Think Bigger Real Estate

Optimism and real estate. Emerging from a global pandemic while right in the throes of social unrest, we are living in unique times. Like maybe never before are we in need of optimistic leaders who will step up and help us to see the good in the world and the opportunities that continue to abound. Terry Sprague is one of those leaders who will inspire you to be want to be one as well. 

Some of the topics that we discussed were:

• Terry’s story of going from financial advisor professional to a sailor and artist in the Caribbean to starting a real estate company with a different culture and focus. 
• Why he chose to align with the Christie’s brand.  
• The conversations he’s having with active buyers and sellers, including helping even those on the other side of the transaction to think outside of the box to seize opportunities like a spread in stock market trading vs projected future values
• How he sees the co-op agent and that relationship and ways he improves that relationship
• What he’s doing to insulate himself against industry disruption. 
• Why he’s optimistic and specific things he does to remain that way
• What he does to continue to think bigger and expand his own possibilities. 

Additional Resources: 

Follow me on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Luxe.ChristiesInternationalRealty/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terryspraguebrokerowner/

Website: https://luxecir.com

Fit real estate agent. That’s what every professional in the industry aspires to be. Yet, with urgent timelines, non-traditional working hours and a myriad of client and family demands, finding time to be fit can be challenging. I was honored today to bring on to the show, a friend and the owner and founder of Muscles in Motion, Diana Del Garbino, to teach us how to proceed. 

For those that don’t know Diana, she worked as a police officer on the SWAT team in Southern California prior to founding Muscles in Motion and so she understands the need to be healthy and strong more than most. Additionally, Diana recently had a major surgery that didn’t go well and doctors said that had she not been as strong and healthy as she is, she would not have survived. Along those same lines, with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on the health of millions of people around the world, being healthy or unhealthy is no longer just something that may catch up to us at some point down the road. It may very well be a life or death situation for any one of us at any time. 

Some of the topics that we discussed were:

• Why being healthy is so important.
• The things that we are missing out on by not having the strength and energy to engage in them. 
• Just how great life can be when we are healthy and fit. 
• A change of paradigm around exercise. We can workout at a more intense pace fewer days and for less time than we think. If done right, moving every day and then focused workouts for 2 days a week for just 30 minutes can help us progress towards being healthy and fit. 
• Nutrition- eat healthy food that you like, but don’t go back for seconds. 
• Sleep- go to bed without electronics at the same time. You can’t underestimate the value of sleep on your ability to think, have good judgment, reason, process, and eat in proper proportions. 

The late Jim Rohn once said: “If you don’t take care of our body, where are you going to live? To which I would add, if you don’t take care of your body, how are you ever going to live the life that you actually want to live? 

Additional Resources: 

Follow me on:

Facebook: 

LinkedIn: 

Website: mymusclesinmotion.com

Real estate agent closing gift ideas. Mark Lukes and his company Silent Marketing Solution solve at least three problems for agents when it comes to closing gifts. The first, what do I get my clients that they actually want. Second, how do I do it in a way that is memorable and keeps reminding them of me. Third, how do I do it affordably and in a way that is easy for an agent to get prior to closing.

Some of the topics that we discussed were:

• A metaphor for gaining “mindshare”
• Why closing gifts are the perfect opportunity
• Where agents often go wrong in getting closing gifts
• The customer retention rate of most real estate agents
• How closing gifts can be a solution for real estate agents to retain their customers

Additional Resources:

Follow me on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-lukes/

Website: https://www.silentmarketingsolution.com/

Stacy Bahrenfuss, the Limitless Agent. At the young age of 19 Stacy entered the real estate industry. Since then she’s purchased a development where she built 11 custom homes, been a solo agent, built a team, built a brokerage, and now inspires agents in her brokerage and through her Limitless Realtor Circle coaching group. In this episode we dig into what a limitless mindset is and how you get it. We discuss what to do when we’re not feeling confident and what we can do to inspire others to be more confident. 

Some of the topics that we discussed were:

• Mindset is the foundation. Many know the tactics and strategies but don’t use them. Why? Because they’re missing the mindset piece. They’re missing the confidence. 
• There are people listening today that have a time but are finding their teammates uninspired. There are two things to which you should pay attention:
  • Your own mood and how you show up around them. Are you inspiring them? 
  • Your direct conversations with them. Are you telling them how you really feel about their potential and their performance?  
• What to do when you’ve outgrown your leadership and the agents around you and still want to keep thinking bigger. 

Find Stacy on:
https://limitlessrealtorcircle.com/
https://www.catalystidaho.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatalystGroupID
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacybahrenfuss/
Instagram: @stacybahrenfuss

Consistent and Predictable Income for Real Estate Agents. Dan Rochon, author of Real Estate Evolution - The 10 Step Guide to C.P.I (Consistent and Predictable Income) shares how to reprogram your subconscious mind so that you actually believe that you can and deserve to be very successful, simple hacks that he utilizes to keep his calendar full of listing appointments, and how lead generation for your next client is one of the critical ways that you take care of your existing clients. 

Some of the topics that we discussed were:

• The difference between your vision and affirmations
• The thing that sabotages your affirmations
• How to actually believe that your affirmations will work and what to do when you don’t believe. Hint, you actually have to do them and then you have to actually believe them once you do them. 
• What your calendar should look like in order to have 3 listing appointments each week. Three hours of lead generation *with the intent of filling at least 3 of your 5 listing appointments.
• What are things that get in the way of you consistently generating new leads and what to do about it. Hint- you own the business so you get to control your own schedule. 
• The worst thing you can do for your current clients is to not have any additional clients in the pipeline. You end up making decisions that benefit you instead of them. 

Additional Resources:

Follow me on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dfrochon

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danrochon/

Website: https://therealestateevolution.com

Book: 

Real Estate Evolution - The 10 Step Guide to C.P.I (Consistent and Predictable Income)

Mike Michalowicz and real estate agents are a match made in heaven. With so many balls in the air, it becomes difficult for real estate agents to also track and best manage their finances. Traditional accounting says that Revenue - Expenses = Profit. What Mike Michalowicz teaches in his book, Profit First, turns that equation on its head. He teaches Revenue - Profit = Expenses. In this episode, Mike walks through some of the psychological magic that happens when we do this, the processes that support it and then the end result, which is true and lasting success.  

Some of the topics that we discussed were:

• 83% of small businesses are not profitable
• Business owners get in business for themselves for time freedom and financial freedom while most never achieve either
• What traditional accounting teaches and how that is not the best way to ensure your own financial success
• The book ‘Profit First’ teaches you to change the accounting equation of Revenue - Expenses = Profit to instead, Revenue - Profit = Expenses
• What must happen at your bank to accommodate this new flow of income
• What happens to the way that you look at your expenses when you do this
• The correlation between those in a Poker game that bluff and those that don’t track their expenses

Additional Resources:

Follow me on:

Twitter: @mikemichalowicz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemichalowicz/

Website: https://mikemichalowicz.com/

Books:

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Surge

Profit First

The Pumpkin Plan

Clock Work

Fix This Next

Culture for real estate agents. Everything starts in our homes. If we want great culture on our teams and in our offices, then it behooves us to be intentional about creating great culture at home. It’s been said that readers are leaders and if we truly believe that then now is the time for us to create the kind of culture at home that inspires and helps us to be learners as well as our children. 

It is common for real estate professional/parents, now heavily laden by their new role of being homeschool teachers as well, to want to grit their teeth and get through the rest of this school year. Before we do that, I’d encourage you to think carefully about the opportunity we have to really shape within ourselves and within our children these two principles:

1. The skill of knowing how to learn
2. A love of learning

When our kids are equipped with these two things, then they are inspired and empowered to see education not as a means to an end but as a journey in and of itself. Today’s episode gives some great strategies and tactics of how to do this as well as how to manage kids’ expectations of allowing you some freedom and space to get your work done. 

Additional Resources:

Follow me on:

Instagram: @jessica_poepoe

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jes.poe

Recent article: Working from Home with Kids--Staying Sane and Productive

 Let's Take a Deep Breath and Help Kids Cope with COVID-19 Restrictions

Diana McCredie has been a top-producing real estate agent for 34 years. In that time she has developed the ability to lead her clients in a way that few others have and can. The secret to her success includes some of the following:

• Self-leadership- Diana talk about the power of her morning journaling routine and how that grounds her physically and emotionally. This routine also causes her to ask the question of what is going to be her primary focus that day and why. She also shares that she avoids the traditional news because of the political nature of those sources and focuses more on medical and financial data that she can then run through her own filters. 
• Real estate leadership- “Real estate happens at the corner of life and change.” With change now being commonplace, Diana shared how her monthly emails have now become weekly emails. Additionally, these emails include much more than they used to include. Specifically, she includes in the past 7 days, how many homes went pending vs listed. This paints a picture as to what’s happening in the market. 
• Client leadership- Beyond just real estate data, Diana is sharing lifestyles tools and tips that are giving her client base help on everything from homeschooling tips to health and wellness tips. 
• Network leadership- Diana set the intention two years ago to build a network of influential women in the financial and professional sectors. This is not only good for her own business, but it allows her to add value to her clients far beyond what one would expect from their real estate agent. 

Diana is leading by example what it looks like to lead through a crisis.

What you’ll get by tuning in:

• A specific journal that has brought great strength and grounding to Diana 
• Key elements that should be a part of your morning routine
• The one real estate market stat Diana believes tells the tale of the market
• How often to communicate with clients now
• Ways to build your outside network

Additional Resources:

Link to Diana’s journal: https://5secondjournal.com/

How to be a better homeschool mom is in a question that is on the minds of many of my clients. That feeling is the same for dads. While the work-life balance equation of a real estate agent can often be challenging, unexpectedly adding in being a homeschool teacher only adds to the challenge. While many are struggling with these new responsibilities, my conversation today with the president of the board of the home school association for the state of Oregon will not only give you tremendous hope that you’re probably doing better than you think, but it will also give you some great ideas as to how to better mesh what you’re already doing with helping to give your children a great education.

How many times have we said to ourselves or to others: “I wish they would have taught me those things when I was in school.” Or, “Kids grow up so fast. I’d love to just capture more of those moments while they’re young. Or, “I’m tired of running around like a taxi-cab driver and wish that we’d just have more time together as a family.” Or, “I wish the school system would focus more on _________.” 

As we recognize that the goal and vision of our kids’ education is to turn them into functional, productive and good adults, then we can start to think differently about education. While school systems and online resources offer a number of resources to lend help to parents, now is the chance for us to say: “What are the things that I want my children to be able to do and what would be fun for me and fun for them to teach them that thing?”

What you’ll get by tuning in:

• Realign your priorities of homeschooling your kids with a bigger vision of what education is all about. 
• Recognizing that your children need as much perspective and emotional support as they do learning math and science. 
• Recognizing that you don’t have to have a book open or be working on assigned work in order to be educating your children. 

Additional Resources:

Facebook group - Homeschooling in Oregon : Talk with OHEN

Free instructional videos, all ages, all subjects - khanacademy.org

Free downloadable curriculum by grade level - coreknowledge.org

Free online classes, all grade levels, many subjects - delphian.org

Real estate update in Portland Oregon. As we move through the weathering phase of COVID-19 and into the recovery and accelerate phases of the economic recovery, speaking with Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist of Windermere was enlightening. Matthew is recognized across the country as one the foremost experts on the economy and how it impacts the housing industry. 

Some of the topics that we discussed were:

• With 30,000 businesses across our country currently closed we’re all asking the question as to how this will impact the real estate market. 
• The major industries that will be impacted are bars and restaurants and then retail. Many of these employees have been furloughed or let go and many will not be brought back. It is expected that 30% of these industries will not be coming back to work. 
• The impact on commercial real estate, that there will be a definite impact on everything from, again, bars, restaurants and retail. Matthew has predicted that 50% of our malls would be gone in 10 years and now maybe that means they’ll be gone in just a few years.
• How this downturn is far different than the previous in the sense that the housing industry was a large part of the previous. This time, the housing industry is likely to be the industry that pulls us through.
• The reason for that is just how important the home has become to everyone. We all want to get it right because we’re spending so much time there now.
• Millennials are house shopping at levels never seen before. 
• Those that want to adapt to these times will continue learning, stay deeply connected to their sphere, and get good at working with Millennials. 

Additional Resources:

Follow me on:

Instagram: @matthewgardnerecon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MJDGardner

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjdgardner/ 

Podcast: Sound Conversations https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/matthew-gardner-chief-economist-at-windermere-real-estate/id1347518770?i=1000418304757