If you are like most Realtors, you plan on taking a little break this Fourth of July to celebrate with family and perhaps even mingle with fellow residents of your community. However, you could be missing out on a tremendous marketing opportunity.

While local stores are stocking up on flags, ribbons, and fireworks, you may want to think about purchasing a couple cases of flags yourself and distributing them in your area. My brother David has made a tradition out of it in his market–the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida.

Every year in anticipation of the Fourth of July, David and about 15 volunteers, including his own family members, fan out across his farm area, planting 18-inch American flags on every lawn in the neighborhood-–about 800 in all. The team meets at about 6:30 pm for pizza and soft drinks before setting out on its mission and wraps up a couple hours later.

In the morning, they do one last drive around to make sure they haven’t missed any homes. David also sends cards to all the people who receive the flags, saying, “Happy 4th of July, Enjoy your flag!”

The residents of his small, tightly knit community love it, and every year, David receives about 50 handwritten letters from residents thanking him for their flags. The flags pull the residents of the community together and stand as a reminder of the fact that their community and the United States overall are great places to live. It also demonstrates David’s commitment to the community.

If you are a member of the so-called “Greatest Generation” or an older baby boomer, I have great news for… you are part of the most affluent group of Americans who have ever lived. The bad news is that everybody knows it, including con artists.

While you earned your comfortable lifestyle the old fashioned way, con artists are determined to take a shortcut to their lifestyle of the rich and famous by fleecing you out of your fortune. My advice? Keep one hand on your wallet, a close eye on your bank account, and a skeptical ear whenever you hear somebody offering you a great deal on a piece of property.

Americans who are affluent enough to afford a second home are particularly attractive targets for a con job I like to refer to as the second home scam. This particular type of scam always involves the purchase (or at least promise) of a second home, but it can take a variety of forms. Here are some of the warning signs:

• Guaranteed appreciation: In real estate, appreciation and profits are never guaranteed. Housing values rise and fall.
• Preconstruction specials: Any offer of special deals, especially cash back, if you BUY NOW raise red flags. When builders are financially strapped for cash, they may be tempted to scam buyers in order to save their business by way of a builder bailout.
• Glitzy advertising: Real estate con artists often try to dazzle their victims with fancy marketing materials so people will hand over their money without looking at the details, the property, or the documents.
• Offers to manage the property: Someone selling you a property, particularly an investment property, may offer to manage everything for you–find renters, collect the rent, pay the mortgage and property taxes, and so on–and then never do it. This type of scam is commonly known as chunking.
• Pressure to buy site unseen: Anyone who discourages you from visiting a property before buying it is probably crooked. They may tell you that the property has renters, and you certainly “don’t want to inconvenience your future tenants.” They don’t want you looking, because you will see the truth.

To defend yourself against these common second-home scammers, watch out for the warning signs and take the following precautions:

• Don’t buy on impulse. People often get excited about a vacation hot spot, buy there, and then learn that it’s not quite paradise in the off season.
• Spend your time checking out neighborhoods and homes in the area. A second home is not just a purchase decision… it is a lifestyle decision.
• If you are buying the second home as a vacation (seasonal) home, consider renting a place, perhaps in different neighborhoods in the area over an extended period of time. You may rent a different place for two to four weeks every year over the course of two or three years. This helps you determine if you really want to own property in the area and which neighborhood you would find most appealing.
• Wait at least one year after the death of a spouse before purchasing a property or moving. This gives you time to adjust and make more rational decisions.
• Hire a buyer’s agent to look for homes and represent you. Don’t simply contact a builder, talk to the representative in the model home, call the number on a For Sale sign, or contact someone who is selling real estate online. If you do that, you are dealing with the seller’s agent and have nobody representing your interests.
• Don’t trust what you see on the Internet. People can post photographs and online video tours of anything they want to dazzle the eyes and make you believe that they are offering an incredible deal. A con artist can build a million dollar virtual home on the Web in matter of minutes that simply does not exist in the real world.
• Don’t trust home values that you may see online. Some home valuation sites on the Internet are better than others, but they are all susceptible to fraud. Hire an independent appraiser to give you an honest, qualified opinion of a property’s value.
• Don’t buy anything site unseen. No matter what someone tells you, you have to inspect the property with your own two eyes and have it professionally inspected (by an independent home inspector), prior to closing. It’s like buying a car, you have to kick the tires.
• Hire your own people to check it out. Never rely on the seller’s agent, appraiser, inspector, loan officer, or title company to make sure everything is legitimate. If the seller is a con artist, these people are probably accomplices or at least willing to look the other way.
• Never close on a newly constructed property before construction is complete or before your inspector has given it his seal of approval.

A second home can be one of the best investment and lifestyle decisions you will ever make, as long as you do your homework and have the proper people in place to protect your interests. Let down your guard for even a moment, and you become a prime target for a greedy con artist.

The pace of change both in the world and in the real estate industry is rapidly accelerating. Technology is streamlining operations, transforming neighborhoods into global communities, and enabling real estate agents to go mobile. You can now vacation on the French Riviera while following up with clients in Colorado. In addition, real estate is becoming more of a team sport, empowering agent teams to increase efficiency and boost both productivity and profits.

To thrive in this world of ever-increasing change, you have to keep up with the latest information and technology. You must constantly educate yourself in order to adapt and take advantage of new tools and opportunities that change delivers to your doorstep. You must become a lifelong learner.

Yet, when I talk to agents, I hear all too frequently that they just “don’t have the time to keep up.” I know agents who subscribe to RISMedia’s
Power Team Report and Power Broker Network Report and don’t even take the time to read these valuable publications-publications that could ultimately save them tons more time than is required to read the articles!

Some agents refuse to attend industry conferences, falsely assuming that they are a big waste of time and resources. Many agents won’t even crack open a book to learn a new sales or marketing technique or listen to a book on tape or CD. All of these agents are losing out big-time-in time, profits, and personal fulfillment.

Becoming a lifelong learner means plugging yourself into the industry grapevine. Here are some suggestions on how to do just that:

Attend at least one real estate conference every year. You can usually find one or two valuable sessions or speakers, and even if you don’t, the networking opportunities alone make the investment well worth it.

Read several articles a day on industry-related topics that interest you. Go to Google News, click “News Alerts” in the left navigation bar, and set up news alerts to have Google automatically notify you about late-breaking news on topics of interest. (Enter very specific search instructions, so you are not inundated with articles that do not interest you.) You need to know what’s happening in your industry as well as in your market. I spend about an hour every morning checking and reading my Google News Alerts stories.

Pick up a book about selling or any real estate topic that interests you and start reading. You can find plenty of great books on the market that reveal new techniques you may never have discovered on your own and can teach you new skills.

Listen to tapes, CDs, or podcasts from the top salespeople, real estate professionals, and motivational speakers. If you usually listen to music as you’re driving to meet clients, consider listening to something that’s a little more educational.

Take classes and obtain certifications. Taking a class can help motivate you and hold you accountable for learning the information. You can take classes on real estate and mortgage fraud, listing homes, representing buyers, or a host of other topics. Get certified in a particular area and you obtain instant credibility.

Learn new technologies. Spend time learning how to make optimum use of your computer and the software installed on it. Explore your software’s help systems, read a book, or take a class to learn how to boost productivity with features you may not even be aware of. Focus your efforts on learning more about Internet marketing through Web sites and blogs.

Connect with a mentor or coach. One of the best ways to learn fast is to connect with a top producer. Consider shadowing a real estate professional whom you admire or asking the person to act as your mentor or coach. Success leaves big footprints. Follow them.

I know, I am probably preaching to the choir. The fact that you are reading this is proof that you are part of the minority of Real Estate agents who actually care enough about your profession to study up on it. Others in our field, perhaps even some of your closest colleagues haven’t gotten the memo. Do them a favor. Send the link to this article to 10 of your colleagues who need it most and cc me when you do it. Working together, we might just be able to convince our colleagues to take at least one step toward improving their future.

Back in 1901, Ransom E. Olds created the assembly line. Soon after that, Henry Ford and his employees took the concept to the next level by creating the moving assembly line with the use of conveyor belts and by pushing for the standardization of parts.

Since I hail from Michigan, I figured I would apply these same concepts to selling houses. Instead of doing all of the work myself, from meeting with buyers and sellers to actually filling out all of the paperwork required for closing, I would create a system in which I did what I was good at (selling houses), and outsource the rest of the work to people who could do it better, faster and for less money than I could do it myself.

My decision to apply the assembly line concept to the process of selling houses resulted in phenomenal success. I began selling 10 times as many homes annually as I was previously selling by doing everything myself, and the amount I paid assistants to take on the additional work was almost negligible. I made far more in increased commissions than I needed to pay my capable assistants.

In addition, I was now much happier. I was doing what I loved to do, and someone else was taking care of everything I had hated about my job. Now, as soon as I sell a house, I simply call back to the office, and someone starts preparing the paperwork. I have applied this concept time after time to expand my business by adding new divisions. I highly recommend this approach to anyone seeking success when selling just about anything.

Identifying procedures

Assembly line selling is a systems-based approach. You create a system that covers every step in the process, break the system into a collection of procedures, break the procedures into task, break the tasks into steps, hire personnel, and then start delegating procedures.

The first step is to identify procedures, such as:

• Sending out a marketing packet
• Sending out a pre-listing packet
• Color-coding files
• Following up with clients
• Processing transactions
• Developing a sales presentation to deliver to sellers
• Developing a sales presentation to deliver to buyers
• Assembling a pre-closing packet

Your goal is to make each procedure as easy to accomplish as possible, so you do not have to answer questions or show a new hire what to do. You simply show the person where the procedures manuals and any required tools and supplies are located. The new employee or team member can then follow the required steps.

Breaking procedures into tasks

Once you have a set of procedures, break each procedure into a series of tasks. For example, sending out a marketing packet to a prospective client may include:

• Writing a personalized letter to the client
• Gathering the latest marketing materials
• Dropping the packet off at the prospective client’s home
• Breaking tasks into steps

Every tasks consists of a series of steps, so break each task into steps. You may even want to illustrate the steps. For example, you may include in your training manual one or two sample letters to clients, so a new hire has a model letter for guidance.

Hiring assistants

After you have a system in place, you can begin to hire assistants to perform the procedures that you haven’t the time, expertise, or desire to perform yourself. You may even consider grouping the procedures based on job title.

Keep in mind that assistants can be visual or virtual. A visual assistant is one who is physically present-an in-house staff member. A virtual assistant is a freelancer-a self-employed business owner who conducts business primarily over the Internet. You can use both types of assistants to increase your office productivity.

Delegating the work

Once your procedures are in place and you have one or more assistants, you can start focusing on what you do best and delegating the rest. Delegating becomes a matter of simply finding something that needs to be done and handing it off to the person most qualified to accomplish the task.

Now, you have no excuse for not having enough time to “get around to it.” Do it, delegate it, or ditch it.

As I discussed in Part 1 of this article (see the previous post for Part I), my “Hour of Power” began as a networking tool designed to boost referrals. Every weekday, I devote one solid hour to calling 100 people I know just to touch base. Although my Hour of Power is dedicated to placing phone calls, the primary reason it is so effective is that it focuses my time and energy on performing a single task in a limited amount of time. It enables me to do something that most people would never conceive possible-calling 100 people in 60 minutes.

Most salespeople hate making phone calls, so they procrastinate. They may look at a list of 100 people to call and think, “This is going to take me all day!” So, what do they do? They put it off, and it never gets done. By setting aside 1 hour to make those calls and removing all distractions, you force your mind into a tunnel in which the only way out is to place the phone calls. You force yourself into “the zone.”

The source of power in the Hour of Power is focused energy. Instead of taking an overwhelming chore and setting a “realistic” timetable, you take an overwhelming chore and tell yourself, “Okay, now you have only 60 minutes to do this. Get going, the clock’s ticking.”

This same technique can be applied to any aspect of your business-the more you hate performing a particular chore, the better a candidate it is for an Hour of Power.

Consider extending your Hour of Power to different aspects of your marketing plan. Set aside an Hour of Power once or twice a week for writing blog postings or articles. Set aside another Hour of Power for contacting reporters. Spend an Hour of Power reviewing your marketing plan, improving what works, and removing what doesn’t. Spend an Hour of Power networking with other professionals in your industry or sending greeting cards to past clients.

When establishing an Hour of Power for any activity, keep the following key points in mind:

1. Expand work, condense time. Pack as much work into that hour as possible, so the task seems nearly impossible.
2. Set a clear, measurable goal. You can’t get much clearer or more measurable than 100 phone calls in one hour.
3. Stick to one hour. Do not fall for the temptation of giving yourself more time. At the end of the hour, stop.
4. Schedule a specific hour of the day or week. If it is not written down on your calendar, it is too easy to push off your schedule.
5. Eliminate distractions. Devote your hour to a single task.
6. Keep accurate records to keep yourself honest. You need to hold yourself accountable for your Hour of Power commitments.

When I coach people, I tell them from the very start that I can offer them many ideas and systems for boosting sales, but they have to put these ideas and systems in action. I require all those I coach to submit weekly Hour of Power reports, showing the number of calls they made each day. I often receive only apologies and excuses. Apologies and excuses do not boost sales.

One word of caution concerning your Hour of Power. Apply it only to tasks that you need to perform to generate business-what I like to call dollar productive activities. You should not be wasting your time on chores that do not generate sales. Your job is to market yourself and your business and meet with prospects and clients. Hire out everything else.

The Hour of Power is all about maximizing your efficiency in carrying out dollar productive activities. Identify the activities that are going to generate the most business but that you often put off, and set aside a fixed amount of time every week to carry out those activities.

Remember, becoming a top producer is not easy. Sales gurus often claim to offer seminars, books, and CDs that reveal the hidden secrets of sales success, but the fact is that there is no secret. You have to work at it. Start today. If you need help, call me at 586.751.0000, or e-mail RalphRoberts at RalphRoberts dot com.

Every weekday, I spend one hour making 100 phone calls. I call it my Hour of Power. I select a group of people I want to contact. The group may consist of the people I work with on the Macomb County Voice (a community blog I created). It may be the top selling Real Estate agents I know through STAR POWER Systems. It may be people I sold houses for or those I sold houses to. I tell everyone in the office that my Hour of Power is about to commence, and they know not to disturb me. Then, I shut myself in my office and start dialing.

If someone answers, I deliver my energetic greeting, ask them how they’re doing, and perhaps mention one of the details I’ve recorded in my contact management program — maybe it’s their anniversary or one of their children’s birthdays. If nobody answers, I move on to my next call. If I get the answering machine, I leave a message. I may even sing “Happy Birthday,” wish the person a happy St. Patrick’s Day, or say something goofy right off the top of my head that I think will make them smile. What you say isn’t all that important, but it can’t be about selling — NO SELLING. The Hour of Power is about connecting on a personal level. It’s about leveraging the power of the rule of 250 — that each person knows at least 250 other people they can tell about you.

When you’re doing your Hour of Power, you cannot be interrupted. Make sure anyone who may be tempted to interrupt you knows not to. If you call someone and leave a message and that person calls back, someone in your office should answer the call and take a message. NO interruptions. You can call the person back later, after the hour is up. Your goal is to make it through your list of 100 people, and you have only 60 minutes to do it.

I strongly recommend that you implement the Hour of Power strategy, regardless of what you sell. If you make 100 calls a day, five or six days a week, I can almost guarantee that you will begin to see a dramatic boost in sales in a relatively short period of time. When you are ready to take the leap and implement your own Hour of Power, keep the following important points in mind:

• Keep a log sheet, so you have a record of the number of calls you actually placed.
• Strive to achieve the goal of 100 calls a day. When I coach people, I have them turn in their call logs to me at the end of every week. Making the bare minimum of 25 calls a day delivers some benefit, but the truly successful salespeople are those who do closer to 100 calls a day.
• What you say when you call is not all that important. What is important is that you make the call and establish contact. Leaving a voicemail message counts as contact.
• Do not sell. The Hour of Power is about building relationships.
• Do not get into a lengthy conversation. You have an average of 36 seconds per call.
• Limit yourself to five or six days to avoid burnout.

The single most important thing about the Hour of Power is that you do it. Keep a log and hold yourself accountable or team up with another salesperson you know and hold one another accountable. No matter what you are selling, you get pearls called “referrals” when you make these calls.