Provided By YouTube
Showing posts with label gary keller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gary keller. Show all posts
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Gary Keller's Top Strategies for Success
Provided By My KW
Each month, Gary Keller interviews a variety of Keller Williams agents who all have one thing in common: they are finding success using the models and systems that have led many agents to millionaire-dollar careers. Each interview tells a unique story about the agent and provides strategies and tips on how to implement their success tools into your business.
Download the audio to your iTunes account and listen to it on the go, or take a moment at your desktop to hear the interviews that Gary thinks you should be listening to now.
Click here to Check out this month’s videos from Gary.
Each month, Gary Keller interviews a variety of Keller Williams agents who all have one thing in common: they are finding success using the models and systems that have led many agents to millionaire-dollar careers. Each interview tells a unique story about the agent and provides strategies and tips on how to implement their success tools into your business.
Download the audio to your iTunes account and listen to it on the go, or take a moment at your desktop to hear the interviews that Gary thinks you should be listening to now.
Click here to Check out this month’s videos from Gary.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Success Through Others – Make the Most of Buyers Agents and Showing Assistants
Provided By Keller Williams Blog
Sharing the stage with Gary Keller and Tony DiCello, mega agents Claudia Maefsky from Spokane, Washington and Kristan Cole from Wasilla, Alaska, describe how they’re energizing their teams with buyers agents and showing assistants. Just as lead generation has proven models and systems, leverage through people—specifically buyers agents and showing assistants—has models and systems that yield big results and these two panelists reveal how.
Claudia leads her team of buyers agents and showing assistants with one detailed model that clearly defines each person’s role. Her script acronym is LPMAMA—Location, Price, Motivation, Agent, Mortgage and Appointment—which she insists her staff practice daily. She explains that the buyers agent and showing assistant are a winning team when there is a behavioral style match of a high I.
She admits, “It’s a huge cost to make a bad hire. Hire someone new to real estate as your showing assistant. It’s better than fighting old habits.” Her goal is to only bring on additional showing assistants instead of more buyers agents.
Kristan works with a lead buyers agent, buyers agent, showing assistant and virtual assistant to the buyers agents. Her intent is to help her staff achieve their goals, whatever they are. She says “I can show buyers agents how to either get more time or make more money with showing assistants.”
Kristan attributes her success with two investments in training: she’s taken RSTLM (Recruit/Select, Action Training, Lead/Motivate) four times to help her hire the exact right person for each job, and taken BOLD with her entire team! Her entire staff had a mindset shift and is no longer afraid to make calls and generate leads.
Beyond a doubt, Claudia and Kristan are achieving success through others!
Sharing the stage with Gary Keller and Tony DiCello, mega agents Claudia Maefsky from Spokane, Washington and Kristan Cole from Wasilla, Alaska, describe how they’re energizing their teams with buyers agents and showing assistants. Just as lead generation has proven models and systems, leverage through people—specifically buyers agents and showing assistants—has models and systems that yield big results and these two panelists reveal how.
Claudia leads her team of buyers agents and showing assistants with one detailed model that clearly defines each person’s role. Her script acronym is LPMAMA—Location, Price, Motivation, Agent, Mortgage and Appointment—which she insists her staff practice daily. She explains that the buyers agent and showing assistant are a winning team when there is a behavioral style match of a high I.
She admits, “It’s a huge cost to make a bad hire. Hire someone new to real estate as your showing assistant. It’s better than fighting old habits.” Her goal is to only bring on additional showing assistants instead of more buyers agents.
Kristan works with a lead buyers agent, buyers agent, showing assistant and virtual assistant to the buyers agents. Her intent is to help her staff achieve their goals, whatever they are. She says “I can show buyers agents how to either get more time or make more money with showing assistants.”
Kristan attributes her success with two investments in training: she’s taken RSTLM (Recruit/Select, Action Training, Lead/Motivate) four times to help her hire the exact right person for each job, and taken BOLD with her entire team! Her entire staff had a mindset shift and is no longer afraid to make calls and generate leads.
Beyond a doubt, Claudia and Kristan are achieving success through others!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Market Navigator
Source MyKW
In only seven weeks, the KW Market Navigator: Vision and Opportunities 2010 has sold nearly 9,000 copies! With more than 75,000 associates, who do you know who could benefit from:
> Gary Keller’s perspective on the North American real estate market
> An in-depth report on first-time homebuyers and what’s driving the market now that the $8,000 tax credit has expired
> Recent research on what’s selling and why
> An update on the distressed properties market
Click here for a new sneak peek! Order more copies to share with colleagues and cultivate your profit share tree.
If you don't own the KW Navigator yet, tap into the resource that your colleagues are putting to work their businesses! Pull from the pages of the KW Market Navigator to power marketing consultations and negotiations with clients while solidifying your standing as your local market economist of choice.
The inaugural edition has a cover price of $49. Due to its strategic significance and thanks to the help of our friends at OfficeMax, we are making it available to Keller Williams associates for $5 per copy.
Order NOW at http://kwu.kw.com/kwu/marketnavigator
In only seven weeks, the KW Market Navigator: Vision and Opportunities 2010 has sold nearly 9,000 copies! With more than 75,000 associates, who do you know who could benefit from:
> Gary Keller’s perspective on the North American real estate market
> An in-depth report on first-time homebuyers and what’s driving the market now that the $8,000 tax credit has expired
> Recent research on what’s selling and why
> An update on the distressed properties market
Click here for a new sneak peek! Order more copies to share with colleagues and cultivate your profit share tree.
If you don't own the KW Navigator yet, tap into the resource that your colleagues are putting to work their businesses! Pull from the pages of the KW Market Navigator to power marketing consultations and negotiations with clients while solidifying your standing as your local market economist of choice.
The inaugural edition has a cover price of $49. Due to its strategic significance and thanks to the help of our friends at OfficeMax, we are making it available to Keller Williams associates for $5 per copy.
Order NOW at http://kwu.kw.com/kwu/marketnavigator
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Big Picture and YOU
Published By Gary Keller
Provided By KW Blog
I learned long ago that being steeped in the business of real estate does not necessarily translate into grasping the big picture. So I made a commitment to digging beneath the surface and understanding the critical interactions that drive the real estate market. As I did so, I realized how hungry my clients were for solid information.
I’ve never lost my fascination for the facts behind the headlines, and today, I believe that Keller Williams Realty’s sharp focus on research is central to what sets us apart as a company.
Nearly every client enters into a conversation about buying or selling a home with a lot of preconceived notions and anecdotal information. It’s our job to be knowledgeable of the actual facts and to step up as the local economist of choice. That’s what our clients are looking to us for, and it’s the basis for the trust they place in us.
But having walked several miles in your shoes, we recognize that in-depth research probably doesn’t fall in your “20 percent.” In fact, most agents aren’t trained to conduct the kind of analysis that the KW Research team is known for. So this year, we’ve compiled the results of our most recent research studies into the KW Market Navigator: Vision and Opportunities.
It’s filled with facts, stats and perspectives (see the example below or click here for a sneak peek) that you can draw from on a daily basis. And believe it or not, it’s fun to read.
Of course any observations on my part concerning the importance of research and market statistics would not be complete without my overriding perspective on the topic: The market determines the number of people who will be successful, not which ones. You get to decide if you’ll be one.
(KW agents can click here to order the KW Market Navigator)
Provided By KW Blog
I learned long ago that being steeped in the business of real estate does not necessarily translate into grasping the big picture. So I made a commitment to digging beneath the surface and understanding the critical interactions that drive the real estate market. As I did so, I realized how hungry my clients were for solid information.
I’ve never lost my fascination for the facts behind the headlines, and today, I believe that Keller Williams Realty’s sharp focus on research is central to what sets us apart as a company.
Nearly every client enters into a conversation about buying or selling a home with a lot of preconceived notions and anecdotal information. It’s our job to be knowledgeable of the actual facts and to step up as the local economist of choice. That’s what our clients are looking to us for, and it’s the basis for the trust they place in us.
But having walked several miles in your shoes, we recognize that in-depth research probably doesn’t fall in your “20 percent.” In fact, most agents aren’t trained to conduct the kind of analysis that the KW Research team is known for. So this year, we’ve compiled the results of our most recent research studies into the KW Market Navigator: Vision and Opportunities.
It’s filled with facts, stats and perspectives (see the example below or click here for a sneak peek) that you can draw from on a daily basis. And believe it or not, it’s fun to read.
(KW agents can click here to order the KW Market Navigator)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
KW Market Navigator Sneak Peek!
Provided By My KW
Knowledge is power. And becoming an expert on the numbers that drive real estate locally and nationally is key to succeeding at a high level in your real estate career. In his new book, The KW Market Navigator: Vision and Opportunities, Gary shares a wealth of market statistics, with a particular emphasis on the numbers that drive real estate.
Click here to download a sneak peak.
Also in the book:
> Gary Keller’s perspective on the North American real estate market
> An in-depth report on first-time homebuyers and what’s driving the market now that the $8,000 tax credit has expired
> Recent research on what’s selling and why
> An update on the distressed properties market
Tap into this new resource to power your marketing consultations and negotiations with clients while solidifying your standing as your local market economist of choice.
The inaugural edition has a cover price of $49. Due to its strategic significance and thanks to the help of our friends at OfficeMax, we are making it available to Keller Williams associates for $5 per copy.
Order NOW at http://kwu.kw.com/kwu/marketnavigator
Keep extra copies on hand to share with colleagues within your sphere of influence and cultivate your profit share tree!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Being Patient with SEO Pays Off
Provided By KW Blog
Unlike pay-per-click (PPC) advertising that may literally drive traffic to your site overnight, search engine optimization (SEO) strategies take time to pay off. That’s important to understand so you don’t become frustrated or discouraged and abandon your SEO efforts while you are on the brink of success.
In the last article in my SEO series, we’ll explore four important time-related SEO factors: the age of your domain, the age of your site, the age of your content the age of inbound links. Understanding these issues will help you stay patient while you wait for the reward.
How Old is Your Domain Name?
Domain registration age is important to your SEO efforts. That’s because spammers tend to have new websites with new domain names. When an ISP shuts one site down, they just launch another. Google can’t tell the difference between your brand new website and a spammer’s brand new website, so search engines proceed with caution with new domain names.
Search engines are looking for stability and credibility. As your domain name ages, it gains credibility online. Likewise, the longer you’ve reserved your domain name, the more trust you build with search engines. Spammers aren’t likely to pay for a domain name 10 years out. Just like in the real world, age associates with authority. A 35 year old has more authority than a 10 year old.
How Long Has Your Site Been Live?
Domain registration age and how long your site has been live are two altogether different animals. You may have purchased your domain name a year ago, but your website may be brand new. Google typically doesn’t give you a page rank—a value or importance assigned to your web page—for up to four months after your site launches. This is known as the “sandbox effect” and it’s one way of proving to Google that you aren’t a spam site.
How Long Has Your Content Been Posted?
Every page on the web has a date of inception. The search engines calculate the age of your page and factor that into your ranking. Google gives more weight to pages that have been posted to your site for months or years than it does pages that are brand new. That’s not to say that new content isn’t valuable. It may even be more relevant or timely. You need a blend of both if you want to keep the search engine spiders crawling your more frequently.
The point is this: When you change or add new keywords to your content—or you add new pages to your site—the results of your SEO copy may not take effect overnight, especially if you are using highly competitive keywords. That shouldn’t stop you from adding new content or continually optimizing your existing content. Just realize it takes time for the search engines to move you up in the rankings based on those changes.
How Long Have You Had Inbound Links?
When it comes to inbound links, it’s all about relevance and reputation points. Reputation points are given based on the popularity, quality and relevance of the sites linking to you. Sites with long-standing domain names have a better reputation than sites with new domain names, for example, and links that have been pointing to your site for long periods of time gain more reputation points than newer links.
Liken your SEO efforts to launching an exercise program. You won’t see results the first day. In fact, you may not see results the first week or even the first month. But it’s just a matter of time before you see the inches that were lining your waist begin to appear as muscles on your arms and legs. The same is true of SEO. It takes time, but if you use the proven strategies it works.
Unlike pay-per-click (PPC) advertising that may literally drive traffic to your site overnight, search engine optimization (SEO) strategies take time to pay off. That’s important to understand so you don’t become frustrated or discouraged and abandon your SEO efforts while you are on the brink of success.
In the last article in my SEO series, we’ll explore four important time-related SEO factors: the age of your domain, the age of your site, the age of your content the age of inbound links. Understanding these issues will help you stay patient while you wait for the reward.
How Old is Your Domain Name?
Domain registration age is important to your SEO efforts. That’s because spammers tend to have new websites with new domain names. When an ISP shuts one site down, they just launch another. Google can’t tell the difference between your brand new website and a spammer’s brand new website, so search engines proceed with caution with new domain names.
Search engines are looking for stability and credibility. As your domain name ages, it gains credibility online. Likewise, the longer you’ve reserved your domain name, the more trust you build with search engines. Spammers aren’t likely to pay for a domain name 10 years out. Just like in the real world, age associates with authority. A 35 year old has more authority than a 10 year old.
How Long Has Your Site Been Live?
Domain registration age and how long your site has been live are two altogether different animals. You may have purchased your domain name a year ago, but your website may be brand new. Google typically doesn’t give you a page rank—a value or importance assigned to your web page—for up to four months after your site launches. This is known as the “sandbox effect” and it’s one way of proving to Google that you aren’t a spam site.
How Long Has Your Content Been Posted?
Every page on the web has a date of inception. The search engines calculate the age of your page and factor that into your ranking. Google gives more weight to pages that have been posted to your site for months or years than it does pages that are brand new. That’s not to say that new content isn’t valuable. It may even be more relevant or timely. You need a blend of both if you want to keep the search engine spiders crawling your more frequently.
The point is this: When you change or add new keywords to your content—or you add new pages to your site—the results of your SEO copy may not take effect overnight, especially if you are using highly competitive keywords. That shouldn’t stop you from adding new content or continually optimizing your existing content. Just realize it takes time for the search engines to move you up in the rankings based on those changes.
How Long Have You Had Inbound Links?
When it comes to inbound links, it’s all about relevance and reputation points. Reputation points are given based on the popularity, quality and relevance of the sites linking to you. Sites with long-standing domain names have a better reputation than sites with new domain names, for example, and links that have been pointing to your site for long periods of time gain more reputation points than newer links.
Liken your SEO efforts to launching an exercise program. You won’t see results the first day. In fact, you may not see results the first week or even the first month. But it’s just a matter of time before you see the inches that were lining your waist begin to appear as muscles on your arms and legs. The same is true of SEO. It takes time, but if you use the proven strategies it works.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Keller Williams Mega Camp 2010
?????Question?????
Do you need to be energized?
Are you stuck in rut?
Are you doing good in your career but you want to do even more?
Do you want to impliment systems in your business but you don't know how?
Have you ever wanted to be in the presence of greatness?
If you answered yes to any of those, Mega Camp is the answer. Some of the best of the best in the business are there and I learn so much from them. At no point in my career have I said, "No, I don't want to know how you sold 136 homes last year." I always want to learn at every stage from those that have been there before me. This is what Mega Camp is all about.
Mega Camp 2010: Unleash Your Power – KW MAPS Coaching
Gary Keller brings you “The BEST”
At Mega Agent Camp While the agenda is still being finalized, we’re thrilled to share some just-released information about Mega Camp 2010! Gary’s goal is to create a highly instructive and visual program featuring the best in the business sharing (and SHOWING) you the systems they are using to generate massive success.Check out a sneak peak of just a few of the interviews and panels on the Mega Agent Camp lineup* thus far!
■The BEST Internet site
■The BEST Craigslist Approach
■The BEST Social Media Approach
■The BEST Farming
■The BEST Open Houses
■The BEST FSBO/Expireds Approach
■The BEST Referral Approach
■The BEST Seminar Approach
■The BEST Pre-list Package
■The BEST Leverage
■The BEST Organization Approach
■The BEST Approach for Working with Buyers
■The BEST Short Sales Approach
■The BEST Wealth Building Through Profit Share
Are you in the Pursuit of Happiness?
Chris Gardner speaks at Mega Leadership Camp
Will Smith’s inspiring performance in the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happiness tells the story of Chris Gardner, a single father struggling to provide for his five-year-old son. Drawing upon every resource he can muster, he lands an unpaid internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm. In the meantime, he finds himself evicted from his apartment and sleeping with his son in shelters or on the streets – leveraging the trust his son has placed in him as motivation to land a lucrative job, eventually launching his own investment firm.
Now among North America’s most moving speakers, Chris Gardner will address Mega Leadership attendees on Tuesday, Sept. 14!
Mega Camp is not just for KW associates. Every year, we have thousands that attend from other companies. Call me today to find out how you can be a part of this AWESOME event!
It's time to take control of your career and UNLEASH YOUR POWER!
Amber Boyd
972-772-7000
amberboyd@kw.com
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Kick Your Credit Card Debt to the Curb!
Published By Ann Yett CFO
Source KW Blog
The financial challenges we’ve faced as an industry over the past four years have been nothing short of difficult. We’ve saved, skimped, sacrificed and cut back to the most necessary necessities. We’ve been to the battle lines and back and have shifted our real estate businesses in order to not just survive but to thrive, and it has paid off.
Looking at our financials at the Keller Williams Service & Support Center here in Austin, I am proud to say that we remain a financially solvent company. Not only is that statement an anomaly within the realm of real estate, it’s a significant accomplishment in any industry.
Which is why I got to thinking: how can we apply the same business-savvy saving strategies to our own lives? If ‘leading with revenue’ works in our business lives, why can’t it also be just as effective in our personal ones? It’s time to kick credit card debt to the curb with some help from the tips and tricks below!
START THE CHANGE
If you’ve read Gary Keller’s book, SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, you know that the first tactic is dedicated to Mindset and Action. Tackling your debt is no different. In order to win the battle against the bulge you’ve got to set an end-goal. First, start by filling in the blank to the following sentence: I will be free of credit card debt in ___ days/months/years. Focus on this goal. Hang it on the refrigerator, in your bathroom – whatever it takes to remind yourself that a debt-free life is a good one that you’re prepared to achieve.
READY TO CUT BACK?
It’s time to take a good look at your current spending habits. Where are you spending the most money and where can you cut back? Are you spending on necessities, or are you trying to live up to a certain lifestyle? What often surprises most people is the amount of money dedicated to discretionary spending. Is your love for lattes putting a damper on your debit card? One too many trips to Nordstrom? Are you driving a car that takes up so much of your income that you are forced to use a credit card for daily living expenses?
If you’re really aiming to be debt-free, take a close look at your budget to figure out where you can cut back. Then set smaller goals to remove spending in each area. It doesn’t have to be much, but the more you cut back, the quicker you will reach your goal. The new credit card regulations require disclosure of the time required to pay off the balance when making just the minimum payment – it can be very eye-opening (and motivating to pay more)!
CONVERT TO CASH
While you are paying down your debt, make a commitment to yourself that you will not add to the balances unless absolutely necessary (and cute shoes on sale are not an absolute necessity!). Set a budget for your weekly spending, withdraw that much cash, and when it is gone, it is time to stop spending for the week. It is easy to lose track of how much you are spending when you are swiping a debit or credit card.
SNOWBALL
What does a snowball have to do with debt? Well for one thing, it might be how you got in a position where you have too much debt. But it’s also a great way to get out of it, says financial expert Dave Ramsey.
His method: Start by paying your smallest debt first. This can be an outstanding bill or a credit card from your favorite store. Pay it off as fast as you can, while maintaining minimum payments on your other cards of course. When that debt has been removed, shift your focus and the money freed up to the next smallest debt. The sense of accomplishment in paying off even a small portion keeps you motivated and focused on the end goal and reminds you that it is possible!
Note that if you have one credit card that is carrying a much higher interest rate than the others, you might want to focus on that one first if it is an achievable goal.
CASH IS KING
Look for cash savings anywhere and everywhere. (Seeing a trend here?) Get creative about your spending. Vacation close to home; search for coupons online; cut back on dining out and plan and prepare healthy meals at home; rent instead of going out to movies. Organize a clothing, home décor or toy swap – an outfit that has never felt right to you may be just the ticket for a friend. It may be tough at first, but get creative and have fun with it!
As real estate agents, you are also in the unique position where you can approve your own raise. What can you do to fuel your career forward, and earn more money along the way?
Here’s the bottom line.
No one is born chief financial officer of a company – and the same can be said for you as you work to build (or even rebuild) your financial well-being. It takes work, discipline and in some cases sacrifice. I commend you for taking on the challenge of being debt-free and wish you the best on your journey to having your dream life.
What strategies are you implementing to drive down debt?
Source KW Blog
The financial challenges we’ve faced as an industry over the past four years have been nothing short of difficult. We’ve saved, skimped, sacrificed and cut back to the most necessary necessities. We’ve been to the battle lines and back and have shifted our real estate businesses in order to not just survive but to thrive, and it has paid off.
Looking at our financials at the Keller Williams Service & Support Center here in Austin, I am proud to say that we remain a financially solvent company. Not only is that statement an anomaly within the realm of real estate, it’s a significant accomplishment in any industry.
Which is why I got to thinking: how can we apply the same business-savvy saving strategies to our own lives? If ‘leading with revenue’ works in our business lives, why can’t it also be just as effective in our personal ones? It’s time to kick credit card debt to the curb with some help from the tips and tricks below!
START THE CHANGE
If you’ve read Gary Keller’s book, SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, you know that the first tactic is dedicated to Mindset and Action. Tackling your debt is no different. In order to win the battle against the bulge you’ve got to set an end-goal. First, start by filling in the blank to the following sentence: I will be free of credit card debt in ___ days/months/years. Focus on this goal. Hang it on the refrigerator, in your bathroom – whatever it takes to remind yourself that a debt-free life is a good one that you’re prepared to achieve.
READY TO CUT BACK?
It’s time to take a good look at your current spending habits. Where are you spending the most money and where can you cut back? Are you spending on necessities, or are you trying to live up to a certain lifestyle? What often surprises most people is the amount of money dedicated to discretionary spending. Is your love for lattes putting a damper on your debit card? One too many trips to Nordstrom? Are you driving a car that takes up so much of your income that you are forced to use a credit card for daily living expenses?
If you’re really aiming to be debt-free, take a close look at your budget to figure out where you can cut back. Then set smaller goals to remove spending in each area. It doesn’t have to be much, but the more you cut back, the quicker you will reach your goal. The new credit card regulations require disclosure of the time required to pay off the balance when making just the minimum payment – it can be very eye-opening (and motivating to pay more)!
CONVERT TO CASH
While you are paying down your debt, make a commitment to yourself that you will not add to the balances unless absolutely necessary (and cute shoes on sale are not an absolute necessity!). Set a budget for your weekly spending, withdraw that much cash, and when it is gone, it is time to stop spending for the week. It is easy to lose track of how much you are spending when you are swiping a debit or credit card.
SNOWBALL
What does a snowball have to do with debt? Well for one thing, it might be how you got in a position where you have too much debt. But it’s also a great way to get out of it, says financial expert Dave Ramsey.
His method: Start by paying your smallest debt first. This can be an outstanding bill or a credit card from your favorite store. Pay it off as fast as you can, while maintaining minimum payments on your other cards of course. When that debt has been removed, shift your focus and the money freed up to the next smallest debt. The sense of accomplishment in paying off even a small portion keeps you motivated and focused on the end goal and reminds you that it is possible!
Note that if you have one credit card that is carrying a much higher interest rate than the others, you might want to focus on that one first if it is an achievable goal.
CASH IS KING
Look for cash savings anywhere and everywhere. (Seeing a trend here?) Get creative about your spending. Vacation close to home; search for coupons online; cut back on dining out and plan and prepare healthy meals at home; rent instead of going out to movies. Organize a clothing, home décor or toy swap – an outfit that has never felt right to you may be just the ticket for a friend. It may be tough at first, but get creative and have fun with it!
As real estate agents, you are also in the unique position where you can approve your own raise. What can you do to fuel your career forward, and earn more money along the way?
Here’s the bottom line.
No one is born chief financial officer of a company – and the same can be said for you as you work to build (or even rebuild) your financial well-being. It takes work, discipline and in some cases sacrifice. I commend you for taking on the challenge of being debt-free and wish you the best on your journey to having your dream life.
What strategies are you implementing to drive down debt?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Thank you for RED Day!
Dear Keller Williams family members,
As reports continue to pour in about your extraordinary contributions on RED Day, we couldn’t possibly be more thrilled to be in business with you.
You took a great idea and injected your own imagination, energy and compassion. The communities you serve are better places because of you.
Between now and RED Day 2011, please remember the power you have to make the world a better place and what phenomenal power we have when we unite behind a single goal.
Yours in service,
Gary Keller
Co-founder and Chairman of the Board
Mo Anderson
Vice Chairman
Mark Willis
CEO
Mary Tennant
President and COO
As reports continue to pour in about your extraordinary contributions on RED Day, we couldn’t possibly be more thrilled to be in business with you.
You took a great idea and injected your own imagination, energy and compassion. The communities you serve are better places because of you.
Between now and RED Day 2011, please remember the power you have to make the world a better place and what phenomenal power we have when we unite behind a single goal.
Yours in service,
Gary Keller
Co-founder and Chairman of the Board
Mo Anderson
Vice Chairman
Mark Willis
CEO
Mary Tennant
President and COO
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Big Rocks – Do Less and Succeed More
Provided By KW Blog
Published By Gary Keller
Most goals worth having don’t sit right around the corner. Really Big Goals require focused effort over weeks, months, and sometimes years. I’m always asking myself the focusing question: “What is the one thing I should be doing such that everything else would be easier or even unnecessary?” It’s about always identifying my top priority because when you really identify your #1, everything else becomes a distraction. Finding that resolve is one thing; keeping it is challenge. Life happens. It happens every day. Hopefully, this video, Big Rocks, will serve as fun reminder to stay focused on what matters.
Published By Gary Keller
Most goals worth having don’t sit right around the corner. Really Big Goals require focused effort over weeks, months, and sometimes years. I’m always asking myself the focusing question: “What is the one thing I should be doing such that everything else would be easier or even unnecessary?” It’s about always identifying my top priority because when you really identify your #1, everything else becomes a distraction. Finding that resolve is one thing; keeping it is challenge. Life happens. It happens every day. Hopefully, this video, Big Rocks, will serve as fun reminder to stay focused on what matters.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Focus on Leverage—Hiring Your First Assistant
A good friend recently observed that “the hardest job in the world is being a successful solo agent.” He’s right. When your business kicks into gear and your opportunities to do business with buyers and sellers outstrip your ability to convert and service them, your life will get out of balance. You will feel the burn just as you feel the accomplishment of jumping to a greater level of success. That’s why we say that when you’re doing all you can, get help. And the first help you hire is always on the administrative side—an assistant executive.
The key is to hire talent, such that your executive assistant has the ability and desire to develop into an assistant executive, a larger role in your organization which paves the way for even more growth in your business.
Here’s a video of my coauthor, Jay Papasan, and I discussing the do’s and don’t’s of hiring your first assistant. Let us know what you think!
The key is to hire talent, such that your executive assistant has the ability and desire to develop into an assistant executive, a larger role in your organization which paves the way for even more growth in your business.
Here’s a video of my coauthor, Jay Papasan, and I discussing the do’s and don’t’s of hiring your first assistant. Let us know what you think!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Plug Into Your Profit Share
Provided By Keller Williams Realty
Source MyKW
For referrals that matter, seek recommendations that matter
Did you know? You can make a referral to any team leader in the Keller Williams Realty system. So, how do you begin growing your profit share tree outside your backyard? Think about the people you love and trust.
Where does your mother, brother or best friend live? Give them a call. Ask them, “If you were going to buy or sell a home today, who would you contact in your area?” If that person isn’t a Keller Williams agent, you’ve got a powerful opening statement to potentially initiate them on that path.
Give that person a call and say, “Hi, my name is Jay, and I’m in the real estate business out of Austin. I was just talking to my mother and she said that if she were to list her home today, she would list with you. That means a lot to me about the kind of reputation you must have in town as a businessperson who can get things done. I’ve just read a career-changing book by Gary Keller called SHIFT. It propelled my business in ways I didn’t expect. Would you like me to send you a copy?”
Then follow up. Add them as a friend on Facebook. Make a follow-up call. Ask the question, “I’d love for you to meet the team leader in your town. They are the best in the business and you just have to know them. Would it be okay if I asked Bob Smith to give you a call?”
For referrals that matter, seek the recommendations that matter. Look to your family members and friends who are beyond your backyard and power your profit share tree growth forward.
Want more tips like this one? Check out the entire archive of Profit Share Tips, more videos included!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The industry has spoken SHIFT is a national bestseller!
Provided By Keller Williams Realty
No. 1
Real Estate Book on
Nielsen's Bookscan for 2009
No. 3
on the
USA Today Money List
No. 4
on the
Wall Street Journal Business List
No. 10
New York Times Hardcover
Advice/ How To List
No. 14
New York Times Hardcover
Business Bestseller's List
Last month alone, more than 10,000 of your colleagues began reading and implementing the tactics from SHIFT. Did you? Click here to get your copy!
Want the latest on all things SHIFT? Be sure to become a fan on Facebook!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Inside Secrets to Selling Your Home
Source ABC News
By Bianna Golodryga, Charles Herman, and Suzan Clarke
"Good Morning America" spoke with some of the country's top real estate brokers, including Gary Keller, the author of the best-selling "Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times." Keller explained how people can sell in a buyer's market.
'Good Buy' Market"If a seller wants to sell their home and say goodbye to it, the buyer is going to have to perceive it as a good buy," he said.
Keller is the chairman of Keller Williams Realty Inc., one of the largest real estate franchises in North America. He shared some tips for sellers:
1. Don't try to make money. It's counterintuitive for most people, but sellers will do better if they don't ask for too much money. Listing a home at just below what a similar home in the area sold for will increase the odds of closing the deal, he said.
2. Don't be lazy. Even though buyers may be looking for bargains, your home shouldn't look like a warehouse sale. Because presentation matters, sellers should get rid of any accumulated clutter. Take the magnets off the refrigerator, take down photos, open windows and take trinkets off bookshelves, Keller said.
While basic is better, Keller pointed out that some photos may help show a home at its best. For example, Dennis and Josephine Hahn's real estate agent put together a photo album of the couple's New Jersey home during various times of the year. The album showed the home when the flowers were in bloom and when the swimming pool was sparkling.
Don't Neglect Repairs
3. Don't be cheap. Sellers should perform simple renovations and repairs -- from fixing leaky faucets to replacing appliances -- before placing their homes on the market.
4. Be available. Real estate agents across the country tell sellers they need to be available for showings and willing to negotiate prices. Sellers should be able to answer prospective buyers' questions about schools and the neighborhood -- and even the neighbors themselves.
By Bianna Golodryga, Charles Herman, and Suzan Clarke
"Good Morning America" spoke with some of the country's top real estate brokers, including Gary Keller, the author of the best-selling "Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times." Keller explained how people can sell in a buyer's market.
'Good Buy' Market"If a seller wants to sell their home and say goodbye to it, the buyer is going to have to perceive it as a good buy," he said.
Keller is the chairman of Keller Williams Realty Inc., one of the largest real estate franchises in North America. He shared some tips for sellers:
1. Don't try to make money. It's counterintuitive for most people, but sellers will do better if they don't ask for too much money. Listing a home at just below what a similar home in the area sold for will increase the odds of closing the deal, he said.
2. Don't be lazy. Even though buyers may be looking for bargains, your home shouldn't look like a warehouse sale. Because presentation matters, sellers should get rid of any accumulated clutter. Take the magnets off the refrigerator, take down photos, open windows and take trinkets off bookshelves, Keller said.
While basic is better, Keller pointed out that some photos may help show a home at its best. For example, Dennis and Josephine Hahn's real estate agent put together a photo album of the couple's New Jersey home during various times of the year. The album showed the home when the flowers were in bloom and when the swimming pool was sparkling.
Don't Neglect Repairs
3. Don't be cheap. Sellers should perform simple renovations and repairs -- from fixing leaky faucets to replacing appliances -- before placing their homes on the market.
4. Be available. Real estate agents across the country tell sellers they need to be available for showings and willing to negotiate prices. Sellers should be able to answer prospective buyers' questions about schools and the neighborhood -- and even the neighbors themselves.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Join us at Family Reunion…From Your Market Center
Published By Keller Williams Realty
With 8,500 Keller Williams family members and guests expected to register within the next 24 hours, we’re thrilled to kick off this week’s events at Family Reunion – the largest attended private real estate franchise event in the United States!
If you weren’t able to secure your seat at this year’s SOLD-OUT event, be sure to plug-in through these awesome Family Reunion resources.
Live Streaming Video – All Market Center’s with a KWConnect subscription have the ability to host the following Family Reunion events LIVE in their market centers, via the new Live Streaming Video powered by KWConnect. These are the moments you don’t want to miss:
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. - Sunday, Feb. 21
Gary Keller’s Vision Speech
9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. - Monday, Feb. 22
State of the Company & Culture
with Mark Willis and Mo Anderson
9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – Tuesday, Feb. 23
Keynote Speaker, Kevin Carroll
Follow the action online! Throughout the week we’ll be giving you an inside look at some of the hottest sessions and most talked-about events on this blog and all Keller Williams social media sites. (facebook, twitter, you tube)
Breakout Session Audio – Place your pre-order TODAY to purchase the audio recordings of more than eighty 2010 Family Reunion breakout session at a 10% discount! Pre-order between now and Sunday, Feb. 21 to secure the pre-conference price! Click here or call 1-800-687-6077 for more details or to place your order.
With 8,500 Keller Williams family members and guests expected to register within the next 24 hours, we’re thrilled to kick off this week’s events at Family Reunion – the largest attended private real estate franchise event in the United States!
If you weren’t able to secure your seat at this year’s SOLD-OUT event, be sure to plug-in through these awesome Family Reunion resources.
Live Streaming Video – All Market Center’s with a KWConnect subscription have the ability to host the following Family Reunion events LIVE in their market centers, via the new Live Streaming Video powered by KWConnect. These are the moments you don’t want to miss:
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. - Sunday, Feb. 21
Gary Keller’s Vision Speech
9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. - Monday, Feb. 22
State of the Company & Culture
with Mark Willis and Mo Anderson
9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – Tuesday, Feb. 23
Keynote Speaker, Kevin Carroll
Follow the action online! Throughout the week we’ll be giving you an inside look at some of the hottest sessions and most talked-about events on this blog and all Keller Williams social media sites. (facebook, twitter, you tube)
Breakout Session Audio – Place your pre-order TODAY to purchase the audio recordings of more than eighty 2010 Family Reunion breakout session at a 10% discount! Pre-order between now and Sunday, Feb. 21 to secure the pre-conference price! Click here or call 1-800-687-6077 for more details or to place your order.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Focus on Leverage – the Buyer Side
Published by Gary Keller, Co-founder and Chairman
In The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, we declared you could be just three exceptional hires away from having the organization of a Millionaire Real Estate Agent. That’s still absolutely true. However, our ongoing research for both MREA and SHIFT has given us new insight into how these key positions evolve. Some of you got a sneak peak at Mega Camp 2009. For the rest, here’s a quick look at hiring and compensating a Showing Assistant.
Leverage is ultimately about focus. You hire talent to keep you focused on your most dollar-productive activities and they focus on everything else. After entrusting your admin and marketing chores to another person, you look for help on the buyer sales side of the business. Successfully showing homes can be extremely time intensive and help here should keep you focused on leads and listings. So who do you hire?
In the past, research pointed us to a licensed buyer specialist paid on a 50/50 commission split. Today, some successful agents are first hiring an unlicensed Showing Assistant to keep their costs of sale low and their productivity high.
A Showing Assistant can literally jump into the driver’s seat with your buyers while keeping you in the driver’s seat when it comes to converting buyer leads, getting signed agreements, identifying wants and needs and eventually writing and negotiating contracts. A good one should be able to successfully show homes to around three to four buyers a month while earning bonuses based on 25 percent of each deal. Based on a $5,000 average commission, a good Showing Assistant could earn $60,000 a year. This is a terrific opportunity for someone. Better yet, you get to stay focused and 75 percent of the buy-side income stays on your side of the ledger.
You are still looking for someone who has the ability to grow into your Lead Buyer Specialist. So when you have someone with the ambition and proven ability to succeed with a high volume of buyers over time, your Showing Assistant earns the right to be promoted to a licensed Buyer Specialist. Your Buyer Specialist would then handle buyers from the appointment to closing and now earn 50 percent of the commissions. Again, a good one should be able to handle three to four buyer sales a month without burning out.
Burnout is a key word. Once you have identified a great Buyer Specialist, you don’t want to lose them! When they burn out and walk out, guess who gets their job? You do. And you’ve already got a job.
When your business is generating enough leads on a consistent basis to push a great Buyer Specialist past their ability to successful manage them all, the Showing Assistant concept reenters the picture. Now your Buyer Specialist has the opportunity to hire a Showing Assistant of their own. The Showing Assistant is still paid on a 25 percent bonus; however, that money comes out of the Lead Buyer Specialist’s half of each commission. Effectively, you continue to earn 50 percent of each buyer transaction, while the Buyer Specialist earns 25 percent and the Showing Assistant earns the final 25 percent as a bonus. Any buyer transactions your Buyer Specialist closes without the help of a Showing Assistant would still be on a 50/50 split.
Now your Buyer Specialist might successfully help four buyers on their own and another four with the help of a Showing Assistant. That’s now eight closed buy-side transactions each month. And with an average commission of $5,000, your Buyer Specialist has the ability to gross as much as $180,000 a year while just personally showing three or four buyers a month!
Showing Assistants may come and go—each auditioning for a shot at being your Lead Buyer Specialist. But once you find one, hiring and managing Showing Assistants moves from your plate to theirs. You have found your leader for working with buyers. Any additional help needed to keep your buyer transactions on track becomes their issue and opportunity.
Showing Assistants can save you money on the frontend, reduce turnover on the backend, all the while providing the best possible service to your buyers.
Click here for a video highlighting The Organizational Model and MREA.
In The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, we declared you could be just three exceptional hires away from having the organization of a Millionaire Real Estate Agent. That’s still absolutely true. However, our ongoing research for both MREA and SHIFT has given us new insight into how these key positions evolve. Some of you got a sneak peak at Mega Camp 2009. For the rest, here’s a quick look at hiring and compensating a Showing Assistant.
Leverage is ultimately about focus. You hire talent to keep you focused on your most dollar-productive activities and they focus on everything else. After entrusting your admin and marketing chores to another person, you look for help on the buyer sales side of the business. Successfully showing homes can be extremely time intensive and help here should keep you focused on leads and listings. So who do you hire?
In the past, research pointed us to a licensed buyer specialist paid on a 50/50 commission split. Today, some successful agents are first hiring an unlicensed Showing Assistant to keep their costs of sale low and their productivity high.
A Showing Assistant can literally jump into the driver’s seat with your buyers while keeping you in the driver’s seat when it comes to converting buyer leads, getting signed agreements, identifying wants and needs and eventually writing and negotiating contracts. A good one should be able to successfully show homes to around three to four buyers a month while earning bonuses based on 25 percent of each deal. Based on a $5,000 average commission, a good Showing Assistant could earn $60,000 a year. This is a terrific opportunity for someone. Better yet, you get to stay focused and 75 percent of the buy-side income stays on your side of the ledger.
You are still looking for someone who has the ability to grow into your Lead Buyer Specialist. So when you have someone with the ambition and proven ability to succeed with a high volume of buyers over time, your Showing Assistant earns the right to be promoted to a licensed Buyer Specialist. Your Buyer Specialist would then handle buyers from the appointment to closing and now earn 50 percent of the commissions. Again, a good one should be able to handle three to four buyer sales a month without burning out.
Burnout is a key word. Once you have identified a great Buyer Specialist, you don’t want to lose them! When they burn out and walk out, guess who gets their job? You do. And you’ve already got a job.
When your business is generating enough leads on a consistent basis to push a great Buyer Specialist past their ability to successful manage them all, the Showing Assistant concept reenters the picture. Now your Buyer Specialist has the opportunity to hire a Showing Assistant of their own. The Showing Assistant is still paid on a 25 percent bonus; however, that money comes out of the Lead Buyer Specialist’s half of each commission. Effectively, you continue to earn 50 percent of each buyer transaction, while the Buyer Specialist earns 25 percent and the Showing Assistant earns the final 25 percent as a bonus. Any buyer transactions your Buyer Specialist closes without the help of a Showing Assistant would still be on a 50/50 split.
Now your Buyer Specialist might successfully help four buyers on their own and another four with the help of a Showing Assistant. That’s now eight closed buy-side transactions each month. And with an average commission of $5,000, your Buyer Specialist has the ability to gross as much as $180,000 a year while just personally showing three or four buyers a month!
Showing Assistants may come and go—each auditioning for a shot at being your Lead Buyer Specialist. But once you find one, hiring and managing Showing Assistants moves from your plate to theirs. You have found your leader for working with buyers. Any additional help needed to keep your buyer transactions on track becomes their issue and opportunity.
Showing Assistants can save you money on the frontend, reduce turnover on the backend, all the while providing the best possible service to your buyers.
Click here for a video highlighting The Organizational Model and MREA.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Go back in time with Gary Keller
THISWEEK: You’ve said before that Keller Williams Realty is in the business of helping people help people.
GK: In the end, why are we in business? To me, the answer would be to help others. Sure, we’re in a business that provides certain products and services. But who will use those products and services? People. So, there’s no escaping the reality that we’re in business to help people. And our job is to help the people who help people.
THISWEEK: Did Keller Williams Realty culture begin with the creation of the WI4C2TS belief system?
GK: Putting it that way gives me too much credit. How our culture evolved happened like this: Back in the late 1980s when we began to license the company, it was literally just me and a small support staff. I would go out and work with our then licensees in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston and Dallas. Almost every day of the week I was in a different city. I’d show up, run a sales meeting or speak at a sales meeting, do a couple of interviews, do a training session and then hit the road to do the same thing in another city. In those days, we had little of our system documented. I had it in my head mostly and personally taught and managed in every office we had in Texas.
I did this for about a year and a half to two years. Eventually, I knew I had to pull back. But when I did, those offices stopped growing. They stumbled. It was then that I realized that I wasn’t developing people as much as I was just showing up to help them by doing a job. I wasn’t truly helping them build businesses; I was simply helping them run businesses.
THISWEEK: So, what did you do?
GK: I took a year off and started defining and documenting our models and systems. I also began to study how businesses succeed, how they fail, what they do right and what do they do wrong. I discovered that culture was a huge foundational piece all great companies were built upon. So, I realized I needed to define ours – the challenge was how to do it.
The solution, I discovered, was actually simple. I invited Sharon Gibbons, our first employee ever, and two of our top associates – Gary Gentry and Althea Osborn – who had been with me since the beginning to help me document our culture. I asked them to think about what made our real estate office successful. What did they like about this company and the way it operated? What were we doing well? What were we doing right?
THISWEEK: Was that meeting successful?
GK: Yes. For me, it was a defining moment – learning how to move from doing things naturally to doing things purposefully. On one side, you had the economics, which we had thoroughly researched, developed and documented. But on the other end, there was culture, and I honestly hadn’t thought about that part of the business until I started to see people behaving differently than what I would have done naturally. I realized that without defining our culture, there was no way to establish a culture that would stand tall over time.
So, in 1989, up in that conference room with Sharon, Gary and Althea, we brainstormed all day. We got out the flipchart and we wrote and we wrote. We taped our thoughts all over the walls. That night, I took those pages home and studied them. The next morning, we all met again to pull it all together. We knocked out everything that was a duplicate statement. And with each remaining statement, we asked ourselves how to express it best. What really matters? What’s the 20 percent? And somewhere toward the end of the second day, we ended up with what is now commonly known as WI4C2TS.
THISWEEK: Once you had the belief system defined, where did you go from there?
GK: Once we could define it, two things happened. First, we now had a methodology that helped us to be more often right than wrong about who we were going into business with. It allowed us to go out and align ourselves with people who naturally wanted to behave in alignment with our culture. Single-handedly, that’s what launched the company to a whole new level.
THISWEEK: In the beginning, how did you communicate or reinforce these ideas?
GK: In the mid-90s with the help of Dave Jenks, I started developing a course called Quantum Leap, which basically documented everything I had learned in those previous years about life. I then went out and started teaching it. Also, we took the front-end of that course, the Perspective section – which talked about being accountable, being learning based, being a black belt, focusing on your 20 percent, etcetera – and put it in front of every course we taught. At the same time, we created the six business disciplines and the six sales disciplines. It all became the initial curriculum for what became Keller Williams University, which addresses life, sales and business management – in that order. We started off with the life discussion, and I think that’s another cultural area that separates us from others.
THISWEEK: Why prioritize things that way?
GK: What I noticed as a sales manager when I was just getting started in my 20s was that, many times people had trouble on the field because of things happening off the field. On one side, you’re trying to provide a service to people, but, on the other side, you’re also trying to have a great life – and those two agendas would cross lines. If things are not going well at home or in our personal lives, it crosses over into our ability to focus and build our careers. As a business coach, you’re dealing with those subjects whether you like to or not. So, if you’re in a long-term business relationship, you need to be willing to consider the whole person – not just the salesperson.
So, Quantum Leap and the Perspective section became the foundational methodology for us to communicate these beliefs. We made it very clear what we wanted to accomplish and how we wanted to treat each other. Every time we did a two-day class, the first two hours were nothing but the Perspective section. And what do you think happened? We had this core group of people who were ready to hear this, so they adopted it and it became a natural evolution. People embraced it, put their own unique spin on it and made it their own. The culture became the company and the company became the culture.
THISWEEK: How do you sustain a sense of culture in the third-largest, realestate franchise operation in North America?
GK: Simple: You don’t change it and you protect and defend it at all costs. There’s an old saying that the way you run a great big company is you run a great small company – and you let it get big naturally. You don’t put chains on it. That’s Keller Williams Realty. Our goal is to run a great small company built around an unchangeable culture and then see how far it can evolve.
THISWEEK: But getting big can complicate matters when it comes to sustaining culture, right?
GK: It really has to do with communication and relationships. What getting big can do is remove you from communicating directly with your peers and establishing solid relationships. Back when there were only a few thousand people, it was easier for us to touch everyone. If four of us got on a plane and went to a different city, you could maybe touch 70 percent of the company.
Today, we can’t do that. And it’s one of the reasons why we have put a lot of emphasis on The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor seminars, Family Reunion, Mega Camp, Masterminds, KWU and now KWConnect. It was Dave Jenks who came up with the name KWConnect, because it’s all about staying connected and trying to figure out ways to bypass any filters that may misconstrue our original intent or message.
In the end, a company’s size is not the issue. It’s keeping our commitment to communication in the relationship and keeping our commitment to the culture.
THISWEEK: Why should associates care about communicating and educating new associates on the Keller Williams Realty culture?
GK: If the original intent is not communicated or heard, then some people might view a company’s belief system or culture as a sword. In other words, it is the WI4C2TS sword, and if you don’t live up to it, off with your head.
A cultural belief system is not something to judge people against. It’s something to aspire to – that we all should aspire to and hold each other accountable to. The belief system enables us to say to one another, "You have the right to expect me to behave this way. And if you see that I’m not, I’m asking you to help me. Don’t point it out in a judgmental way, but in an accountable and helpful way, so I can grow."
You know, people aren't successful at Keller Williams Realty because they adhere to our belief system. They are successful because they do the right things to build their careers and businesses. Our belief system and culture simply help make our work-life experience the very, very best possible.
GK: In the end, why are we in business? To me, the answer would be to help others. Sure, we’re in a business that provides certain products and services. But who will use those products and services? People. So, there’s no escaping the reality that we’re in business to help people. And our job is to help the people who help people.
THISWEEK: Did Keller Williams Realty culture begin with the creation of the WI4C2TS belief system?
GK: Putting it that way gives me too much credit. How our culture evolved happened like this: Back in the late 1980s when we began to license the company, it was literally just me and a small support staff. I would go out and work with our then licensees in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston and Dallas. Almost every day of the week I was in a different city. I’d show up, run a sales meeting or speak at a sales meeting, do a couple of interviews, do a training session and then hit the road to do the same thing in another city. In those days, we had little of our system documented. I had it in my head mostly and personally taught and managed in every office we had in Texas.
I did this for about a year and a half to two years. Eventually, I knew I had to pull back. But when I did, those offices stopped growing. They stumbled. It was then that I realized that I wasn’t developing people as much as I was just showing up to help them by doing a job. I wasn’t truly helping them build businesses; I was simply helping them run businesses.
THISWEEK: So, what did you do?
GK: I took a year off and started defining and documenting our models and systems. I also began to study how businesses succeed, how they fail, what they do right and what do they do wrong. I discovered that culture was a huge foundational piece all great companies were built upon. So, I realized I needed to define ours – the challenge was how to do it.
The solution, I discovered, was actually simple. I invited Sharon Gibbons, our first employee ever, and two of our top associates – Gary Gentry and Althea Osborn – who had been with me since the beginning to help me document our culture. I asked them to think about what made our real estate office successful. What did they like about this company and the way it operated? What were we doing well? What were we doing right?
THISWEEK: Was that meeting successful?
GK: Yes. For me, it was a defining moment – learning how to move from doing things naturally to doing things purposefully. On one side, you had the economics, which we had thoroughly researched, developed and documented. But on the other end, there was culture, and I honestly hadn’t thought about that part of the business until I started to see people behaving differently than what I would have done naturally. I realized that without defining our culture, there was no way to establish a culture that would stand tall over time.
So, in 1989, up in that conference room with Sharon, Gary and Althea, we brainstormed all day. We got out the flipchart and we wrote and we wrote. We taped our thoughts all over the walls. That night, I took those pages home and studied them. The next morning, we all met again to pull it all together. We knocked out everything that was a duplicate statement. And with each remaining statement, we asked ourselves how to express it best. What really matters? What’s the 20 percent? And somewhere toward the end of the second day, we ended up with what is now commonly known as WI4C2TS.
THISWEEK: Once you had the belief system defined, where did you go from there?
GK: Once we could define it, two things happened. First, we now had a methodology that helped us to be more often right than wrong about who we were going into business with. It allowed us to go out and align ourselves with people who naturally wanted to behave in alignment with our culture. Single-handedly, that’s what launched the company to a whole new level.
THISWEEK: In the beginning, how did you communicate or reinforce these ideas?
GK: In the mid-90s with the help of Dave Jenks, I started developing a course called Quantum Leap, which basically documented everything I had learned in those previous years about life. I then went out and started teaching it. Also, we took the front-end of that course, the Perspective section – which talked about being accountable, being learning based, being a black belt, focusing on your 20 percent, etcetera – and put it in front of every course we taught. At the same time, we created the six business disciplines and the six sales disciplines. It all became the initial curriculum for what became Keller Williams University, which addresses life, sales and business management – in that order. We started off with the life discussion, and I think that’s another cultural area that separates us from others.
THISWEEK: Why prioritize things that way?
GK: What I noticed as a sales manager when I was just getting started in my 20s was that, many times people had trouble on the field because of things happening off the field. On one side, you’re trying to provide a service to people, but, on the other side, you’re also trying to have a great life – and those two agendas would cross lines. If things are not going well at home or in our personal lives, it crosses over into our ability to focus and build our careers. As a business coach, you’re dealing with those subjects whether you like to or not. So, if you’re in a long-term business relationship, you need to be willing to consider the whole person – not just the salesperson.
So, Quantum Leap and the Perspective section became the foundational methodology for us to communicate these beliefs. We made it very clear what we wanted to accomplish and how we wanted to treat each other. Every time we did a two-day class, the first two hours were nothing but the Perspective section. And what do you think happened? We had this core group of people who were ready to hear this, so they adopted it and it became a natural evolution. People embraced it, put their own unique spin on it and made it their own. The culture became the company and the company became the culture.
THISWEEK: How do you sustain a sense of culture in the third-largest, realestate franchise operation in North America?
GK: Simple: You don’t change it and you protect and defend it at all costs. There’s an old saying that the way you run a great big company is you run a great small company – and you let it get big naturally. You don’t put chains on it. That’s Keller Williams Realty. Our goal is to run a great small company built around an unchangeable culture and then see how far it can evolve.
THISWEEK: But getting big can complicate matters when it comes to sustaining culture, right?
GK: It really has to do with communication and relationships. What getting big can do is remove you from communicating directly with your peers and establishing solid relationships. Back when there were only a few thousand people, it was easier for us to touch everyone. If four of us got on a plane and went to a different city, you could maybe touch 70 percent of the company.
Today, we can’t do that. And it’s one of the reasons why we have put a lot of emphasis on The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor seminars, Family Reunion, Mega Camp, Masterminds, KWU and now KWConnect. It was Dave Jenks who came up with the name KWConnect, because it’s all about staying connected and trying to figure out ways to bypass any filters that may misconstrue our original intent or message.
In the end, a company’s size is not the issue. It’s keeping our commitment to communication in the relationship and keeping our commitment to the culture.
THISWEEK: Why should associates care about communicating and educating new associates on the Keller Williams Realty culture?
GK: If the original intent is not communicated or heard, then some people might view a company’s belief system or culture as a sword. In other words, it is the WI4C2TS sword, and if you don’t live up to it, off with your head.
A cultural belief system is not something to judge people against. It’s something to aspire to – that we all should aspire to and hold each other accountable to. The belief system enables us to say to one another, "You have the right to expect me to behave this way. And if you see that I’m not, I’m asking you to help me. Don’t point it out in a judgmental way, but in an accountable and helpful way, so I can grow."
You know, people aren't successful at Keller Williams Realty because they adhere to our belief system. They are successful because they do the right things to build their careers and businesses. Our belief system and culture simply help make our work-life experience the very, very best possible.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Focus on Leverage – the Buyer Side
In The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, we declared you could be just three exceptional hires away from having the organization of a Millionaire Real Estate Agent. That’s still absolutely true. However, our ongoing research for both MREA and SHIFT has given us new insight into how these key positions evolve. Some of you got a sneak peak at Mega Camp 2009. For the rest, here’s a quick look at hiring and compensating a Showing Assistant.
Leverage is ultimately about focus. You hire talent to keep you focused on your most dollar-productive activities and they focus on everything else. After entrusting your admin and marketing chores to another person, you look for help on the buyer sales side of the business. Successfully showing homes can be extremely time intensive and help here should keep you focused on leads and listings. So who do you hire?
In the past, research pointed us to a licensed buyer specialist paid on a 50/50 commission split. Today, some successful agents are first hiring an unlicensed Showing Assistant to keep their costs of sale low and their productivity high.
A Showing Assistant can literally jump into the driver’s seat with your buyers while keeping you in the driver’s seat when it comes to converting buyer leads, getting signed agreements, identifying wants and needs and eventually writing and negotiating contracts. A good one should be able to successfully show homes to around three to four buyers a month while earning bonuses based on 25 percent of each deal. Based on a $5,000 average commission, a good Showing Assistant could earn $60,000 a year. This is a terrific opportunity for someone. Better yet, you get to stay focused and 75 percent of the buy-side income stays on your side of the ledger.
You are still looking for someone who has the ability to grow into your Lead Buyer Specialist. So when you have someone with the ambition and proven ability to succeed with a high volume of buyers over time, your Showing Assistant earns the right to be promoted to a licensed Buyer Specialist. Your Buyer Specialist would then handle buyers from the appointment to closing and now earn 50 percent of the commissions. Again, a good one should be able to handle three to four buyer sales a month without burning out.
Burnout is a key word. Once you have identified a great Buyer Specialist, you don’t want to lose them! When they burn out and walk out, guess who gets their job? You do. And you’ve already got a job.
When your business is generating enough leads on a consistent basis to push a great Buyer Specialist past their ability to successful manage them all, the Showing Assistant concept reenters the picture. Now your Buyer Specialist has the opportunity to hire a Showing Assistant of their own. The Showing Assistant is still paid on a 25 percent bonus; however, that money comes out of the Lead Buyer Specialist’s half of each commission. Effectively, you continue to earn 50 percent of each buyer transaction, while the Buyer Specialist earns 25 percent and the Showing Assistant earns the final 25 percent as a bonus. Any buyer transactions your Buyer Specialist closes without the help of a Showing Assistant would still be on a 50/50 split.
Now your Buyer Specialist might successfully help four buyers on their own and another four with the help of a Showing Assistant. That’s now eight closed buy-side transactions each month. And with an average commission of $5,000, your Buyer Specialist has the ability to gross as much as $180,000 a year while just personally showing three or four buyers a month!
Showing Assistants may come and go—each auditioning for a shot at being your Lead Buyer Specialist. But once you find one, hiring and managing Showing Assistants moves from your plate to theirs. You have found your leader for working with buyers. Any additional help needed to keep your buyer transactions on track becomes their issue and opportunity.
Showing Assistants can save you money on the frontend, reduce turnover on the backend, all the while providing the best possible service to your buyers.
Click here for a video highlighting The Organizational Model and MREA.
(with Jay Papasan) BY: GARY KELLER
Leverage is ultimately about focus. You hire talent to keep you focused on your most dollar-productive activities and they focus on everything else. After entrusting your admin and marketing chores to another person, you look for help on the buyer sales side of the business. Successfully showing homes can be extremely time intensive and help here should keep you focused on leads and listings. So who do you hire?
In the past, research pointed us to a licensed buyer specialist paid on a 50/50 commission split. Today, some successful agents are first hiring an unlicensed Showing Assistant to keep their costs of sale low and their productivity high.
A Showing Assistant can literally jump into the driver’s seat with your buyers while keeping you in the driver’s seat when it comes to converting buyer leads, getting signed agreements, identifying wants and needs and eventually writing and negotiating contracts. A good one should be able to successfully show homes to around three to four buyers a month while earning bonuses based on 25 percent of each deal. Based on a $5,000 average commission, a good Showing Assistant could earn $60,000 a year. This is a terrific opportunity for someone. Better yet, you get to stay focused and 75 percent of the buy-side income stays on your side of the ledger.
You are still looking for someone who has the ability to grow into your Lead Buyer Specialist. So when you have someone with the ambition and proven ability to succeed with a high volume of buyers over time, your Showing Assistant earns the right to be promoted to a licensed Buyer Specialist. Your Buyer Specialist would then handle buyers from the appointment to closing and now earn 50 percent of the commissions. Again, a good one should be able to handle three to four buyer sales a month without burning out.
Burnout is a key word. Once you have identified a great Buyer Specialist, you don’t want to lose them! When they burn out and walk out, guess who gets their job? You do. And you’ve already got a job.
When your business is generating enough leads on a consistent basis to push a great Buyer Specialist past their ability to successful manage them all, the Showing Assistant concept reenters the picture. Now your Buyer Specialist has the opportunity to hire a Showing Assistant of their own. The Showing Assistant is still paid on a 25 percent bonus; however, that money comes out of the Lead Buyer Specialist’s half of each commission. Effectively, you continue to earn 50 percent of each buyer transaction, while the Buyer Specialist earns 25 percent and the Showing Assistant earns the final 25 percent as a bonus. Any buyer transactions your Buyer Specialist closes without the help of a Showing Assistant would still be on a 50/50 split.
Now your Buyer Specialist might successfully help four buyers on their own and another four with the help of a Showing Assistant. That’s now eight closed buy-side transactions each month. And with an average commission of $5,000, your Buyer Specialist has the ability to gross as much as $180,000 a year while just personally showing three or four buyers a month!
Showing Assistants may come and go—each auditioning for a shot at being your Lead Buyer Specialist. But once you find one, hiring and managing Showing Assistants moves from your plate to theirs. You have found your leader for working with buyers. Any additional help needed to keep your buyer transactions on track becomes their issue and opportunity.
Showing Assistants can save you money on the frontend, reduce turnover on the backend, all the while providing the best possible service to your buyers.
Click here for a video highlighting The Organizational Model and MREA.
(with Jay Papasan) BY: GARY KELLER
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
You can bank on the budget model
Although market conditions change, the fundamental models and systems set forth in The Millionaire Real Estate Agent don’t. “Hold your money accountable, Play ‘red light, green light.’” You hear those words a lot when talking about the Budget Model, but the real questions is: are you adhering to it?
Watch “An MREA Moment” featuring Gary Keller and Jay Papasan to find out how to direct your dollars wisely.
Watch “An MREA Moment” featuring Gary Keller and Jay Papasan to find out how to direct your dollars wisely.
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