Would you give me $22 for a $20 bill? Of course not. But what if I ran a full-page ad in the newspaper marketing my $20 bill, built a dedicated web page to showcase high-resolution photos of my $20 bill, streamed Facebook live videos of me holding my $20 bill, and scheduled times on the weekend inviting you to come and see my $20 bill in person and hold it in your hand so you can experience how amazing my $20 bill is and what it would feel like actually to call it yours? Would that be enough to get you to pay me $22 for my $20 bill? Of course not. 🟢 Because a $20 bill is only worth $20. But what if I ran a television ad, waving my arms all over the place claiming I had a $20 bill that I was willing to sell for $18? What do you think would happen then? There would be a line all the way down the street, around the corner, continuing for multiple blocks... with people ready to buy (or make offers) on my $20 bill. ➡️ The difference is VALUE. If you try to sell a $20 bill for $22, you are asking too much and nobody will be interested. But if you try to sell a $20 bill for $18, you have created a perceived value that consumers cannot ignore or refuse. Many property issues can be addressed and even eliminated with a little effort. You can clean carpets, paint walls, repair pools, and bake cookies to cover a musty smell. When you do these things, you create value. Or, you can price the home for what it is. You can take the home as it is, along with the current market conditions, and offer the home for sale at a price that reflects the real value -- with the property issues and market conditions factored in. I've been doing this a long time and am confident in my claim that every home, even homes loaded with issues, problems, and flaws, will sell if they are priced at a level that represents value to the buyer. But homes that are priced that ignore the property issues and the market conditions, will sit on the market while the listing agents promote them with Google ads, postcard mailings, and Facebook live videos.

If you want to become one of the top agents in your local area, you are going to have to face some difficult times and work through a lot of challenges. You will lose a few friends, make a few enemies, and be trolled by a few haters. I wish that wasn’t true, but for every person who wants you to succeed, there are others who want you to fail. ✅ If you really want to want to survive, and thrive, you must be committed to the process. Being committed to developing systems that would fuel growth pulled me through every single negative challenge I faced in the real estate business. And that same commitment ultimately led me to every success I’ve ever experienced. Being committed to your goals will require you to make some difficult choices. A good friend and mentor of mine once said to me, “If you want to build a big business, you’ll eventually need to choose between the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The pain of discipline means you will choose to: 1️⃣ Call prospects even when you don’t feel like it. 2️⃣ Practice sales dialog over and over until it sounds natural. 3️⃣ Skip the baseball game and hold an open house. 4️⃣ Track your marketing results and make difficult decisions. 5️⃣ Stop doing things that are not growing your business. The pain of regret is the disappointment you feel when you realize your lack of commitment held you back from becoming one of the top agents in your area. If you want it bad enough, nothing will hold you back from rising to the top of your niche. As long as you stay committed.

There are many strategies you can use to increase your buyer's chances of getting their dream home when shopping for a home in a competitive housing market. 1️⃣ Encourage your buyer to be ready to make a decision. There's no time to "sleep on it". Another buyer looked at the same home yesterday, slept on it last night, and is ready to pull the trigger today. Your buyer needs to be quick and decisive. 2️⃣ Guide your buyer to offer competitively and aggressively. Sellers' markets are not the time to present lowball offers. Review the recent sales with your buyer and the currently available homes on the market and counsel them about making a competitive offer. Advise them to put their best offer on the table as their first offer. 3️⃣ Eliminate all contingencies unless absolutely necessary. If your buyer is financing, ensure there is a contingency for their final loan approval, but other than that, keep contingencies to a minimum. 4️⃣ Encourage your buyer to shorten the normal inspection time to a minimal number of days and have an inspector ready to look at the home in the first few days after contract acceptance. 5️⃣ Don't let your buyer get caught up in the frenzy. It's easy for buyers to compromise their wants and needs or bid higher than their desired budget in a low inventory environment. Help them understand that new properties come on the market every few days, and if they miss out on this one, there will be another home to look at soon. Use these tips to guide your buyers toward a successful contract.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. The Customer is NOT always right. Despite what you have heard over and over for most of your life, there are many times that the Customer is wrong. But here's the deal… The Customer's perception is always right. If you don't believe me, have a conversation about politics with someone who supports the "other party" and they will tell you why they are right. In the Real Estate business, the Customer is your Client. Your Client can be totally wrong, but if they believe they are right, their perception is their personal reality. And in their minds…they are right. What does this have to do with your real estate business? A lot. Because clients have a lot of conceived perceptions about real estate agents. They think things like: ✔️ Realtors make too much money. ✔️ Realtors do not work hard. ✔️ Realtors are lazy. ✔️ Realtors are a dime a dozen. ✔️ Realtors are not really necessary to sell a house. Your Clients (your Customers) are wrong. Hey...don't get upset with me. You chose this career path. I could write a book on this topic, and maybe someday I will, but for now, I am going to boil this down to the best way for you to reverse the inaccurate perceptions your Client has about you. If you are working with an active seller, the key to becoming a hero in their eyes is to, COMMUNICATE WITH THEM! Pick up the phone…send an email…send a text…stop by their house…whatever…just be sure to: COMMUNICATE WITH THEM! Because when you do not proactively communicate with your seller, do you know what they are thinking? They think you are doing nothing! This is especially true in today's slower market, where buyers seem to be hibernating, and there can be days or weeks between showings. Here is my success recipe for seller communication: ✅ When you sign a new listing, be present when the photographer shows up. Choreograph the event and be sure the best shots are taken. Explain to the photographer the best features of the home that you plan to highlight, and be sure to communicate with your seller about this!