ATTENTION DECODED

The Vikings did... They set their ships on fire and burned them to the ground. The Vikings were known for conquering. Sometimes (ok all the time) things got very brutal in the process. Let's not go into detail on the pillaging. I want to tell you a story about ships is vitally important to your success today... The Viking longships were the first of their kind. While other explorers dared not cross the open ocean and lose sight of the shore, the Vikings sailed across the open dangerous waters into the unknown. Their ships were long, narrow and graceful.  They were nearly perfect in design and they got the Viking to their pillaging destinations time and again.  As soon as they landed, the Vikings did the unthinkable! They burned their ships. That's right they burned their only hope of ever leaving the unknown lands they landed on. This setting ablaze did two things... #1 it sent a message for miles that they had arrived and had burned ...

Poor treatment of people is an everyone problem. Our on-demand lifestyle has developed an unintended negative shift in society. The very products and software designed to bring us together have been used desensitized us on a subconscious level. Let us not forget that these platforms and products are just tools. We can use the same tools to bring the connection back. How to bring the human I-Thou connection back: Uber was started with so much character.  Regular people, driving regular people. How quickly we separate ourselves. On a recent trip to Manhattan, I Ubered  everywhere. Everyone does.  After my third ride with an Uber driver, I decided to comment on the energy I was picking up. The Uber driver seems scared.  I started the conversation by saying I think there is a problem with how Uber drivers are treated. A confused look came onto Miguel (the Uber drivers face)  A face that asked-- why would you care?...

Duck. Duck. Goose? Duck? What are you? That is the look I want to see on your clients face after they listen to you.  Below is the most common question you will get as a service provider. “Your competition will _______ , so why should I pick you.” - potential customer While I typically I never advise anyone I work with to dip down and entertain a direct answer to this controller question, today only I'll break my rule.  First the truth. My clients and potential clients (you) do not have this pressure packed phantom almighty person on your heels and waiting for you to drop a ball that is also non existent.  Reality is what you make it.  And now for another truth. I can't stop you from answering a question directly regardless of what I know to be best.  So if you are thinking of answering a question that puts you on the spot.  Here are the ground rules:  1. Prepare to handle yourself with a keen know...

The do not call list is not only a call list, it’s a call all the time list.  The list has been hacked by people that think sales as a trap is a reliable tactic. It is illegal and no one has stopped it.  Not because this is an impossible problem to solve, but because this is another problem that falls under the excuse of “it’s not my job”. Anything that crosses our path that is unwanted is an interruption.  When a stranger calls and assumes they deserve your attention, and then offers you an easy way to make 5k a month--they have interrupted you.  Cold callers bring no value to you. In our ecosystem, you are one click away from getting what you want.  It is called Amazon. It is called Ebay. It is called calling a friend. Who is this cold calling and terrible emailing sales tactic still working on?  Who isn’t frustrated by it?  Anyone? Sales as an occupation as it was defined 20 years ago is dead and if you ...

Discount brokers and FISBO sales are at an all time low.  This news isn’t news to your full time, and full service Realtor friends.  Good Realtors don’t play Realtor like a kid picking out a Halloween costume.  In fact, we look at discount brokers with merciful eyes for both their clients and themselves. We don't envy them nor do we think about them unless we see that yet another has gone out of business.   Why are discount brokers going out of business at such catastrophically high rates?  #1 In our state it is illegal to "limit" services as a Realtor. Meaning, many discount brokers are out of business because they were not practicing legally.  #2 logic. If you charge anyone less than what it costs to provide your service. You will eventually run out or money. #3 There are many other reasons but frankly, #2 sums up the main reason discount brokers are giving up. Homeowners are selling homes themselves less because it...

Discount brokers and FISBO sales are at an all time low.  This news isn’t news to your full time, and full service Realtor friends.  Good Realtors don’t play Realtor like a kid picking out a Halloween costume.  In fact, we look at discount brokers with merciful eyes for both their clients and themselves. We don't envy them nor do we think about them unless we see that yet another has gone out of business.   Why are discount brokers going out of business at such catastrophically high rates?  #1 In our state it is illegal to "limit" services as a Realtor. Meaning, many discount brokers are out of business because they were not practicing legally.  #2 logic. If you charge anyone less than what it costs to provide your service. You will eventually run out or money. #3 There are many other reasons but frankly, #2 sums up the main reason discount brokers are giving up. Homeowners are selling homes themselves less because it...

The concepts I coach on productive communication and business are not new. Most of us would be remiss if we claimed to be the only source of our work. I believe that no vocation can be acted upon thoughtfully without inspiration, a great deal of study and self reflection.  However, I feel invested and practiced enough in my work to feel totally confident in saying I do not know of anyone else that can do what I do in the way that I do it. I say that at the risk of sounding pompous but with hope you all feel the same way about your work. Below I have placed an excerpt by Ralph Waldo Emerson from his work on the topic of self-reliance. I feel it is a good time to turn ourselves inward as business owners and not concern ourselves with what anyone has accomplished other than ourselves. Only you can deliver your message to your clients in a way where the will know you genuinely care for them. A true professional takes ownership of everything they do. They abandon all excuses and do what...