ONLINE NEWSLETTER FOR JULY 31, 2009

QUOTE: “You can always change the direction you are going…but not if you are standing still.” Jeffrey Gitomer

JOHN MAXWELL’S DEVELOPING THE LEADER WITHIN YOU:
Diversity: Respecting a variety of cultures/lifestyles

IF I WERE A NEWBIE…WHAT NOBODY TOLD ME WHEN I STARTED;
http://www.brokeragentsocial.com/article.php?article_id=420

HOUSE BILL 3044, SETTING AN 18 MONTH DELAY ON THE APPRAISER POOL BILL: This is a very interesting article and debate with the comments from fellow REALTORS that have chimed in. http://activerain.com/blogsview/1164522/why-the-nar-call-to-action-for-hr-3044-is-a-joke

WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THE ECONOMY? Timely article by Jeffrey Gitomer about what YOU need to consider doing in your business; right on track with The Shift!
http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3OAk0MPjxKUsg%3D%3D

HOW TO SELL A PENCIL – OR YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE. A very short article but it WILL get your attention. http://www.brokeragentsocial.com/article.php?article_id=416

93 PLUS POTENTIAL LAND DISCLOSURE ISSUES. As you know we HAVE a Seller’s Disclosure for the sale of land. I think you will find this article very informative and may help you stay out of trouble when you sell land, especially large tracts.
http://www.brokeragentsocial.com/article.php?article_id=422

ENTERTAINMENT VIDEO: This is a YouTube video of a choir group using their hands, feet and voices to create a thunderstorm and performing the Toto group song Rains of Africa, make sure your volume is turned up especially at the beginning or you may think the sound is not working (like I did). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05ip-N0H1Ig

BECAUSE YOU ASKED FOR SATURDAY CE CLASSES:
NOMAR has scheduled two classes for Saturday, September 19th. Click on following link or copy and paste into your address bar. http://www.nomar.org/coned/2009/September%20Schedule.pdf

BACK-UP OFFER: This is a reminder that when you write a Back-Up Offer, there is a form available for that purpose. A copy can be found in the Sales Binder in the Resource Room as well as on www.SlidellCalendar.com under the Document/Sales Documents section. The form was just updated to change the word “contract” to “Agreement to Purchase” to bring it in line with the actual terms.

BARNES & NOBEL FREE E-BOOK READER: You can go to www.BarnesNobel.com and download a free E-book reader for your computer and i-phone. Once loaded, you can purchase over 700,000 E-books for $9.99 (on average) each and read books on your computer and/or phone.

TIME TO LAUGH VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEh3Z56v8UQ

VARIABLE SPEED & PITCH CD PLAYER: This is a link to a CD player that you can change the speed & pitch of the CD. Why would you want to do this? Most of the voices on training CDs talk slowly and at times become boring and difficult to focus on. You can speed up the CD meaning you can listen in less time but more importantly, because the speaker is speaking much faster, it causes you to focus more on what is being said rather than having your mind wander off. I have not tried the CD player but I do have a variable speed & pitch cassette player is it is pretty awesome the results you can obtain. By changing the pitch at the same time as changing the speed, the voice does not sound like Mickey Mouse.
http://www.supremeaudio.com/cgi-bin/lib/shop-wrapper.pl?page=cd&shop=supreme2&cart=#615

GRATITUDE – MEANING by Wes Hopper

"Ever more people today have the means
to live, but no meaning to live for."
Viktor Frankl

Why do you do what you do? Why do you want what you want?

I've come to believe that most people go all the way through life without ever asking or answering those questions.

And that's why most people, as Thoreau said, live lives of quiet desperation. Without meaning, life is pointless.

If you have a goal, ask yourself why you want it. Are you trying to make pain go away, or are you trying to create something meaningful to you?

What will people say about you at your funeral? What would you like them to say?

Earl Nightingale once said, "Most people tiptoe through life, hoping to make it safely to death." Try a different path, please.

If you could make a difference in the world, however small, what would you like it to be?

Sit and think on these questions until you start to get some answers. Don't listen to your mind if it says, "Who are you to think you could make a difference in the world?"

There are no extraordinary people. There are only ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things. See, you qualify!

So choose, and expect miracles!

Blessings,
Wes Hopper

PS - The Gratitude audio book is now available as an MP3 download, with a new bonus!
http://www.DailyGratitude.com/audiobook.html

Online Market Center Newsletter for July 24, 2009

QUOTE: “When you get a referral, someone is putting their own reputation on the line. They’re saying, “I trust you enough to let you get involved with people who affect my career, my reputation, and my livelihood.” It’s a big responsibility. Giving and getting a referral means someone is willing to take a risk. Are you worth it?” -From Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Black Book of Connections (A MUST READ! GYMBEAUX)

BROKER BIT: Whenever a property is listed “FOR SALE” and “FOR LEASE”, you need to treat the paperwork as two completely separate actions. You need a folder for each one. When the property is sold, the folder is closed out as a “sold”; and the lease is closed out as a cancelled. If the property is leased instead of sold, the reverse is true. You have to be able to reconstruct what happened from each folder. You do not, however, have to make completely separate “originals”, photo copies of forms are acceptable.

ADVERTISING REMINDER: The Louisiana Real Estate Commission requires that all ads available include the Broker’s Name (company name), the company telephone number, the phrase, “Each Office Independently Owned & Operate”, and the date the flyer/ad was published or released.

TIMELESS WISDOM FROM JEFFREY GITOMER ABOUT TODAY’S COMPETITIVE MARKET. “What’s With The Competition? What’s With You?”
http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3P2UoLiolQMEA%3D%3D

REMINDER: Quadrennial Ethics Training can be taken Online at http://www.realtor.org/ FREE. It is a good course and well worth taking. This is a 4 hour required course by NAR over the next 3.5 years. Get it out of the way early and you won’t have to worry about it.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT; RUNNING THE NUMBERS: What would happen if you watched just 30 minutes LESS Television each day, just 30 minutes AND you dedicated those same 30 minutes to improving some aspect of your business. 30 minutes a day is 210 minutes a week and 10,920 minutes a year or 182 hours. If you applied 182 hours of training at any subject in 12 months you would be a world class expert at something; you choose. At the end of your career just how much television watching will you be able to attribute to your success? That is not a trick question but I’ll wait for your answer nonetheless………

RETURNING CALLS: Great article link:
http://www.brokeragentsocial.com/article.php?article_id=412
Gymbeaux Note: Advise your customers how you work, and how you return calls and the importance of leaving voice mail messages so you can call them back and also to advise you when would be the best time to return the call. Just so everyone knows, the longest my phone is turned off is usually 4 hours – when I am playing golf. I also ignore my phone when I am having breakfast, lunch or dinner or spending time with friends and family. I tell you this because that is what you should be telling your customers. People have come to expect you to call them back immediately as suggested in this article. That is simply not realistic so set the expectation for them. Tell them how you work and that when you with another customer, in meetings, in training, dining, etc, your phone will be off. Tell me I am wrong on this – you are meeting with someone and their phone rings and they stop the conversation and answer it. How does that make YOU feel? The cell phone has been the death of common sense! Don’t believe me, the next time you see someone driving slow in the fast lane or just driving erratically, look at them and my guess is that they are on the phone or was that you on the phone I saw weaving down Gause Blvd? By the way, I don’t answer my phone when I am driving. You?

DID YOU KNOW THAT RESPA PROHIBITS:

• A Title Company from regularly providing dinner and reception for real estate agents.
• Acceptance of discounted or free business equipment, such as free lock boxes
• Acceptance of reimbursement of the cost for an open house lunch from a mortgage broker who doesn’t display any marketing materials at the event
• Acceptance of a dinner paid for by a home inspector who doesn’t attend the dinner to market his/her services to you
• Acceptance of contributions from a title company to offset the cost of a real estate agent’s promotional event except to the extent of the value of any marketing done by the title company during that event
• Accepting gifts from mortgage brokers, such as paying your green fees.
• A mortgage broker or title company from paying for your tickets to a sporting event
• Participation in a tropical “get away” weekend, the cost of which is underwritten by a title company, during which only two hours is dedicated to marketing by the title company and the remainder is recreation
• Accept payment from a mortgage lender just for taking a loan application
• Gymbeaux Note: If it appears to be illegal, it probably is.

TWO GREAT ARTICLES ON SUCCESS ON ONE BLOG. By Lew Smallwood

• Catching and complimenting positive behavior
• Three simple concepts for creating success in life

Click here to access both article: http://dynagroup-online.blogspot.com/
While you are there Lew Smallwood from Melbourne Australia has some great things to say on his blog.

FREE EBOOK: “The 4:8 Principle; 30 Days to an Ultra Positive Attitude” by Tommy Newberry. It has been posted on http://www.slidellcalendar.com/ under Documents and under Ebooks.

WWW.BUYERZONE.COM I have not used this site so I do not know its true value. The service helps develop comparables for items you desire to purchase (mostly large ticket items like copy machines, printers, health insurance, etc.) It might help you find what you are looking for and be able to save considerable times by comparing one product or service over others on the market.

Principle 7 from Jeffrey Gitomer’s book, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching! The principle is attached as a file the email that sent the notification out for this newsletter. Powerful stuff!

Online Market Center Newsletter for July 17, 2009

QUOTE: “If you only do ONE THING from this entire book (The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching!) get video testimonials to support your claims and build your reputation. I can make you one promise about testimonials (especially videos), one iron-clad guarantee: THEY WORK!” Jeffrey Gitomer

CUTE AND VERY FUNNY VIDEO, EVERYONE NEEDS A GOOD LAUGH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqHfCyOnuS4

OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING BABY! Another great Jeffrey Gitomer article for you to chew on:
http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3Pplknh4NL%2BvQ%3D%3D

COOL WEB SITE ABOUT “OLD” NEW ORLEANS:
http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Old_New_Orleans

WHERE TO RETIRE:
http://boortz.com/more/funny/where_to_retire.html

DO YOU HAVE A WOW! BUDGET? Here is an idea from The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching! By Jeffrey Gitomer. Gitomer described a salesman who budgeted $100.00 a week to WOW! just one customer per week. That is $5200 a year. He used the money to buy and/or do something really nice for one of his 52 best probable buyers or probable sellers. At the end of each year he had an additional 52 walking ambassadors for his business or he made sales from one or more of the 52 or people that one or more of the 52 referred business to him. What are you doing to create a WOW Experience for people in your database? It does not have to be $100 to be successful; in our market it could easily be $50.00 a week to accomplish the same result. It doesn’t have to be one a week, it can be 2 a month. The secret is to do something even if you have to start on a smaller scale – do something.

Online Market Center Newsletter for Friday July 10, 2009

QUOTE: "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." Vivian Greene

If you like the quote, you'll love this video: http://www.danceintherainmovie.com/land.php

LEAH WARTELLE WILL BE ACTING BROKER FROM THURSDAY JULY 9 THROUGH THURDAY JULY 16.

LATEST NUGGET FOR THE NOGGIN: BLOGGING YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS, has been posted at http://www.nuggetsforthenoggin.com/. This shows you how to BLOG for FREE!

MAYBE GITOMER'S BEST YET! Every Great Salesperson Was Once A Beginner. http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3OHIboF1aUmsQ%3D%3D

LAIN LEGG FREE OUTSTANDING REPORT. Bringing Out Your Personal Excellence. This report is as good as it gets! You can also acquire an extensive personal self-improvement library from this link. http://www.nevergiveuponyourdreams.com/PersonalExcellence.pdf


GO WITH A VIDEO TO MAKE AN IMPACT. This is a great 10 minute video from the Brave Heart Woman (also applies to men). It goes hand-in-hand with the Nugget posted above. Imagine the impact of having a real estate blog accompanied by a real estate information video link. WOW!
http://tv.braveheartwomen.com/?bcpid=5094621001&bclid=28124462001&bctid=28134431001

DAVID KNOX 10 MINUTE TRAINING VIDEO. This is a good one on Short Sales:
https://www.davidknox.com/knox_sales_meetings/070709/

4 HOURS OF COMMERCIAL CE SPONSORED BY CID/NOMAR:
1031 Tax Exchange; 8:30 to 10:30; 2 hours
Risk Management; 10:45 to 12:45; 2 hours
Click here to access registration form:
http://www.nomar.org/coned/2009/September%20Schedule.pdf .
CLASSES ARE FREE TO CID MEMBERS!

REALTOR® QUIZZES FROM NOMAR:
We've created more than a dozen interactive quizzes on hot topics that affect your business, from fair housing laws to office organization. Please click on link below.
http://www.realtor.org/RMOQuiz2.nsf/2009HomeBuyerTaxCreditQuiz?OpenForm

WHEN SOMEONE THINKS REAL ESTATE IN YOUR CITY, DO THEY THINK OF YOU? eNeighborhoods has a program that can help solve this problem for you. You can put your name and brand front and center in search results on http://www.homes.com/ as a City Sponsor. To learn more contact: (Note, I am not recommending this just passing along the information.)
Susie Nimrouzi
Homes.com
LeadStreet Consultant
eneighborhoods
A Dominion Enterprises Company
Toll Free: (800) 975-9742 x 3928
Direct: (561) 981-5928
Fax: (561)981-5999
Email: snimrouzi@eneighborhoods.com

FREE REALTOR WEBINAR: GETTING STARTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA: Real estate pros are climbing on to the social media bandwagon, but do they really understand what they’re getting into? An upcoming REALTOR Magazine webinar assembles a team of experts to help you understand the key tools and concepts in this exciting new area, and show you how it can help your business. The key things you'll learn from this webinar are: the spoken (and unspoken) rules of social networking; tools you can use to brand yourself and connect with consumers; and how to build relationships and work deals on the web. NAR Social Media Manager Todd Carpenter, real estate technology instructor Doug Devitre and Keller Williams team owner/technology coach Mariana Wagner will present the information during this FREE one hour webinar on Thursday July 16 at 2:00 pm CDT. For more information or to register online https://realtors.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=realtors&service=6&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Frealtors.webex.com%2Fec0600l%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D523079727%26siteurl%3Drealtors%26%26%26

CONFUCIUS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP: Great SparkPlug written by Joe Tye. http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001rGOO880QTS408Cut1bTO8R_lCtNoaCCfX38g0gT0Vwlks0EmJRmfWEv25-T8xv_tQlJk1KVydKZoOYOgcrR0D1uSSXANBtlP4XmJ0gJG7zE%3D

NOMAR EDUCATION CALENDAR:
http://www.nomar.org/coned/2009/ceschedule.pdf

$3000 FOR KELLER CARES: Keller Williams Realty International has set a goal for each Market Center to collect $3000 for Keller Cares. I did the math, with 90 agents, if each one of us donated just $33.00, our market center would hit our goal. There is a collection jar in the Resource Room. Don’t put this off, do it sooner rather than later.

POLITICAL CONCERNS: It does not matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat, if you are not paying attention to what Congress is doing, do not be surprised at their results. There is a proposed bill but without a great deal of support that would temporarily stop the pooling of appraisers for 18 months to give Congress more time to ascertain the problems that the bill may have caused. I would think everyone one of us would want to see that happen. Call your Congressman today! The Cap & Trade bill has a great many issues but the two that should concern every REALTOR are the provisions that would require every home to be inspected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before it could be sold to insure it has energy efficient features; otherwise it cannot be sold. I don’t think we as REALTORS would want that to happen. In the same bill, every state would be required to adhere to the building codes established by California. This may or may not be a good idea but who knows what those building codes are. As REALTORS we need to be taking a more active role in what is happening in Washington in order to protect our industry and the American Dream of homeownership. My advice to everyone is to PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON!

VISIT THE WEALTH ATTRACTION GIVEAWAY SITE grab as many free gifts as you want. Last I heard, there were 140 free downloads all related to self help, personal improvement and –for those that are thinking about starting an online business- many of
these free products are related to internet marketing as well. So head on to...
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=7Bz1Z&m=1eCebkYo.7GLHz&b=1foBiR9mNCshKTAryVLOWA and download to your heart's content!

CELEBRATE GROWING OLDER by Regina Brett – great article posted on http://www.slidellcalendar.com/, Document Section under the Motivational Folder.

ATTRACT THE ABUNDANCE YOU DESERVE by Peggy McColl. Great Ebook just posted on http://www.slidellcalendar.com/, under Documents and then the Ebook Folder. Enjoy.

Online Market Center Newsletter for July 3, 2009

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

QUOTE: “Encouragement changes everything. As you encourage others, you encourage yourself.” Dr. John C. Maxwell. I would encourage everyone to read anything written by John Maxwell but especially Failing Forward.

A CLASSIC FOR THE AGES; AS A MAN THINKETH BY JAMES ALLEN. The Ebook has been uploaded to the http://www.slidellcalendar.com/, the Document Section, under Ebooks. This book was written over 100 years ago and remains one of the top books on self-development ever written. A must-have for anyone’s personal library.

VERY COOL MUSIC WEB SITE: http://www.upchucky.com/ On the right side of the home page you can click on a jukebox and click on a certain year and you will get a jukebox with 20 of the top hits for that year that play consecutively. I don’t know what else is on the site so I will apologize if there is anything offensive, but the jukebox portion is really cool. There is a ton of cool stuff on this site; be careful it can consume your time and I know this because…..

TIME TO LAUGH: http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=db5ed59e2e&view=att&th=12228135d2220c1a&attid=0.1&disp=attd&zw

CAUTION, THIS IS A HARD VIDEO TO WATCH BUT SOMETHING YOU OUGHT TO SEE. It is about a soldier who had a live RPG, Rocket Propelled Grenade, embedded in his hip. It is a powerful video especially when he says he was ready to die for a just cause. Wow! Thank you Sheryl Godwin for passing this along:
http://militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/rpg_surgery/

YOUR NAME MATTERS TO YOUR PROSPECTS! OR DOES IT? Wonderful Jeffrey Gitomer Article about what it will take to excel and step out from the crowd in today’s market. http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3OQ90jQYA69Iw%3D%3D

DEAL OF THE WEEK. 4 GITOMER BOOKS FOR ONLY $59.00. http://www.gitomer.com/products/Jeffrey-Gitomer-s-Deal-of-the-Week-399-pluDOTW399.html
Personal Note: Anything Gitomer writes is worth reading! Gymbeaux

GREAT JULY 4TH MESSAGE: THE SIMPLE WISDOM PROJECT; THE SCARCITY OF HEROS
http://tablegroup.com/mailing/p_v.php?mi=129&b=0&nl=22&ei=amltYnJvd25AZ3ltYmVhdXguY29t&eid=OTc3ODY

WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGIC IQ? Find out quickly at http://www.strategiciq.com/. You can take a self-assessment on any of the following categories. When it says “organizational” think of your own business as the organization.

Strategic Acceleration Individual
Strategic Acceleration Organizational
Presentation Mastery Individual
Presentation Mastery Organizational