Category Archives: planning

commitment, Inspiration, planning, tips

I call it the stinking thinking

February 13, 2012 Bettina Settles 1 Comment

As soon as you open the email, or turn on the TV you hear the bad news.

Job loss here, cut back there …..and you name it.

Today alone the last months’ job numbers where posted. Nation wide now at 8.1% unemployment…..

…….91.9% of the total work force is still employed.

Things I hear on the street every day are sayings like

…..I am not getting my raise this year.

…. I no longer get any overtime.

…. I was told I have to take an extra day off

Think of it as:

….my Company is being proactive so that I still can work in the near future.

I call it as the stinking thinking that get’s us in a bad mood and how we think about things what we are being spoon feed over the news and airwaves every day.

It does not matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they do.

Sure you can not turn the stinking thinking around on a dime and no one expect s you to do this. You need to practice and maybe find a positive thinking partner to help you with this.

Read about the subject; and when you can not buy the book there is always the old fashion library to go to.

Start visualizing you success, smile more even when you have to face it and use positive words when communication with yourself and others.

Last but not least…..as soon as you have one of those stinking thinking thoughts try to replace it with a positive thought. It is not easy at the beginning. We are creatures of habit and habits are sometimes hard to break, but you will get there.

commitment, Communication, organizing, planning

Building relationship and Follow-Up

February 11, 2012 Bettina Settles Leave a comment

……so you subscribed to a lead generating program and they are sending you homeowners to contact.

You make your first initial contact, left your info, and you wait….and wait ….and wait…

….I hate to tell you; just with one visit most of the owners will not call you. On the average it takes up to 5 personal visits before an owner will either open the door or call you back.

One of my great friends and Real Estate investors has made it a sport in weeding out the “fly-by-night Real Estate Agents” (his words not mine). He advertises his properties as FSBO when he is looking for an agent to sell his home in states other than mine. He does not call any agent back unless he has heard from the agent in some form or fashion at least 5 or more times.

He gave me the following percentages from tracking the Agent’s activity over the last 10 years:

40% of the agents will not call or contact him for a second time

30% will contact him at least twice

20% will contact him at least 3 times and give up

9% will contact him 4 times and give up and

1% of the original agents who contacted him will contact him 5 or more times

He told me that it did not matter how the market was doing. When the market was good, bad, or ugly the average numbers were the same.

Sobering numbers? ….I think so.

This leads me into an RISMEDIA article I found, on January 26, 2011, that focuses on how Real Estate companies recognize that relationship building and follow up service are critical components to promoting both customer retention and revenue growth.

organizing, planning

Instructions are here to be ignored…..are they?

February 9, 2012 Bettina Settles Leave a comment

Well another work day rolled in and made itself at home in the office.

Catching up with emails and calls from the weekend are the first things on the list, well…… after a cup of coffee. Reading the emails gives me great ideas for blog topics…….

I personally sometimes look at instructions and just throw my hands up in the air…..to long….too complicated….too much information….

For me personally I love to use my step by step check lists.

Sometimes you are dealing with clients who have specific guidelines and instructions that have to be followed to the “T” and yes they are changing constantly. Then you have clients who have not a clue what they are looking for and the check list can be a great conversation starting point.

Having my personal check list will help me personally, because most of what is needed is already on the list, maybe not in the right order but it is here….

…..but first things first……

I have made the habit to read each client instructions in FULL every time I receive a new work order work from them. No matter how long I have worked for them. When I have a question I will ask it right at the beginning and not after I have started a job.

I then use my check list and highlight only what is needed for this specific work order. I double and triple check it against the written order that was given to me.

This will ensure that I do not work on something that is not needed or wanted and I don’t waste my time with extra stuff by running around like a chick with her head cut off.

…and….. off I go to accomplish the task. Many times the work order can be accomplished by working the order only once.

Does some of this sound familiar?

Most of this comes from the 80/20 rule the Pareto’s Principle that you can use for planning your day, week, month, year, or business growth.

Yaro Starak has written a great blog in 2006 about the 80/20 rule and there is great info on other websites….bottom line is…..

“He who fails to plan, plans to fail” Proverb quotes