Random Musings by Jeremiah Wean

By: Richard Silver, www.remonline.com

As social media gets more and more popular, many sales reps are jumping on the bandwagon, writing blogs, Twittering, and appearing on Linkedin and Facebook.  While all of that is great, there are some questions you should be asking yourself before you head down what you might think is a shortcut on the Information Highway.

Have you established your brand?  Do you have a personally branded website and email address?  Many agents assume that being part of the broker brand is enough, but what if you should change brokerages or if your brokerage gets bought?

Establishing a personal brand means that you have become www.yourname.com and that your email address is yourname@yourname.com.  It means that you have used this URL and email address on all your advertising, signs and cards and have driven clients to your site as the place for expert information on you, your market and real estate issues.  Your site or blog has become the location where the local guru, you, can answer all questions pertaining to real estate and the neighborhood you work in.  It is the reservoir of pertinent information about the kind of houses you sell and issues you deal with, as well as constantly updating market statistics.

How updated is your database?  Over the past years, have you been growing your database so that it includes up-to-date email addresses?  For some reasons, sales reps and their clients will update you about changes to their phone numbers but not their email addresses, even though more communication is occurring online.  Most Internet users think that the answer to spam is changing their email addresses frequently, rather than installing firewalls and spam-filtering software.

Does your database break down your contacts in terms of spheres of influence -- such as sales reps and brokers, buyers, sellers and service providers?  Do you have a history of contacting all of these people by email?  Have you culled your snail mail database, asking them if they would rather be contacted by email?  Have you been sending out regular snail mail with market updates?

Are you attuned to the social media consumer?  If you expect that you are going to get this consumer to give you 100 per cent undivided attention, you are going to be disappointed.  This is the ADD generation, me included, so it is not just an age thing.  We are used to "channel surfing" quickly until we find what interests us.  We have gone from surfing TV to surfing the Internet, so you had better be concise, topical and easy to understand.  Twitter messages are not longer than 140 characters.  If you want to sell something, you have limited space and time to get the message out.  You must be engaging to engage customers in today's economy.

Are you really ready to be transparent?  If you cannot let something be viewed in the public eye, maybe you should not be doing it.  If your friends keep filling your Facebook photos with pictures of you after too many drinks, maybe they are trying a Facebook intervention.  You do have some control over who can view your profiles on the social media sites, but if you are a person with a public persona, maybe table dancing at someone's birthday party is not a good idea.

If you have strong views on any topic, make sure you can back them up with information and leave yourself open for input and discussion.  The greatest thing about sharing views on the Internet is that, as time passes and more information comes to light or your thoughts change, you can always revisit your posts, changing them and linking to supporting documentation, or even a mea culpa.  Also, from time-to-time you will get comments from the public on a position that you may have taken and you realize from the comments left that you did not explain your position well and you can go back and further explain.

The next step?  Social media is a great door to open, but once open you may not be able to close it.  You may find that you have quite a need to say publicly what you have been telling clients privately for years.  Don't assume that you cannot write: you speak in an original manner, and the great thing about this kind of communication is that you are best when you approach topics with your own thoughts and in your own voice.

Before you jump into the traffic, make sure that you have some of the basics down.  Spend the time to develop your brand, remembering that your contacts are your best promoters.  Be honest, giving succinct information and commentary that allows your true self to emerge.

You may find that underneath the Clark Kent/Lois Lane exterior lives a social media super star waiting to get out!

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By: Claes Bell, www.bankrate.com

While economists and politicians study, debate and finally implement nifty new programs to fix the economy, ordinary Americans are stuck trying to find ways to cope with the worst recession since the 1930s.  Those who have lost their jobs, their savings or their homes -- or who simply need to find ways to protect themselves from what may come next -- don't have the luxury of waiting for government action to reach their wallets.  Here are ways to solve five of the biggest financial problems plaguing the American consumer -- without waiting for Uncle Sam to lend a hand.

Unemployment

Even with billions in stimulus money being dished out, the economy continues to shed jobs at an alarming rate.  So if you're unemployed or underemployed, finding a new job means getting in line with potentially hundreds of other job hunters for the same openings.  Unless, of course, you find a way to cut the line.

"You need to figure out what it is that you want to do and are most qualified to do, then identify employers and companies where there appears to be some level of growth or opportunity and identify ways to network your way into the company," says Nancy Collamer, creator of Layoffsurvivalguide.com.  "If you wait until the job is posted, you're going to be out of luck."

So once you've identified the companies that might be a good fit for you, how do you get your foot in the door?

Collamer recommends networking sites, such as LinkedIn, as a good place to start forging connections with your target employers.  Temping for a company is another way to get in the door ahead of the job-hunting crowd, says Collamer.  Think of it as an extended job interview.

"They get to meet you, learn about you and see what you're all about.  And if there is an opening in the company and if they're pleased with the work, the easiest thing for them to do is to first turn to the temp," says Collamer.  "People and companies usually follow the path of least resistance, so if you've got someone in front of you who's doing a great job, that's going to be the first person you're going to turn to."

Lastly, don't be afraid to spread the word that you're looking for work to friends, old colleagues and relatives.  Just make sure you're specific about what you're looking for, says Collamer.  "The more specific you can be, the easier you make it for somebody to offer help," she says.

Overspending

Reining in spending is critical in a punishing recession like this one, especially for those who've suffered a loss of income.  The most important step you can take to get spending under control is writing down and living by a budget, says Dave Ramsey, author of "Total Money Makeover" and host of the eponymous syndicated radio show.

"If we can get couples to sit down and spend every dollar of their income for this month on paper, and agree not to spend any money that's not on that paper without coming back and having an emergency budget committee meeting, all of a sudden it looks like they have found money," says Ramsey.  "Just writing it down and agreeing to stick to it -- and then legitimately sticking to it -- will cause your money to work so much harder."

In tough times, when many households are seeing incomes fall, a monthly budget meeting can help families adjust more quickly to financial setbacks.

"When you've got a situation where someone's had a job layoff, it helps you identify what is an absolute necessity and what are just wants," says Ramsey.  "When you have a monthly process, and you're course-correcting a little bit at a time rather than giving everybody whiplash, everybody's on the boat with you.  Everybody's helping you make the turn."

Debt

Government bailouts of some of the country's largest credit card companies haven't stopped them from boosting interest rates and cutting limits.  So how can you make sure you don't fall victim to a debt disaster?

The first step, says Ramsey, is making sure that you stop the flow of red ink.

"Your first goal has to be taking care of necessities in the household before you start reducing debt," says Ramsey.  "The second thing we tell people is, don't reduce debt until you've got at least $1,000 saved as a starter emergency fund."

Once those conditions are met, Ramsey suggests listing all your debts from least to greatest, regardless of interest rate, and applying any extra money in your budget to the first debt on your list.  While it may not be the most mathematically efficient way to take on your debts, Ramsey believes that the success of tackling the smaller debts will give you the confidence and drive to tackle the rest.

Foreclosure

The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that 2.4 million homes will go into foreclosure in 2009.  If you're afraid you're on the way to joining that frighteningly large number, don't wait for the Making Home Affordable program to get rolling.

"If people have already fallen behind or are on the verge of falling behind, the most critical thing they can do is recognize that there is help out there and pick up the phone and either call your servicer directly or call a nonprofit housing counselor to see what options may be available to you," says Josh Furman, director of counseling at the Homeownership Preservation Foundation.

Housing counselors and lenders have lots of options at their disposal to help homeowners hang on.  There are temporary measures like forbearances, where you add a little more to payments in the future to make up for a few missed payments in the past.  Or there are long-term measures like extending the loan term, lowering interest rates or even forgiving some of the debt.

Furman stresses that even those who think they're beyond help may have options.  "Up to the point of receiving a foreclosure notice letter, there's always something that can be done, based on the different circumstances, so please pick up the phone and reach out to the Homeowners Hope Hot line or a reputable nonprofit organization," says Furman. (That number is 888-995-4673.)

Wrecked Retirement Account

Government attempts to boost investment and stabilize the stock market have seen mixed results.  So how can people repair the damage caused to their retirement accounts by this recession on their own?

The answer depends primarily on your age.  If you're still years away from retirement, "the paper value of your portfolio is down right now, but it doesn't really have that much meaning to you unless you're distributing some of that money for income," says Steve Pomeranz, a Certified Financial Planner and the host of the weekly public radio program "On the Money."

So what's the advice for those closing in on retirement or who are already there?

"The problem is, the horse is out of the barn," says Pomeranz.  "They're going to have to tighten their belt the best that they can until this whole thing cycles out and the economy picks up again.  It may take two or three years, but they're just going to have to try to reduce the amount of distributions from their retirement accounts as much as possible."

If you're uncomfortable about future risks to your portfolio, he says, it may be right for you to redistribute more of your assets into cash and bonds rather than equities.  Still, he cautions against getting out of equities altogether.

"Now is the time to say, 'It is what it is, but I still want some equity exposure, because if I'm wrong and the market goes up, I'll participate,'" Pomeranz says.

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By: G.M. Filisko, www.realtor.org

Even with home prices at their most affordable level in years, many real estate practitioners are finding that their biggest business challenge is a scarcity of buyers.  Given this, you may not think that now's the best time to be picky about whom you choose as clients.  But that's the smartest thing you can do.

"You must have buyer standards," says Robert Jenson, a sales associate at RE/MAX Central in Las Vegas.  In today's tight credit environment, "buyers need to be qualified, motivated, realistic, and willing to work with you on your terms."  Time is money, he says.

Whether you choose to prequalify buyers -- and what standards you decide they must meet -- depends largely on your business goals.

Some practitioners, like Jenson, go through a checklist of sorts to uncover the financial and emotional readiness of his prospects.  "I ask why they're moving and how soon they need to be in their new home," he says.  "Are they in a lease?  Do they need to sell before they buy?  Are they paying cash?  If they're getting a loan, have they talked to a lender yet?  All of their answers give me a sense of their motivation.  I'm looking for people who want to buy within months."

Buyers, however, can resist even basic information gathering.  To overcome this hurdle, Jenson educates prospects on market conditions.  "If buyers say they don't need to talk to a lender yet, I explain that the majority of sales in Las Vegas today are bank-owned properties or short sales, so they should get prepared to deal with financing early," he says.  "I let them know that just because they have money and good credit doesn't mean they'll be qualified, nor does it mean they'll be happy with their loan terms."

Janice Leis, an associate broker at Prudential Fox & Roach in Philadelphia and Prudential Florida WCI Realty in Boca Raton, Fla., also takes a hard-line approach.  She asks buyers to get prequalified with a lender before she'll show them any properties.  "I want to hear from the lender that they are solid buyers and confirm their price range and cap," Leis says.

Not all practitioners subscribe to such strict guidelines, however.  "I ask buyers to get preapproved, but I don't have a hard-and-fast rule," says Sam DeBord, a sales associate at RE/MAX Connected in Seattle.  He says he's most demanding of first-time buyers; if they don't get preapproved, DeBord tries hard to convince them otherwise.  But he's unlikely to show them properties if they won't meet with a lender.  With repeat buyers, DeBord will show them properties even if they aren't approved, but he still explains the benefits of preapproval in the new lending environment.

At the far end of the spectrum is Eric Jolliff, an associate at Investors Alliance Real Estate Investment Services in St. Louis.  Joliff, who has been in the real estate business just one year, says any buyer -- preapproved or not -- gives him an opportunity to practice his skills and expand his sphere.  "Any contacts I make are advantageous," he says.  "The more time I spend with clients, the more experience I'll gain.  Even if buyers aren't qualified to buy, my work could lead to other business."

Jolliff says he's already received two solid referrals from prospects who weren't quite ready to buy.  "That's a pretty good return on my time," he says.

Whatever your method, don't choose it by default.  Consider all of the business advantages and drawbacks of your plan, and stick to it, Jenson says.  "Most associates are too chicken to qualify buyers because they're afraid to lose them," he says.  "But you're better off with two qualified and motivated buyers than 40 who'll run you ragged and then not buy."

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By: Chris Connell, www.selfgrowth.com

If you listen closely you can almost hear it-the clank of the "golden handcuffs" hitting the ground.

What are the "golden handcuffs"?  They are that thing that keeps people from leaving a job they really aren't fulfilled by, but which makes them too much money for them to walk away.  Thus, they are in "golden handcuffs."

Study after study shows that American's are unhappy with their careers, which contributes to their feeling unhappy and unfulfilled with their lives.  And why not?  Truth is, most of us chose a career based on how much money we could make.  No one really ever told us otherwise.

Now, things are beginning to change, rapidly so.  People are starting to figure out that if the end game is "happiness and fulfillment", that their current career strategy (or life strategy for that matter) has fallen short of the mark; far short in many cases.

So, we American's have plodded along as best we can, trying to anesthetize the lack of fulfillment in whatever way we can.  So then it makes sense when we hear that we are both the wealthiest people in the world, and also the fattest and consume the most drugs¦by far.  These are just a couple of indicators.  The drugs for "depression" and "bi-polar" and "A-D-D" are not entered into the stats of illegal drug use, but they are more often a stab at the same goal, to numb the unhappiness and lack of fulfillment.  Our divorce rate is a pointer as well.

But hey, when you're driving a sweet ride home (at 7pm) to a sweet house with great furniture, and a closet full of clothes, and a stainless steel fridge stocked with good food, and a family with expectations of a certain lifestyle, and the Joneses next door peaking over the fence, well hey, its enough to keep a person plodding along for quite some time -- until something happens.

Right now, in this moment, that something is happening for millions of Americans.  A lot of jobs have been cut in this economic place we are in.  And though it seems like doom and gloom, I actually feel it's the best thing that could have happened for a lot of folks.  Present company included.

Truth is, many of these folks were miserable.  These lives they'd built up were self imposed prisons of unfulfillment.  And though the burn of the fear of financial insecurity is hard to bear for some, it forces one to start looking at life in a new way, asking some gut level questions.  It provides a space; a time for looking at what's really important and what one really wants their life to be about.

Hit your favorite local retirement home and go around and ask some of those wonderful folks what their top 3 regrets are.  Studies show that you'll find a theme.

·         "I wish I'd taken more risks."

·         "I wish I'd said 'I love you' more."

·         "I wish I'd done something more meaningful, made more of a contribution."

I believe that contribution is why we're here.  We each have a unique song to sing, flower to blossom, masterpiece to create.  Wayne Dyer says "don't die with your masterpiece still in you."  I agree with that.  For some of us that may be the next Google, for others it could be something they make with their hands that brings joy to people, others still may have a book, or a screenplay, or some sort of business venture.

There is a force at work here, something we can't seem to shake no matter how much money we make doing something else, a feeling that nags at us and just won't go away.  This force is the creative spirit that is in all of nature, compelling it push forth and bloom, sing its unique song.  It's how the planet moves forward.  It's how societies and cultures move forward.  It's as natural as the seasons.  We are compelled to create, or be doomed to a life unfulfilled.  That is our choice.  Bloom, or wither and die.

If you are one of those folks who have found themselves unemployed and seeking direction, then I say to you "Praise God" (or insert your higher power term of choice here).  What a scary, but wonderful place to be!  Take this opportunity, this blessing, and use it as way to get lined up with what you really feel like you are here to do.

And if you don't know what that is, start searching for it.  The answer is inside you, wanting to come forth.  Just a little goading and it will spring forward, and will change your life forever, and help you to create a new life that you really love to live.

And for those of you who already know what it is, get into action!  This is your time.  Make the move.  Start following your bliss.  There is no "stuff" that money can buy you that will make that feeling go away.  It is your destiny.  And conversely, there is no amount of money that could buy you the unbelievable, crazy awesome feeling of doing what you absolutely love to do, and which you feel is blessing people in some way.  It's your song to sing.  Sing it!  And live the life you were meant to live.

Live a life you love!

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By: Peter S. Goodman, www.nytimes.com

Late last month, the Obama administration summoned mortgage company executives to Washington to demand they move faster to lower payments for homeowners sliding toward foreclosure.  Treasury officials called on the companies to hire and train more people quickly to field applications for relief.

But industry insiders and legal experts say the limited capacity of mortgage companies is not the primary factor impeding the government's $75 billion program to prevent foreclosures.  Instead, it is that many mortgage companies are reluctant to give strapped homeowners a break because the companies collect lucrative fees on delinquent loans.

Even when borrowers stop paying, mortgage companies that service the loans collect fees out of the proceeds when homes are ultimately sold in foreclosure.  So the longer borrowers remain delinquent, the greater the opportunities for these mortgage companies to extract revenue -- fees for insurance, appraisals, title searches and legal services.

"It frustrates me when I see the government looking to the servicer for the solution, because it will never ever happen," said Margery Golant, a Florida lawyer who defends homeowners against foreclosure and who worked in the law department of a major mortgage company, Ocwen Financial.  "I don't think they're motivated to do modifications at all.  They keep hitting the loan all the way through for junk fees.  It's a license to do whatever they want."

Foreclosure Business Boom: Lawn Painting

Rich Miller, a governance project manager at Countrywide Financial and Bank of America before he left in January, said Bank of America had been reluctant to modify loans, which hurt the bottom line.  The company has been waiting and hoping the economy will improve and delinquent customers will resume making payments, he said.

"That's the short-term strategy," said Mr. Miller, who oversaw training programs at Countrywide, which was bought by Bank of America.  He now works as an industry consultant.

Bank of America disputed that characterization.  "To think that somehow or other we would jeopardize investor relationships and customer relationships for the very small incremental income we would receive by delaying seems ludicrous," said Robert V. James, the bank's senior vice president for mortgage operations and insurance.  "It's not the right thing to do."

Mortgage companies, some of which are affiliated with the nation's largest banks, are paid to manage pools of loans owned by investors.  The companies typically collect a percentage of the value of the loans they service.  They extract their share regardless of whether borrowers are current on their payments.  Indeed, their percentage often increases on delinquent loans.

Legal experts say the opportunities for additional revenue in delinquency are considerable, confronting mortgage companies with a conflict between their own financial interest in collecting fees and their responsibility to recoup money for investors who own most mortgages.

"The rules by which servicers are reimbursed for expenses may provide a perverse incentive to foreclose rather than modify," concluded a recent paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Under the Obama administration's foreclosure program, a servicer that modifies a loan for a homeowner collects $1,000 from the government, followed by $1,000 a year for each of the next three years.  A senior Treasury adviser, Seth Wheeler, said these payments amounted to "meaningful incentives to servicers to help overcome the challenges and competing demands they face in considering and completing loan modifications."  He added that mortgage companies "are contractually obligated to the terms of this program, which require them to offer modifications to qualified borrowers."

But experts say the administration's incentives are often outweighed by the benefits of collecting fees from delinquency, and then more fees through the sale of homes in foreclosure.

"If they do a loan modification, they get a few shekels from the government," said David Dickey, who led a mortgage sales team at Countrywide and Bank of America, leaving in March to start his own mortgage advisory firm, National Home Loan Advocates.  By contrast, he said, the road to foreclosure is lined with fees, especially if it is prolonged.  "There's all sorts of things behind the scenes," he said.

When borrowers fall behind, mortgage companies typically collect late fees reaching 6 percent of the monthly payments.

"For many subprime servicers, late fees alone constitute a significant fraction of their total income and profit," said Diane E. Thompson, a lawyer for the National Consumer Law Center, in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee in July.  "Servicers thus have an incentive to push homeowners into late payments and keep them there: if the loan pays late, the servicer is more likely to profit."

She cited Ocwen Financial, which reported that nearly 12 percent of its income in 2007 came from fees to borrowers.

Paul A. Koches, Ocwen's general counsel, said: "We'd prefer that to be zero.  The costs associated with our delinquent loans are in every instance in excess of the late fees."

Data on delinquencies reinforces the notion that servicers are inclined to let problem loans float in purgatory -- neither taking control of houses and selling them, nor modifying loans to give homeowners a break.

From June 2008 to June 2009, the number of American mortgages that were 90 days or more delinquent soared from 1.8 million to nearly 3 million, according to the realty research company First American Core Logic.  During that period, the number of loans that resulted in the bank taking ownership of the home declined to 245,000, from 333,000.

As a home slides toward foreclosure, mortgage companies pay for many services required to take control of the property and resell it.  They typically funnel orders for title searches, insurance policies, appraisals and legal filings to companies they own or share revenue with.

Ocwen established its own title company, Premium Title Services, in part to keep more of the revenue from foreclosures, said Ms. Golant, who helped start it.

"It was hugely profitable," she said.  "Premium Title would charge for the title when it got transferred to Ocwen, then charge again when it got transferred to the new buyer, and then sell title insurance.  It was easy money."

Mortgage companies not only gain this extra business through their subsidiaries, but also collect reimbursement for the payments when the houses are sold.

The investors who own bad mortgages accept whatever is left.  Investors typically do not notice how much they give up to the servicers, because fees are embedded in complex sales.

"It's under the radar," Ms. Golant said.

Ultimately, the benefits of delinquency erode incentives for mortgage companies to dispose of troubled loans quickly, say experts, allowing distressed houses to decay and fall in value -- a fact of little interest to the servicer.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what the house sells for, because they don't take that loss," said Ms. Golant.  "Meanwhile, they are collecting all these fees."

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By: Dirk Zeller, www.rechampions.com

Lao-Tzu said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  John Maxwell said, "Success is a journey not a destination."  You combine the two, and create this wisdom: the success journey begins with a single step.  Unfortunately, that is precisely what stops most people¦that first step.  That little step separates the abundance from the failure.  Without that first step you are guaranteed to not accomplish your objective.

Without reaching out and picking up the phone and making the first lead follow-up call or prospecting call, we are assured failure.  It is that one motion of picking up and dialing that first number that separates the winner from the loser.  In terms of time, it is less than 2 seconds that will determine your outcome.

Now I realize that there is some pain involved with lead follow up and prospecting.  There is also pain involved if you don't do it.  There are two kinds of pain, the pain of discipline (the making of the lead follow-up and prospecting calls) and the pain of regret.  The truth is we are going to experience one of them.  It is unavoidable to not experience one.  You just have to choose which you would rather live with.  You are one who ultimately does the choosing.

When we take the step to make the calls, we are experiencing the pain of discipline, the pain of potential rejection.  You also may experience the pain of sacrifice and pain of hard work.  To avoid the pain of regret you must pursue this course with single-minded purpose.  You must decide and commit to the disciplined path.  "All glory comes from daring to begin," said Eugene Ware.  If you do not begin you have selected the pain of regret.

If we don't attack our dreams we will experience the greatest pain in life, the pain of regret.  Sydney Harris wrote, "Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is the regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."

The regret of not doing what we know we should do, the regret of not achieving our goals and dreams.  The regret of not crafting a grand lifestyle for our family and ourselves.  The regret of not living up to our potential or by living off our potential.  At what point does potential turn into regret?  There is that moment in time.  It's different for each and every one of us.  Are you nearing that point?  Bill Parcels said, "You lose with potential.  You win with performance."

Performance is contained in the pain of discipline.  Discipline involves work and commitment.  Success is not purchased at any one time, but on the installment plan.  We only achieve success through disciplined effort over time.  When we make the calls daily to our leads, prospects, past clients, sphere, expireds and FSBOs, we will achieve success guaranteed.  We will also move far away form the pain of regret.

When we create a habit of daily discipline, an almost "magical" thing will happen.  One day you will realize that your discipline has turned into desire.  The desire to make the calls daily.  The wanting to make the calls because of the habit and the results.  The road will get easier to stay on.

The reason the first step is so hard is the pain position.  The position of the pain is different for the discipline verses the regret.  The pain of discipline we feel now...today.  The pain of regret we may not feel for hours, days, weeks, months, and years.  This will often cause us to make the wrong selection, because we would prefer to not have pain now or ever.  The pain of discipline will pass and transform to desire.  The pain of regret can linger forever. 

Start the process to discipline.  Start today toward discipline and sway form regret.  Begin your success journey today with a single, first step.

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By: Tessa Stowe, www.salesconversation.com

How you define selling will impact your sales results.

Suppose that you think selling is all about persuading and convincing people to buy your product or your service  In other words, "getting them" to make a decision for you.

If you have this definition of selling, chances are high that you will resist selling, and you will also experience significant sales resistance from your prospects.

You will resist selling for two reasons.  First, you don't want people to think you are trying to persuade or convince them.  That's not the image you want to project.  Second, you will resist selling as you don't like the idea of having to persuade or convince people.  All in all, if you have this persuading/convincing definition of selling, you will resist having sales conversations, and the less sales conversations you have, the fewer sales (closings) will result.  There is a direct correlation.

If you have this persuading/convincing definition of selling, not only will you resist having sales conversations, but when you do have sales conversations, you will likely experience significant sales resistance from your prospects.  Your prospects will pick up on the fact that you are trying to persuade and convince them, and the moment they do, their sales resistance barrier will come up.  They will put this sales resistance barrier up to protect themselves from being sold.  Remember this: No one likes to be sold.

Also, if you have this definition of selling, the sales process you use will be one that is based on persuading and convincing.  The most common persuading/convincing sales process is telling all about your product/service and then going for the close.  When you use this "Tell/Close" sales process, you will experience even more sales resistance from your prospect, because in their eyes you are now acting like a stereotypical salesperson.  As soon as you act like this, your prospects will start associating all their stereotypical beliefs about salespeople with you -- even if they are not true.  Their sales resistance barrier will also go up to protect themselves from being sold.  The way you are selling is giving them evidence that you are a stereotypical salesperson!

So, if you think selling is all about persuading and convincing, you will inevitably create sales resistance.  The more sales resistance there is the less sales will result.  Clearly, this persuading/convincing definition of selling does not help you sell!

Now, let's assume that you now define selling as being all about helping people to get what they want and need -- whether it is your product/service or not.

If you have this definition of selling, how do you now feel about having conversations with people to see if you can help them?  What is your resistance going to be to having those sorts of conversations?

Also if you are now trying to help someone to get what they want, how do you think someone is going to react to you?  People are keen to have conversations with people who genuinely want to help them.  People open up to people who genuinely want to help them.  There is little, if any, resistance.

If you think selling is about helping people to get what they want, then instead of telling them all about your product, you are going to be asking lots of questions to find out if and how you can help them.  Only if you find out through your questions that you can help them -- and they do want to be helped then, and only then, does it make sense to talk about what you have as a solution. 

So your sales process is very different from the "Tell/Close" sales process.  The more you ask questions -- and if you are sincere in your asking and listening -- the more your prospect will open up to you and the less resistance there will be.

As you can see, just by changing your definition of selling, your own resistance to having sales conversations will decrease, and the resistance you get from your prospects will decrease.  If you also practice a sales process which aligns with this definition of selling, this will further decrease any sales resistance.

If, therefore, you think selling is all about helping people to get what they want, there will be very little sales resistance.  The less sales resistance there is, the more sales will result.  This definition of selling as helping people get what they want helps you sell!

I strongly recommend that beginning today, you genuinely believe that selling is about helping people to get what they want.  Then as soon as you can, find and learn a sales process that aligns with this definition.  Do that and your sales cannot help but increase.  It is inevitable.

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By: Petra Jones, www.remonline.com

Google has a history of producing powerful applications for real estate agents, from real estate listings to residential street views and maps pinpointing property locations.  Google's newest tool, Google Wave, is likely to be no exception, and real estate agents need to be aware of it.

It's a live communications tool that combines instant messaging with image, video, map and file sharing.  Why should real estate agents be interested in Wave?  Imagine being able to display a property listing for free, along with photos, interactive location and boundary maps and associated documents, all on the same webpage.  Known as a 'wave', it can also be used as a means of enabling three-way communications between real estate agents, vendors and prospective buyers who can join your wave as interested parties and receive notification of updates and exchange instant messages with you and other members of the wave in real time, as with MSN or Yahoo chat messengers.

For those curious about how it works, Google Wave is rather like a cheesecake built from three layers -- product, platform and protocol.  The application itself is built using HTML 5, the latest version of the programming language used to write webpages.  It's HTML 5 that gives Google Wave its offline storage capacity, document editing and browsing history management that's so useful for sharing property files and photos online.  The next layer, the platform of Google Wave, is built using various APIs -- essentially web services that allow developers to build tools and applications.  Finally, there's Google Wave Protocol, a mechanism that allows us to share and publish our property listing waves on several different websites.  The property images, files and documents along with discussion threads are all stored on Google's servers in much the same way as with Google Docs, Google's existing document sharing and editing tool.

So why should we consider using Google Wave rather than sticking to Facebook or other traditional networking tools?  First, Google Wave provides us with a single way of doing everything from checking our emails to blogging and updating listings or messaging clients.  It's a simpler means of doing all those tasks without having to visit a number of different websites.

Second, you can embed your property listings wave on any blog or website, making it easy to integrate with your existing site.  Google Wave is a fast instant communications tool where potential buyers and sellers can contribute and respond to your posts simultaneously, adding a comment to the same property image, for example.

What's Google Wave like to use?  The interface is fairly simple, with a large central inbox containing both your latest messages and wave member's updates, which you can mark as read/unread or file away into folders or archive.  You can search through your wave updates and messages, and on the top left there's a button for creating brand new property listing waves.  To the right of your inbox there's a Snapshots panel for uploading and sharing images where photos can be dragged and dropped to folders, marked as read or unread or tagged with keywords.  The navigational panel is on the left, along with a contacts address book that also doubles as an instant messenger to chat with contacts in real time.

Like Facebook, Google Wave is likely to include a variety of applications that all the members of a wave can use, from colleagues to potential vendors and buyers.  These can be anything from applications for localized weather reports for your real estate area to anti-spam robots.  A gadget called Bidder allows you to produce eBay-style auction waves capable of including conversations with bidders (including sales inquiries), images of the property you're selling, emails and shared files with product information.  This auction application also allows potential buyers to see the names and avatars of other participants in the auction and the ID of the current highest bidder.

The next logical step is for Google to integrate Wave with eBay itself.  Then it might even be possible for an eBay wave to be promoted on other websites besides eBay for more exposure.

Perhaps more controversial is Google Wave's Twiliobot Robot, which allows you to include the text of phone conversations in your waves.  It works by using the Twilio Phone API and some Python and XML code to allow you to dial vendors' or potential buyers' phone numbers simply by clicking on a link.  Twilio then phones that person's mobile or landline and the conversation is both transcribed as text and turned into an audio sound file to which others can listen.

This technology opens up all sorts of possibilities -- and potentially some security and data protection implications.  Inevitably some conversations are private and confidential and legal regulations govern whether they can or cannot be published online.  Google Wave also allows real estate agents to rewind instant message conversations, blog and image posts and discussion thread dialogue to see how property discussions evolved, and use this information to refine marketing and sales technique.

It's too early to say if Wave will revolutionize the way we present property listings or deal with inquiries from buyers and vendors, but it's certainly an exciting new development, particularly given that, unlike existing collaborative tools (such as Microsoft Sharepoint Services), it's free and has the weight of Google behind it.  

You can get a glimpse of what we can expect at wave.google.com, where you can learn more about this technology and watch a video of Google Wave's features.

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By: Ron, www.thewisdomjournal.com

It's okay; we all give up too easily sometimes.  You are not alone!  It doesn't matter if it was weight loss, living by a budget, learning to play a musical instrument, blogging regularly, spending time with the kids, learning Spanish, or any one of your New Year's Resolutions, giving up too easily is a common human condition.  If you're like me, you look back and wonder what was wrong with you.  I know I ask myself repeatedly, "Why did I give up so easily?"

Why is persistence so difficult to develop?

I've prided myself in the past for my determination and will-power, but if I'm honest, my determination and will-power were supplemented by a support structure, most notably from my wife and family.

"In other words, how bad do you want it?  And how far are you willing to go to get it?  Unless the answer is all the way, you will not persist.  You will give up." -- Napoleon Hill

Willingness to stay the course certainly plays an important part in persistence, but why have you and I been unwilling in the past?  Here are some possible reasons.

1. A purposeless existence.  If we don't know -- really, really know -- what we want out of our lives, there isn't a reason to persevere with a task, especially in the face of hardship.

2. Too much reliance on others.  Other people won't develop persistence inside of you; they can't.  They're too busy with their own struggles to have to pull you up, too.

3. Disorganized plans.  Clutter and disorganization de-motivate.  Even if your plans are practical and strong, if they're disorganized you won't persevere.

4. Guessing about the outcome.  Even "educated" guesses are less valuable than experience or observation.  When we guess about how our plans will turn out, we aren't motivated.  I know I'm not.

5. Lack of desire.  You'll quit almost anything if you don't desire it anymore.  I quit piano lessons because I just didn't care anymore football was more important, as was almost anything else.  I did teach myself to play the guitar later, but that was because I wanted to learn it.  Girls liked guitar players, not the classical piano geeks.

6. Uncooperative colleagues.  Without empathy, understanding, "synergism," and cooperation, your enterprise is destined for failure.  Quitting will be the symptom that shows up.

7. Too many commitments -- followed by performing the task very poorly.  Some people quit because continuing on means damage to their reputation because they cannot put the task in a higher priority category.

8. A habit of quitting.  Persistence is a habit.  Quitting is a habit.  Some people have developed a habit for one or the other, and that can be a factor in their persistence.

9. Not enough resistance.  Sounds counterintuitive, but (maybe it's a personality flaw?) tell me I *can't* do something, and you better watch out.  I once had a boss that told me I shouldn't get an MBA and all that did was spur me on.  I finished the program early and graduated with honors just so I could hang that diploma in my office.

10. A negative outlook.  There have been times in my past that I was more than willing to concentrate my thoughts on negative and discouraging influences -- and wouldn't you know it -- I quit those activities.

How to develop persistence

Decide your purpose, and back it with a burning desire.

Create an organized, well thought out plan based on experience or observation (yours or someone you admire and trust).

List the benefits of accomplishing your plan.  Use the most detail possible.

Ally yourself with positive people who will encourage you to follow through with your plans and your purpose.

Seal your thought processes against negative thoughts and against anyone who would discourage you.

Yes, you can change.  You've been changing and developing yourself your entire life.  Persistence will change your life -- for the better.

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