Online Newsletter for the Week Ending April 29, 2011

QUOTE:  "I would never follow a leader; who never follows a leader!"  Dr. John Maxwell  how cool is that?  Do you follow a leader, I do; in fact I follow several leaders starting with the Market Center Operating Principle.

KELLER WILLIAMS TOP REAL ESTATE FRANCHISE:  Austin, Texas-based Keller Williams Realty led among real estate brokerage franchises in an annual survey by Entrepreneur Magazine, and ranked 78th overall out of 500 franchises.  For the rest of the story go to:  http://www.inman.com/news/2011/04/25/keller-williams-top-real-estate-franchisor-in-annual-list

ANDY ANDREWS AND JOSHUA CHAMBERLAIN, how the actions of one man change the world for a very long time.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3DsKO8wN0k

EXISTING HOMES SALES UP!  Sales of existing-home sales rose in March, continuing an uneven recovery that began after sales bottomed last July, according to the National Association of Realtors®.  Existing home sales which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 3.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.10 million in March from an upwardly revised 4.92 million in February, but are 6.3 percent below the 5.44 million pace in March 2010. Sales were at elevated levels from March through June of 2010 in response to the home buyer tax credit.  For the complete article go to http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2011/04/rise_march

KELLER CARES; YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE:  If you did not follow the link on a recent email regarding Keller Cares you really missed out on an emotional and most important message.  You can read how you can make a real difference in a fellow Keller Williams associate’s life:    http://www.kwcares.org/pages/home.shtml#Jorge

ANNUAL MLS DUES COMING SOON: Annual MLS dues for agents will be invoiced on June 1^st and are due by June 30th.  Agent invoices will be mailed to me by May 25th.  You can begin MAILING your payments right away, but cannot pay online until June 1st.  The amount due per agent was $298 last year, next year’s amount will not be known until mid-May.  Please plan ahead using last’s year’s amount as a guide.

A NEW PROSPECTIVE ON WINNING…AND LOSSING; by Jeffrey Gitomer.  http://www.gitomer.com/articles/View.html?id=16040

2011 KELLER WILLIAMS FAMILY REUNION – ORLANDO, FL:  Keller Williams Family Reunion is February 11th-15th 2012 in sunny Orlando, Florida. This is going to be a fantastic event that will encourage, inspire, educate and show you the path so you can bring your business to the next level. I am calling out to you now, so you can plan ahead to attend the Family Reunion. You have enough time to set money aside for your investment into your business. Remember, planning ahead will help you succeed.  I am asking that everyone get plugged in to the incredible education, training and events that Keller Williams has to offer. Invest into your business and watch it grow. Besides, Orlando is such a neat place to visit.

INTERESTING FACT:  This year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens once every 823 years.

ROOFTOP RENDEZVOUS.  The annual Slidell Memorial Hospital’s Rooftop Rendezvous is scheduled for May 13 from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm.  You can get all the details by going to www.smhfdn.org.

TRAIL OF IMPACT:  This is a great article by John G. Miller, author of The Question Behind the Question (QBQ) (which is a fabulous read by the way).  I think we can all relate to this article but can your customers relate it back to you; hopefully not:  http://outstandingorganization.com/blog/

HEALTH INSURANCE:  Small Business United Health Insurance Educational Webinar Series.  What you don't know about health insurance can cost you.  Check out the info provided on the weekly webinar by going to www.sbus.org/webinarschedule or calling 888-728-2457

MARKET NAVIGATOR:  Keller Williams Market Navigator 2011 edition is now available.  You will want your own personal copy of this fabulous book.  It contains a ton a valuable numbers regarding buyers and sellers that you can use with your customers.  You will also want copies to give to agents in our competitors companies because it is doubtful they will be getting it from their companies.  The cost of this book is only $5.00 per copy.  There is a sign-up sheet in the resource room.  Include your name and the number of copies you desire (hopefully lots of them to give away).  The order will be placed by May 5th and you will be billed on your monthly statement.

TEAM LEADER BIT:   The market center "all call" system is an invaluable tool that could very easily be over used and should that happen the messages placed on the system may simply be ignored.  We do not want that to happen.   Review of Market Center All Call Policy:  Only the MCA (that would be Amy) can authorize an all call.  All calls will be sent between the hours of 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm.  The Call Coordinator will first write out the script, arrange for someone (usually the MCA) to cover the front desk, and then make the all call from one of the conference rooms where the call can be made with no background noise.  The Call Coordinator is to make an all call the night before any scheduled CE event in the Market Center or whenever a special guest will be present in the Market Center and this can be done without the prior approval of the MCA; however, it is still best to let the MCA be aware the call is being made in the event there may be additional messages to include on the call.

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:  Recently I have read some of the best books ever.  Here is a list, I highly recommend all of them.  For what it’s worth, I am currently reading Atlas Shrugged supposedly one of the greatest books ever written; I’ll let you know.  If you are on the ALC or think you will be on the ALC, have children, are married or are breathing, you should read Little Book of Leadership by Jeffrey Gitomer.

The Inner Game of Work by Timothy Gallway

It’s The Customer, Stupid!  By Michael Aun

Leadership Gold by Dr. John Maxwell

Little (Brown) Book of Leadership by Jeffrey Gitomer

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:    It is more important to do which of the following to achieve an advantage in sales; email JimBrown@gymbeaux.com the answer you think is correct; I will email you Jeffrey Gitomer’s answer and why if you are incorrect:

A. Find out what your competition sells and learn your competitive advantages.

B. Find out what your customer wants and learn your competitive advantages.

C. Come to work early and start calling customers and prospective customers.

D. Develop relationships, and then build accounts

TODAY I MARVEL AT THE MAGIC OF THE HUMAN MIND by Lew Smallwood:  Today I will marvel at the magic of the human mind. One of the books I’m currently reading is titled: Flipnosis - the art of split second persuasion by Kevin Dutton. It’s a fascinating read about how the mind is wired and how to circumvent that wiring to achieve a desired outcome. It’s either brilliant or bloody dangerous. I’m not sure which at this point. However the author cites an experiment conducted by Cambridge University about the effect of our mind-set or frame of mind on how we read and I thought it was worth sharing.

 “In trems of the way in wchih we prcoess lagnguage, for istnance, scuh a sttae of atuo-piolt revleas the paomnnehal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdring to rscearch it deosn’t mttaer in waht order the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt thnig is that the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcesuae the hmuan mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrid as a wlohe. Tihs is epsceially the csae with retviaely cmomon, so-claled ‘fuctnion’ words like ‘of - wehih maens that one is lses lkiley, in scuh exmalpes, to prcoess the idnvidaiul cmpnonoets. Amzanig, huh?"