From a client (and I know this wasn’t an easy transaction):

Dear Sir:

I am writing to express my family’s appreciation for the exceptional service provided by Kathy Diaz.

In April of this year I accepted a job offer in Phoenix and we began our home search shortly thereafter. Kathy was referred to us by a friend who was also looking ot relocate to Phoenix and had spent a few days with Kathy reviewing homes. As a Commissioned Officer with the US Public Health Service I have access to discounted relocation services through USAA but our friend’s description of Kathy’s professional and dedicated service convinced me to call on her. In this we were very fortunate as Kathy has tirelessly served my family’s interests. She cheerfully researched and showed us homes and neighborhoods over a three month period during the heat of summer, advised us on housing market trends, and provided links and information on schools, mom’s clubs, gyms, physicians and various other aspects of Phoenix area living.

When faced with a family emergency that kept her out of town for a couple of weeks she seamlessly handed us off to Heather Sanders and stayed in touch on a daily basis to ensure our needs were being met. Once under contract, Kathy lined up multiple inspections, many of which she attended, and provided us with first-hand accounts of deficiencies and options for correction. Once we closed on the house, she obtained quotes for house cleaning, painting, roofing, plumbing and blinds. This level of service is far beyond that received in our two pervious home sales/purchases and went far beyond the level of service expected. Our good fortune continued with the hiring of Sexton Painting & Roofing who, at Kathy’s request, had provided a quote to paint the interior of our house.

As part of my job I routinely work with construction contractors and the level of service and attention to detail provided by Mike Sexton and his crew is as good as it gets. They not only painted my house (interior/exterior) but also completed roofing, flooring, and other repairs at reasonable prices and in a professional and timely manner.

In summary, I would like to thank your organization, Heather Sanders, and most importantly Kathy Diaz for making this move far easier than it should have been. If Kathy Diaz is representative of your agents you have much to be proud of.

Sincerely,

Eric & Family

Wow, what a letter! Kathy and Heather – we are so proud you are part of our KW Sonoran Living family and might I add, you example of what it takes to be TRULY REMARKABLE in this economy is inspiring. This is what it takes for all good businesses to succeed. Wow!

The hierarchy of success
I think it looks like this:

Attitude
Approach
Goals
Strategy
Tactics
Execution
We spend all our time on execution. Use this word instead of that one. This web host. That color. This material or that frequency of mailing.

Big news: No one ever succeeded because of execution tactics learned from a Dummies book.

Tactics tell you what to execute. They’re important, but dwarfed by strategy. Strategy determines which tactics might work.

But what’s the point of a strategy if your goals aren’t clear, or contradict?

Which leads the first two, the two we almost never hear about.

Approach determines how you look at the project (or your career). Do you read a lot of books? Ask a lot of questions? Use science and testing or go with your hunches? Are you imperious? A lifehacker? When was the last time you admitted an error and made a dramatic course correction? Most everyone has a style, and if you pick the wrong one, then all the strategy, tactics and execution in the world won’t work nearly as well.

As far as I’m concerned, the most important of all, the top of the hierarchy is attitude. Why are you doing this at all? What’s your bias in dealing with people and problems?

Some more questions:

How do you deal with failure?
When will you quit?
How do you treat competitors?
What personality are you looking for in the people you hire?
What’s it like to work for you? Why? Is that a deliberate choice?
What sort of decisions do you make when no one is looking?
Sure, you can start at the bottom by focusing on execution and credentials. Reading a typical blog (or going to a typical school for 16 years), it seems like that’s what you’re supposed to do. What a waste.

Isn’t it odd that these six questions are so important and yet we almost never talk or write about them?

If the top of the hierarchy is messed up, no amount of brilliant tactics or execution is going to help you at all.

Posted by Seth Godin on September 14, 2009 |
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/09/the-hierarchy-of-success.html

BUMP…BUMP…BUMP !

Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the “fasten seatbelt” sign…..BUMP !, for your own safety and comfort BUMP… BUMP, please return to your seats, we will be experiencing some BUMP… BUMP… BUMP, turbulence. As soon as we have cleared the disturbance, we will remove the fasten seat belt sign, and you will be free to move about the cabin, that is, after your stomach returns from your throat…..ding.

If you have ever flown before, you are familiar with this message. The crew is concerned about your comfort and safety, however, it would have been nice to have a little heads up.

The more experience the pilot has, the more hours he/she has flown, the better prepared they are to recognize conditions that might effect the flight, and the passengers. The more they study weather patterns, the better the pilot is able to recognize the conditions that lead to, or cause the turbulence, which allows ample time to let the passengers know of the coming turbulence.

So…..how do you recognize the upcoming weather? Or should we say, the cycles that our industry will, and does experience?

What are you doing to prepare for the cycles that will occur? Or, are you in denial, hoping and praying that it won’t last, and it is just a blip on the radar screen? Environment matters, take advantage of the resources that are available to you, and have a plan to keep your clients advised, at least you are bringing value to your clients. Are you talking to your clients, are you educating them? Are you going to wait and suggest they put on the seatbelts after they hit their head on the bulkhead, or give them a “heads up” that the turbulence is coming?

In business, average companies react, great companies anticipate. Consequently, average agents react, and great agents anticipate. It is no longer enough just to take action, you have to be taking the right action. In the age of “extraordinary”, the “average” agent gets fired, the “extraordinary” agent gets and keeps the business.

Communication is the key, we can’t wait to call to give the good news, dread having to call with bad news, and rarely call with no news. Yes, it is just as important to call to let them know that there is no news. ” I’m on it, and as soon as I know something, you will be the first to know.” Good, bad, right, or wrong, keep them updated, and when we see that the sky is clearing……….we can let them know that ” the fasten seat belt sign has been turned off, and they are now free to move about the cabin……ding”

It’s not enough to just take action, you have to be taking the right action. In the age of “extraordinary”, average gets fired, extraordinary gets and keeps the business.

Barry Kramer is OP of Keller Williams Sonoran Living in Scottsdale and Phoenix. And he is an all around great guy!

1. The world as we know it has fundamentally changed. We have a choice to be part of the new opportunities or hold on to the past.

2. This is the age to be remarkable. We lost sight over what truly makes a product or service remarkable. I welcome the return. Many will accept the opportunity to be remarkable, others will not.

Watch the video and tell us your thoughts…

Last week on the Today Show, during a segment on the national real estate market, CNBC’s Jim Kramer uncompromisingly stated, “now is the absolute worst time to buy!” 

Concerned that remarks such as these from so-called experts might be pushing you or people you know to hold off from buying?  There are some things to consider.  

Here’s what Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman of Keller Williams Realty has to say about waiting out the current market: 

First, residential real estate is not a national market product – it is a local one. To say from a national position that this is either a good time or a bad time to buy real estate is like saying the national forecast for the U.S. today is 92 degrees – it is a useless and irrelevant perspective. What is happening in your local market is all that matters.  

Second, trying to predict when it is a good time to buy, or not, means you’re trying to time the market. Staying on the sidelines is the surest way for most people to never time anything correctly.  

Last, and maybe most important – there are always two markets in every market. There is the market of properties that are good buys and there is the market of properties that are not a good buys. Interestingly enough, this is true in either buyer or seller markets. To categorically say that this is the time to buy or not is absolutely ignoring the fact that every market really has two markets inside it.

• 9,361 closed in JUNE  WOW! (LY 5,673)
• Approximately 8,574 SOLD under FHA limits
• 478 SOLD between 350k – 500k
• 341 SOLD above 500k
• Approx 3,659 under 100k
• 409 Queen Creek, 466 Gilbert, 447 Chandler, 522 Glendale, 815 Mesa, Scottsdale 617, Fountain Hills 77, Cave Creek 52, PV 26
• Phoenix 2,509 SOLD
• 5,344 LENDER OWNED closed
• 1265 Short Sales Closed