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A CAREER IN REAL ESTATE....IS IT FOR YOU?

Enjoy running your own business. Flexible hours. Financial freedom. Learn everything you need to know to decide if an exciting career in real estate is a good choice for you.
Date: Thursday February 16, 2012
Time: 7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Click here to register: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/816283046

"What is the ROI of Social Media Marketing?....Still Being in Business 5 Years From Now!"

Social Media Revolution Socialnomics 2011, by Erik Qualman
This is a 4 1/2 minute, AMAZING, must-watch video for any real estate agent who wants their business to grow! I posted this a year ago and it's worth looking at the updated version...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZyUaQvpdc&feature=player_detailpage

A Little Self Analysis

I found this interesting article posted on HGTV.ca. It's entitled "How to Find a Real Estate Agent". Read through with your listing presentation in mind. Can you answer all of these questions for your potential clients?

http://www.hgtv.ca/articles/articledetails.aspx?ContentId=1918&cat=3&by=1

Prospecting - The Life Blood of Your Business

Exerpt from "Six Sad Reasons Most Agents Fail" by Laura Duggan

Prospecting is the life blood of any successful real estate business. Top performers block off time every day to prospect—that is making phone calls to their database, sending out emails, following up with prospective clients, sending handwritten notes, meeting with prospective buyers and sellers and calling clients.


They don’t wait for the business to come to them. They systematically prospect daily, track their communication and set appointments. Everything else is delegated. A Daily Activity Record will keep you focused and help you track the number of phone calls you make, the number of notes you write, the number of client follow ups you make and the number of appointment you set.

By time blocking this prospecting time into your schedule, you won’t be tempted to fill your time with activities that are not dollar-productive. Set your weekly prospecting goals, then let the Daily Activity Record keep you accountable.

New Agent Coaching Session Starting Soon

At BOWES & COCKS our success rate with new salespeople is 50% HIGHER than the industry average.


It's the coaching!


The best thing that you can do to kick your real estate career into high gear is to get a business coach who will invest in your success. That's what we do. Our experienced coaches will show you everything you need to know in order to start earning quickly and to build a business of referrals from happy clients.

Contact us now to register for our next session. Classes in Peterborough, Lindsay, Haliburton, Huntsville, Bancroft, and Kingston North.
Kate Archer, Regional Manager
(705) 930-4040 or careers@bowesandcocks.com,

The Real Estate Road Warrior!

If you make no other attempt to improve your efficiency and your business this year, do this.....CHECK OUT SHANNON KING!

Shannon has become my hero since I heard her speak recently in Huntsville. She is a Real Estate Broker / Owner / Manager / Salesperson and speaks around the continent to the real estate industry on topics that range from starting as a new agent, marketing tools and technologies, to running virtual offices.

Her credentials include being named a "30 under 30" by the National Association of Realtors.

Check out her website, buy her book "101 Technology Tools for Business On The Go" (I've got it!), attend one of her sessions. Learn how to improve your business with technology....Shannon gives you a ton of sites to get software and aps (many free). She's a branding wizard. I can't say enough...
http://www.realestateroadwarrior.com/

Think You'd Like a Career in Real Estate?

If you are considering becoming a professional real estate agent then there are a few things you need to know. Educate yourself about the industry before you determine if this is the right career move for you.

Some people think that this career is easy money and not much work. Nothing could be further from the truth. It takes real dedication and sometimes long hours, and it may take awhile for you to start earning income. The sales business is not for everyone.

The flip side is, this business is a lot of fun if you like working with people, and the rewards can be huge!

In my experience, most people who dive into the real estate licensing program do so without enough knowledge of the industry. A great place to start is to give us a call and set up a meeting me with me. I will spend about an hour with you and tell you all about the business, what to expect in the licensing courses, and tell you about Bowes & Cocks, and what we do to help you get your new career off the ground.

Is it time for a change? Call me. Let’s talk.
Kate Archer   
Direct Line (705) 930-4040
Email: careers@BowesAndCocks.com

10 Habits of Top Agents - A Series

#8 Maintain A Good Attitude

“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.” William James

“Attitude is defined as any strong belief or feeling toward people and situations. Attitudes are not quick judgements that you make casually and can easily change. You have acquired attitudes throughout your life and they are deeply ingrained in your personality.” Bob Goyer

Your attitude not only affects your performance, but it affects others as well. It can positively affect other workers or it can act as a cancer and negatively affect other's work performance.

What we say and think has a powerful influence on the world around us. Your attitude can sometimes define you more than the work you actually produce.

Following are a few examples of how you can develop and maintain a good attitude:

Avoid negativity. Stay away from people with bad attitudes.

Give everyone the benefit of the doubt.....trust first!

Be a team player. Do things that benefit the entire group.

Don’t complain.

Don’t bad mouth your co-workers, your competitors, your clients, or your company.

Don’t gossip.

Focus on the good in everything. I started my real estate career in a recession. Had I listened to the nay-sayers who said that I would fail, where would I be now?

If you lose a listing or a deal, don’t let it get you down. Move on to the next. Focus on the ones you can get.

When something isn’t working, find a way to make it work or try something else. James Yorke said “The most successful people are those who are good at Plan B.”

Change “I can't” to “I can” in your vocabulary.

When the going gets rough, keep your sights On Your goals.

Take responsibility for your own life, Do not blame others for your
problems. You have to take control yourself.

Write down the good things about yourself. What are your strengths,abilities, skills, and personal qualities? Make yourself feel good about yourself.

Successful people are the ones with good attitudes. Read this article again and do a self-analysis. Is your attitude creating positive or negative energy, around you and within you? Attitude is a choice. Opt for the smile and feel good about the accomplishments that arise from it!

Letter to the President

"Hi Bill,

I just finished the training session that was provided to us by Kate and Pat and I want to tell you how impressed I am with both these women. It is really great to work with such professionals who are so good at what they do and who know how to motivate, train and mentor people. I am also very impressed with many of the other Sales people who I have met at Bowes and Cocks and also with our support staff. It is nice to be part of this team and I am very happy that I joined your company.

Thanks for everything."

Mary Lou McLauchlan
(Sales Representative
Bowes & Cocks Limited, Brokerage)

"Mary Lou,
It was very nice of you to take the time to let me know your thoughts.

One of the things we pride ourselves on at Bowes & Cocks is our training and support of each of our sales staff and it’s always great to get feedback like yours.
Our management team is a wealth of knowledge and experience. We’re fortunate to have them as mentors and coaches. I’m glad that you were able to learn from them. We do have a terrific group of people who are always willing to help and share ideas. I’m sure that you will enjoy working here.
Thanks again for your kind words. I wish you the best of success.
Sincerely,"
Bill Cocks
(President / Broker of Record
Bowes & Cocks Limited, Brokerage)

3 New Graduates of Bowes & Cocks' Advanced Sales Skills Program!

Well, so wraps up another coaching program at Bowes & Cocks in Peterborough. We had 3 terrific women in the group: 

Mary Lou McLauchlan (Peterborough Branch) and Robyn Walters (Lakefield Branch) who came to us from other Brokerages, and Kim Turney (Peterborough Branch) who is newly licensed. What a great bunch to work with. All 3 are professional and personable and intelligent. I know that all 3 of them are going to have great success in this business! If you are considering buying or selling give one of these ladies a call. They'll do a fabulous job for you!
Kim was kind enough to send us this letter:

I chose Bowes & Cocks because of their great reputation, their longevity in the real estate business and the training and coaching program they have implemented for new sales representatives.

 Immediately the staff, management and agents all made me welcome. The office staff is fantastic and are willing to help in any way they can and I have been fortunate enough to have had other agents at Bowes and Cocks offer me their time and guidance.

Thanks Pat and Kate, you are great teachers and coaches.Your personalized approach to coaching and the sharing of your own successful real estate experiences have provided me with valuable tools to boost my career. 

Attending the weekly meetings you know that this is a team at work and I am happy to be a part of that team!

Thanks for all the support!

Kim Turney

Sales Representative

Add $60,000 to Your Income This Year With $200 Worth of Business Cards!

If you do absolutely nothing else this week....get rid of 50 business cards. Find at least 10 people that you don't know, every day for 5 days, and talk to them about real estate. It's not as scary as you might think. Everyone wants to talk about real estate. Ask if they are thinking of buying or selling, or if they know of anyone who is. Build rapport. Leave a great impression. Make this exercise top priority. No excuses! Real estate is a numbers game. This is the key to success.

Knock some doors, network in the mall, attend a local event. Hand out cards to the people you do business with..the grocery store staff, your dry-cleaner, your child's teacher. Hold an open house, or two, or three. By the end of the week you'll be getting good at it.

Do it again next week. And the week after. And the week after. Attend business networking sessions. Join sports teams, charitable organizations, community business associations. Sponsor events that you can attend. Participate in every trade show possible.

If you make it your top priority every day to hand out 10 business cards, you will find new customers and your income will grow. For sure. If you do this consistently you will become a lead generation expert.
By the end of each year you will have met and talked to 2500 people. The average contacts to appointment ratio is 100 to 1. That translates into 25 appointments with buyers or sellers. Taking into consideration that from those appointments some may not end up buying or selling through you, even if half of them do, you should end up with at least 12 sales from those 25 appointments. At an average commission of $5000 you've made $60,000 in sales commissions in one year.

Now as you continue to hand out 10 business cards every day, you also have 12 happy clients working for you, referring you to people they know, and 2500 people with whom you have left a good impression, who may call you for your services in the future. Happy selling!

10 Habits of Top Agents - A Series

#3 - Market Yourself

If you’re not consistently out there where everyone can see you, you will be a “Secret Agent”!

Sure, you’ll do a bit of business from walk-in traffic at the office. You’ll get the odd referral from your family or friends. You’ll spin your wheels every day trying to figure out new ways to find people who want to buy or sell real estate. But wait till you see your income soar when you’re doing all of these things and you’re promoting the heck out of your business too!

Right now I want you to think of the first real estate agent that comes to your mind. OK, got it? Unless it’s your sister, I’m pretty sure that the agent you’re thinking of is doing a great job of self promotion. Perhaps he or she has a lot of listings and runs full page ads in the newspaper. It may be newsletters coming to your house, “For Sale” signs everywhere, billboards, radio ads, sponsorship of local events, bus signs, bench signs….. You get my drift. You have to spend money to make money.

Now think about HOW they promote themselves. They’ve probably created a tag-line or an image to make you remember them. Or they may have an ongoing, consistent promotion that you identify with. They’ve come up with something that makes them unique.

Brand Within a Brand….You work for a brokerage that has brand that is recognized by the consumers. Now you have to create your own brand within the brand to make yourself stand out in the crowd. Get creative. Be consistent. But remember to maintain that company brand. Use the company colours and logo. It’s recognized and trusted! Use your branding on everything…your advertising, signs, business cards, website, letterhead. Consistency and repetition is what will make potential clients think of you first.

WIIFM? Remember that all of your promotional material should answer the customer’s question “What’s in it for me?”. Say something to get them excited about calling you.

As your business grows, so should your marketing budget. Have a plan each year to increase your exposure and your business will soar.

Selecting the Right Brokerage

I was just reading some posts in the OREA forum. I was reminded of how difficult it is to know which brokerage to work for when you are starting a new real estate career. I hope that this will help you.

First I’d like to clear up a couple of misconceptions:

1) Good brokerages don’t hire everyone that comes in off of the street. Impress in your interview. We’re looking for an overall professional impression, someone preferably with a lot of contacts, a steady employment history, a positive attitude, a team player, a somewhat assertive personality, an eagerness to learn, and a willingness to try new ideas and strategies to create new business.

2) You don’t need a “nationally recognized” company to succeed in this business. It’s your efforts that create sales, not the brokerage. You do however need a locally recognized and respected company with a good reputation.

Set up interviews with a few brokerages in your area. Some interviewers are prepared to tell you everything that you need to know, some are not. So be ready with some questions that you will need answered in order to make an informed decision. Here are the main things that you will need to know:

1) TRAINING This is absolutely the most important question you need to ask the interviewer. You are about to find yourself in the real world, license in hand, thinking “What do I do now?” Some brokerages don’t train at all. Some offer on-line, self-directed study. The best that you can receive is face-to-face, “show you how” kind of coaching or mentoring. More than half of all new agents fail within the first 2 years! I believe this is mainly because of the lack of good guidance. Find a good trainer and start making money quickly to ensure your success.

2) FEES How much is it going to cost you to be in this business? Brokerages offer different types of commission plans for new agents. You will want one that doesn’t incur large monthly fees. Be careful of hidden fees. Some brokerages will tell you that they have an attractive commission split, but neglect to tell you that you will be charged monthly advertising fees, franchise fees, listing and deal processing fees, administration fees, etc. If you work for a franchise company, not only do you pay fees or a portion of your commissions to the brokerage, but you will also have to pay franchise fees to the corporate entity. Ask the interviewer if the costs they have told you about are ALL of them. Note: Don't get hung up on things like the cost of photocopies. Stuff like that is so minor in the scheme of things!

3) BRAND Has the company got a solid, long-standing, ethical reputation? Do they sell a lot of real estate?

4) PEOPLE What kind of support will you get from the management and staff? Is it a “team” environment or “every man for himself?” Are you excited about working with the interviewer? Talk to some of the agents with that brokerage. Ask them about the training and support.

Good luck in your search and in your new career. If you are interviewing in an area where we have an office please consider Bowes & Cocks. We’ve been coaching agents to success for over 50 years!

Test Drive a Career in Real Estate

Try our FREE on-line interactive assessment to see if you would be a good fit for an exciting career in real estate. Play the role of a Real Estate Salesperson and interact with virtual clients who are interested in buying or selling property.
The Real Estate Simulator™ will take you through the entire sales cycle from building rapport to closing, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to handle objections, negotiate price, understand client needs, deal with personality clashes, and even handle periodic rejection. Click here to get started: