For many of you who read my blogs often, this blog is going to sound like a broken record however, it’s choc full of good stuff so, glance over it anyways….why not?
Get Noticed,
Too many agents are going around, belly aching about how they can’t break in. They applied to 5 BPO companies and it’s been 2 weeks later and they haven’t heard anything or gotten 1 assignment. They can’t put in resumes with REO companies because they require at least 3 referrals and they don’t have that kind of experience. To all this moaning and groaning I say………and your point is?
If you are following the same routine as the thousands before you, then don’t expect any different of an outcome than the thousands before you received. Those of you who know me well know I have a television on in my office. Most of the time it’s glued to Fox News (yes…I watch Fox News and love it!) however, this one time I was watching Big Cat Diary and they happened to be following this herd of Wildebeest. The reporter was commenting on how they had to cross this river and it was very dangerous because it had 40 ft. long crocs in it. It was amazing to me to watch these thousands and thousands of animals crossing the river almost in a single file line, nose to rear. One after the other was getting gobbled up yet, none of them thought to themselves, maybe if we cross up stream less than 100 yards, it would be safer because the water was noticeably more shallow. Granted, these are just beast and, I know that but, it illustrates a very valid point. Many of you…..most of you are just following the herd. You don’t know to look up and around to see all the different resources available to help you successfully break into this business. You are so pre-occupied with what is beneath you that you don’t know or can’t look up and see a safer crossing up stream. What amazed me even more about this episode was, every once in a while, a lone Wildebeest would stop at the edge of the river, see it was just too deep, look up river and crossed on his own in shallow water….SAFELY!
My suggestion is to look up, see the resources at your disposal, don’t act like the herd! Write blogs, add forums, comment on others blogs and forums, contribute and you will get noticed. Start creating your reputation in this industry without ever leaving your office. I am afraid that just too many of you are too busy to look up and see the alternative route to the other side. Many of you will fall victim because you can’t look up, you won’t look up or, your just not cut out of the same cloth as those who do look up.
Provide Excellent Service,
Status quo isn’t good enough, it isn’t, trust me. This industry wants to be wow’d and, if you arent’ wow’ing it…….you aren’t wooing it. I know, that last sentence was a bit strange.
Let me put it this way. Just doing BPOs, just doing assignment, just doing, isn’t good enough. Excellent Service is Extraordinary Service and it’s that “extra” that makes all the difference. Yes, that was a reference to the movie Waiting and, if you haven’t seen it, you need to but, don’t go see the edited version…..you need to see the directors cut.
AMs and Pre-Marketers have seen it all so, what are you going to do to stand out. Granted, you’re most likely not going to write your resume on pink paper and spritz it with White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor but, you can do other things like, create a Personal Default Website that emphasizes your experience, knowledge and work area, that has always brought me luck. Maybe you can include your business card at the end of your email so if I want to add you to my contact database, all I have to do is click it once and boom, it automatically adds itself with no real effort from me. Maybe you could start writing a weekly column or contributing to a regular blog and help other with what you know. My point is, you can do a lot, why not?
Ok, now I am starting to rhyme….I got to end this or this is going to become some strange screenplay about a homicidal maniac realtor who talks to ghost.
Become an Expert,
This is the hardest thing to do because it takes a long time. Take what you know, publically share that information or, at least selectively contribute to our industry over a long period of time and you just became an expert. Depth of knowledge plus longevity equals expert.
Whatever you do, don’t become a schamiel because every schamozel will be out looking for you to tag on.
On a personal note, I am sure I butchered the spelling of those yidish words but, my spell check didn’t have them in the database so, forgive me but, I do now what they mean and they are used properly, at least so I believe.
Comments
Straight to the point...I like that...Keep up the Great Advice.
I especially like the idea with the business car...I am going to try that!
J!
Um.....on the main page, we do offer agents the opportunity to order websites through XSites / Alamode however, if you are looking for more of a custom type of site, REOPro's designer can work with you and give you a good deal.
His name is Adam Cothron and he can be reached via phone at 1-615-238-1812 or email at SomeDayDavinci@yahoo.com or his website www.SomeDayDavinci.com
Just be sure to tell him you are a REOPro member so you get a discount.
Can you recomend a companyy/person to help me with mywebsite? Or, do you know of a stamdard set up that can easily be changed and/or added pages? I have tried Point2 and am not computer savy enough to make changes. I have one website with Success geared towards first time buyers. I would like a service that offers assistance with adding/editing at a reasonable price, an that is experienced in real estate in Ca. Do you have any suggestions?
It seems to me that a simple business plan much like any other business plan is simply being forgotten or bypassed. Let’s say that you are starting a business from scratch but this time imagine that you must secure the financing to do so. A bank will expect a certain amount of understanding on the risk of giving you the money and will fully expect a detailed plan as to how you are going to turn a new start up business into a money generating entity that will allow the repayment of the loan.
My point will be for the sake of this blog to redirect some of the new folks that really want to do well in this business to really challenge themselves to create and follow a well written plan as if there were thousands of dollars at risk, (cuz there is) and success depends solely on their ability run a successful business. I’ll try to keep it short as I have a tendency to get long winded and I won’t pretend to write anyone’s plan but the basics are like any other.
Week one: Education…..determine the best program for education and certification required to be successful in your field. Heck…I wanna be rocket surgeon, any training for that? (I am just kidding) I do however think Default school is the best, just do it.
Week two: Dedicate this week to systems, house keeping and setting up shop, this includes an REO based website, A full resume pkg and all the tools that are required for your job…how will you know? Huh…well you just took the training week one silly and of course you’ve read every part of these forums.
Week three: Dedicate the entire week to signing up and applying to every company in the BPO/REO sign up list….oh….Yea, the whole list, your giving yourself a week to do it…get it done. if money is the issue…tag the pay companies for later when you do have the money and it seems like a sound investment. However the platforms are a must, basic or full memberships (I never said everything was free or cheap)
Rest of you life: Dedicate to doing the best BPO’s and handling properties to the fullest, attend conferences, continue to update your resume at every opportunity as your experience grows……on and on and on.
How’s that for a half baked business plan? Well at least it IS a plan, and believe it or not if weeks 1-3 were dedicated, a person could be well on their way.
OK, the music is playing in the back ground so it’s time to quit, I promised not to be long winded…guess I just can’t help it.
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