“Which do you think will help you be most successful? Strengths or Mistakes?” asked best-selling author and Mega Leadership Keynote Speaker, Marcus Buckingham.

With everyone in the audience holding a copy of his new book Standout, Buckingham explained that we spend more time fixing ours and others weaknesses than we do building strengths. Which is exactly why he wrote Standout, and created an assessment, similar to Strengths Finder, to help leaders find the personal edge that will help them win at work.

“The series of questions and the results that follow will help you identify where you’ll have an unfair advantage. The focus this time is on performance. We’re helping you ask and answer the question ‘How Do I Win?’”

Buckingham then described the nine leadership categories that people typically fall into, noting that, “you probably all have a lot of these, yet there are two that characterize your leadership style more strongly than the others.”

1. Adviser: This person asks “What is the best thing to do?” They are energized by other people’s problems and often feel excited and empowered by having an answer.

2. Connector: This person asks “Who/What can I connect?” They see the best in people and find others to connect them with to make everyone better. Continue reading ‘Standout through your strengths’

KW CEO Mark Willis delivered his state of the company address today at Mega Camp. Much has been said about who’s the No.1 brand in real estate. There are a myriad of metrics that any company can use to place themselves in the top spot, and the press releases and ad campaigns can go on forever.

The Keller Williams Realty business model that real estate is a local, service business was Willis’ focus during Mega Leadership Camp:

Emerging Technologies with Chris Smith of Inman Next and Tech Savvy Agent

It’s an all too-familiar tale. The minute you think you’ve got a hold of the latest, greatest, ground-breaking technology another one comes out! Or the minute you have your Business Page just right, Zuckerberg decides it’s time for a change. Keeping up with the Facebook’s, Twitter’s and Google’s of the world in an effort to reach more clients online often becomes all-encompassing and sometimes overwhelming. Where are my current and prospective clients?  how much time should I spend getting to know the new technologies, and what will my return on investment (ROI) be?

Thankfully Chris Smith, chief evangelist for Inman News, co-creator of Inman NEXT and author of the popular blog Tech Savvy Agent, took the stage at Mega Technology Camp to present his vision for the future of technology and its impact on the day-to-day business of real estate professionals. Here he is giving his two-cents (worth so much more!) on what’s to come and how smart agents can tap in and effectively leverage technology in their business.

By Roger Higle, KWU Course Writer, Keller Williams Realty International Support Center

If you haven’t heard the news in REO and Short Sales yet, here it is—top KW performers are sharing their success tips openly and widely. They are much more than agents now—they are business managers and teachers on a big scale. This morning, four of them—Danny Seybert, Henderson, NV, Natascha Tello, Pembroke Pines, FL, Brett Tanner, Phoenix, AZ, and Fred Weaver, Tempe, AZ—provided an outpouring of suggestions for success in their specialties. The common themes: great people, well-defined roles, excellent systems, and a heavy dose of persistent relationship-building.

Denny Seybert emphasized building a great REO business is really about forging relationships with the asset managers who have thousands of foreclosed properties to assign. He traced his success to his dogged pursuit of asset managers at conferences across the country. “I watched who the asset managers were chatting with in the hallways, and went right after those agents—to give me introductions, “ Danny said. “Successful people are willing to share,” he added. “Be a connector. In the REO business, you need to get on the asset managers’ radar, and stay there.”
He explained how networking pays off. Getting one assignment in REO, and doing a great job, not only makes you look good to your institutional client, it’s a compliment to the agent who referred you. That’s how more assignments—and more referrals to other asset managers—start flowing.

Top REO agent Natascha Tello talked proudly about how her team has systematized every aspect of an REO assignment—from the first email from the asset manager, to the hour of closing. She shared how their early basic approaches matured into a seven-level matrix of tasks, assuring everyone on the Tello Team knows exactly what to do at every step—in the processing, marketing, and selling of an REO. Today, their team works hand in hand with virtual assistants on the other side of the globe who handle some of the routine assignments, easing the workload in Florida and speeding the flow of properties to market, and to closing.

Continue reading ‘Short Sales: The honest, open truth from top industry players’