
Unfortunately, in Real Estate there are lots of realtors that look and sound great but at the end of the year do not have much to show for that ‘look’. It must be a little known fact that the return on newspaper advertising is about 1%. I can tell you very clearly that the best advertising you can do is your last deal. In three years I have not advertised once nor can you find me in any phone book. I also say this with authority as I write this book in Mexico while on a 14 month trip around the world with my family – it works if you do! Don’t be afraid to march to your own drummer. Determine who you are and maximize your strategy based on your strengths – not your weaknesses.
I should clarify something before moving on. Like me, most people can be busy enough without advertising, (even with the little payback it provides) so that when they do advertise they cannot service the commitments they have already made. And guess who benefits from you not being able to keep up? The guy who returns the call right away – meJ
Another practice realtors do out of fear are Open Houses. In our market Open Houses don’t work. In large centers they most likely will. It is so important to understand your market so that you are able to meet the needs of the customer and not your perceived needs. I live and work in a small town so why would I think systems that work in huge cities must work here too?
Realtors are a lot like movie stars. What I mean by that is that most movie stars spend years trying to be ‘discovered’ so that everyone knows and loves them but once they do get ‘discovered’ they do everything they can to be ‘invisible’. Realtors spend wads of cash on billboards, newspaper ads, T.V., radio and the list goes on, but then they drive around like Secret Service agents in unmarked cars. Why not let people know who you are and what you do? For the price of one ad in the local newspaper you can get artwork put on your car that will market you and your services year round.
I drove an old Suzuki Swift and my wife has a minivan that had matching art work with company name, my name and contact information on each of our vehicles. Remember, I’m really a ‘small’ fish in the real estate game but I am constantly told that they see me and my vehicles and signs everywhere.
The reality is that there are 24 hours in each day for all of us but it rarely seems to be enough time to get the things done we consider necessary for our success. So the second reality is that we have to make due with what we have because whether we like it or not, it is enough time.
One of the most effective ways I have found to get things done is to ‘think smarter rather than work harder’. I could go into great detail as to what ‘think smarter rather than work harder’ means but let me ‘cut to the chase’. Do those things that get to quickest and closest to the goals you have set for yourself. For example, I am a computer ‘nut’. Anyone who says they can live without a computer will have to live and work a long time because there is now way to reach the efficiencies necessary to automate your tasks. I have proven time and time again that I can go away for weeks, months and now over a year and keep my businesses running. They may not run at 100% all the time but that is okay because sometimes time can work to your advantage. Time for me is taking a step back and reviewing everything so that I can take my own advice from this book that I am writing for you.
So whether I’m on holidays or working my butt off, I keep my day organized by way of computerized planners. This way I decide (not a client or anyone else) when and what I will do. I take charge of what I do and when I do it. So if I don’t get something done like return a call or send an e-mail it’s my own fault that resulted from my own poor planning.
Advice: Have a plan based on a holistic understanding of why you ‘get up each day’ and make sure that plan is arranged so that you save more money than you spend in direct proportion to how much money you want to have left over at the end of each year.
No comments:
Post a Comment