Two Problems, One Solution + Judge Admits New Evidence in Realtor Murder Case + much more...

885,391 daily readers and growing! February 4, 2016 Two Problems, One Solution Dear Reader, Can I be completely honest with you? I think we all struggle with the same two things. Finding enough customers and getting motivated. We get pumped up and excited and we can’t find enough business so we burn out. Or we have plenty of business but we lose our motivation and focus. I guess it is the human condition. I know I fight these same two things and I’ll bet many of you do too. Yesterday I posted a an article on Beating the Winter Blahs and I got an email from an agent who I’ve known since 2007 when he came to one of my Summit training events. Ira is a very sharp RE/MAX agent and he works hard. Both a nice guy and a great agent. He used our LCM technology back in our early days, then tried some other marketing ideas for a couple of years, and eventually came back in December of 2011. Believe it or not, we see that a lot. When we rolled out our Ultimate Website last year, he was one of the first to upgrade from our original LCM technology. For as long as I’ve known Ira, he’s always been seeking to improve his business, so I guess I can sort of relate to him on that level. I’m the same way. Here is what he wrote: “Thanks Matt, I needed that article. I believe that I need to rekindle my fire by goal setting. I have been working out and getting in shape for the last few months. But the business, after all these years and especially the time we have just come through, has caused my flame to grow weary. I think it is time to reset my goals and work on them on a daily basis. Thanks for your articles and persistence in helping your agents achieve more — they are great." - Ira, GA Ira’s email was just what I needed to hear. That’s twice in one week that I’ve heard from top-notch, seasoned agents who just needed a little encouragement. So I get the feeling that many of us are still trying to bounce back from the recent tough times. Sometimes just a bit of encouragement helps us make it through the times when we doubt our direction or maybe when we need to refocus. But did you notice what Ira didn’t mention? That, in and of itself, is very telling. He didn’t mention a shortage of business. He said, “I believe that I need to rekindle my fire by goal setting.” When you already have the ability to produce business at will, the struggle becomes one of simply setting your goals and staying focused. But most agents I talk to have the opposite problem. Which one best describes you? Need to get motivated and refocus? Or maybe you’re motivated but just don’t have enough business. If you need more business, you might try doing what many successful agents like Ira are doing — looking for the business online. Trust me, there is plenty of business out there. You just need a way to capture your share. Think about this: Today nearly all real estate shoppers (94%) are beginning online so you should be getting the bulk of your business from your website. If you’re not, you need to rethink your website. Is it earning its keep? If it’s not, take a minute to check out my Ultimate Website. You might be amazed at just how powerful one simple change can be. I give away about 99% of all my technology and digital training content, completely free of charge, because I want to see other agents have the same kind of success that I’ve had. But one thing I charge for is my Ultimate Website technology. This is the web technology I created for myself that turned my real estate practice around overnight, and now I license it agents everywhere.   You cannot fully understand the feeling of freedom you get when you have the power to generate new clients AT WILL until you actually experience it for yourself. It’s incredible and it completely changed the trajectory of my career. I personally went from struggling to having a team of a dozen agents in about six months time… simply by having lots of opportunities. If you’re reading this and haven’t had a chance to check out my Ultimate Website with LCM technology, I urge you to take a moment to see what all the fuss is about. I think you will be very favorably impressed, and if you decide to try it today, I’ll give you a promo code that will get you an extra $350 in bonuses, but it will only work today. Promo code: “NEWSGENIUS” (all caps, no quotes) Get the Ultimate Website Now (Or check price and availability.) As always, thanks for reading. Matt Jones Broker/President/CEO FavoriteAgent.com Matt Jones is the founder and CEO of FavoriteAgent.com, nationally syndicated columnist, broker, and best selling author. He has been profiled by major media outlets as an innovator and a pioneer in the industry, and CNN's Pulse on America claimed he and his company were "changing the way real estate is done in America."

I did not sign up for this #TRENDING Judge Admits New Evidence in Realtor Murder Case » A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors could submit evidence obtained from the car — but not the trunk — of Arron Lewis in his murder trial, which is set to take place Read more » Microsoft Kills Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 » Internet Explorer has long been the bane of many Web developers' existence, but here's some news to Read more » 5 Lies You've Been Told About Productivity » How being overly productive is counterproductive Read more » Best Investment of 2016? Global Real Estate » According to Forbes, 2016 will likely have equities flat to negative. There are many factors Read more » Owners Overvaluing Their Homes » Home owners are still slightly overvaluing their homes compared to appraisers' estimates, according Read more » Want to Help the Middle Class? Build More Houses » America's future is happening first here, in Seattle. Just this year, Seattle technology jobs Read more » ECONOMY Cities With the Biggest Rent Increases » Families are facing much bigger rent checks this year -- especially those living in cities in the South and West. Read more » More Homebuyers Don't Want to Work With Agents » A survey commissioned by online brokerage Redfin of 2,134 Americans finds one in five buyers made an Read more » This Isn't the Next Housing Bubble » Home prices are rising rapidly, but economists are deflating concerns that another "housing bubble" Read more » Homeowners Spending Like It's 2006 » U.S. housing is finally lifting itself off the mat. Read more » Consumer Confidence Soars--Homes and Cars Reaping the Benefits » Consumer confidence surprises many and surges in August, according to today's report from the Read more » 30% of Homes Lost Value Over Last Year » Not all American homes are rising in value. Read more » TECHNOLOGY Realtor.com Claims They are Fastest Growing in Online Real Estate » Zillow is still the clear leader in the online real estate industry, but Realtor.com released some stats on Wednesday that should send shivers down the Seattle company's back. Read more » Technology Disrupting Real Estate Industry on Two Fronts » Tech companies who want to venture into the real estate industry are facing the tough challenge of Read more » Did Your Website Survive Mobilegeddon? » Google changed their algorithm to favor mobile-ready sites Read more » Big Data is Changing Real Estate » The commercial real estate industry is embracing big data. While the financial and health care Read more » Microsoft Kills Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 » Internet Explorer has long been the bane of many Web developers' existence, but here's some news to Read more »

Choosing the Best Anti-virus Software » What to choose when you have too many options? Read more » LAW Judge Admits New Evidence in Realtor Murder Case » A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors could submit evidence obtained from the car — but not the trunk — of Arron Lewis in his murder trial, which is set to take place Read more » Son of Murdered Agent Urging Safety for Others » The son of an Arkansas real estate agent who was kidnapped and murdered while showing a home nearly Read more » Agent Attempts to Extort Power Brokers for $800k » A Miami Beach real estate agent — who sported bruises in his mugshot — was arrested over the weekend Read more » NewsCorp Spent $7M Suing Zillow » News Corp (NWSA) Earnings Report: Q4 2015 Conference Call Transcript Read more » New Mexico Real Estate Pros Attempting to Ban Transfer Tax » Anyone who owns real estate in New Mexico could be affected by an effort underway by New Mexico's Read more » Agent Accused of Extortion Gets Hired By Miami Beach Firm » Kevin Tomlinson, the Miami Beach real estate agent arrested this month for allegedly trying to Read more » MARKETING 7 Ways Your Body Language Can Get People to Like You » Let your body do the talking Read more » Four Online Strategies to Sell Your Listing » Don't limit your home selling strategies to eye-catching signs and telling friends and family about Read more »

Instagram an Important Marketing Tool » Instagram is an important marketing tool Read more » Become a Better Communicator In Your Writing » There's no denying it. It doesn't matter who you are, the type of customer you're trying to reach Read more » Study Reveals Agents are Missing Opportunities in Commerical and Land » A recent survey of real estate purchases by The Entrust Group's self-directed IRA (SIDRA) clients Read more » Write a High Conversion Ad for Social Media » Let's play a game Read more » INVESTING Real Estate Tycoon in the Making » Danielle Moy loved to play Monopoly as a kid. Now, collecting as many properties as possible is more than just a game to her. Read more » Dangers of Crowdfunding for Real Estate Investment » Real estate based equity crowdfunding, known more simply as "RECFunds", is rapidly gaining Read more » Send Your Child to College By Investing in Rental Property » College fees have gone up to over $65,000 a year says Troy Onink, a contributor for Forbes. When Read more » Best Investment of 2016? Global Real Estate » According to Forbes, 2016 will likely have equities flat to negative. There are many factors Read more »

Invest in Real Estate to Decrease College Costs » Student loan debt approaching is 1.2 trillion dollars and the 2015 graduating class has a larger Read more » How to Start in Real Estate Investing » When brothers Kelly and Chris Edwards bought their first house in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2002, Read more » HOW-TO Fatal Realtor Kidnapping Causes Agent Community to Change Safety Procedure » A year ago next week, the search for Beverly Carter, the Arkansas Realtor who had been missing since Sep. 25, 2014, ended tragically when her body was found in a shallow grave about 25 miles north of Read more » Dos and Don'ts of Appraiser Communication » Real estate professionals and appraisers both play an essential role in the process of buying or Read more » Avoid These Scams Targetting Real Estate Agents » Cybercrime is far more prevalent these days than its ever been before, and with the vast amounts of Read more » 5 Biggest Turnoffs for Homebuyers » If you are on the selling end, there is nothing more important than you need to know than what make Read more » Home Selling Tips During a Divorce » Next to the possible arrangement for their children, a couple who has decided to live separate lives Read more » Three Ways You Can Pre-Qualify Your Buyers » As a real estate agent, you know that a large number of clients mean more chances of closing a deal Read more »

This is the NewsGeni.us e-Brief, a collection of the best real estate news and advice in one place. To cancel your subscription, follow this link http://www.newsgeni.us/unsub.php?email=dsoldit.blogpost@blogger.com&s=2058.

©2016 NewsGeni.us, 212 Northstone Pl, Fayetteville, NC 28314. All rights reserved.

Semi-Retire from Real Estate + Owners Overvaluing Their Homes + much more...

885,391 daily readers and growing! February 2, 2016 Semi-Retire from Real Estate Dear Reader, Quality of life. At the end of the day, that is what we all want. Today the average agent is in his 50s so that means that most of us have had a chance to look death in the face. Maybe it was a major health issue of our own, or maybe the loss of someone close to us. One thing is for sure, when we confront mortality, our priorities change. My mother passed away last week after suffering from Alzheimer's for the last part of her life. She outlived her prognosis by several years, which gave us a lot of extra time with her, and now she is finally set free from her disease. But it is still a good reminder that life isn't guaranteed forever and gives me occasion to revisit the topic of how to achieve the quality of life you want from your career in real estate. So let’s think for a minute about what constitutes quality of life. It is subjective, of course, and each of us are different, but most of us have a mix of several common elements including financial security, job satisfaction, loving relationships, health, and inner or spiritual peace. Unfortunately, many of us Realtors find ourselves moving in the wrong direction in pursuit of that ever-elusive quality of life. We find our jobs not particularly satisfying due to increasing stress and decreasing incomes. That leads to less time pursuing and nurturing our relationships and often even adversely affects our health. It’s a downward spiral. But what if you could work a very specific and yet doable plan that would allow you to work hard for a year or two, and that work would position you to get off the treadmill, and begin to reap the benefits of a carefully constructed money machine that could carry you through the rest of your life with minimal new effort? Can it actually be done? Absolutely. But it won’t happen by accident. It will take a very focused, specific plan of attack. It will take your commitment to that vision, and it will take a lot of very hard work. It will come in three parts or phases. I call them Learn, Earn, and Return. I’ll show you what I mean, but I need you to pay close attention for the next few paragraphs. Learn (approximately 3 months). Most agents are more emotional than logical. That’s not bad -- in fact, it helps them relate to clients better. We tend to go by feelings and intuition and not by analysis and numbers. But I need your undivided attention for a few minutes because I need you to think about this concept 100% rationally. Intellectually. And when your mind gets it, I promise you your heart will follow. If we ever want to earn a windfall, we must go where the money is. Who has the money? The customers. If we really want to kill it -- not just make it, but kill it -- we cannot allow ourselves the luxury of coasting along picking up the occasional transaction, like the blind hog that finds an acorn every now and then. In other words, we need to find out where the customers are and then we must go to where they are in order to get their business. Seems simple enough, but most of us refuse to do it. Instead, we follow the crowd, which is usually wrong, and our results are safely the same as every other struggling agent. The good news is that we don’t have to wonder where the customers are. The National Association of Realtors surveys our customers for us each and every year. And year after year the numbers are very clear. This past year 94% of all our customers began searching online and yet ironically most agents generated not a single transaction from their websites. Why? Because they won’t take the time to learn what they need to do. Most won’t even learn how to generate sales leads from their websites, and then the few who begin to generate leads fail to take the time to learn how to effectively turn those sales leads into closings and commission checks. Agents willing to apply themselves to learning the skills of attracting and keeping this new online customer can absolutely transform their practices in about three months. I’ve seen it happen again and again. I’ve also seen agents invest in the tools and then fail to apply themselves to learning this new skillset and give up on their dreams in about the same amount of time. What a shame. Earn (approximately 2 years). After learning how to attract and keep internet business you need a season of growth. First you’ll have to reach your own maximum capacity, and then you will have to begin to refine things. You’ll focus on both quantity and quality. Most agents never have the luxury of shifting to this phase because they never leave the scarcity of traditional real estate. Once you finally understand how to generate a steady, predictable, scalable, flow of high-quality, inbound customers, and then learn how to build and manage those relationships through the home-buying and home-selling process, through escrow, closing and depositing your commission checks, you realize that you have a money machine. Like a big V8 engine, all you have to do is put in more input (fuel and air) and the result will be more output (speed and power). Only in your real estate money machine you will simply put in more internet traffic and the result will be more leads, resulting in more closed transactions. But until you have your machine in place, adding more traffic is like pouring gas on the ground. It won’t produce anything. You will systematically scale up your traffic while maximizing your efficiency until you eventually reach your own personal maximum capacity. At that point you will need to make a decision. Do you want to begin to add cylinders or do you want to be a very fast one cylinder engine. For me, I wanted to add cylinders so I began to bring on other agents. It’s what Gary Keller calls the principle of leverage. For me, recruiting agents was really quite simple. They needed business. I needed additional hours in the day. I gave them the business and they added the hours. We split the commissions. I continued to focus on getting listings and handed the buyer clients off to my team members. Return (onward and forever). Eventually, I reached capacity and handed off the listing business as well and I spent my time managing agents. Sure, I could cherry pick the occasional transaction, or I could list the occasional home for a friend or relative, but I was free. Quality of life was great. My life was my own again because I was no longer on the treadmill. From that point on I began focusing on how I could give back. In my case, I began to share my technology tools with other agents. I began writing books and articles and teaching the lessons I’d picked up during the Learn and Earn phases. To this day, I answer my own phone and I love spending time talking to fellow agents about their practices and I try to return what’s been given to me. I believe there is a law of reciprocity. Whatever you sow, you will reap. If I want to reap corn, I need to plant corn. If I plant beans, I’ll harvest beans. So what if I want to reap success? I need to sow success. And the best way I can think of sowing success is by helping other agents become successful. That’s what the Return phase is all about. So allow me to ask you a few pointed questions and take a moment to be brutally honest with yourself. Has your quality of life been improving over the last few years? If not, why not? Are you doing as much business as you would like to be doing? Are you currently effective in gathering business from the largest customer pool in real estate today -- the internet? Is your website earning its keep? Be honest: Has it produced you a single closing in the past year? If not, why not? Tough questions. Finally, I have one last question: Would you be willing to invest a couple of years building a real estate money machine so that you could then spend the remainder of your days with a fantastic quality of life, returning, mentoring and training -- investing in those not as far down the path of success? If your answer is yes, I sincerely believe I can help you accomplish that goal. First you’ll need to assemble the tools to attract and capture customers. My Ultimate Website can do that in spades.  Next you’ll need to learn how to use the technology. After you master the technology, you’ll need to learn the art of working with online customers. Don’t worry, it won’t take long because my coaching staff and I are there to help you every step of the way. The only part of the equation we can’t supply is your desire and your willingness to work hard. We are more than happy to work with you until it clicks and then through the refinement period as you begin to grow and grow and grow. There’s no extra cost and we’ve got a lot of experience when it comes to doing online business. We’ve helped agents build large teams and we’ve helped agents maximize small teams and solo practices. We are here to help you because when we sow success in you, we will ultimately reap success. The part of my job that I like the very best is interacting with my fellow agents helping them improve their quality of life. You cannot fully understand the feeling of freedom you get when you have the power to generate new clients AT WILL until you actually experience it for yourself. It’s incredible and it completely changed the trajectory of my career. I personally went from struggling to having a team of a dozen agents in about six months time… simply by having lots of opportunities. If you’re reading this and haven’t had a chance to check out my Ultimate Website with LCM technology, I urge you to take a moment to see what all the fuss is about. I think you will be very favorably impressed, and if you decide to try it today, I’ll give you a promo code that will get you an extra $350 in bonuses, but it will only work today. Promo code: “NEWSGENIUS” (all caps, no quotes) Get the Ultimate Website Now (Or check price and availability.) As always, thanks for reading. Matt Jones Broker/President/CEO FavoriteAgent.com Matt Jones is the founder and CEO of FavoriteAgent.com, nationally syndicated columnist, broker, and best selling author. He has been profiled by major media outlets as an innovator and a pioneer in the industry, and CNN's Pulse on America claimed he and his company were "changing the way real estate is done in America."

I did not sign up for this #TRENDING Owners Overvaluing Their Homes » Home owners are still slightly overvaluing their homes compared to appraisers' estimates, according to the latest Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index. In December, average appraised values were Read more » Microsoft Kills Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 » Internet Explorer has long been the bane of many Web developers' existence, but here's some news to Read more » Judge Admits New Evidence in Realtor Murder Case » A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors could submit evidence obtained Read more » 5 Lies You've Been Told About Productivity » How being overly productive is counterproductive Read more » Best Investment of 2016? Global Real Estate » According to Forbes, 2016 will likely have equities flat to negative. There are many factors Read more » Want to Help the Middle Class? Build More Houses » America's future is happening first here, in Seattle. Just this year, Seattle technology jobs Read more » ECONOMY More Homebuyers Don't Want to Work With Agents » A survey commissioned by online brokerage Redfin of 2,134 Americans finds one in five buyers made an offer on a home without having visited it in person. Read more » This Isn't the Next Housing Bubble » Home prices are rising rapidly, but economists are deflating concerns that another "housing bubble" Read more » Homeowners Spending Like It's 2006 » U.S. housing is finally lifting itself off the mat. Read more » Cities With the Biggest Rent Increases » Families are facing much bigger rent checks this year -- especially those living in cities in the Read more » Consumer Confidence Soars--Homes and Cars Reaping the Benefits » Consumer confidence surprises many and surges in August, according to today's report from the Read more » 30% of Homes Lost Value Over Last Year » Not all American homes are rising in value. Read more » TECHNOLOGY Microsoft Kills Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 » Internet Explorer has long been the bane of many Web developers' existence, but here's some news to brighten your day: Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 are reaching 'end of life' on Tuesday, meaning Read more » Realtor.com Claims They are Fastest Growing in Online Real Estate » Zillow is still the clear leader in the online real estate industry, but Realtor.com released some Read more » Technology Disrupting Real Estate Industry on Two Fronts » Tech companies who want to venture into the real estate industry are facing the tough challenge of Read more » Did Your Website Survive Mobilegeddon? » Google changed their algorithm to favor mobile-ready sites Read more » Big Data is Changing Real Estate » The commercial real estate industry is embracing big data. While the financial and health care Read more » Choosing the Best Anti-virus Software » What to choose when you have too many options? Read more » LAW Man Arrested for Hate Crime After Threatening Realtor » A man was arrested on suspicion of committing a hate crime for using racial slurs and threatening an African-American realtor who was hosting an open house on his Hercules street, police said Read more » Agent Attempts to Extort Power Brokers for $800k » A Miami Beach real estate agent — who sported bruises in his mugshot — was arrested over the weekend Read more » Son of Murdered Agent Urging Safety for Others » The son of an Arkansas real estate agent who was kidnapped and murdered while showing a home nearly Read more » NewsCorp Spent $7M Suing Zillow » News Corp (NWSA) Earnings Report: Q4 2015 Conference Call Transcript Read more » Judge Admits New Evidence in Realtor Murder Case » A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors could submit evidence obtained Read more » New Mexico Real Estate Pros Attempting to Ban Transfer Tax » Anyone who owns real estate in New Mexico could be affected by an effort underway by New Mexico's Read more » MARKETING 7 Ways Your Body Language Can Get People to Like You » Let your body do the talking Read more » Four Online Strategies to Sell Your Listing » Don't limit your home selling strategies to eye-catching signs and telling friends and family about Read more » AirBnB, Realtor.com Team Up to Offer Try Before You Buy Housing » Dive Brief: Read more » Instagram an Important Marketing Tool » Instagram is an important marketing tool Read more » Become a Better Communicator In Your Writing » There's no denying it. It doesn't matter who you are, the type of customer you're trying to reach Read more » Study Reveals Agents are Missing Opportunities in Commerical and Land » A recent survey of real estate purchases by The Entrust Group's self-directed IRA (SIDRA) clients Read more » INVESTING Dangers of Crowdfunding for Real Estate Investment » Real estate based equity crowdfunding, known more simply as "RECFunds", is rapidly gaining popularity among investors as an alternative, an often easier-to-source, form of funding. The benefits of Read more » Real Estate Tycoon in the Making » Danielle Moy loved to play Monopoly as a kid. Now, collecting as many properties as possible is more Read more » Send Your Child to College By Investing in Rental Property » College fees have gone up to over $65,000 a year says Troy Onink, a contributor for Forbes. When Read more » Best Investment of 2016? Global Real Estate » According to Forbes, 2016 will likely have equities flat to negative. There are many factors Read more »

Invest in Real Estate to Decrease College Costs » Student loan debt approaching is 1.2 trillion dollars and the 2015 graduating class has a larger Read more » How to Start in Real Estate Investing » When brothers Kelly and Chris Edwards bought their first house in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2002, Read more » HOW-TO Fatal Realtor Kidnapping Causes Agent Community to Change Safety Procedure » A year ago next week, the search for Beverly Carter, the Arkansas Realtor who had been missing since Sep. 25, 2014, ended tragically when her body was found in a shallow grave about 25 miles north of Read more »

Dos and Don'ts of Appraiser Communication » Real estate professionals and appraisers both play an essential role in the process of buying or Read more » Avoid These Scams Targetting Real Estate Agents » Cybercrime is far more prevalent these days than its ever been before, and with the vast amounts of Read more »

5 Biggest Turnoffs for Homebuyers » If you are on the selling end, there is nothing more important than you need to know than what make Read more » Home Selling Tips During a Divorce » Next to the possible arrangement for their children, a couple who has decided to live separate lives Read more » Three Ways You Can Pre-Qualify Your Buyers » As a real estate agent, you know that a large number of clients mean more chances of closing a deal Read more »

This is the NewsGeni.us e-Brief, a collection of the best real estate news and advice in one place. To cancel your subscription, follow this link http://www.newsgeni.us/unsub.php?email=dsoldit.blogpost@blogger.com&s=2056.

©2016 NewsGeni.us, 212 Northstone Pl, Fayetteville, NC 28314. All rights reserved.