The younger you are, the easier it is to ignore what's going on with the economy and the effects of the financial crisis on your personal finances. You can afford to be more optimistic about your financial future because you have so many years ahead of you before you need to worry about retiring.The closer you are to retirement, the more concerned you will naturally be regarding the amount of money you have in your retirement savings. With every...more
Whether you join a networking group or you're trying to get your clients to refer others to you, one thing's for sure, when the referrals show up, you want them to be qualified referrals.Let's face it, it's great when more people show up to do business with us, but it's also disappointing when you we out that they're not really your ideal prospect.So what are some strategies for generating qualified referrals so that when they show up, you're...more
It is the end of the first quarter and time to check the score.Just as planning your goals for the coming year should always begin with a look back at the year in review, so planning your business for the rest of this year should take a look back at the first quarter. Business planning isn't just a numbers game, but also an accounting and analysis of the year's overall progress.Begin by asking the hard questions: What happened in your business this past year? Past quarter? Did you meet your goals? If not, why not? How did you accomplish your successful goals? Where did your business come from?From there, analyze the specific sources of success or failure. Were your lead systems facilitating your goals? Did the number of listings support the number of closed transactions? And yes, now analyze the numbers: closed sales, closed commissions, expenses, how many listings taken, how many listings sold, how many active? Quantify where the business came from in comparison to your goals: how many sales from sphere? Referrals? Websites? Print media? Signs? Other lead-generating systems? Also take a look at the team. Who do you have working with you and what are their roles? Did...more
When people work together, they usually follow a number of related actions or a process. Processes reduce uncertainty by making it clear who needs to do what, when, and with whom, and ensure that important actions are not forgotten.Some of the great benefits of processes are: People involved don't have to think what to do next Output(s) are...more
Often companies believe that they can only dominate their market if they are the biggest players around, having the most money to invest or having the most customers - this is a myth. Most definitely being a big player with a lot of money to invest with a large sales team can be an advantage, and certainly a powerful positive, however it doesn't...more
The stock market is a tough game to monitor with many players playing and large amounts of money at stake. Large volumes of securities are bought, sold and traded and not everyone is interested in playing by the rules. Many have more sinister plans in mind, such as cheating the game. One prominent example of cheating the system is known as naked short selling. It is illegal, but widely practiced. What is naked short selling?To understand naked short selling, it is important to first have an understanding of short selling. Short selling a stock is a legal trading technique where a trader borrows securities from a shareholder with the understanding that they will be returned upon demand. The trader then sells and delivers the securities to a buyer. A trader does this in hopes that the price of the securities will drop so that he or she can buy them back and return them to the lender, thus making a profit. Naked short selling is closely related, but it has an illegal twist. Short sales are considered naked when securities are sold without first being borrowed from a shareholder. Because no real securities have been sold, they are often not delivered in time. When the securities are...more
Most of us remember the dubious "doctor" in Huckleberry Finn who proclaims to have the cure for any malady. From the back of the crowd his shill would loudly proclaim that he himself had been healed by the magical elixir. Oh my, but the quantity of...more
Amid recent news reports that there continues to be an ongoing and substantial gap between the net worth of Whites and other racial groups, it is easy to be distracted and overwhelmed by the raw data.However, I am immediately reminded of a quote...more
How many so-called "Get Rich Quick", "Make Money In 24 Hours" or the "Latest Break Thru Millionaire Money Making Secret" programs have you bought that promised all the wealth you could ever imagine.Just to be disappointed that it's the same old...more
There is no shortage of hype on the Internet. A start up business does not have to look far to find a "Guru" who will offer a miracle solution for the "getting found" dilemma that faces every on line business. Typically, this product or weekend...more
It's hardly surprising that so many companies are nowadays choosing to have training carried out at off-site training facilities rather than on their own premises. After all, in recent years there's been a steady increase in the amount of high tech...more
The paperless office has been talked about for a long time, yet never seems to even start to become a reality in almost any sector of business. Look around any office environment and you would be forgiven for thinking that the opposite of the...more