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Are You Making This Persuasion Mistake?

If you’ve ever wondered what The Bridge on the River Kwai, psychotic strangers, Abraham Maslow, concrete rebar and flaky surgeons have to do with persuasion and sales skills then you’ll want to read this…

The Surprise Hero of the Story

In the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai Alec Guinness plays the part of the British officer who is tortured by the Japanese to force his men to build a bridge that has military value to the Japanese.

Guinness finally consents when he thinks that perhaps allowing his men to build the bridge would be good therapy for them.

His men on the other hand think its some kind of trick. They think they are supposed to sabotage the bridge. What they don’t understand is the mindset of this British officer.

Guinness plays a character who takes pride in his country, his army, his work. Delivering anything less than the best is not in his thoughts. In fact, he wants to prove to the Japanese that the British build the finest bridges in the world.

The interesting turn in the story occurs when an American solider arrives trying to destroy the bridge. Alec Guinness fights to keep the solider from blowing up the bridge, a bridge that is helping the Japanese fight the Americans.

Now let me ask you: who’s the hero of the story?

It’s not William Holden. It’s Alec Guinness. Why is that?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow years ago presented an idea known as the “heirarchy of needs.” In his representation of this hierarchy of needs, he’s set up a pyramid:

1. Survival

2. Security

3. Social

4. Self-Esteem

5. Self-Actualization

The idea is that through life you gradually work your way up that pyramid.

As a baby, your only concern is food, water, sleep. As you get older, you realize that your parents and the house you live in protects you. About age 3 you understand that the world does not revolve around you. About 13 you kind of return back to yourself, craving to feel important, to be independent.

And finally, you want to have purpose. Not only that, but you want to achieve all of your dreams. You want to burn up, not burn out.

Later in his life, though, Maslow added to more needs: the need for consistency and the need for order.

This is the answer to why Alec Guinness is the hero of the Bridge Over River Kwai.

He’s a person that is consistent and predictable. He has a set of values that he does not waver from.

In fact, if you remember, in the early part of the movie you see this as he endures enormous torture from heat and isolation, but never backs down from his original statement. It’s not until he’s relieved and allowed to determine their fate.

This means he’s a person who can be trusted.

How This Applies to Real Estate

Imagine if this happened to you:

A surgeon says, “Sorry to say this, but you are going to need a quadruple bypass surgery.”

And you say, “Can’t we just do a double bypass?”

He then replies, “Alright, we’ll do a double and see how you do after that.”

How secure would you feel after that?

The same applies in business and persuasion. In fact, a huge part of persuasion deals with consistency.

The rule of thumb is this: we tend to trust the people who are reliable, consistent and predictable.

Say you live in house on a street with just one other house. You’re not going to trust the total stranger who moves in there until he demonstrates he’s stable, consistent or predictable.

If he proves himself to be off his rocker or strange or unpredictable, do you think you are going to trust him if he comes over and says, “Hey, can I borrow your car? I need to run to the store.”

I hope not.

Neither should your clients trust you if you blow off phone calls or cave in at every suggestion. Don’t be surprised if you can’t get them to agree with anything you suggest.

I find it impossible to respect, let alone trust, someone who is flaky, shallow or weak. What about you?

On the flip side of it, demonstrate that you are a person of consistency and you will have people eating out of your hand [okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but you get my point].

Consistency in behavior, especially in difficult or tense times, is the biggest part to influencing people.

That’s why it’s so imporatnt to figure out what you stand for, what your values are, what makes you tick, what ticks you off.

Create that marketing plan, dust off that personal mission statement.

Then it’s important to get a backbone as rigid as rebar. If you want to be a person of influence then you need to have what it takes to stand the heat.

If you don’t, then you are making a big mistake.

Expect people to walk over you. More importantly, expect to feel like your life is out of control, that you are a victim.

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Marketing in a Real Estate Recession

When the sky is close to falling in, what should you do when you need every penny to sustain your earnings? Stop advertising?

If you are new to real estate, you will probably kill your career. For ever. Studies of the last six recessions have demonstrated that companies which do not cut back their advertising budget achieve greater increases in profit than companies which do cut back.

This applies to real estate advertising, too.

In a survey of 40,000 men and women involved in the purchase of 23 industrial products over five years, it was found that share of market went up in bad times–when advertising was continued.

I have come to regard advertising as part of what you sell, it’s part of your real estate services, to be treated as a “production cost,” not a selling cost. It follows that it should not be cut back when times are hard, any more than you would cut any other essential ingredient in running your business.

Why Advertise at All?

Many agents secretly question whether advertising really sells their services, but are vaguely afraid that their competitors might steal a march on them if they stopped.

Others–advertise to keep their name before the public. Others, because it helps them to referrals.

Only a minority of real estate agents advertise because they have found that it increases their profits.

On a train journey to California a friend asked Mr. Wrigley why with the lion’s share of the market, he continued to advertise his chewing gum.

“How fast do you think this train is going?” asked Wrigley.

“I would say about ninety miles an hour.”

“Well,” Wrigley said, “do you suggest we unhitch the engine?”

Advertising is still the cheapest form of selling. It would cost you thousands to call a thousand homes. A yard sign can do it for $4.69.

The True Task of Advertising

Back in the early 80’s, one A. S. C. Ehrenberg of the London Business School said that consumers mostly ignore advertising for brands they are not already using.

He went on to say that real conversion from virgin ignorance to full-blooded long-term commitment does not happen often…sales levels of most brands tend to be fairly steady.

Advertising expert Dr. John Treasure agreed.

He said that the task of advertising is not primarily one of conversion but rather of reinforcement and assurance.

Sales of a given brand may be increases without converting to the brand any new consumers, but merely by inducing its existing users, those who already are sold out to the product, to use the product more frequently.

What This Means to You

Clients that you have already worked with are more likely to use you again in the future–and sooner–as long as you continue to advertise, since they are already loyal to you. [This is only true if you served them well.]

Your advertising maintains the awareness that you are out there and consistently available .

In other words, that you are here to stay.

Furthermore, advertising allows you to promote new services or suggest ideas, like a new development in a new area or a resort condos you caught wind of.

These are things your clients will never know unless you tell them. Thus you advertise.

Finally, what advertising does for you is allow you to win over those clients who are not loyal to anyone agent.

Perhaps they’d like to use their last agent, he did such a swell job, but their agent has fallen off the map and they can’t find his business card or phone listing…because he’s preserving his money.

See how that will drain your resources?

So many people back off of advertising in a recession that it really isn’t a surprise that those who maintain their advertising grow market share. The economy abhors a vacuum and those who fill it are rewarded, right?

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How to Tell If Someone Is Lying

Last week I shared with you a curious secret about getting people to believe you. That ended up being a pretty good post. One week later, returning to the same theme–negotiations–I want to talk to you about the other side of the coin.

The dark side.

The Dark Art of Lying

I’m a pretty casual guy. Most of the time I think pretty well of people. I give them the benefit of the doubt. I believe them. And don’t think too many people lie.

My wife gives me trouble about this.

On three different April Fool’s Day I fell for fake cuisine: baby carrots, grilled cheese, chicken pot pie.

[Stop laughing. It’s not funny.]

Sometimes its hard for me to believe that someone is lying to me. I think mostly I think this way because when I think of lying I think of a malicious car thief or hateful dictator.

But lies can be common during negotiations, lies like “I don’t remember saying that I’d throw in range and microwave,” when in fact they do know that they did promise that but at this point they’ve changed their mind for one reason or another.

Instead of simply withdrawing the offer, they lie.

However, telling if someone is lying to you is not only useful in a real estate context. Anyone can use this knowledge in everyday situations where telling the truth from a lie can help prevent you from being a victim of fraud or scams and other deceptions, like April Fool food pranks.

The following rapid-fire list of techniques are to help you detect if someone is lying. These techniques are used often by police, and security experts.

Read up now and become a regular Holmes.

Body Language of Lies

If someone is lying to you, physical expression will be limited and stiff, with few arm and hand movements. Hand, arm and leg movement are toward his own body. The liar is trying to take up less space.

A person who is lying to you will avoid making eye contact.

He will touch his face and throat with his hands. He will touch or scratch his nose or behind his ear. He will not likely touch his chest where his heart is with an open hand.

But he will not look at you.

Emotional Gestures & Contradiction

Timing and duration of emotional gestures and emotions are off a normal pace. The display of emotion is delayed, stays longer than it would naturally, then stops suddenly.

Timing is also off between emotions and gestures, between expressions and words. For example: Someone says “I love it!” when receiving a gift, and then smiles after making that statement, rather then at the same time the statement is made.

A liar’s gestures and expressions don’t match the verbal statement, such as frowning when saying “I love you.”

[Ugh, that one hurts.]

When someone is faking emotions (like happy, surprised, sad, awe) instead of moving the whole face a liar’s expressions are limited to mouth movements. For example, when someone smiles naturally their whole face is involved: jaw/cheek movement, eyes and forehead push down.

Interactions and Reactions

A guilty person gets defensive. An innocent person will often go on the offensive.

A liar is uncomfortable facing his questioner or accuser and may turn his head or body away.

A liar might unconsciously place objects (book, coffee cup, etc.) between themselves and you. He’s creating that barrier. Kind of like when he tries to consume less space.

Verbal Context and Content

A liar will use your words to answer you question. When asked, “Did you eat the last cookie?” The liar answers, “No, I did not eat the last cookie.”

Liars sometimes avoid “lying” by not making direct statements. They imply answers instead of denying something directly.

The guilty person may speak more than natural, adding unnecessary details to convince you…they are not comfortable with silence or pauses in the conversation.

A liar may leave out pronouns and speak in a monotonous tone. When a truthful statement is made the pronoun is emphasized as much or more than the rest of the words in a statement.

Words may be garbled and spoken softly, and syntax and grammar may be off. In other
words, his sentences will likely be muddled rather than emphasized.

Other Signs of a Lie

If you believe someone is lying, here’s how you can test him: change the subject of the conversation quickly. A liar follows along willingly and becomes more relaxed. The guilty wants the subject changed.

On the other hand, an innocent person may be confused by the sudden change in topics and will want to get back to the previous subject.

Also, liars tend to use humor or sarcasm to avoid a subject. Ever heard the bad joke in the middle of a pretty serious discussion?

Warning

Obviously, just because someone exhibits one or more of these signs does not make them a liar. The above behaviors should be compared to a persons normal behavior whenever possible.

Got any other lie detecting tricks up your sleeve? Share and share a like.

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The Top 10 Miracles of Real Estate Research

Real estate agents who ignore research are quite dangerous. They are about as dangerous as real estate agents who neglect business plan, who neglect marketing strategy.

Drunkards Leaning on a Lamppost

Sometimes this ignorance is born, well, from ignorance. They don’t realize that there are methods they can use to see which size postcard pulls in more responses, which email subject line rocket-launches open rates.

Some ignore research because they are afraid of it. It’s something new to them and so they ignore it. They excuse themselves from their responsibility by saying, “I’m not exactly sure how I’d go about finding out how home buyers think.”

What they don’t realize is how easy it is: grab a piece of paper, a pencil and the phone. Dial. “Hello, what are you looking for in a real estate agent?” That’s the easiest way to go about it.

Others ignore it because of “research pitfalls,” like Liars: If you interview someone, they won’t always tell you the truth. [Of course, there are ways around this: one enterprising St. Louis pub used a private room and served patrons a free beer if they answered a questionnaire.]

Then there are those who abuse research. They use research as a drunkard uses a lamppost–not for illumination but for support. They use research to prove that they are right.

10 Miracles of Real Estate Research

On the whole, however, research can be of incalculable help in producing more effective advertising.

Here are the top 10 miracles real estate research can perform for you:

1. Research can help you decided the perfect positioning statement for you.

2. Research can help you define your target audience. Seniors or Gen Xers. FSBO or foreclosure. Education. Lifestyle. Habits.

3. Research can help you determine what’s the most important point in a purchase for a home buyer or what sellers want to hear from you during a listing presentation.

4. Research can warn you when buyers and sellers needs change, when trends in buying or selling occur, when a competitor may be taking market share. It can help you find these things out before it’s too late.

5. Research can help you keep track of a competitor, whether he’s cutting his commission to get listings or simply warming up to every home builder in the area–a thought that hadn’t occurred to you.

6. Research can determine the most persuasive promise. Samuel Johnson said, “Promise, large promise is the soul of an advertisement.”

When he auctioned off the contents of the Anchor Brewery Johnson made the following promise: “We are not here to sell boilers and vats, but the potential of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice.”

Advertising that does not promise a benefit to the reader does not sell, yet the majority of ads out there contain no promise whatsoever. [That is the most important sentence in this post. Read it again.]

7. Research can tell you which headline will work the best. Dig this: Write two ads, with two different promises in the headlines. Insert a call to action. Run the test so the ads rotate. And bingo. You have a winner. This technique is called “split run” and was invented by Richard Stanton. Its merit is that it tests promises in the context of a real advertisement versus an interview.

8. Research can tell you not only are you sending the right message, but any message at all. Remember E. B. White’s warning, “When you say something, make sure you have said it. The chances of you having said it are only fair.”

9. Research can measure the wear out of your advertisement. For five years the theme of Shell’s commercials were mileage, and tracking studies recorded increasingly favorable attitudes to this promise. When attitudes stopped improving, and only then, the ads were changed to consumer testimonial, and the upward trend resumed.

And finally.

10. Research can settle arguments. If your broker is dead set against trying out new technology or an unconventional marketing strategy, tell him this: “Let’s just test it for 30 days. If it works, we keep it. If it doesn’t, we’ll ditch it.” If 30 days is too long, offer 21 days. And so on. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

For an in-depth study of research I recommend Charles Young’s, The Advertising Research Handbook, Ideas in Flight.

Skim the chapters and skip the case studies and you’ll be done in an afternoon, yet armed and dangerous. Dangerous in a good way this time.

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Why So Many Agents Fall Down Before the God of Commission Cutting

Do you know the value you bring to a real estate transaction? Could you easily justify your 6% commission to a skeptical buyer?

Often, real estate agents don’t know the value they bring to a transaction. They underestimate their worth. They dread the “C” word. They worry someone will figure them out.

So, when commission is mentioned, they throw themselves at a buyer’s feet and say, “How much?”

Over dramatized, I agree, but close to the truth. Especially in this wonderful mortgage meltdown we seem to be having.

Knowing the value of what you bring to the table is essential if you want to overcome any objection to a 6% commission.

With that in mind here are five simple reasons to justify your commission:

1. Without a professional, sellers may not sell as quickly. This is critical if they have a deadline or contingency clause on another house.

2. You are an objective, seasoned negotiator. You bring an emotional, clear-headed stability to the table. You are able to see the whole picture and you might pick up on advantages amateur negotiators would miss.

3. You know competent home inspectors, architects, contractors. You’ve been dealing with these people for years and know their work well.

4. You will list their home on the MLS–a privilege granted only to real estate professionals. And the MLS means nationwide exposure.

5. You will advertise and promote a seller’s home on the internet in newspapers, magazine ads, brochures, the MLS and on your own web site. To do this themselves would be costly.

Listen, the point is to distinguish yourself as an expert in the art of buying and selling a home. Educate yourself. Designate yourself.

Lawyers command enormous fees for a reason: they are experts. Surgeons are the same way. It’s not enough to say that you passed your state exam.

You have to define some skill you bring to the table that any hack on the street couldn’t bring. And once you define this for yourself, learn how to articulate it with pose and clarity.

Finally, have the courage to walk away from any deal, especially if someone insists you cut your commission. This attitude alone will make you a powerhouse, profit-making real estate professional.

Then, believe in yourself. Wholeheartedly.

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Competing with Proctor & Gamble

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?Of course, as a real estate agent, you don’t need to fear Proctor & Gamble. You aren’t competing with them.

However, it is a good practice to every once in awhile look in a completely different industry and study successful companies, to see how they do things, why they have been successful for so long.

Proctor & Gamble is a great example. Especially when it comes to marketing and advertising consumer goods. Knowing a handful of people who have worked there, I’m able to offer you this advice.

Discipline: Create and Work the Plan

First, P&G is disciplined. Their guiding philosophy is to plan thoroughly, minimize risk and stick to proven principles.

Back in August I wrote about business and real estate marketing plans. I encouraged you to take the time to create both plans if you already haven’t. This helps you in the long run, allowing you to make more informed decisions faster.

And once that plan is finished, work and never deviate from it. Remain disciplined.

Prognosticate

Second, they use market research to identify consumer needs. They are forever trying to see what lies around the corner. They are forever studying the consumer and trying to identify new trends in tastes, needs, environment and living habits.

They are trying to predict the future.

More importantly, they have a way of creating products which are superior to their competitors. And with blind in-home tests, they make sure the superiority is apparent to the consumer.

The key to their successful marketing superior product performance…if the consumer does not perceive any real benefits in the brand, then no amount of ingenious advertising and selling can save it.

Your takeaway: make sure you communicate to your market why you are superior to every other real estate agent in the market. Avoid egotistical claims. Make it a real benefit for the home buyer or seller.

Present the Promise Clearly

Proctor & Gamble believes that the first duty of advertising is to communicate effectively, not to be original or entertaining.

Proctor & Gambles commercials deliver the promise verbally, and reinforce it. And in every commercial they typically end with a repetition of the promise. And in their commercials they tend to use a lot of words, sometimes more than a hundred in a 30-second commercial.

Communicating effectively goes back to delivering a promise to the home buyer or seller. If you are a new agent, it may take you some time to find out what you are really good at and what you can give the market that your competitors can’t.It will be hard work. But take the time. It will pay dividends because 90% your competitors won’t take the time. And they can drop out as you take their business.

In addition, they measure communication at three stages: before the copy is written, after the advertisements are run and in test markets.

You should do the same: knock on doors, call people, attend PTA meetings or volunteer for a local organization. Anything to get the inside scoop on a particular street, neighborhood or county.

Then sit down and knock out your ads.

Once you’ve launched the ads, measure their success. Keep a log of all of this information. For the next ad launch, tweak the copy or test a different photograph or market based on your results. They idea is to optimize the real winners.

And don’t forget A/B split tests. Their is even A/B split testing software available.

The Sacred “B” Word

Very often Proctor & Gamble will show the users of their products deriving some emotional benefit. That’s benefit with a capital B.
In your copy you should do the same. Make sure you are communicating clearly the benefit a home buyer or seller should get when they use you.

Try to fashion your headlines to contain one or more of these four key points:

• The most important is it must be written with the self-interest of your reader in mind

• Try to make the headline appear to be something news-worthy.

• Provide some timely news

• Make it appear that you have a quick and easy solution to their problem

• Avoid headlines that only provoke curiosity…combine curiosity

• with self-interest, news and a quick and easy solution and you’re
  virtually guaranteed a winner

Using these tips will allow you to communicate a benefit to your reader.

Wall Street Journal Had It Right, Too

Once P&G have evolved a campaign that works, they keep running it for a long time, in many cases for ten years or more. But they continue to test new executions of the ongoing strategy.

Resist the temptation to change a winner because YOU are getting bored with it. You the results from your tests to determine when a winner has finally become a loser.

Wall Street Journal ran this ad for over 27 years.

Here’s how it starts:

Dear Reader:

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both – as young college graduates are – were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.

Recently, these two men returned to college for their 25th reunion.

As long as it was working, they wouldn’t dream of pulling it. And you should keep the same discipline when it comes to your winners.

What to Do With Your Budget

Once Proctor & Gamble established the advertising budget, they continually test higher levels of expenditure.

This means that you increase your expense on an ad [whether you increase frequency, exposure or length] to see if you can optimize the results. You might find that paying an additional $100 a month brings in an additional 50 leads.

Flight Ads Only If It Works for You

Finally, almost all P&G brands are advertised through the year.

They have found that this works better than “flighting”–running an ad for six weeks on, six weeks off. It also provides considerable cost savings from bulk buys.

My advice for you: test to see if this works for you. We’ve tested it ourselves and we actually found the opposite to be true, that flighting allows the ad to refresh and pull better next time around.

One thing worth repeating: test everything. If you do that, you’ll learn, grow, dominate and succeed.

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Real Estate Gets the Shaft

I found this article on Inman News Blog very interesting:

The housing market drops, the number of consumer complaints against real estate professionals rises.

It seems like a logical premise: when people are making money on housing then all is well, but when home prices decline and people lose equity — or worse, lose their homes — then there’s a problem. Lots of problems, actually.

Read Falling markets, rising complaints.

Does it seem fair to you? Do you think consumers give agents and real estate industry the shaft when times are tough?

I believe this is really just part of a nation of people who refuse to take responsibility. Every one wants to point the finger. Everyone wants a bail out. Our legal system makes it to easy to fall into such a trap.

Do you have a horror story like this to share?

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Do You Understand the Importance of Outbound Links?

[Editor’s note: In the scheme of our flagship content, anytime we talk about SEO, blogging or social media we are talking about marketing and prospecting.]

In terms of SEO you may know there is a lot of emphasis placed on the importance of inbound links.

But do you understand the importance of outbound links from your website or blog to other sites?

SEO

One of the common pieces of advice that SEO types give is that relevant outbound links to quality sites can actually help your own performance in the search engines.

I’m no SEO expert but all I can really say on this is that some SEOs that I know and respect argue good cases for this. That is something that I’ve always done with this blog. I don’t know how much of an impact that it has had on this site…but it does tend to do well in search engines.

My suspicion is that search engines have hundreds of factors that they rank a site by and that outbound links is probably one of them – although not one of the ones that they give most weight to (read: it’s not as important as your title tags or the inbound links pointing at your blog).

The only guidelines that I’d recommend in outbound links from a purely SEO perspective (and there are others to consider below) are:

1. Not too many links (apparently too many outbound links can be frowned upon by SE’s)

2. Keep them relevant (link to other sites/pages that are on a similar topic to you)

3. Use appropriate keywords as anchor text (the words you use as the link can help both you and the site you’re linking to with SEs)

4. High ranking sites (some SEOs argue that if you link to highly ranking sites for the keywords that you’re after that it will have more impact).

Of course these tips are purely speaking from an SEO perspective.

My own approach with SEO is to know the principles but not let them dominate my blogging. As a result, the only two principles from these four that I do regularly are 2 and 3 because I can do them without impacting the ultimate goals for my blog.

The SEO benefits of outbound links are something I believe in but they are also something I don’t get to worked up about.

Reader Satisfaction

The impact that links have upon readers is more important to me than SEO.

I link to a lot of other sites. The main reason that I link out so much is purely that I want to give my readership as much quality information on my topic as I can.

If I see something that someone’s written on my topic that says something useful then the chances are that I’ll link to it.

Some argue that linking out to other sites isn’t worth doing because you drive people away from your blog. My theory is that if I send them to useful content often enough that they’ll keep coming back for more. And don’t forget about the Bikini Concept.

And also, keep in mind also that too many links can actually decrease reader satisfaction…if they are not relevant or useful links.

Other Reasons to Link

There are other reasons that it can be useful to link out from your blog including these two:

• Building relationships with other bloggers. Linking out and sending traffic to other sites is one way to get on the radar of their owner

• Perceived expertise. Showing your readers that you have your finger on the pulse of a niche by showing what other sites are doing can increase their perception of you as someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Let me here from you: do you have any other reasons why you’d link out from your blog?

If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.

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Kick the Procrastination Habit Once and For All

Why We Procrastinate

Whether it has to do with prospecting, spending money or simply introducing your self to someone at a party, the reasons why you procrastinate boil down to the few:

1. Fear of failing
2. Feeling overwhelmed with a situation.
3. Given up hope that a situation can be changed or affected.
4. Too “Busy” to get the really important things done.
5. Can’t make a decision.
6. Overworked, tired.
7. Want to avoid work you don’t like.

Each of these can be reduced down to the pleasure + pain principle: we do things to gain pleasure and to avoid pain.

Method to Overcome Procrastination

1. Get clear about what you want in life. Take a half-day to write down all your goals in some or all of these categories: career, education, relationships, financial, physical, mindset, creative, spiritual, public service, travel, leisure, and other. Once you have your list, then whittle it down to your top 10, then down to your top 5, and then your top 3. Do this by asking yourself, “Can I live without this?” Let your less important goals lie dormant on a “maybe” list that you can check on again in a few month.

2. Delete or delegate from your To-Do List those things that don’t relate to your top 3-5 goals.

3. Tie tasks you don’t like to your goals. It helps to mentally (and in writing) tie these tasks to one of your main goals or values. For example, “Picking up the phone and calling prospects allow me to have have business constantly churning in the pipeline, which is something I highly value. By having prospects constantly in the pipeline I will be better able to work on my goals and have less anxiety.” By linking the task to the pleasure of being able to think clearly, you now have a reason that will motivate me to take action.

4. Plan your day every morning. This is not a big task. It should only take about 10-15 minutes of quiet time. Refer back to your master list. Do the most difficult and most important things first and work your way down to the easier stuff in the afternoon. You’ll feel really good if you do this. Focus on that to motivate you to wait to check email and such until after you’ve finished your first big task.

5. Plan by weeks, not days. Start every Sunday and fill in your calendar with all the big things that you’d like to accomplish for the week. Sometimes procrastination happens simply because a task is not scheduled.

6. Cheat and nap. Don’t be so hard on yourself about the timing of a task. And take short breaks, always. If you do, then you won’t try to escape through procrastination so hard in the future. Just reschedule and get back on track later or tomorrow.

7. Just do it.

8. Break down big tasks into smaller assignments. The novelist Anne Lamont said as a little girl she remembered her brother becoming frantic over a huge project he had due in three days. The project was to document and briefly describe dozens of birds in his local neighborhood. To keep his son calm and on track, her father often said, “Son, just do it bird by bird.” Take a few moments to think about how to break down a larger task and schedule it into your calendar in pieces. This is good for when you are feeling overwhelmed.

9. Get help making decisions. I like to use the pro/con method. I also recommend getting help from a friend that you know is good with making decisions. Once you’ve made your decision then break it down into tasks and schedule into your calendar.

10. Believe in yourself. If you’ve lost hope, know that you can turn things around. Release the fear of failure. Failure is just a learning experience. Slow and steady wins the race. A little bit done every day adds up to a lot over a year. If you have to, just fake your belief until it becomes real. Remember, you can do it!

In a nutshell:

• Know your most important goals and values.
• Only do tasks that contribute to those goals and values.
• Mentally link tasks to the pleasurable outcomes you seek.
• Plan your day & week.
• Do, but don’t overdo. Rest when needed.
• Break down big tasks.
• Get help making decisions.
• Believe in yourself!

What do you do to overcome procrastination?

2

Monday Mash-Up: The Business of Real Estate Blogging

There is one key to online success. And technology is not it.

5 immutable laws that will make your blog persuasive, fun and infectious. [Read: spread easily and attract a large following.]

Are you investing a lot of money into online advertising? Are you investing a ton of money in pay per click advertising? If so, here’s how real estate blogging will help you kick that expensive and unnecessary habit.

A cautionary tale about three little blogs.

The Bikini Concept: give away 90% of what people want, and they will give you money for the remaining 10%. In blogging on real estate, this means property values, hot markets, ways to find deals, how to work without a Realtor, where to look and when not to buy.

Linking out is a great strategy for creating traffic and an audience. Here’s how to optimize a strategy for relationship linking. That is, always extend the conversation.

And definitely don’t be this kind of blogger. You probably don’t have the pull of an Andrew Sullivan to pull this off.

Mini-hit list of must read RSS Marketing posts:

Going viral to build defensible traffic

10 point quiz: Is your site defensible?

How to build a Digg culture out of your blog

And four simple steps to more blog subscribers

If you haven’t already, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.