I'm not sure if it's original to any particular author but I first read this phrase a few years ago and it stuck in my normally fluid brain. "Good is the enemy of better."
I can't recall exactly but I think I read it in a James Hollis book. I've read pretty much everything this author has written and I've attended many of his lectures. He's a visionary but more importantly, he has the ability to speak about personalities, complexes and the like in a language that everyone can understand and relate to. In the C. G. Jung community, he's one the the main guys (although these intellectual types wouldn't put it this way").
HIs website describes his most recent book, "What Matters Most" in this way:
"This book is designed to stir thoughts in the reader, possibly to reorient directions, priorities, and values. If we fail to engage in some form of cogent dialog with the questions which emerge from our depths, then we will live an unconscious, unreflective, accidental life.... Having a more interesting life, a life that disturbs complacency, a life that pulls us out of the comfortable and thereby demands a larger spiritual engagement than we planned or that feels comfortable, is what matters most."
I bring this up because as with most of us, I'm beginning to process the year 2009 and reflect on what I might change in 2010. Yes, I'm talking about resolutions. The phrase, "good is the enemy of better" is helpful because I don't want to ignore anything that might be going well. For example, maybe there's something that's working ok in my business but if I challenge myself a bit more, I could make it much better. Or perhaps there's a banjo lick that I've been using over the years and I like it very much. Does that mean I can't make it better? Of course not. The easy thing would be to sit back and nestle into a state of complacency but that's boring.
Change is good but not for the sake of change.
What's going on? Has it always been like this? Has lying become de rigeur in public life? Should we just assume that we're being lied to?
Cops lie: The RCMP officers who tasered (as in killed) the Polish citizen in B.C. lied about it and then their superiors lied to help them cover it up. Really bad!
Canadian Politicians lie: Mike Harris lied about the Ipperwash killing. Expected from him. Peter McKay lied about the torture of Afghan detainees and somehow that's ok? Expected from him also.
American politicians lie: Bill Clinton "did not have sexual relations with that woman" of course. That's perhaps the most famous lie of all time. Stupid! (And shame on us for paying $100.00+ to hear him speak?)
Sports figures lie: This is quite a list. Olympic athletes over their steroid use; Tiger; Hockey players who maim other hockey players and then tell us he was "only finishing his check and did not mean to hurt him"; Self serving!
Criminals: Colin Thatcher just can't spit out the truth after so many years. Say it Colin: "I hired that guy to kill my wife". You'll feel much better for it. Sociopath!
Business: It's depressing when you consider how long this list would be. Bernie Madoff is the most famous of course and he'll have 150 years in prison to think about it.
This has soiled the business community. It leaves a bad taste. This has compromised the "trust" factor in business and elsewhere. Who is to be believed anymore? Has it always been this way? What happened to the integrity of a simple hand shake?
Two signs that the aging process is operating at full throttle and I thank my lucky stars for it:
In the business section of the Globe recently, I marveled at the idiocy of today's young people who pay more for style over content. Case in point - the headline read "Canadian cellphone users hung up on styles and sales pitch rather than on picking the most economical monthly plans". I'm reading between the lines here but I suggest most most of these "users" are young people. They seem to be the ones using the pretty phones with fancy colours.
I'm of the old school of consumers - you know, the one looking for value and service. Can't say I really care what colour the damn thing is as long as it works as it's supposed to. Does that make me an old fuddy duddy?
This plays out in real estate frequently only the consequences are much more severe. I encourage buyers to try to look beyond the pastel colours, the fancy furniture, the granite counters and expensive light fixtures and try to imagine the room empty. Few, and I mean very few, are actually willing to do that. Therefore, they are drawn to style over substance and often pay way too much for the property as a result.
#2 sign I'm getting old - PBS special on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured a very old looking Mick Jagger with his pulsating lips and arthritic hips strutting around a stage looking terribly foolish. I had to "avert my eyes". Behind him were a gaggle of graying, gyrating ancient guitar players trying to stage an old song we've heard way too many times.
Over the years, as I was trying to make a business for myself as a Realtor, I had mentors who would advise and guide me when I was losing my way. I owe every one of them a debt of gratitude. Each of them would begin the relationship by asking me if I had a business plan. At first, I poopooed the idea. I didn't appreciate the value of such a document. Then over time, I discovered it was vital, not just as a document, but also as a process.
How can I know where I'm going if I have no idea where I've been and how will I know how to get there if I don't draw a map? Or, to put it another way, by understanding how I achieved the success I had in 2009, I'm better able to build on that success in 2010 and become an even better Realtor.
It's that time of year. What kind of year will I make for myself and my business in 2010?
Last year was a roller coaster ride for pretty much everyone in pretty much every business. There was no market for the first 3 months. Sales were rare and customers were reluctant to commit. That changed almost overnight and what a change it was. The life of a Realtor requires us to roll with the punches and adjust our day to day activities at the drop of hat. For many new agents, this is not easy to do. It takes practice. It's what makes this career so vital and exciting.
We also had to deal with a new City of Toronto Land Transfer Tax (LTT) that many predicted would be the end of real estate as we knew it. What nonsense. Buyers adjusted, as I knew they would, by continuing to offer "what they could afford". No big deal. If they couldn't afford the added cost of the new LTT, then they would simply offer less on the property. They didn't miss a beat.
In 2010:
- the market conditions appear to be favourable for trading in real estate. Interest rates should remain steady. Owning a house or duplex still looks like a better deal than owning a stock or mutual fund. However, if there is a dramatic shift in either direction as there was in 2009, I'll be ready for it. No problem.
- the Harmonized Sales Tax will increase the cost of selling (and buying to a certain extent) a home and again, the customers will prove to be the resilient people they've always been. They won't like it of course but it looks like there's little we can do about it.
- there will be new developments technologically speaking in 2010 but nothing that will change society one way or the other. I still won't likely become a regular Twitter user. I'll find more fun ways to use Facebook and Linkedin. This blog will continue to bring out the "little boy" in me. Karen will continue to dazzle the real estate world with her natural abilities. I'll drive another 50,000 kilometers. I'll play thousands of banjo notes, some good, some not so good. I will not ever play a major 7th chord. I'll attend a lot of meetings, make a thousands of phone calls, do my bit to add to the bottom line at Rogers Communications, score the occasional goal and use my hockey stick to impede the progress of my fellow players (it's called hooking),
- but most importantly, I'll be entrusted with the role of helping families, young and old, buy and sell their most valuable asset their home. It's what I do. I like to think it's what I do very well and I can hardly wait to start another new year.
The RE/MAX community received an email from our fearless leader, Dave Liniger yesterday. Dave is the big cheese at RE/MAX International in Colorado and he doesn't often send us emails. I figured it must have been important and it was, but only to American agents. It was interesting nonetheless.
Al Yoon from Reuters wrote a detailed article on the new Short Sale legislation and he describes this as "a growing practice in which a lender agrees to accept the sale price of a home to pay off a mortgage even if the price falls short of the amount owed".
I've written about short sales in the past but this time the movement has some legitimacy and could help the U.S. clear up their housing backlog quite quickly. As you read Dave's message, all Canadian readers should reach up and look gleefully into the night sky and "thank your lucky stars".
Writes Dave:
"Hello everyone,
The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday released a plan to speed up and encourage Short Sales as a means to help families avoid foreclosure. We've been offering Short Sale proposals to public officials for over a year, and although the new guidelines aren't everything we were hoping for, they do represent a significant improvement over the current situation.
Short Sales have been difficult to close, and these new measures are a huge step in the right direction. One major highlight: A lender must give a yes or no answer to an offer within 10 days. Also included: a moving allowance, incentives for sellers and lenders, commission rules, and a stipulation that releases sellers from debt liabilities.
Here's an initial Reuters news story outlining the new policies.
As we've said throughout 2009, the key is to become experts in the process. We expect a tremendous increase in Short Sales during the coming year, and it's vital that RE/MAX Associates continue to lead the industry in Distressed Property skills and training.
At RE/MAX International, our staff is quickly developing resources to help you understand the new Short Sale guidelines and explain them to your buyers and sellers."
One of the first items on my agenda when I first meet a prospect is to determine who the decision maker is. If the customer(s) is a couple, it's not always obvious. Is it "She Who Must Be Obeyed"? or is it the husband? If on the other hand the client is a single person, you would assume that they are the one to ultimately make the call. Not so fast.
Often, there is an invisible person or persons lurking in the back ground unbeknownst to the sales person (as in, me).
Imagine a young single female in the hunt for her first house and her grandma just gave her $100,000.00 towards her down payment. This complicates the situation. As her agent, I may never meet this dear old grandma yet her presence throughout the search and purchase is omnipresent and must be considered. The success might be tied into the kind of relationship between these two people and no sales person anywhere can anticipate this.
Or how about the same young lady who on the surface seems bright and decisive and comfortable with the purchase. Lingering in the background however is a powerful boyfriend and a gaggle of office mates who apparently know more about real estate than any Realtor. I've seen it happen often.
Here's how it plays out. Client buys condo or house conditional upon inspection. They go to work. They tell everyone about the purchase. Everyone offers their opinion. One or two of them inform the client that they once owned a house in a previous marriage and "know about these things". They offer to attend the home inspection with them. After the home inspection is complete, they suggest the broken downspout is a real problem and they can find a better deal out there. Client rejects the home inspection and asks to be released from the deal and they begin the search all over again.
After 23 years I can sometimes get a hint that this is happening. At other times it appears out of the blue and there's not a darn thing I can do about it. It still bothers me when I see a client make a bone head decision.
Over the years, my friend Dr. Murray Waldman and I have hosted a community event for new and experienced parents, caregivers and even parents-to-be who want to know more about dealing with medical emergencies. We call it "The Doctor Is In".
Perhaps there are times when you think you should take your child to the local Emergency Department but you're just not sure if it's necessary. Maybe your child has developed a sudden fever or bumped his or her head or inserted some inanimate object up the nose and you're unsure what to do.
In an effort to help answer some of these questions, offer creative solutions and in the process avoid unnecessary visits to the local hospital, we'd be pleased to present this event in your community. Your child's day care centre, nursery school or play group, or maybe even you might like to act as host. If so, please call or email and I’ll help set it up. Any size group is welcome to call.
I'm pleased to sponsor the event, free of charge. You tell me where and how many are to attend and I'll make the arrangements and provide refreshments. Dr. Waldman and I have done this many times before and those who attend return home much better informed and relaxed about being a parent or child caregiver.
The good doctor is engaging, funny and extremely knowledgeable. After 30 years as Chief of Emergency Services at North York General and Toronto East General Hospitals, he has stories, answers and suggestions that you'll be sure to find very helpful, informative and amusing. Besides his experience in Emergency Services, Dr. Waldman has been a coroner with the Province of Ontario, a stroke specialist at the St. John's Rehabilitation Hospital and a celebrated author of Dying for a Hamburger (How Modern Meat Packing led to an epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease).
In all of the houses I've owned or lived in, only once has a hot water tank broken down. That's a lot of showers and baths and dish washings. So why are we hellbent on renting these darn things?
When we consider the actual costs of buying and maintaining a hot water tank, the numbers simply don't justify renting. According to the Direct Energy web site, a 60 U.S. gallon tank costs $15.48 per month (plus 5%, soon to be 13%). Unlike may other providers, they do not ask you to sign a long term contract. They claim the reasons for renting over buying are as follows:
There’s more than just the purchase price to consider when making the decision between buying or renting a water heater. There could be additional costs in money, time and peace of mind. Here are just a few to consider:
Your Money
Your Time
Peace of Mind
On the other hand, what does it cost to buy a hot water tank?
On the Home Depot web site, they are selling a 60 U.S. gallon electric tank for $303.00 (on sale). I didn't investigate the warranty but my guess is it does come with some sort of guarantee. There are contractors working your neighbourhood every day who know how to install and repair these things. We don't rent refrigerators or any other appliance. Occasionally I'll sell a house with a rented furnace (once in 23 years) so we don't generally rent these. What's so special about hot water tanks?
Let's do the math. Let's see now. $303.00 divided by 15.48? Yes. This is looking good. In 19.5 months, I'll have paid for the hot water tank. Since these things last what seems like forever (my last one lasted 20+ years), why would I send Direct Energy $15.48 every month just to save me a bit of time and "peace of mind?".
If peace of mind is all I want, I'll go to church, a temple or a bar that features banjo music. That's a heck of a lot cheaper.
When I was at the RE/MAX International Convention in Las Vegas a year and a half ago, the few American agents who attended (relative to past years) were in a funk about the state of their industry. The sub prime fiasco was fresh in everyones' minds. Sales were scarce and prices were way down.
At that time, some economists were predicting that the worst was yet to come. They anticipated that many home owners who were successfully making their payments each month would be faced with difficulties when their existing mortgages came up for renewal.
Millions (yes, millions) of mortgages were issued to Americans for no reason other than they walked up-right and could sign their name. They didn't even have to prove they were employed. The worry was...what will happen when these mortgages come up for renewal? If the homes aren't worth enough to cover the size of the mortgage, many will be forced to simply walk away and let the mortgagee deal with it.
Well, this renewal period has begun and coupled with high unemployment, foreclosures are happening at an alarming rate. The Globe and Mail real estate reporter, Steve Ladurantave wrote this week that "a record 14.4% of mortgages in foreclosure or delinquent".
What does this mean to the Canadian real estate market? I have no idea. I'm not sure anyone does. What it does suggest however is that this may be another opportunity for those Canadians with the cash to invest south of the border. U.S. house prices fell dramatically two years ago and it stands to reason they will fall again.
I made some important friends in the sun belt communities when I was in Las Vegas. These are Realtors who are selling a lot of houses in a depressed market place to they are well positioned to help Canadian investors make some serious money. I'll be telling my clients about this in the days to come.
The home inspection industry is under the microscope these days thanks to a court case in British Columbia that held an inspector liable to the tune of $200,000.00. Apparently, the judge ruled that he missed some major flaws with the home that he should have seen and reported.
What strikes me when I witness a home inspection, and I've attended hundreds over the years, is their limited or complete non existent use of technology. Sure, they have terrific ladders. I've always loved their ladders. Some have really nice trucks. A few years ago, I saw one guy show up with a little laptop and a tinyi printer. He spent an hour and a half at the kitchen table fiddling with this darn printer... I could have throttled him. Last summer I attended an inspection in Whitby and the inspector had a generator in the back of his van so he could power his computer.
That's not the kind of technology I'm talking about. The moisture meter that measures dampness in basement walls is often used (should probably be used by everyone). They have a little electrical gadget that beeps when an outlet is not grounded (WARNING! WARNING! KNOB AND TUBE WIRING!). Yes, those are useful tools.
However, there are more devices available that may shed light on some of the "invisible" parts of the home. For example, there is a new tool that is being promoted within the real estate industry and if it works, it will add substantial value to the process. It's called a "thermographic inspection". Essentially, I've been told it is a special camera that scans a house and it is designed to pick up temperature differences on walls. The idea is to identify leaks that are not visible to the naked eye.
The company flogging this is called the Zoom Home and Mold Inspection Ltd. They claim:
"Infrared inspection can answer the following questions:
1. Are there any water leaks or water damages?
2. How significant the damage is?
3. Where the water is coming from?
4 Identifies signs of mold behind drywall, without extensive mold inspection or damage to drywall."
I have no idea if this does what they claim but if so, it sounds very valuable indeed.
The recent court case in B.C. that held a home inspector liable for damages to the tune of $200,000.00 (approximately) has fueled a debate in the press and within the real estate community. The home inspectors of the world are lining up for antacid pills each night so you know they're talking about it.
I received a phone call from a CBC reporter yesterday (she also happens to be a past client). We were speaking "off the record". She was simply trying to understand what constitutes a "bad inspector" versus a "good inspector". She too had read about the court case and was looking to report on this further.
I began the discussion by saying "I'm not trying to defend this profession but....". The "but" of course is the limited scope of a home inspection given the inspector can only comment on what is visible. They cannot break drywall to inspect the floor joists nor can they manufacture a hole in the ceiling so they can view the attic. Having said that, I told her of the local inspector who a few years ago, "missed" the spout of an old oil tank that cost a seller $50,000.00 to repair. Fortunately my client's home inspector found it and so from our perspective, there was a happy ending. Does that constitute a "bad inspector"? Yes, of course.
The quality that is often lacking in the home inspection industry has to do with an inspector's ability to communicate clearly with the novice home owner. I would naturally steer clear of inspectors who are aloof and quiet, stingy with words or comments or worse, illiterate. I'd also avoid those who are non committal. There's a major company locally who brag that their inspectors have an engineering background. They also charge more than anyone else. However, they say less about what they find in a home than most of the others. Their final report has more to do with warning the client about what they did not find or could not see. The insinuation is please don't hold me accountable for much of what I say in this report.
For example, at the beginning of their reports, they comment on the fact that the house (or all houses in Toronto) is in a termite area and though the home inspector didn't see evidence of termites, the client might want to call in a professional and pay extra for that report. Then they quote a termite treatment as costing a few thousand dollars. This is in all of their reports even though there may not be evidence of termites within a mile of the property. That's not the kind of cautious, circle the wagon kind of approach clients are paying good money for.
Most home inspectors however will say that "to the best of my knowledge" or "from what I know about houses from this era"...and they go on to comment on the lifespan of a house of this type and the integrity of a brick house as opposed to a frame house etc. If there's cause for concern with certain aspects of the house, a good inspector (along with a good Realtor) will suggest calling in a specialist. I have a list of skilled professionals that will come and have a look to see if there's something we've missed.
After our phone call, the reporter emailed me a link from a blog I had never heard of before. There, for the world to read, were the results of the court case, including much of the testimony. This case is far from over. The defendant will likely appeal the ruling. Stay tuned.
The spectacular Toronto Reference Library was the location of what turned out to be one of the most important events in the Micro Finance movement in Canada, the Toronto Micro Finance Conference. This took place on Saturday, November 14th. I attended in my role as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for ACCESS Community Capital Fund. Besides being a co-sponsor, ACCESS also played a major role in the success of this event. The Outreach Committee chair, Delilah Panio was the event's co-chair as well as the moderator for the Break Out Session on North American micro credit. All in all, it was a good day.
The conference was co-hosted by the Rotary International District 7070 Microfinance Committee, Rotarian Action Group for Microcredit, FINCA International, ACCESS Community Capital Fund, Grameen Foundation, Oikocredit, Opportunity International and Foundation for Women. It was sponsored by Scotia Bank and Crann Law Firm.
As you can see from the photos, the attendance was fantastic with professionals attending from all over the world.
Micro credit is quite simply the best model for peer to peer loans and it is operating successfully around the world. The gamit runs from loans of $250.00 to the "poorest of the poor" in San Diego to many thousands of dollars being lent to small businesses in our nation's capital and here in Toronto. The borrowers either have had credit problems in the past (for example, bankruptcy) or have no credit history whatsoever in which case, traditional borrowing is not an option for them.
I've never had any of my homes inspected by a certified home inspector.
I needed to get that off my chest. Even though I've attended hundreds of home inspections with clients, I'm unqualified to rate, and unfamiliar with much of the workings of a house. I wouldn't know a heat exchanger if one fell on my head. Aluminum wiring? Nope! No idea. Maybe it's a different colour than the other types. Fact is, no minor defect would have prevented me from closing on the deal. Fact is, rarely does a client "not" close on a house because of a home inspection (and believe me, all houses have defects). Therefore I didn't feel so compelled to call in an inspector.
Regardless of my jaded viewpoint, the home inspection industry brings great value to the process of buying a house, particularly for the novice who has never cleaned a gutter or had to mop up the basement floor after a torrential downpour. I ALWAYS encourage home buyers to call in a professional inspector before they offer on a house. In fact, given the recent court case, I'going to suggest that the inspection industry change their name from "home inspector" to "owning a home 101". It more accurately describes the scope of their "inspection".
This is a hot topic over the water cooler at work because some B.C. home inspector has just been successfully sued by a disgruntled new homebuyer to the tune of $200,000.00. Ouch. This will likely spell the end of this guy's career. His name is Imre (Jim) Toth.
It appears Jim didn't see the rotten rafters and structural problems when he inspected this million dollar house and the judge decided he should have. I'm not here to defend Jim and his associates but I do know their scope of reference is very limited. Some attics have no access door and they are certainly not going to make one. Finished basements are just that, enclosed spaces that reveal nothing but drywall. What's an inspector to do?
There are waivers that each purchaser must sign prior the inspection and this clause spells out clearly what the inspector can and cannot accomplish. However, the judge threw that out also. I guess he was having a bad day.
As a Realtor, I have my own responsibilities during a home inspection. I have my own standard conversation with clients about the limitations of a home inspection and given this new ruling, I will expand on this discussion. I attend the inspections and question the inspector during the visit and at the endwhen the results are reported to the client. If I have my own suspicions about certain things in the house, I'll ask the inspector to look into them more closely. Regardless, it's still only a three hour overview of a house and a proper inspection performed by an engineer or architect would cost many hundreds of dollars more and probably tie up the client and the house for at least one day (assuming the Vendor would allow this). Given this option, much of the house will still be unaccessible for proper analysis.
I don't see this option becoming the norm anytime soon. However, this might be a niche market that will be addressed in the next year.
I'm pleased to sponsor and promote a concert at Hugh's Room on January 21st, 2010 in support of Artscan Circle. Details will be included in the next blog entry.
This is a registered charity that contributes greatly to the betterment of this province and this country. The first paragraph on their web site reads: "The ArtsCan Circle is an independent, volunteer-run support group dedicated to linking creative artists with Native youth at risk in Canada. Our hope is to encourage self-esteem amongst Native youth in isolated communities through a cooperative exploration of the arts."
I like this for one very good reason. They don't travel to the north to simply bring money and things. They donate their time and resources to "encourage self esteem". Unlike many charities, it speaks to the ancient idea that you don't give a man fish to eat, you teach him how to fish. By visiting these remote locations with instruments and the like, they provide hope to young kids who otherwise might turn to nasty substances.
I just received an email from Carol Teal describing some of the activities that the group has been working on recently. Here are a couple of messages from the communities they've visited.
From the Principal of Missabay Community School, Mishkeegogamang:
"I am writing this letter to let you know how beneficial your program has been for our school. The week your team spent at Missabay Community School proved to be one to the best experiences for our students.
Your enthusiasm and variety of activities were perfectly suited to each individual student's age and grade level. The students were totally immersed in all activities, which showed them the joy that can be achieved through music and art. Many students were inspired by your program and are learning the benefit of cooperative learning and sharing in a very positive way.
This is the sixth time you have come to Missabay and each year the students look forward to your arrival. Again, I thank you for giving us the opportunity to experience your program and we look forward to your next vist.
From Destani Skunk, Brighter Futures Program:
"I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of the youth workers here in Mishkeegogamang. It was great to have you and your team, come in to spend time with the children who attended at our drop in centre. I am sure the kids enjoyed what they created with the arts and crafts, and the singing was awesome.
Last but not least, a big "Thanks" for the keyboard you donated to the youth centre, again I am sure the kids will enjoy learning to play the keyboard and creating wonderful sounds. I was glad to have the opportunity to meet you and work with your group and I look forward to seeing you in the near future.
Thank you,
Destani Skunk"
Being in the public domain with my real estate web page, my music web page, my blog, my presence on various public web sites, my print and media advertising and on and on.....my email addresses are readily known and available to any and all. This means I receive 100+ emails each day, many of the spam variety. If you ever need anything lengthened or if you are looking for business opportunities overseas, call me. I'm in the know.
This makes me very conscious of what I send to my clients, both in terms of content and frequency. I pore over each submission and edit, only to edit some more, not wanting to waste words or space. However, as a consumer, I pine for the same effort from those who send information to me.
For example, there's a real estate referral company that has been trying to entice me to join their team and this guy is relentless. I can't take it any more and realized yesterday that I stopped reading the subject line months ago. Why I let it go on as long as I did is a complete puzzle to me.
So when I draft an internet newsletter or a snail mail newsletter, I think of companies like this and swear that I will never do this to anyone.
I have a long list of vital Realtors in my contact list and I can very easily click on my mouse and send them information on a property. However, they've learned about the listing from the MLS and don't need me to remind them it's out there. However, once in awhile (maybe 4 times in the past 8 years) there's a listing that isn't selling for whatever reason and so I have to come up with some new and different ways to get the word out. That's when I use the internet in this way. So, since these Realtors rarely receive an information email from me, they're more inclined to read it and consider the details of the property.
I'm working on fine tuning one more aspect of my email campaign, the subject line. I'm thinking this is almost as important as the body of the email. What is it's purpose? If I can communicate my message within the subject line, then there is no need for content in the body and that is my new goal in life.
In my role as vice chair of ACCESS Community Capital Fund and former member of their Loan Review Committee, I've attended many interviews with aspiring business people who are searching for new funding to grow their business. Perhaps the most important question I pose to them is "where does your business come from?" and the second most important is "do you have a business plan to solicit more customers?". Most applicants don't know the answer to the first question and answer "no" to the second.
As a Realtor, or perhaps best described as a sole practitioner in real estate sales, I have to ask and answer these questions of myself often. It's perhaps the most urgent issue in making for a successful career.
I mention this because of a short but invaluable piece I read in today's Globe and Mail on page B7 by Harvey Schachter, the "Monday Morning Manager". He writes about a posting on allbusiness.com by Paul McCord on how to generate more referrals from existing customers.
In my profession, referrals are the be-all and end-all. That's all there is to it. Not to say there are not other ways to generate business but I suggest to any and all aspiring Realtors that if they do not have their referral business plan operating at warp speed, they will either not be success or will burn out (whatever comes first). I might even take this a step further and suggest that my dry cleaner, my accountant, my lawyer, my video store guy etc. would do well to heed this advice. On how to generate more referrals, Mr. McCord writes:
1. ASK!
2. ASK AGAIN!
3. REALLY ASK!
4. Define a good referral.
5. Prompt them.
6. Give them time.
7. Get introduced.
Seems simple but it's worth developing the habit.
Oh, one more thing. I find most are flattered to learn their referral is that important to you. Also, they are reassured that since you want the business enough to ask for it, they feel more confident that their referrals will be well cared for.
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