Brenda Featherston, VP of RE/MAX Premier Group, the second-largest RE/MAX brokerage in Texas. For 11 straight years, RE/MAX Premier Group has been the No. 1 Texas brokerage in sales volume and commissions among the RE/MAX brand. Brenda also sits on the board of directors for North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, Inc. (NTREIS), which is the MLS for North Texas.


Email Brenda                                           
                                                                              Rainmaker Interview

 

Douglas Smith, a second-generation REALTOR®, began his real estate career in 1994 as an agent at Broker/Owner Don Dahlberg’s RE/MAX Premier Group. He earned his broker’s license five years ago and earned his Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) and Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) designations soon after. A father of two daughters, he has also served as a volunteer firefighter for the city of Frisco for the past five years, giving more than 1,000 hours of service each year. 

Email Doug                              


Thanks for the incredible response to our new interview series highlighting innovative brokerages and their star agents in the industry. Email Susie if your company would like to be featured on FrogPond.com

The participating broker has the opportunity to select an associate that they would like to highlight for the associate’s sales achievements and how the individual sales associate exemplifies the brokerage. 

Plan for Success

Luck is often a matter of having a plan in place for what you want to have happen and working toward that goal. That is because when you take the time to really focus on what you want, it starts the ball rolling in your favor. What you pay attention to the most is what is most present in your life.

To that end, taking time to work on your 2008 goals is an investment that can yield great rewards. Here are three terrific tips to make your good goals great.

Make your goals:

Measurable- When you write you goal, make sure you will know when you get there. For example, instead of saying, “I want to make a lot of money this year”, have the goal be, “I want to increase sales by 20% this year”.

Achievable- Set yourself up for success by selecting a goal you can achieve and prove to yourself that you are a winner. For example, instead of saying that you want to lose 40 pounds in six weeks and you don’t exercise, start on the road to that desire by setting a goal of walking for 10 minutes a day, five days a week. When you can succeed at small steps, they add to up to big accomplishments.

Time bound- Putting a time limit on your goal makes it happen because you have made yourself accountable to the calendar. As you write your goals for 2008, be sure to decide when you want them to be accomplished. Some you will be able to achieve in the first quarter, others may take all year.

2008 Business Planning Guide

This time of year business owners, executives and consultants are planning for their businesses in 2008. The planning appears as a big, complicated responsibility that a lot of people are not sure how to do.

FrogPond suggests these 7 components to guide you through this task an easy yet effective system you can use.

Executive Summary: Write this last. It's just a page or two of highlights.

Company Description: Legal establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.

Product or Service: Describe what you're selling. Focus on customer benefits.

Market Analysis: You need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.

Strategy and Implementation: Be specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budget.

Management Team: Include backgrounds of key members of the team, personnel strategy, and details.

Financial Plan: Include profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheet, break-even analysis, assumptions, business ratios, etc.

Good Planning ensures Great Success!

Anatomy of a Hostile Customer by Nancy Friedman, Telephone Doctor

There are four basic steps to handling an irate customer. Telephone Doctor calls them our ASAP techniques.

A - Acknowledge the person’s feelings and apologize for the inconvenience the customer has encountered. Make an effort to be sincere. In today’s impersonal society, it’s incredibly rare to hear the words, "I’m sorry that happened. Let me get the ball rolling to fix it." You’ll probably spend about 80 percent of your time massaging the caller’s feelings and 20 percent actually solving the problem.

S - Sympathize and empathize with the customer. Phrases like "I can understand why you’re upset" can help soothe ruffled feathers. Pretend it’s you. Then get busy solving the problem.

A - Accept 100 percent responsibility. This is probably the toughest part. Chances are excellent that you had nothing to do with the problem. However, it’s your job to take the responsibility and help initiate a solution.

P - Prepare to help. Begin by re-introducing yourself – customers don’t usually remember your name. State that you will be able to help. Use the person’s name, if possible. This helps to diffuse anger. A willing attitude is essential, because if the customer senses insincerity or indifference, it will cause them to stay angry. It’s exasperating to file a complaint with someone who obviously doesn’t care.

You have permission to reprint this tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

Copyright© 2008, Nancy Friedman, TelephoneDoctor.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles at FrogPond.com

To request information about royalty-free articles and publishing your online magazine and newsletters, call 800.704.FROG(3784) or email Susie@frogpond.com today.   Take the Tour

Be Prepared for Crisis and Keep your Legacy Alive by Laura Michaud

Do you know who will take charge of your business when you want to retire or if you become disabled? Business owners avoid this question like the plague. It is hard enough to deal with the daily pressures of running a business let alone the long-term difficult decisions, especially those of succession issues as they force us to discuss death and disability. However, if an owner dies without a plan, the estate may pay as much as 45% of its gross value over the $2 million exemption. Worse yet, certain states have additional taxes, making the total tax insanely high.

All succession plans need two components: 1) Who will take over running the business when the senior generation dies, and 2) How will the estate be disseminated to minimize taxes and keep the company whole?

In my family's case, I was the third generation in the business, having worked there for eighteen years when my grandmother became ill. She was a depression-era child and wasn't psychologically able to pass down stock to her heirs. Therefore, at 92 years old, she owned 75% of the company. She refused to listen to tax advisors throughout the years, so upon her death we were going to be faced with an enormous tax bill that we could only pay if we sold our company or took out loans against it (which would cause difficulty in maintaining our market share).

Unfortunately, we decided to sell the company in order to have enough liquid assets to pay the federal tax bill. Avoid these circumstances. Speak with your estate attorney. It could keep your legacy alive.

You have permission to reprint this tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

Copyright© 2008, Laura Michaud.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles at FrogPond.com

To request information about royalty-free articles and publishing your online magazine and newsletters, call 800.704.FROG(3784) or email Susie@frogpond.comtoday.Take the Tour

The Key to Real Estate Sales Success by Dirk Zeller

One of the first steps toward success is to know what you want out of your real estate career, and “financial independence” is not a specific-enough answer.

I’ve been in real estate, either in direct sales or teaching, speaking, training, writing, or coaching people, for nearly 20 years. I’ve met tens of thousands of agents and nearly every one started selling real estate with the same goal of financial independence. Countless times I’ve asked the same question: “Tell me, how do you define financial independence?” What I usually hear in response is some variation of the answer, “So I don’t have to worry about money anymore.”

The key to eliminating money worries is to establish a financial goal – an actual number ­­– that you need to accumulate in order to achieve the quality of life you want to enjoy. Financial independence boils down to a number. Set that number in your mind and then launch your career with the intention to achieve your goal by a specific date.

With your financial goal in mind, you’ll have a clarity that will see you through the valleys and hard work that lie ahead of you. When you have to endure the rejection, competition, disloyal customers, and challenges that are inevitable along the way, your knowledge about the wealth you’re working to achieve will help you weather the storms of the business.

Pathways agents follow in search of success

Agents follow one of these four basic approaches in the quest to achieve real estate success:

Become a workaholic. More than 80% of agents who generate a reasonable income achieve their success by turning their careers into a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day job. They answer business phone calls day and night, they make themselves constantly available to prospects and clients, and they work on-demand with no restraints.

Buy clients. The second-most frequent pathway to success is to buy business through massive marketing campaigns. Some agents buy or “brand” their way to the top level of real estate by investing in billboards and bus benches, thousands of direct mailers, expensive ad schedules, and all kinds of promotions. Others buy their way to the top by discounting their commissions. By offering themselves at the lowest prices, these agents eliminate the need to emphasize their skills, abilities, and expertise.

Take the shady road. Another avenue to real estate financial success is to abandon ethics and just go for the deal and the resulting money. Unlike the vast majority of agents who advise and advocate for their clients, agents who take this route choose not to be bound by the ethics and code of conduct of the National Association of REALTORSâ. They put their own needs first and their clients’ best interests in distant second place. Fortunately, these agents are few and far between.

Build a professional services business. The fourth and best pathway is to create a well-rounded, professional services business not unlike that of a doctor, dentist, attorney, or accountant. Fewer than 5% of all agents follow this route, yet the ones that do are the ones who earn the largest sums of money ­– some exceeding $1 million annually while also having quality lives and time for friends and family. Plus, when they’re ready to bow out of the industry, they have a business asset they can sell to another agent. This is the route I urge you to follow.

Reviewing your finances, expenses and activities can be the most important time you spend all year.  Take the time to invest your past for a grander future today.

You have permission to reprint this tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

Copyright© 2008, Dirk Zeller.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles at FrogPond.com

To request information about royalty-free articles and publishing your online magazine and newsletters, call 800.704.FROG(3784) or email Susie@frogpond.com today. Take the Tour

Swanepoel TRENDS Report Announces Top Companies in Real Estate for 2007 

Every year the Swanepoel TRENDS Report (RealSure Publishing), as part of its in-depth study of the residential real estate industry, announces the top companies that during the previous calendar year (2007) set forth actions that were different and memorable and could potentially have a far reaching impact on the real estate industry in the years to come. 

Companies that have been listed in recent years include Google, Redfin and First American.  Three companies are featured for the second time on the list, namely Zillow, Trulia and RealEstate.com, while the Housing Boom and collapse of the Secondary market introduced new companies namely Bank of America and the Federal Reserve. The growth of Social Networking was acknowledged with the inclusion of ActiveRain but overall the year seemed to be dominated by a few large real estate companies such as Realogy, RE/MAX and EXIT.

The Top 10 Trendsetters for 2007 are (in countdown order):  

10.   Bank of America

Bank of America, the largest retail banking operation in the country, for their saving of ill-fated and cash-starved Countrywide. 

9.  EXIT Realty

Based on a system that pays out residuals, EXIT’s innovation in redistributing the commission pie and strong growth in recent years to become one of the 10 largest national franchises in the country.

8.       RealEstate.com

For the turn about in expanding an online business and successful opening of 12 “bricks and mortar” locations.

7.       Federal Reserve

For the poor handling of the forewarned housing bubble that liked to the worst housing slump in two in decades and the largest collapse of the financial markets since the depression.

6.       Trulia

Racing up the Hitwise list to become one the 3rd largest traffic contributor to 12 of the largest residential real estate franchisors and brokerages nationwide. 

5.       ActiveRain

Launched in June 2006, ActiveRain assumed the mantle as the #1 in real estate social network boasting 60,000 members by 2007.

4.       RE/MAX

Leading the charge in adding everyone’s listings on their corporate website, Remax.com became the most visited website of any national real estate company generating a record 3 million leads for its agents.

3.       Zillow

Fueled by "Zestimates" and excellent publicity, Zillow became the most talked about company in real estate and their site was one of the top 3 most visited websites in real estate. 

2.       Dominion

Combining print publications Harmon Homes, For Rent, New Homes & Living, Home Solutions and Distinctive Homes together with websites Homes.com and ForRent.com and  companies Number1Expert, Katabat and eNeighborhoods, Dominion has in two short years become a force in the industry.

1. Realogy

Breaking up Cendant into three separate operating units (valued at $7.75 billion) made Realogy the new parent for all their real estate activities (Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA, NRT and Sotheby’s). Realogy is the industry’s largest franchisor in the world with more than 15,000 employees and 315,000 affiliated real estate brokers and sales associates worldwide.  In September 2007 they added Better Homes and Gardens to their portfolio solidifying their position at the top of the list of 2007 Trendsetters of the Year.

The acknowledgement of these companies based on many contributing factors including product innovation, influence on the industry in 2007 and their anticipated impact over the next few years, the value of the contribution, acceptance by the market and the general awareness thereof.  The Top 10 Trendsetters are listed in the front of the 2008 Swanepoel Trends Report, due for release on January 25th. According to Swanepoel, the companies selected are the current drivers and leaders in the industry and collectively caused more change in 2007 than any other companies. “I believe that as a result of their vision, drive, commitment and leadership, the industry is stronger today than before.”

The Swanepoel TRENDS Report is a 170-page Report that dissects the top 10 trends shaping the real estate brokerage industry for the coming year. The Report is created by Stefan Swanepoel – best selling author of 13 books and reports and over 11 years as the leading analyst of trends and business changes and the strategy direction of the real estate industry.  The Report is annually published by RealSure Publishing and distribute by RealEstateBooks.org.

You have permission to reprint this tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

Copyright© 2008, Stefan Swanepoel.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles at FrogPond.com

To request information about royalty-free articles and publishing your online magazine and newsletters, call 800.704.FROG(3784) or email Susie@frogpond.comtoday.Take the Tour

   The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly
 
The Dream Manager is leadership's must-read with a new twist.
Hope. Kelly looks at employee motivation through their hope and dreams. It is too easy for workers to disengage from their jobs when they don't see how their job connects to their passions, goals, and hopes. The Dream Manager is a road map to bringing a renewed sense of purpose to the company resulting in soaring profits as workers respond to the sincere efforts of management to assist their pursuit of dreams. Kelly writes, “Nothing animates people like chasing down a dream.” The hope of a better future fuels people to give their best effort.

This book is not just for executives, but sales agents helping their customers' solve their problems, fill their needs, and realize their dreams.

Remember Your Target

Marketing is a lot like archery. There is a specific target you are aiming for. Each time you draw your bowstring and point your arrow, it is important to direct that arrow toward the target.

Successful marketing strategies have a specific audience in mind. It is essential to focus on that audience and get to know as much about it as you possibly can. The more you know about who you are talking to, the better you will communicate with them.

Communication is not just about words. It includes images and feelings. What is important to your target market?  Is time as big a benefit as savings? Is service more important than the lowest bid? These are the questions your marketing message needs to answer specifically each time it is sent on flight toward your audience. How well you have done your research is directly related to how many times you hit the bull’s-eye. 

You have permission to reprint this tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

Copyright© 2008, FrogPond.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles at FrogPond.com

To request information about royalty-free articles and publishing your online magazine and newsletters, call 800.704.FROG(3784) or email Susie@frogpond.comtoday.Take the Tour

Green Margins

Want to save about a ream of paper per person in your office? It’s easy…just change the margins on your default Word document settings. This simple technique will make your office greener by reducing paper use and save you money.

When you change your settings from 1 to .5 inches, it significantly reduces paper use.  To change settings in Microsoft Word XP, go to File, Page Setup, Margins, and change top and bottom. Then click on Default which will change the template.

Just this little bit of simple effort will have a noticeable impact on both your bottom line and the planet.

Avoid waiting at the airport  flightaware.com

This time of year long delays are particularly hard on travelers. Even if you’re not traveling, the flight delays and crowds can take their toll on you. If you’re picking up someone at the airport, the stress can affect you.

FlightAware is your one-stop spot to check the status of flights from all major carriers. It will help you decide when to leave for the airport.

Get your calendar in order  calendar.google.com

If you use Outlook to manage my meetings and appointments, what do you do about personal events? Coordinating schedules with friends and family can be difficult.

Google has the solution. Its Calendar will help you share your schedule with others. You can even use it to send invitations and reminders.

Of course, you can access your calendar from any computer. You can even use your mobile phone! Now you can get more flexibility than with just Outlook.

You don't need to give up Outlook, because Google Calendar can import items from Outlook. You can view your Google calendar in Outlook.

To use Google Calendar, you’ll need a Google account. If you don’t have one, sign up. It's free.

The 80/20 Flip

Marketing classes for the last quarter century have taught the 80/20 rule which designates 80% of the marketing budget on outbound prospecting. The savvy marketer in the real estate industry today has discovered that it is more cost effective to spend that 80% on cultivating existing clients and customers to bring referrals and new business. 

There is nothing quite as effective as an enthusiastic customer telling another person about their great experience with you and your product or service.

Here are a few ways to invest wisely in marketing makeover:

Make sure your existing customers know all about the range of your products and services. Offer an open house with lunch as a thank you to your loyal clients and educate them.

Make growing your business exciting to your customers. Keep them in the loop on all the exciting developments with a newsletter including new people in your office, big successes and community participation.

Write thank you notes. Don’t underestimate the power of the handwritten note. Its value has increased dramatically in the past decade because of the ease of email and the fact that 95% of mail received in most homes is direct marketing.

Reward referrals. Referrals are gold. Though real estate professionals can’t compensate in any way for a referral, write a thank you note. Offer to place a photo and quote of the referring customer on your website or brochure. You also could have a holiday party at the end of the year for all of your Customer Champions as a thank you.   

You have permission to reprint this tip in your publications. Please include the following Resource Box:

Copyright© 2008, FrogPond.  All rights reserved . FrogPond offers you More Royalty-Free Reprintable Articles at FrogPond.com

To request information about royalty-free articles and publishing your online magazine and newsletters, call 800.704.FROG(3784) or email Susie@frogpond.com today. Take the Tour

Hugs, The Frog

Susie Hale, President
Frog Pond
FrogPond Publisher
800.704.FROG (3764)
susie@frogpond.com

The Pond Report is published monthly by eFrog Pond, Inc. Our corporate address is 101 Westcott, Suite 102, Houston, TX 77007. We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone for any reason whatsoever. If you received this newsletter from a friend and you'd like to subscribe FREE to The Pond Report, click here. To unsubscribe or notify us of change of email address, click here.  

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