My apologies for missing another post last week. September has put a crimp in my weekly posts, between Labor Day and the Jewish Holidays — and then, sadly, my mother-in-law died last Friday morning. Fortunately, I was able to cut my travel short to be at her bedside with my wife and other family.

J...

One way to look at The Industry, or The Marketplace, is as a world that radiates outward. We could say that at the center of The Marketplace, the energy is hot and overwhelming, and getting close to the center is maybe one way to capture as much business as possible. Think “like a moth to a flame.”

Are you sick and tired yet?

A natural reply might be, “Of what?”

Are you sick and tired yet of...

• ...the market not cooperating
• ...the economy not cooperating
• ...clients who don’t appreciate you
• ...clients who don’t pay your fee or...
• ...you not having the courage to really charge what you ...

One of my mentors, Jeff, says, “Sloooooooow down.”

I have heard him say it so many times I often don’t hear it anymore.

The last two days I was participating in a group workshop he was leading. On Thursday we spent one session working through a particular topic - one that required people to stand ...

The question every client asks, implicitly or explicitly, is "Why should I hire you?"

This question stumps most real estate agents. I am not so sure the industry answers that question either. The industry teaches professionalism as a supporting tactic, not the central theme.

If you look across the...

I was speaking with an agent the other day (let’s say her name is Allie). She said she is committed to being a $30mm/year agent. But she is not. It’s just a good idea.

“No,” Allie said, “I really do want that, am capable of that, and it would make a difference.”

I said, “Well, that sounds to me li...

I have been saying this for over 20 years: Why is summer so hard?

Rather, why is summer so hard as a real estate agent? If I asked my wife if summer was hard, she would look at me funny. Her job as a physician is, quite frankly, not impacted by the seasons. In other words, every day feels the same,...

“You don’t improve your life by doing more. You improve your life by doing less of what doesn’t matter.” - Cory Allen

On one of our practice calls this week, one of the participants said, “What else should I be watching or doing?”

She was responding to another program she had signed up for free th...

The 13 Virtues are about being a professional worth hiring. They are also components of trustworthiness. Virtue #2 - Being Authentic - If you are not being authentic, your clients are almost certainly not going to trust you.

Why?

Because if you don’t know who you are, then they don’t know who you ...

Here’s a question to hurt your brain - and possibly your ego:

Why don’t I listen?

If you could not take that personally, then you could consider the following:

What would happen, or what would be available, if I did listen? What am I missing when I am not listening?

Of course, that leads...

I have several thoughts running through my head this week, given the three cities I was in, plus all the calls I had in between. As always, you - the agents on the court, doing the business - give me the material each week. 

The first set of observations from the week was the following: 

• How can...