Big thanks to Geoff McIntosh for throwing me into the spotlight in the May 2013 C.A.R. Real Estate Magazine!
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Have we gotten lazy or just lost our way? by Brad Pearson
I got my real estate license in 1992 after spending 4 years in the Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller, staring at a radar scope and making sure airplanes don’t “bump” into each other. Every single day, it was my job to provide flawless service to my pilots in the sky. The slightest deviation from my training or shift in my practices could lead to a devastating accident or mid air collision that would cost lives. Here’s the punch line… I was only 18 years old when I started and 21 when I received my honorable discharge and got into real estate. So imagine my surprise when I was told “you can come and go as you please, make a lot of money, or make no money, and here’s a set of business cards, go to work!”. Few rules, lot’s of freedom, and if I messed up, then no one died. I was fortunate though, I had tough parents who taught me a solid work ethic, and 4 years in the military to build some pretty solid discipline. Additionally, I had a great broker and some guidance from some of the greatest real estate agents that ever lived! These agents cut their teeth in real estate for years before I arrived without the benefit of fax machines, email, cell phones, text messaging, and yes…even voice mail! They told me the stories, and shared with me some of the best practices that made them successful. Even as fax machines took over, and email arrived, these agents fought to continue some practices that frankly should have never gone away! In this post, I will be sharing one of those practices that we owe it to our customers to bring back. But it won’t be easy!
Before fax machines, email, and the onslaught of home foreclosures and short sales in the early 90’s, if an agent wrote an offer for their buyer, it was expected that the agent would present their buyers offer to the seller themselves and better yet, they would actually “negotiate” on the behalf of their buyer by justifying their offer with market data/info, as well as other strategies to persuade the seller to accept their offer or counter minimally. The listing agent would actually be prepared to defend the price and value of the home and employ their own negotiating strategies to help their seller get the highest price for their home. Then two things happened… First, the fax machine with the curled up “disappearing ink” paper arrived at the offices in the 80’s and were in heavy use in the early 90’s. Remember getting a fax and running to the copier to make copies of the blurry contract? Then the bank repo’s and short sales came and offers/contracts were almost all faxed to the banks. Negotiations became all electronic. Fax and wait was the process and the agents got so used to this 
that they began to do the same with traditional listings. Listing agents began to insist offers were faxed, and buyers agents stopped asking to present their buyers offers themselves. And this became the norm now for the last 15+ years. To compound things, many agents left the business, and were replaced with thousands of new agents, who were never taught the practice of presenting offers in person, and just picked up where everyone left off and the line at the fax machine didn’t end until it was replaced by email. Same problem, new technology!
I’m writing this post in hopes that I can inspire listing agents at the very least to begin demanding that the buyers agents present their clients offers to their sellers. While I’d love to have buyers agents demand to present offers, without the listing agents cooperation, it will never work.
My belief is simple. Great negotiators earn their clients more money and better terms! It is impossible to utilize great negotiation skills and strategies via email or fax. Yet, we wonder why the biggest negotiations in most transactions begin with the agent negotiating with the seller for their commission %, and then the next biggest negotiation ends up happening in the middle of escrow when things go wrong because the offer was never properly negotiated from the start.
I propose that one of the biggest reasons a seller or a buyer should hire an agent is because they believe that agent will expertly negotiate on their behalf and in their best interests rather than just email or fax something so important to them over to another agent who will likely do the same in return. Obviously choosing a great company like Coldwell Banker is almost as important as well! 🙂
Let’s put down the smart phones, email, and faxes, and get face to face again!
Please share your comments below!
Brad
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you are interested in learning more about Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage and Previews International! (714) 782-2723
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Real Estate “Teams”, When-Why-How? by Brad Pearson
To build a “team” or NOT to build a “team”? That is the question! It seems like so many agents ambitions revolve around the idea of building a “team”, verses simply being a top producing agent with a support staff. The name variations are extensive from John Doe Team, Team John Doe, Team Doe, The Doe Team, The Doe Group, John Doe and Associates,
Click image to download!
Doe and Assoc., John and Jane Team, etc. etc. etc. In some cases, the team name has nothing to do with the team creator even, i.e. The Top Agent Team, Team Excellence, etc. etc. Most of the time, the team consists of one top agent and a staff with a buyers agent or two, sometimes even a partner, and sometimes the “team” is simply an agent who lost a listing to a “team” and decided that they should be called a “team” too and considers everyone from their title rep to their home inspector their “team”. This phenomena seemed to really grow and follow the increase in home prices from 1999 and thru 2004 and on when it was more palatable to split commissions, and there was a buying frenzy which flooded each top agent with listings with long lists of buyer leads via an 800 call capture number, online strategy, or some other form of advertising.
While many of the teams that are created were done well and accomplished the goal they set out to accomplish, many agents who followed the trend did not do so successfully and ended up splitting commissions and fracturing relationships with agents they brought to their team. As a manager, I’ve seen this and been caught in the middle enough times to have a strong desire to help agents do it right!
In the attached document, I cover “teams” in great detail. I realize there are many different opinions on this subject, so just know that this is just mine and I am open to thoughts and ideas in the comments below!
Brad
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80/20 Business Plan by Brad Pearson
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If you haven’t created a business plan yet and need a simple one that integrates “online” with “offline” business growth strategies, here you go! Just click on the image in this post to download PDF file.
An effective business plan should provide the following:
1. Articulate your professional ethos. What kind of business do you want to have?
2. Determine specifically what your goal is. How much money do you want to make? Why do you want to make it?
3. Determine HOW and WHAT you will do to achieve your goals.
4. Determine WHEN you will do it. i.e. Create a schedule to execute the plan.
5. Include an accountability component to ensure adherence to the plan and measure progress.
6. Require a commitment to be made and shared with those who will be impacted by your success or failure.
The simple business plan that I created has a simple business ethos… Productivity and Professionalism! If a real estate agent is highly productive and focuses on being highly professional, they will have a clear path to grow year over year.
Productivity generally equals;
-More skilled based on more transactions and more experience.
-The more productive an agent, the more income they are making. The means they are not running desperate for a commission and are likely to make better decisions for their clients.
-The more productive an agent, the more they can invest in their business to grow it. Pretty simple.
Professionalism is generally defined by;
-A focus on high ethics and strong customer focus.
-A desire to provide a high level of service to the customer.
-A desire to put forth a professional image at all times from ones appearance to the marketing and advertising utilized in their business.
-Treating others as they themselves wish to be treated. i.e. Returning calls, focus on solutions, communication, etc.
I honestly believe that if every agent woke up every morning and simply focused on these two things, worked from a solid business plan, and implemented a solid and consistent accountability program, they would dramatically increase their income. Therefore, I created a plan that any agent could complete and implement!
At Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage / Previews International, we are looking for Productive and Professional agents to join our firm at all times. Our standards are high and we create an environment that supports these principles. As always, if you are not a Coldwell Banker agent already, and would like to find out more about this amazing company, then feel free to call me at 714-782-2723 or email me at brad.pearson@camoves.com .
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2014 Coldwell Banker TV ad launch!
While it seems that so many companies are doing very little to create and grow their “brand” image and recognition, Coldwell Banker is investing millions of dollars in promoting the brand and home ownership, keeping Coldwell Banker agents top of mind to the consumer! No wonder so many great agents are affiliating with a strong company with a solid and well known brand!
Here’s a preview to the new 2014 ad campaign #Homerocks!
60 Second Commercial during the Grammys!
It is unheard of for a real estate company to take a full 60 second spot during the Grammys! This is an outstanding example of Coldwell Bankers commitment to creating and maintaining brand awareness along with the importance of home ownership!
How to succeed in the luxury real estate market! by Brad Pearson
So you’ve looked through the luxury home magazines, the mls, around the internet, and day dream about what it would be like and what it would take to get a salable listing for $3.9 million or even $10+ million, and then as quickly as you began, you dismissed the thought and went on with your day. Sometimes you’ll hear about some agent in your office or market that listed something enormous and for a split second you cringe wondering why it wasn’t you, and then you dismiss it with “well, it probably won’t sell anyway”, and shake it off.
I’m writing today to shed some light on these elusive dream listings, and the agents who take them. After years of working with agents from the newest licensee to the ultra mega producers, I have had the benefit of witnessing, first hand, agents who list and sell the high end and ultra high end properties. While I certainly don’t know it all, I believe I can shed some light on this subject and help those of you who wish to enter this market with some information that can help you do so.
First and foremost, this is not a price range that you should enter unprepared. Unless you were raised in this lifestyle or are currently living it and already speak the language, then some preparation is advised. But don’t worry, I’m not saying that you have to spend a year researching the ultra-wealthy like a National Geographic explorer! What I am saying though is that you need to get very curious and learn as much as you can about their world. While it’s true like my plumber father always said “everyone puts their pants on the same, one leg at a time son”, it’s important to realize that the pants he’s referring to were likely substantially more expensive than mine, not to mention the surrounding environment where the pants were put on.
Here are some first steps that I have learned are critical to implementing a luxury home marketing strategy:
– Know the high end market inside and out! Scour the MLS and know every comp in the entire area and surrounding areas over the last year or two. Look at every Active, Pending, Expired, and Sold/Closed. Read the entire MLS printouts and gather information on these areas and these homes. Remember, you can have a $7 million home right next door to a $2.5 million home, so this isn’t like comp’ing out a tract home. There’s more about “feel” and knowledge of amenities than you could imagine.
Click to download Report
-Learn how to speak the language! Subscribe to luxury publications like, Robb Report, Dupont Registry, WallSt. Journal, 1stdibs.com, PreviewsInsideOut.com, etc. and just start immersing yourself into the articles. Know more about what’s happening in the business world than you know in the sports world and you can’t go wrong. Yes, I know, there are athletes who would appreciate your knowledge of sports, but that is the exception, and even they will appreciate your knowledge of the global and US business happenings that could affect the luxury marketplace. At Coldwell Banker/Previews Int’l we publish a luxury market report that you should read and share with your high end prospects. (Click the image to the right to view report)
-Get certified by your company’s luxury home program! Most large national brands have a secondary brand that’s focus is the luxury market. At Coldwell Banker, we have Previews International. Some companies make this easy, some make it difficult, but don’t think that you can go up against an agent who uses the luxury brand with the standard brand and win. With a potential six figure commission on the line, it’s not worth the risk. At Coldwell Banker, Previews International is so well known in the luxury market that it is critical to use when working the luxury market. You can literally lose the listing opportunity in the first few seconds by introducing yourself with the wrong brand. Remember, these are often people that ONLY buy brand name, and while there are plenty of boutique companies out there that list high end, they have been established in their communities for years and have established a local brand themselves.
-Dress the part! No, you don’t have to wear a tuxedo or even a full suit and tie, business suit, prom dress, etc. But you need to look professional and well put together. Let’s be real here, a goatee doesn’t inspire trust or scream out wealth. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, but why not just play it safe! Remember the size of the commissions we’re talking about here… Why bank on the exception to the rule and not just go with the rule. Remember, you’re applying for a job, so dress the part.
-Walk the Walk AND Talk the Talk! Look at all of your marketing, business cards, flyers, websites, social media, etc. etc. and ask yourself, “Does this all look high end?” “What image am I projecting?” “Do the last 10 posts to my social media reflect the luxury image or do I look like everyone else?” Do I have the typical salesperson screaming big photo glossy business cards that look obnoxious or do I have the smart classy subtle high end image business cards? Is my marketing ego driven, or image driven? You’re focus needs to be shifted from ego (if that’s the case) to IMAGE driven marketing. And your image needs to be consistent to ALL clientele regardless of price range. Remember, a high end image will not hurt you in the lower end price ranges, but a low end image will kill you in the high end price ranges. Besides, all clientele deserve the best, so why not fall to the high end image/approach for every client?
-LEARN your company’s luxury marketing value proposition and key differentiators from competitors! Know the listing presentation inside and out. Know WHY a luxury homeowner NEEDS to be listed with you and your firm! At Coldwell Banker Previews Int’l we make it very simple to convey this to the customer with MORE advertising and marketing for the high end than any other company in the WORLD! Use the office Marketing Coordinator to put together your listing presentation tools and show and tell pieces and practice the listing presentation! Practice with your manager!
-Be fearless!!! Now that you’ve done the above, you need to just let go of any fear you are harboring towards this market. The company your with should help eliminate a lot of it! If your company has a strong high end strategy and powerful value proposition to the luxury market, then you should walk with confidence into any appointment or prospecting conversation knowing that they NEED to be listed with you and your firm to get their home sold. IF YOU BELIEVE THIS THEN THEY WILL! If you try to wing it or “sell” them, they will smell it and run! CONFIDENCE WILL COME FROM KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITIONS AND BELIEF THAT YOU ARE THE RIGHT AGENT FOR THE JOB OF SELLING THEIR HOME! NOTE: As a Coldwell Banker Previews Int’l agent, you can walk proudly and confidently knowing that you are with the largest and most successful Real Estate Company in the US with the strongest high end luxury marketing tools available in your market place! You WILL be able to demonstrate to the luxury client that there is NO other choice in their price range to list with to achieve the results they are looking for!
Where do you get these prospects? Yes, it’s true that many of the luxury agents are well established in the high end, and a lot of their business is from referral and networking with other luxury clientele. You’re probably not going to spend tens of thousands of dollars to join the local country clubs. So what is your angle of entry into this market? Here’s some ideas:
-Expired listings! These high end listings often expire. Why not go visit all properties over $2 mil that expired in the past year?
-Direct mail! Don’t just hammer them with post cards, but rather why not pick a few hundred and send them the Luxury Market Report with a cover letter?
-Specialized lists! Coldwell Banker Previews Int’l has lists of Millionaires, Yacht Owners, Airplane Owners, Celebrities, etc. with home addresses, etc. on the NRTGateway. Just sort these lists by area and start connecting with them on Social Media, via mail, etc.
-Successful Business Owners! Always get to know the owner of a business where you frequent. Car dealers, restaurants, etc. Ask to meet the owner and complement them on their company. Then follow up by mail and Social Media.
-Other Luxury Realtors! At Coldwell Banker you can email Previews Int’l certified agents across the world directly and introduce yourself as a referral source for the luxury market, while offering to do the same in return. Create a non-intrusive schedule to make these contacts.
-Knock Doors! Yes, that’s right. It takes guts to knock a door on a $2 mil home, but if you knock with a purpose then it’s not going to backfire. Ex. Knock to hand out the Luxury Report as a courtesy to the neighborhood. Obviously some areas you cannot for obvious reasons, gates, rules, etc.
In closing, just start “being” a luxury agent. Make it who you are. Think like one and you’ll be amazed at the business that comes your way in all price ranges!
Note: At Coldwell Banker, the manager has the authority to certify and designate agents as Previews Int’l agents without any delays in processing. Marketing materials can be ordered immediately. Training is available as well as an office marketing coordinator that will assist you in building this aspect of your business.
For more information, contact Brad Pearson directly at 714-782-2723
The Truth about the 3.8% Obama’s Healthcare plan
I’m sure you’ve gotten the chain e-mails, read the websites, or had your clients, friends, or family ask you about the 3.8% tax under the “Obamacare” plan. Needless to say, I’ve had many of our agents forward them to me from their clients asking if I “knew about this”. Every time, I simply forward the truth from NAR’s website. These chain e-mails have ridiculous examples like “if you sell a $100,000 home after Jan. 1, 2013, you will have to pay $3,800 in tax”. This couldn’t be further from the truth! I’m a devout Republican, so putting politics aside, these emails are complete fear tactics created to detract from the Obama Administration and Obama’s Health Care initiative. They’re not true and end up getting believed by people who don’t know how to use Google to verify facts before panicking. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the tax, I don’t agree with it, but it’s not AS bad as it’s being made out to be and I simply don’t want us to get caught up in spreading incorrect information received in chain e-mails.
Of course as Realtors, we can NEVER give out TAX advice, and should always refer TAX questions to the appropriate professionals, but we can simply forward the correct information as published by a reliable 3rd party.
Below I have attached a link to download the National Association of Realtors PDF booklet that very clearly and simply explains the new law. It has simple scenarios as well as examples to make it easy to understand who this tax would apply to.
Click image to download PDF
I bought an Android smartphone! Is it good for Real Estate agents yet???
Don’t worry Apple iPhone friends, I still have my new iPhone 4s and I love it! I just HAD to get the new Samsung Galaxy Note after reading so many positive reviews and the chatter surrounding the new S Pen and giant 5.3″ screen. And thanks to Google Voice (google.com/voice), if you call my number, both phones will ring and I can choose which one I wish to answer.
This post is for all of my Android fans who refuse to, or are still waiting for the opportunity, to move to the iPhone after hearing me rant over and over about how much more the iPhone is built for business and specifically Realtors. So I am going to share my thoughts about the progress Android has made as well as some of the reasons the iPhone is still the best choice for Realtors.
On Thursday, I traded in my HTC Inspire Android smartphone in on the Samsung Note. While the Inspire was a 
large phone, this Note is enormous in comparison. It also has the “S Pen” that intrigued me in the first place.
Immediately my goal was to see if there was a way to accomplish some of the critical tasks that made the iPhone so attractive to the Realtors. Ex. Signing contracts, easy video editing, creating contracts, taking notes, and of course SIRI (voice interaction).
First of all, I was able to find two signing/signature apps… One is called Significant, and the other is 
SignMyPad. Both of which I’ve used before. Significant I found to to be fairly worthless, despite the interface being great, because once you sign the PDF document and email it out, if the person receiving it is on an iPhone or iPad, then they will not see the signature at all. I believe this is due to their possible requirement of Adobe being used to view or something. Nevertheless, it’s worthless since millions of people use iPads and iPhones. SignMyPad, works very well. This app is also available on the iPhone/iPad, and I found it to be a bit buggy there, but on the Android it appears to work great and solve the problem of signing PDF documents on the fly. You can open PDF files from your email by holding down the file attachment and selecting this app for it to work. Unfortunately though, you must first SAVE the file you signed and then go back and send it, unlike the iPhone and iPad that makes it very seamless to just sign and click email and you’re done.
The great news is that Zipforms Mobile works great! So creating contracts on the fly is very simple now. Two small problems though… 1. Zipforms sees this giant phone/tablet as a phone rather than a tablet so their new signing feature does not work on it. 2. To use SignMyPad to sign contracts, you must first email the completed contract to yourself from Zipforms Mobile and then open it up in SignMyPad. Unlike the iPhone and iPad where you can simply click “View” and then “Open In” SignMyPad/Other signing app, and you’re done in seconds.
Taking notes is incredible with this phone! With the S Pen you just open the notes app and start writing. There are nice apps on the iPad and iPhone, but you need to buy a Stylus and the sensitivity and accuracy is not comparable. The Samsung Note allows you to press a little harder to darken or lighter to thin the line. It’s simple to sync with Evernote and/or send your note as an image straight over to someone. Drawing on any image or map makes it easy to point things out to people and convey info to someone in seconds by just writing on the image with the S Pen.
FINALLY, it appears that there are some good Video Editing Apps on the Android “PLAY STORE” (Market). I found two that seem decent and somewhat comparable to Apples iMovie (but that is a stretch)… One is AndroMedia and the other is VidTrim. AndroMedia looks the best and easiest so far, but because it’s free, it is fettered with advertisements surrounding your work area. Thank goodness for the giant screen on the Note!
When it comes to Voice Interaction with a smartphone, Siri is hard to compete with, but I am completely impressed with the Voice Talk and Voice Search apps on the Samsung Galaxy Note. So far they work almost flawlessly and while they are not as witty as Siri is, they get the job done!
In closing, I’ll say that I love my new phone… It’s very unique and a lot of fun, and it appears that Android app developers as well as Samsung are working to attract the business users a little more than before. I’m still blown away that I still cannot easily wirelessly mirror my Android phone to a TV like I can with my iPhone/iPad via a $99 Apple TV box! I guess we’re supposed to do our Powerpoint presentations ON the phone or with a VGA or HDMI cable/cord stretched all the way to the phone. If there’s any confusion on the difference in mindset between Apple’s focus, and Androids focus, then just look at the name of their “Stores to buy Apps”… Apple has their “App Store” and Android has their “Play Store”. Something tells me that they are trying to sell more Games than business apps to the Android users. I’m just pointing out the obvious here!
I still say that if you are a Realtor, then you need either an iPad or an iPhone to actually have the ultimate 
mobile office.
Brad Pearson's Blog 