Mitch 's Blog

Well it's that time of year again.  It's time to start thinking about the year 2009.  I know, it's hard to believe that we are in the year 2009 almost.  I remember graduating high school in 1978 ( my 30th reunion is next month) and wondering where I'm going and how I'm going to get there.  Unfortunately back then I didn't know where to go or what to do.  I knew I was going to go to college.  My goal at that time was only to be a rock star with my band.  School was a promise to my mother that I was going to keep no matter what. 

Then, on Aug 22, 1978 at 7:45pm an unbelievable turn of events changed my life forever.  I was pumping gas in my friends car, before there were self serve (the attendant was busy and we didn't want to wait), and the gas tankl spit back at me getting gas on my fishnet shirt (remember those!).  After finishing pumping gas, I went in the car and my friend asked me for a light for his cigarette.  I flicked the bic and the gas on my shirt ignited.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  Luckily, thanks to Jerry Lewis's Drop and Roll commercials of the day, my friend thought quick enough to get me out of the car and roll me on the ground and put the flames out.  I remember rolling one way and seeing the gas tank to the car and the other way and seeing the gas tanks of the gas station.  I was telling my friends to run in my head but of course they couldn't hear me.  I thought about so much in that short time I was on fire.  My life passed before me and I said my good byes to my parents, my friends and my girlfriend.  My life was going to be cut short.  I wasn't in any pain while I was on fire, I was actually pretty calm.  Then, all of the sudden, the fire was out and many people were standing over me.  Then there was the pain.  I hope nobody on here ever has to feel the pain of burining 20% of your body with 3rd degree burns.  They told me that I would have been dead if I was on fire for another 10 seconds.  The shirt would have melted into my organs. 

It was a pretty horrific site.  Burnt skin was hanging off me from my hands and arms.  My chest and stomach were charred black and the doctors and nurses were working fevershly to keep me alive.  They worked on me for 6 hours before they were able to transport me to intensive care.  Quite an experience.

The point of this story is coming.  The first few days were a blurr. I was pretty drugged up.  It was probably the third or fourth day before I can remember talking to my doctor.  At that point I was pretty restrained in a private room.  All I could think about was that I was never going to play guitar again.  The doctor assured me I would.  It was then that the doctor told me I would be here for 4-6 months recovering.  The probem was, I had a gig in a month that was our biggest gig of our bands career.  We had several others that another guitar player filled in for me, but this one, a month from my accident, was the biggest and I was determined to play.  My doctor told me if I could make a fist with my left hand (the burns were pretty much down to the bone) that I would be able to get out.  He also told me not to get my hopes up because it was very doubtful my burns would heal enough for me to leave the hospital that quickly.

So what did I have here?  I had goal and I had motivation.  My goal was to make a fist with my hand and my motivation was getting out of the hospital and playing my gig.  Every night, while being pumped with morphine, I would be in tears trying to make a fist.  Every day it felt like I was getting nowhere but I was not going to give up on my goal and ultimately playing that gig.  Four weeks later I was on stage wearing rubber gloves on my hands and sitting in a chair playing my guitar for 1500 or so screaming fans.  I accomplished my goal.  It was probably the first goal I can remember that I had accomplished.  I'm sure I may have had more, but this was the one that sticks out in my mind the most.  Of course, it was a little more dramatic than any other situation in my life.  Yes, I had sports goals playing baseball and accomplished many of them, but this was different.  Baseball came easy to me, this was not easy!

What is the point of this story?  It's really quite simple.  It shows that no matter how much people tell you can't accomplish anything, you can.  You all have in you the ability to do whatever you want to do.  That accident back in 1978 shaped my entire life.  I have been goal driven since that painful month.  Sure I have had failures, but I have also had many successes.  The biggest reason I accomplish most of my goals is that I "Just Do It"!

I know what many of you are going through.  You know that you can be successful using the Internet for a base of business.  However, you also have so many of the "old school" Real Estate people telling you that the Internet Leads are terrible and you will never make a living working them.  I know you are sitting in your office looking at all the other Agents who are blaming everything but themselves for their failures.  Of course it's the real estate meltdowns fault.  All Agents are failing right now.  You hear that every day.  In fact, you are starting to buy into the fact that you are not going to be able to accomplish what little goals you have left because according to the news, the agents, your broker, the market is dead.  How could you possibly become successful in this market?

How do I know you are going through this?  It's because when I started in Real Estate all the "old school" Realtors told me not to do a bunch of things.  They told me not to do floor time because it was a waste of time.  They told me not to waste my time with any of the Internet leads my broker was giving me. They told me that this business is extremely hard and if I sold 10 homes my first year I would be doing great.  They told me not to work with investors.  They basically told me that if I did any of those things that I would fail.  All those things they told me, that was my motivation.  All I had to do was come up with my goals and my plan, which was pretty easy. 

So with all this yacking done, don't listen to the "cancer" Agents.  Sit down tonight or tomorrow and start working on your business plan for 2009.  It's not something you want to start working on in January.  If you do, you will be a month behind right from the start.  Start planning your first quarter, first month and first week of how you are going to accomplish your goals.  Run your Real Estate career as a business and write this all down.  If you don't know how to write a business plan, ask someone who does.  It's really not hard.  You can keep it pretty basic.  Start with your year goal.  How many homes do you want to sell to buyers?  How many listings do you want to sell in 2009?  Break that down quarterly, monthly and weekly.  Large goals are much easier to tackle when you break them down to the month and week.  You will see you only have to sell one house every other week to hit 24 sales.  That's easy enough isn't it? 

Once you have figured out what your production should be, now you have to figure out how to get there?  As I have mentioned many times on Activerain, you don't need to reinvent the wheel, just pick a few things and give it 100%.  Many of these goals can be accomplished by becoming an expert on converting floor calls to sales.  Remember I was told they are terrible?  I sold 28 of my first year 36 sales from floor calls.  Does your office supply Internet leads?  If so, learn how to convert them to sales.  My broker back in 2001 used to give me 10 leads a day because nobody else would work them.  Unfortunately I listened to the old school realtors on these leads.  I'm sure I left a lot of sales on the table.  That is one area I can help you, we are experts at lead conversion in my office.  I don't look back though, I always look ahead!  Finally, figure out what your marketing budget is going to be.  If you really want to be successful then you need to invest in yourself.  When I first got in the business 20% of every check I received went into my marketing fund.  I never stopped spending at least 20% on marketing which might be the reason I never slowed down in my business when everyone else was complaining about every thing.

In the end, I will say what I say to my Agents every year.  Don't make the goals so small that even a caveman can reach them.  Make your goals a challenge.  Spend a good amount of time figuring out your plan.  Most of all....Just Do It!

I get this question on a regular basis.  If you think about it, if you don't know how to change the oil in the car, it's understandable that you can't change the oil unless less  you get some direction.  It's the same with thinking outside the box.  I've been blessed with a creative problem solving mind.  Thinking outside the box is just the way my mind is wired.  I'm not any different than anyone else, some people are good singers, some are good athletes, I was blessed with outside the box genes!  My father was a manufacturing consultant and his job was to think outside the box in creating new systems to make manufacturing plants efficient and successful. Like I said, it's in my genes.

So how do you do this if you don't know how?  The easiest way is to find someone who can give you outside the box ideas for you to implement.  There are several programs out there that have helped Agents become successful.  My programs at The eHomes Realty Network are outside of the box thinking on both online and offline marketing and lead conversion.  I believe that the easiest way to become successful for me is to blaze my own trail.  I observed what other Agents were doing when I got into the business but more importantly I observed what they weren't doing.  Floor calls were my first venture into this and then of course the Internet. 

My biggest suggestion is not to go out and try to figure this out by yourself if you don't have it in you.  You could spend thousands and thousands of dollars trying to do something that you may not be wired to do.  I'm always available to help and I even offer a few free tips from my site at:

http://www.ehomesrealtynetwork.com/index.cfm/Free_Internet_Success_Tips

If you want to become successful in Real Estate, concentrate on one or two marketing programs that you are interested in pursuing.  Then, get guidance from programs that do this on a regular basis.  There is no reason to reinvent the wheel if you are not an inventor.  Half the battle, as I say all the time, is to Just Do It!

Before you read this, let me make one thing clear.  This is not in support or against either of the candidates.  This is a look into how the media is clearly bias and ruining our country.

I really don't like getting political on here, but I feel that it's time to speak up and share my opinions.  In fact, I'm really not even going to get into how the media has and is completely manipulating our election process this year.  But let's look back on what I believe has happened the past few years.  Before I begin, my company and myself have maintained our business and been pretty successful during this down turn, so I am not talking out of bitterness because of a business gone bad.

In May of 2005 the media started their strong march to destroy the housing marketing.  From that date on, month after month, the media was telling the world that the housing boom was over and it's going to crash.  The first thing we need to look at is, why did they start saying this.  In fact, in that time period, the escalation of home prices were starting to level off and buyers were being a little less apt to buy.  The market was starting it's normal correction.  However, the media kept on helping it along with it's in your face determination that the housing bubble was doomed! 

By Sept. 2006 the Market had officially started its quick crash.  How convenient was the timing with the election coming up in November.  Prior to the crash, the only thing the Democrats could campaign on was the war.  However, since the economy, mainly the housing market, was in a full tailspin, they could blame the Republicans for the reason that homeowners could not sell their homes and that their values are falling sharply.  By November, the media had convinced most people that this was President Bush and the Republicans fault for the entire housing marketing falling down.  Remarkably, the Democrats took over the house and congress after the 2006 elections and the market continued to fall....the media still blamed the Bush administration.  Plan 1 from the Media had been accomplished!

Now the big push was on.  It was time for the media to tell the American people who they should vote for in 2008.  The push started in 2007 for Obama.  This isn't about who you are voting for, both candidates are not going to be good for our country, but remember this is just about how the Media is killing our country.  The media has been a huge supporter of Obama which pretty much seals the fate of McCain.  The media has not revealed one negative thing about Obama and there are plenty.  If that was McCain or a Republican you can believe they would be all over it.  Can you imagine if McCain had any said he was going to raise taxes, have nationalized heath care and had friends that were domestic terrorists?  The Media would have a field day.  However, you don't hear anything in the main stream media about Obama's bad stuff.  You really just hear fluff and it's disgusting to see how some on MSNBC and the Networks just gush over this guy.  I don't get it, but he is good at what he is doing, selling the country.  I wish he was one of my Agents, he would be selling a ton of homes right now!

Now we are in October the financial markets are failing.  There are lots of finger pointing, but the media isn't pointing fingers at the Democrats.  They are determined to have the democrats win the election.  This financial meltdown is part of captilalism.  To have a successful market, you must have winners and failures.  That is what drives our market.  When a company fails, another company steps in and takes over...sort of like Bank of America has done with Countrywide and the others that are going on right now.  That is what makes our country so great.  Now we have our politicians taking advantage of the Media's broadcast of our country folding.  Not only do they all turn socialists, they add $150 Billion of pork to the bill.  Every politician who added pork to vote on the bailout should be impeached.  I wasn't for the bailout, and this was one of the reasons.  Our government doesn't do things for the good of the people, they do things for the good of themselves!  We can thank the media for watching stocks from all over the world plummitt these past two weeks.  Do you think it's a coincidence that this is all happening this close to the election.  The media isn't saying anything about how that most of this is a result of both parties, not the democrats, decided that no regulation is the way to build our economy.  It was John McCain three years ago that said we need to regulate the subprime industry and both the Democrats and Republicans shot him down.  Do you hear about that in the Media?

Here we are with 26 days or so before the election and another association of Obama's, Acorn, has admitted to voter fraud in every swing state.  I haven't seen one word of this on the Network news.  I'm sure I must have just missed it.  I just hung up the phone with my son who is very much an Obama supporter and he is always trying to get me to switch.  I said it's not about getting me to switch, it's the fact that neither candidate is worth voting for.  We now have a Socialist party and a Democratic party, the Republican party is gone. 

In the end, the Media has done so much damage to our country.  They are responsible for kids in Iraq getting killed while they reported on all the successes of our enemy and don't even discuss that the surge actually worked.  They have killed our profession and put so many of us out of work.  They cost the housing prices to go down significantly instead of a normal market tightening up of housing.  Because of this, so many Americans have lost all their equity and are owe much more than their home is worth.  The media has already decided our Leaders in Washington and they are now deciding our President.  It's a sad day that the American people can't think for themselves and do their home work.  Instead, we listen to the television, the papers and the mainstream Internet sites and follow whatever they are told.  The media has not only killed the American dream for so many of us, they have killed America. 

With all this said, it's up to you, as Americans, to make a decision.  You can stand by the rest of your life and let our poor government continue to ruin our country along with the media, or you can be what America is all about.  You can stand tall and say I'm not going to take it anymore.  There isn't anything we can do with this election since the Media has already one.  However, in 4 years we are going to have to do something.  We have allowed our government and the media to control us, don't you think it's time to take our country back?  I know this looks like an angry person ranting.  Actually I'm a very happy guy.  I have a great wife, great kids, a few successful businesses and I love my country.  I just want the American I grew up with to sustain.  I look into our futures and I'm scared for my granddaughter and future grandson.  Thanks for listening!

Just a quick reminder about our Lead Capture webinar.  If you are trying to figure out how to capture leads from the Internet, then this is a must!  We will be discussing forced registartions, non forced registrations, city specific capture pages and important info to capture to increase your lead conversion.

Go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/759885320

Hi Eveyrone!

Just a quick reminder about our Lead Capture webinar.  If you are trying to figure out how to capture leads from the Internet, then this is a must!  We will be discussing forced registartions, non forced registrations, city specific capture pages and important info to capture to increase your lead conversion.

Go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/759885320

Have a great night!

So I was talking with one of my Agents this morning.  Some of you might have remembered that I had given her a 30 day warning because of her lack of work ethic.  It's actually been about two weeks since I had that conversation with her.  At that point, she had only 5 sales this year and was by far my worst Agent in the office.  All our Agents follow my 100MPH Marketing System through The eHomes Realty Network.   It's almost impossible to fail if you follow the system. 

Well, after two weeks of commited work ethic, I'm please to say that she has wrote 3 contracts in two weeks.  She has saved her job for another day.  Hopefully she will  maintain the momentum and keep up the good work.

So is this a lesson in life?  Can you do anything you want if you put your mind to it?  I think so.  I continue to hear everyone blaming the market on their lack of success this year.  I don't get it.  For the amount of time that some give in to failure, they could have put their efforts into positive business building activities.

Sometimes you have to look in the mirror and take a hard assessment of yourself.  It's not always easy and in fact it's very difficult to confront the fact that you are not working as hard or as smart as you should.  As founder of The eHomes Realty Network and owner of Tropical Realty of Suntree in Melbourne Florida, I spent the majority of my time teaching and motivating.  Many of our members of The Network are just getting started with their Internet programs.  I always tell them that if you are going to do this, you must commit to it.  It's a building process and it takes several months to accomplish.  However, if you started down that road last year, you would already be where you should be.  Instead, most of you are starting now.  It's not to late!

When you look in the mirror, be sure to ask yourself if you are REALLY putting in a full 8 hour day of work.  I find that most people say they work 8 hours but they really work about 4.  If you put in an honest 8 hours per day, you will see results.  Of course it is easier to have a system to follow.  It's difficult to put in 8 hours of work if you haven't written your business goals and plan yet.  Start at the beginning, figure out where you want to go, and then figure out how you are going to get there. 

As always, I'm here to help if you need it.  This isn't the easiest thing to do especially if you haven't written a business plan or run a business before.  Let me know what I can do for you.  Good Luck!

So here it is, you finally got your license and decided to jump in full time.  You found a brokerage that seems pretty good and the Broker seems great!  They don't really have a training program, but you figure, how hard could it be. I've bought and sold a few times...Realtors don't do too much!

Then you sit and wonder what to do next.  Your phone isn't ringing...why?

Did you write a business plan prior to starting your business?

Did you write a marketing plan?

Did you budget advertising dollars per month while you get started?

Have you checked into New Agent training programs that deal with real life situations?

Did you buy a website yet?

Now let's fast forward a year or two or three.  You've managed to stay in business for more than two years.  That's very respectable.  Most Agents don't last more than the first year.  In fact, according to a NAR fact I read once, every 5 years real estate Agents turn over.  This means that almost every Realtor is out of business in their first 5 years.

So here you are.  You have been selling 10-15 homes a year, even though this year has been a lot tougher.  You are on track to sell 10 homes this year which is better than most Agents in your office, but then there are the other ones, the 20% that are still kicking it even in this market.  What is she doing different?

The difference most likely is that this Agent has a plan.  She has done her home work and has had proper training.  Have you had training...I mean real training that is proven and actually works?

My job is to help Agents who can relate to this become better.  It's really that simple.  Everyone of you has the opportunity to create a business that rewards you for the rest of your life.  However, if you haven't grown in the past couple of years, chances are you will never grow...unless you take the first step.

Do your homework.  Find out a training program that you can afford and stick with.  Let's face it, what you have done to date hasn't been overly successful.  It's time to try something new.  However, if you do that, you must make the commitment.  No program will work if you don't commit to the program.  Of course I'm partial to The eHomes Realty Network and our 100MPH Marketing System.  However, at this point, you must do something.  Whether it's by joining my Network or by following Craig Proctor or Mike Ferry's system, it doesn't matter.  The point is, you are doing something to change your financial outcome. 

If you need any help developing your future plan, don't hesitate to contact me.  I'm always available to help Realtors and Brokers get the best out of themselves!  It's really not hard, it just takes commitment.

I'm proud to announce that after the 3rd quarter of 2008, Tropical Realty of Suntree in Melbourne Florida has maintained its status of Number 1 in Buyer Transactions(out of over 500 offices).  My Agents have done such a great job keeping their heads high during this very challenging time in Brevard County.  Arguably we have been one of the hardest hit areas in the country yet my staff continues to show and help their customers buy homes.  My 18 Agents wrote 30 contracts in the month of September!  Over 98% of all our transactions have come from the Internet. 

It goes to show you that if you have a good system, you can succeed regardless of the market.  We have been using our 100MPH Marketing System for almost 7 years now.  I teach these systems as part of The eHomes Realty Network.   I'm always available to help Agents and Brokers bring their business to the next level.

Great job Tropical Realty Team!  Keep up the great work as we come into the home stretch of 2008!  I know that 2009 is going to be even better! 

I have been talking with some of my members today and they asked me to put this question out to the members of Active Rain.  Most of you know that I'm a big believer in Pay Per Click and especially using Homegain's BuyerLink program.  I always recommend to my members of The eHomes Realty Network that they use BuyerLink to drive traffic to their search pages. 

With that said, I have personally only had one sale in 2 years of blogging.  That customer was the only customer that I can link back to my blog for the sale.  I have used the blog on my site as a retention tool more so than a lead generation tool.  With over 1,000 of my visitors reading my blog per month, it has done a good job of keeping people coming back.  But these are people that came to my site through my PPC programs.

So, any feedback that I can relay to my members would be very welcome.  I'm excited to hear your responses.  Thanks!

Hi Everyone!

Two weeks ago we held a webinar on Lead Capture.  It was very successful but about half who had registered missed it.  Unfortunately there was also an error in the recording so it was not recorded.

For that reason, we will be rebroadcasting the webinar at 2pm est. on Thursday October 9th.  This is open to our members as well as to the public.  There is a limited amount of space for non members of The eHomes Realty Network so register early. 

This webinar covers forcred registrations vs. non forced registrations, city specific landing pages and info you should try to collect when having consumers register on your site.

Click this link to register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/759885320

If for some reason the link is not working, email me at mitch@ehomesrealtynetwork.com and I will gladly register you for the webinar!