Joe's Journal

How To Work Expired Listings The By Referrral Only Way Part 1

Friends, Family, Neighbors "Comments"

Spencer Reynolds  Gives His Insight

Here is version that works great for lenders.

F – Find out what is important to you and the family, Dreams!
A – Analyze your current financial situation
M – Manage your liabilities
I – Integrate a plan that will make your dreams come true
L- Liberate you from the stress of managing money
Y – You live the life you have always dreamed

Doesn't that feel good?  I'll bet you want the people you care about to
have that in their lives.  Who is the next person you know that would
love to be a part of our FAMILY?

Jan Cotton Shares Her BFO !

Hi Joe,

What a timely post! 

We were just having that discussion today at our office meeting - analyzing where most of our business has been coming from.

And it was an eye opener to realize that it is from friends and
neighbors.  And, they were friends and neighbors FIRST, not clients who
became friends - and yes, we have a lot of those, too, but when we look
at referrals from each group, the ones who were friends first are the
ones who tend to give more referrals. 

So, as many years as we have been in the business, this should be a no-brainer for us, and yet it
wasn't. 

And here we have been, in a brand new area for almost two years, and we've struggled to get the volume of business that we had in the old place, never even realizing that we have not made as big an effort to "be-friend" people here in AZ as we had done in CA.

Now, we know exactly what we have to do!

Hannah Abrams - Thanks For The WOW Moment

Good morning Joe,

I just read your "3 Magic Words...", and had several WOW moments.

1. Now I understand why I don’t get the buyer/seller client when they have a friend/family/neighbor in the business.

2. I don’t have to take it personally when I don’t get the buyer/seller. What a weight off my shoulders.

3. I always ask sellers & buyers if they are interviewing other agents; now I am going to ad the question of whether or not the other agent is a friend/family/neighbor because it clears up what I am up against.

4. You have provided a road map of how to express to my clients that I am their family, friend & neighbor.

Thanks for the WOW moments!

3 Magic Words- Family, Friends, Neighbor

Good Morning

Last week I met with Zac Pasmanick. Zac is a top agent in Atlanta with a mega team.

Zac said he gets 250 or more 'seller' calls a year. That means 250 people call him and say I want to talk to you about selling my home. Zac is real good at what he does and he’s been doing it a long time.

I asked Zac if he tracks the sellers that don’t list with him and the reason they don’t.

HIS ANSWER CONFIRMED WHAT I HAVE BEEN TEACHING YOU FOR 15 YEARS.

Zac said that when he gets a call-in seller, he always asks, “Are you interviewing other agents to do the job?” If they say yes, he then asks "How many are you interviewing and how many of them are either family members, friends or neighbors?"

What Zac has discovered is when a seller is interviewing 3 or more agents and any two of them are either a family member, friend or neighbor, the chances of him getting the listing is slim and none and slim just left town.

What you discover one more time is no matter how good your marketing is, good clients would simply rather work with a family member, friend or neighbor.

So what does this data tell us?

The words 'family, friend or neighbors' all hold the code called trust. So how can you use the magic of words to create more unconscious trust?

Here are some thoughts. I would like you to contribute your thoughts so we can build on this conversation for everyone to enjoy.

Family

Can you start to refer to your client base as your family of clients? Could you say to a new client, “Welcome to the family”? Can you call your annual client event “Family Reunions”? Can you describe your process of how you do what you do using the word FAMILY as mnemonic.

For Example:
F – First we analyze your needs
A – Actively find you a home? Buyer/Loan
M – Meet all the contractual obligations
I – Integrate all our work and initiate a settlement date
L- Let's all come together and celebrate
Y – You live in your new home

Friends

Do you remember this script from the posting?

"Isn’t it nice to know you have a friend in the business that you are comfortable referring the people you care about to?"

Simply refer to yourself as their friend in the business.

Ain’t it good to know you got a friend?

When you send a client out to look at homes, tell them to let the other agents know that you have friend in the business you're already working with.

Let’s be friends.

Neighbor

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. That is a very powerful statement.

How can you start using the word neighbor in your marketing and communication?

So, in closing, the three magic words…Friend, Neighbor, Family -- how creative can you get when you are referring to yourself not as an agent, but as a ________?

Have fun with this.

Your friend and coach,

Joe

Interview With Leo Pusateri

Click, Listen and Learn

Just click the above link and listen.

This is a great interview with Leo Pusateri, the author of "mirror mirror on the wall am i the most valued of them all?"

A Business Field Trip

Good Morning,

Join me on a business field trip to Barnes & Nobel, then back to my home. I would like to show you how I read and create great ideas from magazines.

What Is Your Heuristic? Joe's Mailbag

Joe:  Thanks for inspiring me and helping me connect to one of my hidden passions of living to learn and learning to teach.

You mentioned at the Reston Main Event the word that started with an "h" -- I'm struggling to find the word in the dictionary and other resources.  I must be way off....  What's the word? ~ Rick

Live To Learn, Learn To Teach

Hi Rick,

Thank you for sharing so brilliantly at the Main Event. Your poise and thoughtful insights helped us have one of our most productive events ever in the DC area.

The word you're referring to is heuristic.

I first discovered this gem while studying the work of Michael Ray in his book 'The Highest Goal; The Secrets That Sustain You In Every Moment'.

Here is how Michael defines the word:

Heuristics are generalizations or rules of thumb for insight and learning. You can think of them as admonitions, mottos for living or as he calls them in his book, live-with.

Rick, when I said my heuristic is “ Live to Learn, Learn to Teach”, I noticed your consciousness connected immediately with that thought.

Is it possible you have a similar heuristic?

Do you as a mortgage consultant, learn all you can about wealth so you can teach it to your clients?

Rick, that is my experience of you.

You, like me, get your joy from discovering new insights, then connecting the learning to how you can teach others, so they can have the same joy you are experiencing.

Do you think I got that right about you?

Joe

1,500 People at the Rocky Mountain Mortgage Client Event

<>

   Scott and Todd Asbel are long-time members of By Referral Only. They will also be speaking at the upcoming Strategic Forum in San Diego, CA on October 24th-26th. See you there.

<>

<>

Imagine this! Now Watch It!    Rocky Mountain Mortgage Group of Provo, UT, had 1,500 clients and guests at their annual Client Appreciation Party.

How to Consult the Move Up Buyer Who Has a House to Sell

Good Morning,

I'm here in Tornoto staying with Dean and Sony.

I was thinking about a question several people asked me at the Main Event.

What do you tell people who want to buy a larger home, that their home is worth less?

Have you had the situation where the seller thinks their house is worth more than it is, because they need every penny out of it to move into a different home?

As you may or may not know, prices of homes in some areas of the country have fallen 5 to 10% in the past 12 months. In some areas, prices continue to rise 5 to 10% a year.

Imagine the situation. You're in a part of the country where prices have fallen 10%. You are consulting with a client whose homes in their area were selling for $300,000 last year. Now those same homes are worth $30,000 less.

Imagine you discover, while using the Ultimate Scenario question, that their #5-6-7 are that they want a better neighborhood for the kids, an office to work from home so they can have time with kids, and not commuting.

Imagine they want to move into a home that last year sold for $700,000.

With this situation in mind, here are some Magic Words.

Magic Words

You may or may not realize that the values of homes in your neighborhood have fallen about 10% in the past year, which means you will sell your home for about $30,000 less.

And that is good news for you because the home you want sold last year for about $700,000 and is now selling for $630,000 or less.

Which means you get to give your kids the neighborhood you feel is safest for them to grow up in, you get to have an office at home so you don’t have to commute, and you get that peaceful, productive time in the morning in your new home.

Isn’t it nice to know that even though prices have dropped in your area, mortgage rates still are at a point where you can get the home of your dreams for less, because the prices have dropped?

Why An Adjustable Rate Product Is A Good Loan Today

Good Morning,

Last night after a full day at the Main Event, Jim and I sat down and had a chat about the adjustable loan product.

Since there is so much negativity in the mass media about adjustable rates, we thought it would be important for you to know how to re-educate your clients who have that type of loan.

Jim shares with you his dialogue, why an adjustable rate product is a good loan today.

Jim MCQuaig will be one of 18 different speakers at the upcoming Strategic Forum in San Diego on October 24th - 25th. Call your coach today and get registered.

What I See From Stage At The Main Event

Hello!

We are in Reston, Virginia, with 500+ agents and lenders attending the Main Event. We just finished day one and here is what I see from stage that you don't see.

Tomorrow, I will have a special video blog interview with Jim McQuaig on what lenders can say when they call their past clients.

Have a great day!

Listings Taking Longer to Sell - Mailbag

Joe’s Mail Bag

Dear Joe,

The Northern California real estate market has cooled off considerably. With the prices dropping and listings taking longer to sell, what one simple idea can you give me to sustain my six-figure income?

Ken Z.

Welcome Back To Reality!

Dear Ken,

I have been in the business for 28 years. I believe I have seen just about every cycle. The coasts are coming back to reality.

In the old market, one listing equaled one sale. In this new market, 4 or 5 priced right (meaning seller willing to reduce until sold) listings equal one sale.

If you want to sustain your income in this market, you need to consider listing 5 times as much property.

While you have a larger inventory, you have to create systems and the team to service these sellers. Your technology, like your relationship management system such as “Total Solution”, will become your most valuable assistant.

Ken, you also need to get more disciplined in asking buyers much better questions before you show them property.

If a buyer is not going seven levels deep with you on the ultimate scenario question, I would recommend that you don’t show them homes.

That’s the simplest answer I can give you.

Joe

Become More Referable - Know What You Believe.

Beliefs are largely choices we have made long ago and have forgotten.

Your decisions mirror your personal thoughts and feelings; they reveal (to yourself and others) how you really view yourself and the world.

By looking at the pattern of your past decisions, you can identify limiting beliefs that may be getting in the way of wise decision making.

If you are unable to see yourself honestly and objectively, ask another person you trust what he/she sees or get a coach to assist you.

Joe Stumpf

22,000 Pages Viewed as of Today

The day that I conceptualized joesjournal.com, my intention was to have a creative outlet for all good stuff that I am thinking.

My thought was, if I could share my insight, wisdom and passion for building a referral business, that there must be a person who would benefit from my gifts.

I'm humbled at the remarkable reception of joesjournal.com

In 90 days, over 22,000 pages have been viewed.

My intention remains the same -- each day, share with you from my heart, my gifts.

What I want for you is more freedom, more prosperity, greater health and a deeper spiritual awareness.

I believe that I can give you the critical knowledge, the proven strategies, and powerful techniques to help you get from where you are to where you want to be.

So, thank you for referring joesjournal.com to the people in your life that you really care about.

The Best Is Yet To Come,

Joe Stumpf

How To Beat Burnout -- My 5-Point Plan

Joe’s Mailbag- Feel good about submitting your questions and comments.

Joe,

What do you do with an agent that is absolutely tired of it all?
I have done real well this year selling multi-family properties and
residential properties.  I stopped working in June after my last
closing......... I am headed to the beach in South Padre Island, Texas
for a month of "nothing" on September 5th.  Feel free to bring your
family and friends and join me.  If you can fix me, that would be amazing.

Betty Gentry

How I Avoid Burnout

Betty,

Thank you for your note. Congratulations on your success. You deserve a month or two off.

What I do to avoid mental, physical and spiritual burnout is try not to let myself get to the breaking point.

Here is my 5-point plan to stay fresh and invigorated and how I keep my beginner’s heart.

1. I meditate every day for one hour.

During that time, I'm asking God to bless me with the inspiration and insight on how I can contribute to the greater good of mankind. It seems to be I get recharged when I am not thinking about myself, but thinking about how I can best bring value to others.

2. I eat to live, not live to eat.

Betty, this is so important. I limit my sugar intake to once a week and use a super high grade of protein powder. I will be 50 on December 29th and I'm in the best health and condition I have ever been in. Betty, my plan, God willing, is to be in better shape every year of my life.

3. I get a massage every Saturday with acupuncture treatment.

This 2-hour treatment is like pushing the reset button on my nervous system. If you’re ever in the Encinitas, California area, visit lemongrasscenter.com for a great day of recovery.

4. I work very focused for 6 days in a row, then take 2 Recovery days.

On my Recovery days I play. I love the sun, the beach, golf, dancing, hanging out with my 12 year-old just being a kid. Betty, have fun in the Texas sun.

5. I learn something new everyday.

Betty, it helps me keep my beginner’s heart. This new technology of blogging and video blogging, plus all the new technology we are giving you at By Referral Only, has renewed my commitment to staying focused and alive.

Betty, how many of these five things are you doing?

When you get back from your sabbatical, it might be time for you to make a bigger commitment to taking care of you.

Below is a video of the Lemongrass Spa just to give you a taste of a great little day spa in Encinitas that you might want to visit to find your inner strength.

Peace and Joy,

Joe

Magic Word Video Training Week #1

Welcome to "Magic Words That Get Referrals".

This is a weekly training series on how to ask for referrals using proven referral generating dialogues.

Dialogue #1: Next Time Ask Them To Call The Free Recorded Message

Magic Words:

"The next time you are in a conversation with someone who mentions they are going to be buying a larger, more spacious home, would you give them this business card and ask them to call and listen to the free-recorded message?"

Using a free-recorded message can improve your response rate as much as ten times. On day one of the Main Event, Dean Jackson and Terry Hunefeld, teach a variety of ways to use your free-recorded message system to find five-star prospects.
Because you want more referrals right now, watch this great video so you can learn how to create this specific referral generating system.

Selma Wants To Know What To Say On The Free-Recorded Message

Joe, That is phenomenal. :)

Now, as far as the message to be recorded in the 800# extension, what message would you advise recording?

Would the general message about our VIP Buyer's Search Service be approriate for this specific strategy, or you would advise us to record something specific to the 'larger more spacious home' topic?

Selma

Selma Instead Of Writing To You...I Choose To 'You Tube' You!

Selma, Thanks For Transcribing the Message
Note: Areas within ( ) are to be personalized.

“Hi, this is (Selma Santos)."

"Thank you for calling extension (ext. number). Somebody thinks highly enough of you to give you one of my business cards because they believe that a larger, more spacious home, a family size home in a great school district, on a nice quiet tree-lined street, might be something that you desire. In this brief message, I would like to tell you who I am, what I do, how I do it, and what makes me different from the traditional real estate agent."

"First of all, who I am is (Selma Santos) and I am a (passionate purposeful) real estate consultant serving homeowners in the (Tampa Bay) and surrounding areas. For (4 absolutely incredible years) I have helped people move into the homes of their dreams."

"If they are moving from a smaller home into a larger, more spacious home, if they are buying their first home, or if they are buying their dream trophy home, I specialize in helping people in all three of those areas. I have a team of dedicated, committed professionals, who work out of our (cozy office in the West side of Tampa)."

"What I do is I consult, I negotiate and I oversee the transaction details for each one of my clients. The person who gave you my business cards believes that I probably could ask you some really profound, insightful questions to find out what’s really important to you and as I find out what is important to you, what I can do is listen very attentively and then put together a strategic plan to help your dreams come true of maybe moving into a larger, more spacious home in a nice neighborhood, keeping your house payments somewhere equivalent to what you are paying right now either for rent or the home that you live in now."

"I also negotiate and I represent your money like it is my money. When it’s time to make you money or save you money, I am like a warrior and the people that referred you to me will tell you that my negotiating skills alone are worth every penny that you pay me."

"Then, I oversee the transactional details with my team of dedicated professionals. Each one of them is committed to making the experience so outrageously happy for you, that all you will want to do is refer people to me just like the person who gave you the business card referred you to me."

"So, I am a consultant, I am a negotiator, and I am the person who oversees all the transactional details. We put together a 7-step system when we first sit down to find the most successful experience for you. We search by asking you intelligent, thought provoking questions, and then we unleash a full campaign, a campaign that is dedicated to finding the home of your dreams. Then we contract with homeowners, we negotiate with them, we communicate with you every step along the way, keeping you informed and updated. We then establish a date when we will celebrate and we set up a date when you will move into your home. We then have a system for lifetime relationships and we call that plan our S-U-C-C-E-S-S, our success program."

"What makes us different is our business is built by referrals and the person who gave you this business card has referred you to me and they believe that the level of service that I provide is worthy of telling the people that they care about most."

"So, that is a little bit about me. I’d love to meet with you either at your home or in your office. If you call my direct extension, it is (813.766.7668). That rings directly to my cell phone and I know when that number rings, it’s a person who has been referred to me by a current or past client. So, thank you for listening to this voicemail message. Have a wonderful day!"

Three Ways To Grow Your Business

Early in my career, I partnered with Jay Abraham to form a company called The Insiders Club.

We had about 1,000 real estate agents and lenders meet once a month on a conference call, and Jay and I would address their marketing, advertising and referral strategies.

One of the things we taught back then was that there are three ways to grow your business.

Understanding the power of this principal is what helped shape my belief system and also influenced me in changing the name of my company from Joe Stumpf Star Performance Seminars to By Referral Only.

Read this carefully. Maybe read it several times until the magnitude of what I am saying strikes you at the core of your business being.

There are three ways to grow your business and only three ways.

1. Increase your number of customers through marketing, advertising and promotions.

This is where almost every real estate and mortgage salesperson focuses most of their attention. While a consultant, like a true By Referral Only trainee consultant, focuses on the second and third way where you will have the greatest potential for sustained growth.

2. Increase your average transaction value.

This simply means increasing the amount of money you make per transaction. You can charge more for your services, sell higher priced homes or loans, have more transactions fees, or lower your cost per acquisition.

For example, charge a reasonable team transaction coordination fee, or only do transactions where you don’t pay a referral fee, or focus on only doing both ends of a transaction, meaning you help people who want to buy a home only if they sell their home with you, or you set a goal and create a plan to improve your average sales amount or loan amount by 30% by doing 20% of your transaction in a price range that is 50% higher then your current average.

So, if you are doing 20 transactions this year with an average sales price of $200,000, create a plan to do 4 transitions at $300,000 and 16 at $200,000. It’s like doing two extra transactions for the same amount of work. I am sure you can brainstorm dozens of other ideas that would allow you to increase the value of a transaction. You can own a title company, a carpet cleaning company, a moving company, and any service that people will need that is related to buying, selling or borrowing.

3. Increase the frequency of repurchases or get more residual value out of each customer through a deliberate, organized referral process. Hence “By Referral Only”.

How To Sell Your Referral Business

Joes Mailbag!

Do you have a question that you would like to get my thought on?

Just ask in the comment section and I will do my best to give you the support you need to get you from where you are to where you want to go.

Grandpa Wants To Spend More Time With Grand Kids

Joe, you may remember, I am currently in a ‘we’ business and am looking to ‘retire’ to be near the grandchildren in about 3 years.

You made it very clear that I must never tell my clients I intend to do that and I have been working hard to bring my partner, Nancy, to whom I intend to sell my book of business, into my business, more and more daily.

My question today is, foreseeing a time when clients will call to arrange a listing appointment, showings etc. in the future, I need a system and script response that introduces Nancy to them, without the client feeling slighted, and at the same time giving no indication that I have left the business.

Your thoughts?

Love, Grandpa

Magic Words that Get Referrals

Grandpa,

Yes, Grandpa I remember you well. You have built a business that is making your dreams come true.

Congratulations, I’m very proud of you.

Here are my thoughts…

Of course you know you have no control over how people feel. Part of the risk as a business owner is that people want to deal with you and only you.

The fact is, that that number is a much smaller percentage then you think.

The truth is, people want to sell their house or buy a house that meets their needs first.

They want their outcome, and who does it for them is secondary.

Grandpa, here are three things I would suggest you start doing right now.

1.    Get testimonial letters from clients about how great Nancy is.

Start singing her praise everywhere. Have you seen how I have been able to transfer the Half-Day division to Todd and Spencer? Since then our business has grown by 3%.

For years, I thought I was the only one that could provide that service. It’s amazing when you discover that the client wants the benefit you give, more than they want you the person, giving it to them.

2.    Start introducing Nancy now, as your equally skilled partner.

I would start a blog, just as I have, with video and have it mostly feature Nancy and her talents.

3.    Practice these words: Client calls in…

“Hi, is Grandpa available? We want to buy or sell a home.”

“Thanks for calling. This is Nancy, Grandpa’s partner, may I ask who is calling?”

“This is Dave Johnson.”

“Hello Mr. Johnson, Grandpa has told me so much about you.”

Go into my client’s database)

Use the FORD conversation skills. “Grandpa is not in right now, but he has asked me to make sure you get everything you need when you called.

How can I help you?”

I would seriously start calling yourself ‘Grandpa’, so when people ask where you are, Nancy can say, “He is being Grandpa.”

Sounds and feels better then “He sold me the business.”

Hope these thoughts expand your awareness or confirm what you are already doing.

Joe – Your Business Coach

Mentor the Person vs. Mentor the Person's Spirit

We frequently hear of someone being disappointed by a teacher, physician, psychiatrist, coach or priest. Perhaps the guide or elder has been idealized or is ultra-authoritarian.

When a mentor displays their feet of clay, it’s natural to feel betrayed.

However, if we put our faith in the mentor’s spirit of what mentors teach us, weighting and assessing the validity of their ideas, it helps lessen the tension between what we wish they were and what they actually are, as mortals.

At the Mastery level, we move from mentoring the person to mentoring the person’s spirit.

For more insight into learning how to be a mentor and how to mentor spirit, I refer you to Marsha Sinter’s book, The Mentors Spirit – Life Lessons On Leadership and the Art Of Encouragement.

A Message From My Mentor Milton

Do you have the beginner’s heart?

Can you remember what you felt like while you were putting together your first real estate or mortgage transaction?

What was the scenario?

What was the client’s problem?

How did you solve it for them?

I remember when I got my first listing -- it was Mr. Karakas, in Burbank, Illinois.

He was a FSBO.

I hounded him everyday with phone calls, mailings and visits until he finally surrendered.

I remember it was 11:30 at night when he reluctantly signed the listing agreement.

When I got out to my car, I was filled with excitement. All I wanted to do was celebrate my success with my teacher and manager Jim.

I stopped at the first pay phone (long before cell) and called. When he answered I said, “I got it, I did it!”

Although Jim was in his 15th year of business, at the time I could feel his excitement because he could feel my authentic, vulnerable, real beginner’s heart.

The beginner’s heart is contagious. It is filled with hope, excitement, determination, and unbridled passion – let’s call it enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm is really ‘soul-power’ and when genuine, is so recognized and felt by those coming within it’s field of influence.

So what happens to the beginner’s heart?

Have you ever met people in our industry that have lost the beginner’s heart?

They seem to have lost their enthusiasm, their zest, their spark, their get-up and go seems to have gotten up and gone.

How do you keep the beginner’s heart?

I’m often asked how I stay so enthusiastic about teaching, coaching, growing and evolving.

I have reflected on that question quite a bit. Here is what I believe are the two keys to keeping the beginner’s heart.

#1. Hang around beginners.
Notice how much enthusiasm and excitement others have when they are new. When they don’t know what they don’t know.

How they believe anything is possible.

How they want to share their success.

If you want to get your beginner's heart back, mentor a new agent for 90 days and watch what happens to your production.

I would say, the easiest way out of a slump is to mentor an enthusiastic new agent or lender for a season, and not only will you be inspired to show them how good you are, they will be inspired to show you how good they are – you both win.

#2 Learn something new everyday.

Expand yourself through knowledge. Through reading, listening and studying.

Visiting me daily is a good start.

Always have a few books going at once. When you sit at your computer, be listening to audible books or 'click, listen and learns' while you surf the web or download idea casts.

One of the ways I keep my beginner’s heart is to always be teaching what I’m learning.

My beginner’s heart really loves to learn.

I live to learn and learn to teach. When I’m doing these two things, my heart stays open and enthusiastic.

The word "enthusiasm" is derived from the Greek term meaning "to be inspired; to be possessed by God; under the influence of a higher power; inspired by a super-human higher power."

So today, whom can you mentor and what can you learn so you can find and keep your enthusiastic beginner’s heart?

3 Big Secrets Video

Three Big Secrets To Getting Referrals

Secret #1: Always create a valuable client experience before you expect or ask for referrals.

What is a valuable experience? Here is part of a dialogue I teach at the Main Event on day two.

A valuable client experience has three parts to it.

1. Inspired Intelligent Consulting. That means asking profound questions and crafting specific strategic advice that simply wows your clients.

2.Powerful Purposeful Negotiating. That means treating their money like it’s yours. It is really being a "warrior” when it comes to making them and saving them money.

3.Obsession With Overseeing The Transactional Detail. That means every I must be dotted and every T crossed. Every transaction has hundreds of pieces of paper and dozens of signatures that require explaining and understanding. As their trusted advisor, you help them make sense of it all.

Now, when you do those three things, you have created a valuable experience that is worth referring to.

Is it time for you to improve your consulting, negotiating, and overseeing the details skills?

Secret #2: Always keep your mind on what you are giving, not on what you aren't getting.

Maybe you have heard me say this thousands of times,“Lead with a giving hand.”

The easiest thing to give is a referral. If you want referrals, then give referrals. Play a game with yourself and see if you can give a referral every time you talk to someone.  Here are some examples of how you might do it.

*****
Magic Word That Get Referrals

Joe:  Last night I had dinner at Panera Bread. They have a soup and salad combination that is a great value. When you are in the area of the Forum and you want a great meal at a great value, give Panera a try.

Joe: Yesterday, I got my car washed at Steve’s Detailing in Orange County. I have been to a lot of car washing places in my life, but never any like this one. These guys are like me - obsessed with the details.

Joe: My blog software is called typepad.com. There are a lot of choices out there to use as blog software, but Typepad sure seems to have the most functions for the investment. Go to typepad.com and find out more.

*****
The point I want to make is that every time you are in a conversation, give to others what you want them to give to you.

Play my game, “10 to 1,” which is don't even expect a referral until you have referred 10 people to them.

Secret #3: Always let your intentions determine what gets your attention.

If you are a student of mine, By Referral Only, what I want for you is a constant steady stream of 5-Star referred prospects seeking you because of your inspired intelligent consulting, powerful purposeful negotiating and obsessed nature of overseeing the transactional details for them.

I teach that the purpose of your business is to be referred.

It's not a marketing strategy; it is much more than that. It is the purpose of your business.

If your intention is to create referrals, then are you giving all you attention to your purpose?

That is why coming to the Main Event to learn the systems, methods and processes to create a deliberate, organized referral system is the intention of the purposeful lender and real estate consultant.

Recharged From Recovery Time

I love this technology.

Right now, we are sitting in the Reno airport returning from our Lake Tahoe family vacation.

We stayed at Big Bear Lodge at NorthStar thanks to Jim McQuiag and the Crescendo Residences.

Horseback riding, river rafting, boating, reading, and relaxing... that is what recovery time is all about.

I am re-reading David Hawkins book Transcending The Levels of Consciousness - The Stairway to Enlightenment.

It is really a magnificent explanation about how to live life from a place of joy, love and gratitude.

I'm feeling recharged and ready to make a 10x bigger commitment to learning and teaching.

My biggest insight on this relaxing, adventuresome trip was how much I truly live my life to learn and how much I love to teach what I'm learning.

Here are a few pictures from our journey.