Archive for March, 2009

Monday Morning MOJO

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The key to getting whatever it is yo u want in life

Good Morning MOJO,

Here is the ticket to get whatever it is you want in your life…

Help others who want what you’ve got get it.  When helping others get what you’ve got it holds you to a higher standard and level of accountability…you will sense a tremendous amount of responsibility to set the example and be the pace setter.  As they start to get what you’ve got, it will push you to take it to the next level so you can stay one step ahead…getting you closer to what you want.

This applies to all areas of your life…Physical / Health and Nutrition, Faith, Financial, Business, Family, etc.

You’ve got to give to get…it is the law of life.  It is so simple that it’s hard for most people to believe.

Make it a powerful week!!!


Market Share

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Intero becomes top real estate company in Silicon Valley

Intero Real Estate Services is now Silicon Valley’s top real estate company.

RE Infolink, the Multiple Listing Service in the Silicon Valley area, shows that Intero has a 17 percent share of Santa Clara County single-family home and condominium sales. That’s five percentage points ahead of Coldwell Banker Northern California, which has 12 percent of the market.

Until January, Coldwell Banker Northern California had been the market leader in the area.

“This is more than just one brand versus another. It relects a fundamental shift in the way real estate services are delivered,” Intero CEO Gino Blefari says. “It shows that our investments in technology, our commitment to innovation and vision for a new kind of real estate company have resonated with agents and consumers looking for a different – and better – experience.”

Blefari also notes that Intero continues to innovate and embrace change, even as other companies have cut services or reduced marketing budgets.

Just a few years ago, Intero moved ahead of Alain Pinel for second place in Santa Clara County.

Click here to read the full press release.

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Monday Morning MOJO

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Our goals are our destination and our schedule is our directions

Good Morning MOJO,

If we want to know how successful we are going to be at accomplishing our goals at anything in life, all we need to do is look at our schedule.  Often in my job I work with people on helping them accomplish their goals.  After discussing their dreams and what it is they want to accomplish, I always ask to see their schedule.  It is amazing how many times I am working with someone who has big sexy dreams, but has been struggling to accomplish them…then I look at their schedule and it’s blank.  It’s pretty obvious why it’s not happening!!!!  Bottom line is, if it is not in your schedule it is not going to happen, no matter how bad you want it.

We can’t just have it in our heads…our minds are meant for creating ideas not storing them  We need to take the time to create our success plan, whatever it is…outline the things we need to do to accomplish it…then put those things in our schedule and stick with it day in day out forever.  Now, that is not to say we cannot make some adjustments along the way and modify our schedules to become more efficient, but we have to follow our directions/road map to success…and that road map is our schedule.  Way too many people spend the majority of their day thinking about what they need to do instead of doing what they need to do.  I know it sounds so simple and like common sense, but it is amazing how most people don’t have a detailed schedule with all of the things in it they need to do to accomplish their goals.

Look at your goals as your destination on trip half way around the world to a beautiful and remote place you have never been to before…and look at your schedule as your map/directions to get there.  Could you imagine traveling half way around the world to a place you have never been and doing it without detailed directions and a plan?  Of course not…we know we would get lost and never make it.  Well the same thing applies with our goals and our schedule.  We have never been where our goals are before…we better have a detailed plan /schedule how to get there and the discipline to follow it everyday or we will never make it.

Make it a POWERFUL week!!!!!


Staging strategies

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Magazine calls on real estate experts to offer staging tips

Looking for some staging ideas?

Real estate experts from across the country sent in their tips to REALTOR® Magazine. The magazine has listed many of them. 

Here are a few from the story.

Cari Pemberton of Buy, Sell, Organize & Stage in Colorado Springs, Colo., says she has sellers write a letter to potential buyers about some of the “less evident benefits, such as the annual Easter egg hunt at the end of the cul-de-sac,” according to the magazine.

Kria Lacher of Meadows Group Inc., Realtors®, of Portland, Ore., says that to add a bed to an empty room, she arranges moving boxes into the shape of a bed and then throws nice bedding on top of them.

Chad C. Caramanna of Shadetree Realty Group Inc. in Fellsmere, Fla. offers this: “I always put something in the oven like apple pie or fresh bread."

Shawn Moss of Century 21 C.R. O’Neil & Co., told REALTOR® Magazine he has his clients put an ice cube in the carpet imprints caused by furniture. The melting ice causes the carpet to expand and fill the imprints, he says.

Check out the complete list here.

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Monday Morning MOJO

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You can stay the same, falling behind and become more vulnerable…or change and experience the possibilities.

Good Morning MOJO ,

When you woke up this morning , where you fired up and excited to improve…fired up to find a way to do it different…fired up to do it better…fired up to be innovative…fired up to change? So many people fight it…trying to stay the same and play it safe because either things are okay and it’s working or things are so bad they just don’t want to do anything to make it worse…they don’t want to rock the boat , take risks , and ruin a good thing or make a tough situation worse. Unfortunately , if we don’t look for a better way…trying to improve everyday , we will wake up one day and everything around us will have changed and it will be too late…it will seem like it happened overnight without warning and what caused our success in the past , both personally and professionally , will be the cause of our demise.

Change is an exciting thing when we just let go and don’t fight it…the opportunities are endless and everything will just flow. However , if we resist and fight , we are in for a battle filled with disappointments and hard work that don’t produce much of anything. It is like standing on a railroad track trying to stop a train going 100 mph…you just can’t do it…its not possible. So , we can either jump on the train and enjoy the ride or get run over…it’s our choice.

Embrace change…take risks…work on getting better…work on improving yourself in all areas of your life and business every day. If you haven’t noticed , the world is changing around you every minute of every day whether you change or not. So , you can stay the same , falling behind and become more vulnerable…or change and experience the possibilities. Don’t fight it…embrace it!!!!

Make it a Powerful week!!!!!


Rapid Response

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C.A.R. economist: Today’s homebuyers want quick responses from agents

A personal digital assistant, whether it is an iPhone, a BlackBerry or something else, is an important tool for success in the real estate market, according to a recent story in The Sacramento Bee.

The newspaper reported on a briefing by Leslie Appleton-Young, economist for the California Association of Realtors. Appleton-Young was speaking to members of the Sacramento Association of Realtors earlier this month.

According to the paper, Appleton-Young said more than half of homebuyers want to hear back from agents within 30 minutes of calling. She also said 40 percent of homebuyers browse real estate agents’ Web sites to find an agent.

Agents also are attracting clients from Facebook, Appleton-Young said.

Click here for the full story.

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Intero Andare in the Headlines Today

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santana-row1You’ll find Intero’s Andare concept on the home page of Inman News today.

 

Intero’s unique, tech-savvy, eco-friendly, economically-efficient office design called ‘Intero Andare’ has truly taken off and been accepted industry wide as the ‘the office of the future’.  Already six out of Intero’s 40+ offices follow this design. Take a look at the article in Inman News today, home page headline - ‘Andare’ dares to downsize the real estate office.

 


Intero Andare in the Headlines Today

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You’ll find Intero’s Andare concept on the home page of Inman News today

Intero’s unique, tech-savvy, eco-friendly, economically-efficient office design called ‘Intero Andare’ has truly taken off and been accepted industry wide as the ‘the office of the future’.  Already six out of Intero’s 40+ offices follow this design. Take a look at the article in Inman News today, home page headline - ‘Andare’ dares to downsize the real estate office.

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  • Inman News
    Real Estate and Technology News for Agents, Broker, and Investors

Monday Morning MOJO

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Thinking and doing things different is the road to freedom and to fulfilling our destiny

Good Morning MOJO ,

“…sounds like a great idea , I will get started tomorrow.”  Yeah right…like that is really going to happen…just like that last thousand times he said “I will start tomorrow”. 

“Wow , I can see how that will have a hugely positive impact on my life , but I just don’t have time to deal with making the necessary changes right now…I will try and implement that next month when things settle down.”  We all know things never “settle down”.

“Why is it that no matter what I seem to do…not matter how much I work or how hard I try , I can never get ahead , physically , financially , spiritually , personally , or in my business?  I am trying hard everyday , but there just aren’t enough hours in the day.”  Here is the first thing we all need to get real clear on…no matter how hard we try , if we continue to do what we have always done , we will continue to get what we have always gotten.  So , to get more of what we want in our lives , the key is not doing more of what we are currently doing harder , but doing different…changing the way we look at things….the way we do things.  Sounds easy…right?  NOT!!!!!!!  

Getting comfortable with change does not happen over night…it is something we need to train ourselves.  Because , most of the things we do in our life and our thoughts are a routine that have been engrained in us over YEARS.  So , we plow on , mindlessly doing the same old things in the same old way.  Whether these routines or thoughts are good or bad , like a drop of water which continuously hits on a rock , our habits create a hole or a rut.  And the longer the drop of our habits hit the rock , the deeper the hole.  And over time as that hole gets deeper and deeper , the harder it is to get out of the rut when we want to make a change. 

So , why haven’t we forced ourselves out of the rut before now , when we know changes are going to make us happier in the long run?  Most of the time we don’t change because we are afraid…it makes us uncomfortable…makes us feel exposed…or we are just plain lazy.  And the older we get the harder it is to make changes because we tend to become less and less flexible.  And because we have been doing things one way for such a long time , the hole in the rock becomes the size of the Grand Canyon.  So , the key is to train ourselves to get comfortable with change…someone who actually embraces change…someone who actually gets a rush from being innovative and doing it different.  Because thinking and doing things different is the road to freedom and to fulfilling our destiny.

So start challenging your routines.  Stop running into the brick wall…stop beating your head against it.  Pause…Think.  Find a new way that goes around the wall , or maybe over it.  Rest assured , the new way is there.  It does exist.  Changing your habits can itself become common place.  The first time you defy “your way” and climb out of your rut in nearly kills you…the second time , it’s real tough…the third time , it’s merely hard.  And eventually , it becomes , if not easy , then reasonably comfortable.  Your confidence grows , and the tyrant loses a large part of its hold on you.  Then , the magic of having a life that is unbelievable…pure magic starts to unfold!!!

Make it a powerful week!!!!!


Industry Advice

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More real estate veterans weigh in with slow market tips

California Real Estate Magazine this month offers insights and suggestions from veteran real estate agents on how to get through the downturn in the housing market.

Here are a few of the tips from the magazine article:

  • Familiarize yourself again with some basic strategies, such as open houses, marketing plans and cold-calling.
  • Get in touch with former clients, says John Oldfield, a REALTOR® with Prudential California Realty in San Francisco.
  • Take a training class, says Annette Graw, a broker-associate with South Bay Brokers in Manhattan Beach.

The California Real Estate Magazine article also offers some mistakes you don’t want to make during the slow market.

According to the experts in the magazine article, you should be careful not to:

  • Expand your target market too much. That increases costs and could result in problems stemming from inadequate market knowledge. The experts also warn that it’s important not to shrink your target market too much.
  • Take a park-time job. A part-time job, the veterans say, could lock agents into inflexible schedules that can prove difficult with a full-time real estate career.

For all of the tips and the full story from California Real Estate Magazine, click here.

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