Lily's Blog

 Today I am going to be blogging about something that is more than just the real estate market, it is the economy and what we may be doing to make things worse!

The American Economy is a very fragile infrastructure that rests on the simplest of concepts... CONSUMER CONFIDENCE. What is CONSUMER CONFIDENCE? It is a string of emotions that leads into a cause and effect. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE is knowing that you are going to have a job the next day so there for you will spend your last $20 on milk and eggs.

The problem with the economy today is not that we are uncontrollably plummeting into a recession or a depression, it is the fact that we are scared that our economy is failing and therefore we are creating our own destiny.

Joe Guy goes home to his family after a long days work and says to his wife, "I heard that the economy is not doing so well and business is going to get tight." Now Joe is no longer a CONFIDENT CONSUMER, and neither is his wife. So the next day while Joe goes to work and tells his buddies what he heard, his wife stays home and makes some cut backs. Today she didn't go to the grocery store or the salon and she lowered their DirecTv package. Joe's buddies at work tell their wives who do the same and the wives tell their friends and family members. Thus resulting in wide spread worry which strips the community of CONFIDENCE. These small cut backs are going to have a massive ripple effect on the community. Suddenly the wives aren't shopping at the grocery store as frequently, so the store is not making the same amount of money and assesses that it no longer needs all of the employees and lays off people. The grocery store employee happens to be Joe Guy's friend and once he is laid off Joe's fears have been confirmed. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE LOWERS. Joe's company see that the community is doing some layoffs and decides that they better start worrying about their business also, Joe's company supplies food the the grocery store which is no longer ordering the same amount of food... so the company does not need as many employees as they used to. Joe ends up with out a job. His wife buys even less food on government assistance and the grocery store lowers supply request even more and Joe's former company does more layoffs.

So what does this mean for the bank? Joe used to deposit his paychecks into the bank and Joe's company used to deposit their payrolls and their income. Joe is no longer putting money in the bank and the company is now depositing less and less money. Now the bank is in trouble. Without deposits the bank can not meet their cash reserves. If they can not meet their cash reserves they must reduce their investments. That includes reducing the amount of loans they make as well as selling some of the investments they that used to hold, such as mortgages. When they do that the value of those mortgages declines, there is an over supply of mortgages because all of the other banks and investors are in the same position. When the value of the mortgages goes down there is fewer foreign investors willing to spend their money at the current value.The only ones that are willing to do that are people that can buy it at a significantly lower amount which lowers the value even more. Which also means that the banks will have to sell even more mortgages to meet their reserves.  So the bank ends up with a bunch of mortgages they can't sell to anyone. Normally when the price goes down, eventually it draws investors back in... that doesn't work if there is no one to actually pay those mortgages. Without Joe being able to pay his mortgage there is no longer any real value in the market.  Because, the fact of the matter is that Joe is the one paying the mortgage and what investor is going to buy the mortgage of someone who doesn't have a job. That prevents the mortgages from regaining value when investors decided that prices are low enough, because there is still no one to buy the mortgage if there is no one to actually pay the mortgage anymore.  The only remaining value in those mortgages is the foreclosed value of those homes, record foreclosures destroy the Real Estate market.  Even those people that have jobs and can pay their mortgage lose value in their homes and can't get the new Second to build a swimming pool and the swimming pool company goes out of business.

That is why the government wanted to do a bailout for the banks so that the banks did not have to cover their reserves and they could continue to lend money. Unfortunately it didn't help because Joe still doesn't have a job and his wife still can't go grocery shopping.

Ultimately what needs to happen is that people need to go out and spend the money that they would have spent had there been no rumor. To buy their groceries and watch their televisions and buy their cars and do all the things that people do when the economy is striving. Because then Joe has a job, he can pay his bills and put money in the bank. The bank can lend money out and the economy can continue to strive on the CONSUMER CONFIDENCE.

Here is my call to action: Go out and spend your money, encourage your friends and family and co-workers to spend their money... this is the only way that you can ensure that we all have jobs tomorrow.

The trouble with finding an amazing deal on business cards is that you are inclined to spend the same amount that you would have spent and just get more for you money. And that is what I did. In fact for 1500 cards I paid $55. I was going to pay about that much for 250 cards so it seemed like a great idea.

My cards have a great picture on them and all the right information to get a hold of me or visit my website but what I failed to add to these 1500 business cards was a reason to call me. Yes I am a Realtor but seriously there are so many of us out there, what is it that is going to make someone want to call me rather than stuffing my card in a pocket to be thrown out later...?

I have had to put some thought to that. I consider myself a "New Generation Realtor" and what that means to my clients is that I started my business when times where hard and I have had to work harder and longer to gain my clients business and respect. I feel that because of this I am used to being agressive, attentive, willing to do whatever it takes. The problem with saying "New Generation Realtor" on my cards is that it doesn't mean anything to anyone else but me and the people that give me a chance to explain it.

So I had to consider what the other things are that I do that make me stand out above the rest. I have an 82 step process to selling a house. So how about printing "82 Step System to get your House SOLD!" Yeah that's it.... that's what people will call me for.

The only problem that I have left is that I had all 1500 Business Cards printed already! So what am I going to do now? I am going to go to OfficeMax and have a stamp made that says  "82 Step System to get your House SOLD!"

So what do you think? Leave the cards blank on the back and hope that people will call me because they need a Realtor or buy the stamp and risk my cards looking a little cheap because I had to stamp it on there.

When I gave a card to a friend of mine he says, "Why don't you have anything on the back? What is the first thing that people do when you hand them a card... they turn it over."

I would first like to say, "Thank You" to all of you who have taken the time out of your busy schedules to comment on my blogs and to give me helpful advise and insight.

So now I am reaching out to you with a question. I need some statistics about marketing. I am thinking that it would be benifical to my business if I took a marketing class at the local college. I have been trying to think up ways that I can effectively market to large groups with out spending too much money.

Right now I have a $50/month website that has not generated one lead for me since I started it in August. Obviously it is a financial strain that is giving me nothing. I am not sure if it is maybe something that I am doing wrong or maybe something that I should call the company about to see if it is something that they are lacking rather than me!!! UGH... any ideas of what it can be?

I am also sending out monthly calenders to my "farming" area which I send 250 to half and 250 to the other half every other month... it costs me about $150/ month. Do you think that sending notepads would be more effective? Do you think that I am spending too much money on this? It comes highly recommended within my office, as well as the website, which is causing me to reach out to you all for help!

Besides that I utilize my Sphere of Influence which is a very young croud and will probably make me money in 3-5 years. I keep in contact with about 150 people a month by phone and I send out another monthly newsletter through e-mail to about about another 100 people.

My lender refers business to me and I have a flight attendant friend that has placed my cards in helpful places.

I feel that I need to go knocking on doors and introducing myself to people which I think I will do more often when it is nicer outside, does anyone know of any restrictions to this besides "No Soliciting" signs?

If there are any other things that you think would help me generate more business, or if you think that I have been "douped" into spending money on things that I shouldn't have please let me know! I would love to hear your insight on things and every comment is appreciated.

Thanks you again,

Lily

I am sending off 2008 with a farwell kiss. It had its ups and downs and I am just glad that it is over. I think that 2008 was a hard time for many people. But the world works in misterious ways and only time will tell wheather our misfortunes are really blessings in deguise.

In February of 2008 I was hired to work for a little company knowns as DirecTv. The training was two weeks long and 80hrs from 2:00pm to 11:00pm. It was tough but I ended up meeting some great people whom I still talk to on a fequent basis. When we started working in the sales invironment it was fun! It was exciting and your were acknowlegded for being good. I strived to be the best on my team, and I wanted to be the team lead; which I obtained only one month on the job. Not soon after they were looking to hire another manager and my manager told me that I should apply. And I did. Things seemed to be going my way. The other managers were coming up to me and telling me that they thought that I was going to get the possition and that they had also put in a good word for me. It was May at this point. I remember because I on my 20th birthday i worked a 12 hour shift so show my dedication. I was also off of the sales floor for the whole month which meant that I was making about half the money that I was making the month before. But I never could have forseen what would happen next.

In June i found out that they had diminished the possition that I was working so have to obtain. Then rumors started to fly about the building needing to close down. Everyone started freaking out but I knew that things would be alright. I was in the top 5% for my sales and I didn't think that I had a thing to worry about. Suddenly people were getting laid off and fired left and right. And Colorado is an At-Will state so they can walk away from you with no explanation.

When I was called back to the HR office I had no idea why they wanted to speak to me. If anything I thought that they were going to give me the managment possition that I had thought I was a shoe in for only a month before. But instead they told me that I had to hand over my badge and collect my things and leave the premissis. I was in shock to say the least. How could they afford to lose me? I am practically the best they have. When I told my dad what had happened he suggested that it was because I was making too much money. Some times I was trippling my pay check with my commissions, so I guess that could have been the reason... there are still so many unanswered questions.

i started looking for jobs in Real Estate because I had had my license for so long and done nothing with it. I fuigured now was the time. I was living in Colorado Springs and I wasn't having too much luck. I was thinkng that I would be able to work for an apartmemnt complex, maybe the one I was living in. My rent was high and I was jobless. What was I supposed to do?

Finally I decided that I needed a big, huge change in my life. I decided that I would move to Denver where I had some family that would help me out for a little while and get back on my feet. I had some money in the Bank saved up from all the money that I was making working for DirecTv. I paid off the rest of my lease and moved. I found a company called Exit Realty DTC that I work for now. i origionally chose them to work for because not only did they seem like really nice, genuine people they also have a free training program where the agents can go when ever they need to. When I started to work there and didn't have much to do besided prospect I went to the meetings every tuesday and thursday. Once I started to get busy and do some business I stopped going to the training so frequently.

Now that it is 2009 I am going to try harder than last year to network and find business. I will put more hours in and I will make the extra effort to train myself to be the best Realtor that I can be. I will go to MetroList training I will go to marketing trainings and I will go to our company trainings. I will meet 15 new people a day and give them my cards. I will offer my friends and family a 25% refferal cut if they send me business, as if they are my little worker bees. I will plaster my face all over the internet and neiborhoods. Maybe even the news, but I can't let you in on that plan quite yet! I'll let you know how it goes if it works out.

So the moral of the year 2008 is explore the possibility that a curse could be a blessing in deguise. I could still be working at DTv and not being a manager or whatever the case may be... but now I am finally following my dream to own my own business, be my own boss, have unlimited capability to make unlimited amounts of money. And 2009 will prove that had I not been  

I just need to make a little shout out to me good friend and wonderful Lender Brett Shaw!!! I had a closing yesterday and due to him and his team working around the clock we closed and every one walked away from the table more than happy!!! A good lender is hard to find but now that I have found one I am going to hold on to him!

At closing my buyer came to the table with less than we agreed on which was surprising because Brett had already cut a lot of his costs to keep my buyer under the seller's concessions!!! And he locked him in at 5.8%.

Brett is always good about calling me regularly, he works well with even the hardest people, and he is always up beat, happy and great to talk to.

I LOVE MY LENDER!!! How many of you can say that!!!??

Real Estate is a hard business and recently it has been doing nothing but getting harder. A successful Realtor of yester-year can't get away with working the same amount of hours as s/he used to. Today most Realtors are working twice as hard with half the return. Getting burnt out and still not being able to make it by...

If you feel like you are one of the Realtors I am talking about; join the club! The struggle is hard but there are ways to get through it!

Did you know that there are other ways to make money in real estate? Did you know that there are companies that not only offer a limitless commission scale but that these limitless funds can be your retirement and can also go to your beneficiaries?

Most Realtors change companies every 3 to 5 years.

I'm telling you this because I have found the only way to practice real estate. Right out of school I was shopping for a company where it didn't feel like I was getting robbed just to work for them. And finally I have found that company... And more.

EXIT REALTY:  This is how it works.  You get 70%, your Broker gets 20% and you SPONSOR gets 10%. So what is a sponsor? A sponsor is someone that has enlightened you about EXIT  and all of the unmatchable elements that we have to offer. So this little 10% can grow and grow until it has a mind of its own. Here is an example...

Lets say you make around $60,000 not bad but you want more...what if you could have more without even working for it? Who could ask for anything better?

Your annual wage---------------$60,000.00

Your sponsor will gets-----------   $6,000.00

($60,000 is the current average income of a Realtor in Colorado. Bare with the generalization...play with the number if you want to, wont change the fact that you don't work for this money...)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

So lets just say you sponsor in 10 people over the next 5-10 years:

Your annual wage----------------$60,000.00

Sponsor 1:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 2:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 3:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 4:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 5:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 6:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 7:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 8:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 9:------------------------$  6,000.00  

Sponsor 10:------------------------$  6,000.00

_______________________________$120,000.00 What other company, or industry for that matter, is going to give you the option to make a minimal additional effort to double your income in 10 years or less. 

You can change the numbers how ever you want! Lets say that you are a sceptically and you think these numbers are a little high... mess with them.

Lets say you are an optomist and you see the limitless possibilities that are offered here... play with the numbers. How much more do you see yourself making for the rest of your life and even after your life? hundreds of thousands? millions? Let your imagination take you there!   

-Lily

Let me TELL you the reason why we are all here playing our cards in the Real Estate game... we want to make $$$. But not any old paycheck, we want to max out our lives, we want to have numerous transactions every month of every year. We all saw the opportunity to make an immeasurable amount of money, and we took it.

But have we all put ourselves in the position to MAX out Real Estate? I know I have... Have you?

Exit Realty is the ONLY real estate company that offers a unique residual program that actually gives Realtors a retirement plan and will even go further as to take care of our beneficiaries!

Why is Exit the only company? because Steve Morris patented his ingenious plan.

You can either work for every single dollar you make, or you can join Exit where the success of the company becomes your personal success as well! Where each and every Realtor you work with could potentially join you in building your career and Maximizing your potential income, where every single Realtor has the equal opportunity accelerate their status while continuing the same effort. It's like walking on a moving sidewalk! Even if you are standing still you are still moving!

Honestly what is there to think about? I mean, can you really say that if you have the option to take the moving sidewalk when you're caring all that "baggage" that you would rather take the harder slower way? It just goes to show why Exit is the FASTEST GROWING REAL ESTATE COMPANY IN THE HISTORY OF REAL ESTATE!

Stop thinking you know about this company, and come in and find out the truth! Find a future that can offer you more possibilities and anything else. Prosper with us, a new age has begun!!!

 --Lily

Exit Realty DTC is on the cutting edge of the technological world! There is a great importance in the industry to be better, faster and more efficient than your competition. And there is where the wonderful world to technology comes into play.

At our last monthly meeting we were informed that the company would be going through a very important transformation, a transformation that would change the way that we conducted our real estate business and put us on the top. As a young realtor I was more than excited when Sheryll and Marc told us that as a company we were going to be "GOING GREEN!!"  But what did that mean for us?

A wonderful new technology has been introduced to world of Real Estate. It is called InstaNet, it has been around longer in our sister state, Florida, but all of the legal adjustments have been made to fit Colorado Law.  Our company is one of the two companies in Colorado that are making a 100% effort to move toward the future!

We write all of our contracts on the computer and can share these digital files with our clients and colleagues. Another wonderful benefit to this is that in cyber space there is no such thing as floods or fires so all of your saved documents will be safe. Talk about ditching the old filing system, now you can replace it with a fountain...or something worth looking at!

Furthermore; Exit Realty on a national level has made the effort to bring technology to the forefront for all of us. They offer the most amazing training available. Not only that; Exit is the only company that offers anything anywhere near this cutting edge. The interactive training is great for newer agents because not only is it an award-winning program, it is also the most affordable training available.

The interactive training is so cutting edge that it would not benefit anyone any more to actually be in the training room. The way it works is that you are set up with a devise that attaches to a television. You still have to show up to the trainings at a specific time because the trainings are done in real time with a professor and all of the meetings are schedules a month in advance... so what is so great about that? Well, the devise that attaches to your television set is interactive. So if you have questions you virtually raise you hand and you are called on by the professor to answer your question. As a student you feel that you and the professor are the only ones in the room and that you are having a one-on-one training with one of the most highly skilled trainer in the profession! There are programs for new agents, experienced agents, top tier agents and Broker/Managers.   

What can I say; we are living in the future baby. You can either be left behind in the dust or you can accelerate yourself, your life, and your business!

-Strickly, Lily

-I would like to tell you that you will not find another office like this and it is not because of the whole Exit Realty program, it is really because of my employing brokers, Sheryll and Marc White. They are just the most wonderful hands on employers. Every month, on the last Wednesday of the month, they have a mandatory meeting. The meetings are a place to meet the other Realtors in the office and to get caught up with some of the things that are going on and will happen in the months to come. My favorite part about these meetings is that they are in a totally relaxed environment. They always have wine and great food for us to enjoy and Marc and Sheryll just know how to keep a crowd interested. Although the meetings are in the evening (typically 6:00-8:00ish) I always feel leaving more motivated than ever. In fact it was after our last monthly meeting that I decided to blog about how much I love my office.   

 -Sheryll is a wealth of information and she believes that the success of the company is partially based on the sharing of all of that information. Twice a week she holds 1 1/2 hour, free training classes for anyone that wants to attend. I just love this because even those who have been in real estate for years still have a constant opportunity to learn more, for instance; Notice of Election and Demands.  She also makes sure to provide us with enough FREE CE credits throughout the year that we don't even have to worry about getting any on our own!!   -They are just great people and they have created a great place to work.

 -More over all of the Realtors in the office are very welcoming and willing to help. I recently decided that I want to focus my efforts on farming. We have one realtor in our office (he was employee of the month last month; Jim Greer) who has sold over 400 houses in one farm area... He knows what he is doing! So I approached him and asked him to teach me. While getting nothing out of it besides the gratification of teaching, he has completely taken me under his wing.  

 - I just cannot explain how happy I am that I found such a great place to work. I could go on and on.... But I wont,

--Lily

Exit Realty alone is an amazing and innovative company to work for. There is literally no other company that can do what Exit does. When I first got my Colorado state real estate license I interviewed 5 different companies to figure out where I was going to work. I compared offices but ultimately they all had the same problem. The problem was that I had just spent over $1000 dollars going to the classes and now every company that I went to wanted another couple thou. a month to work there. I started to realize that every company wanted me because I was going to be paying them to work for them anyway; there was no risk involved on their part.

At Exit Realty DTC I have found a completely different environment. One year after getting my license I stumbled across a vehicle that had Exit's information all over it, I was intrigued and by the time the presentation was over it was virtually a no brainer. On top of not having any desk fees they offered me free training, free business plan, but most importantly of all a company that cares. Sheryll and Marc White are a couple of the most successful and kind-hearted people in the industry. Their goal is success for me which will ultimately bring success for them... isn't that the way it should be?

And finally, my favorite part about Exit is the residuals. Some people are scared of the residual program because they do not understand it. It is nothing like a pyramid scheme and the program has been running strong for over 25 years. In fact Exit has been doubling it's agents here in Colorado every year for the past 3 years in a row! The proof is in the Numbers people... Here are some serious numbers for you:

IF you sponsored 5 agents into the Exit Program over the next couple years, who all made around $60,000 a year you would earn 10% of that from each.

$60,000/.10= $6,000

         Agents X      5

--------------------------

                   $30,000/ year without lifting a finger!

That's an additional $2,500/ month.

This is really what sales and real estate is all about. It is about endless possibilities. It is about making more money than those who do things the old way. It is about being able to take time off of work without struggling when you get back. It's about freedom, and the ability to play as hard as your work!!!

EXIT Traditional real estate, and Enter your Future!~

Strictly, Lily.

Call Me: 719-217-6802c

                 303-790-7200b

E-mail Me: Lily@exitrealtydtc.com

Or Just respond to the Blog!