RawlsGroup.org

I recently attended a workshop for the Master Faculty of Keller Williams. One of the highlights of the session was a presentation by an Improvisational Comedian who shared many important insights into the world of communication, and something – in particular – had a massive impact on me and the way I view our team. It was the phrase, “I got your back” that was so meaningful to me.

While “I got your back” isn’t necessarily proper from a grammatical point of view, its meaning is entirely “proper.” You see, as the comedian explained it, saying “I got your back” is a ritual phrase that’s spoken amongst improvisational comedians immediately before taking the stage for a show. It’s improv’s version of “Break a leg.”

The reason these comedians say “I got your back” is because you can’t do improv alone, and it’s a signal that reminds each performer that they have no excuse but to test the limits of their talent and skill by being daring and taking risks because their partners will not allow them to fail or fall or falter. In other words, “I got your back” means, “I am a safety net for you that will be here to protect you, so don’t be afraid to give it all you’ve got.”

When I heard the reasoning behind this awesome little phrase, I was captivated by what it could mean to our business, our community, our culture. My vision for what we mean to each other became ever clearer and my hopes became higher.

What if you slaughtered every fear you had with action taken in spite of that fear? Action taken due to the confidence that being surrounded by a team of people who care enough about you to never let you fall could provide. What if? What if you knew you could not fail or fall or falter because your team won’t let you? Even better, what if YOU were the one to say “I got your back,” and you were the one who was committing to saving your team members in the event of mistakes. Which has more meaning to you? Being saved by someone who has your back, or saving someone else by having theirs? In the truest definition of a team – or partnership – both are equally important.

Whether you are a member of The Rawls Group of Keller Williams market centers in Atlanta or a member of the Greater Than Ever New York Region, know that “I got your back.” And accept the responsibility of being a part of this amazing community of people by saying to everyone in our company, “I got your back,” too.

I am convinced that in addition to behaving nice and professionally, we can help all of us to behave boldly, daringly and extremely by offering one another the assurance of the phrase, “I got your back.”

What if you said that 100 times a day? What if 100 people said it to you? What could you do? What could you enable others to do? More importantly, what couldn’t you do? Nothing! There’s nothing you can’t do when you know you can’t fail. Nothing.

So…POOF! You have nothing to fear. There’s nothing you can’t accomplish – nothing! You can achieve anything. You can have anything. You can start anything. You can finish anything. You can do ALL the right things without fear because there’s nothing to fear.

There’s nothing to fear because you’re here.

So, go ahead… Aim high, Act bold and Live large. I got your back. Got it?

Your #1 Fan…

SHAUN

Superstars…

Well, it’s August, and we’re almost halfway through the third quarter of 2009. Having completed all of our presentations of the 2nd quarter statistics last week, Jeri and I want to make sure that you have a clear grasp and understanding of what’s happening in the market and what it means for our buyers and sellers.

The Atlanta real estate market is in a very interesting place. “Things” are generally improving, numerically. Although there’s no guarantee that they will continue to do so, these improvements should be a real wake-up call for buyers who continue to wait for prices to continue to decline. As we move forward, the very best deals of the economic downturn are probably going to be seen through the rear view mirror. The “fact of the market” is that inventory is decreasing, prices are rising and the good properties that come on the market at the right price are selling faster than we’ve seen in a long, long time. In fact, the statistics show that in 39 FMLS Areas in Metro Atlanta, there is less than 11 months of inventory on the market, the median sales price is $162,000 and the median Days On Market (“DOM”) for properties that sell without a price reduction is 24 days (Compared to 252 days on market for properties that have to reduce their price before they sell!). For quite some time now, buyers have had the luxury of not having to fight for, or compete for, homes for sale. Those days are gone, or at least they are fading fast. It’s almost as if there is a “Seller’s Market” for great homes at a great price while there is a “Buyer’s Market” for average to below average homes on the market.

For Sellers, it’s critical that they realize that these improvements in the market in no way give them a green light to be cocky or overly confident. There is a fine line between a good listing and a great one, and a tremendous difference in the results that are realized for each. One of the “Aha’s” that I have had for sellers is this: Seller’s that “don’t have to sell” are disadvantaged in this market. The HUD-1’s are going to the sellers that have to sell, not to the sellers who don’t. In fact, if a seller doesn’t “have to sell,” then they should know that they have an immediate and obvious handicap in the selling process. Those sellers that do have to sell can and will do whatever it takes to sell their homes, and thus have an “advantage” over most other sellers. In this market, Sellers that DO have to sell DO sell, and sellers that DON’T have to sell DON’T.

One of the most important things that I see going wrong for listings in this market is that sellers and agents are spending too much time focusing on determining what a home is worth, rather than determining the listing price that will most certainly generate offers from buyers in the market place. Appraisers determine the value of a home. Real estate professionals determine what the sticker price needs to be in order attract offers that can begin a dialogue of successful negotiations that will result in a successful closing. Price is king in this market. Remember: “The right price overcomes any objection.” If you’re not the best listing at the best price in the market, then you won’t get offers. In 20 years in this business, I’ve never shown property to a buyer who said, “Let’s make an offer on the third best house that we saw today.” Never.

The other issue that is plaguing our market is ineffective price reductions. Simply put, if you reduce the price of a home to a price that doesn’t put the home in front of a new pool of buyers, then such a reduction is typically a waste of time. We have to remember what price ranges we put into the computer when we search for homes, and when we need to make a reduction to re-position the home on the market we must introduce it to the buyers who are searching for homes in the next lowest price point.

These are interesting times. The investment that we have made, and continue to make, in the most comprehensive and relevant statistics in the real estate industry is done so that you have every opportunity to be the absolute best real estate agent a person can hire. Your ability to share information with them that virtually no one else has is a gift that we hope you make the most of. Statistics and scripts can make your career in any market because they give you the wisdom you need to tackle the toughest of clients or the toughest of markets.

I encourage you to make the time to come to the quarterly stats presentations every time Jeri and I do them. While the stats are great by themselves, hearing some of the scripts and insights that are provided in these sessions could make all of the difference to you when you present them to your clients.

Recently, Gary Keller said, “It’s not whether or not the market is getting better; it’s whether or not YOU are getting better.” All of us should take that to heart and consider it a personal challenge to meet the demands of the day and improve our businesses and our lives.

We have so many resources to help you get better. There’s never been a better time to sharpen our saws. These are, indeed, interesting times. They are interesting mostly because of how they are shaping us and what they are helping us to become as professionals.

I am so honored to be a part of Keller Williams Realty, and I’m even more honored that you are building your career here, at The Rawls Group of Keller Williams Market Centers. Together, we are focused on building our business in a learning based, productivity specific environment that insures that we provide the very best service in the real estate industry.

Win, win…or no deal.
Integrity…do the right thing.
Customers…always come first.
Creativity…ideas before results.
Communication…seek first to understand.
Commitment…in all things.
Trust…begins with honesty.
Teamwork…Together Everyone Achieves More.
Success…results through people.

That was the message that I recently saw posted in the window of a shop in New Jersey. I see quotes all the time. However, this one really captured my attention – so much so that I just stared at it, reflecting on its perfect, simplistic truth. And even after I moved on, I kept thinking of the sign in that little shop’s window, “Tough times never last. Tough people do.” To be honest, it felt a little “burning bush-ish” to me.
 
I’ve always hoped that if He ever “spoke” to me, that it would be in plain English. Otherwise, I’m afraid that I might miss a really important message from Him. So there it was, or was it? “Tough times never last. Tough people do.” Based on how much it impacted me at the time, and how much I’ve thought about it since, I’m convinced that it was a message that I was supposed to see, regardless of who was responsible for posting it in the window.
 
For years now, we’ve been talking about “being tough, hanging tough, acting tough, toughening up, getting tough” and more. However, this little quote may be the most succinct, most accurate, most summarizing and most motivating message of all. For in it, we are reminded that however tough our circumstances are, we have a longer life cycle than our circumstances do. What a freeing concept!
 
We all hear our messages at different times, in different ways and at different volumes. And for whatever reason, I heard this message loud and clear. When something strikes me particularly strong, I usually feel compelled to pass it along in hopes that I can be a conduit for others to be just as enlightened.
 
If, at times, you don’t feel “tough enough,” then you haven’t the right perspective. Just remember, it’s always a battle of “You versus It.” Whatever “it” is, you are bigger. You can outsmart It and You can outlast It.
 
Tough people outlast tough times. Believe this. The window never lies.
 
Your toughest fan…
 
SHAUN