Saturday, January 28, 2017

Eliminate Fear Using These Five Tips

     "And I was afraid and I went and hid thy talent in the earth; lo. there thou hast what is thine"  Mathew 25 , 25.  Mathew 25, "The Parable of The Talents" is my favorite Bible story.  The first servant took what his lord trusted him with and doubled it in the marketplace.  The second servant did likewise.  The third servant, the villain of the story, was afraid.  He was fearful.  He did not use the money, the talent, that his lord had trusted him with.  HE WAS AFRAID.

     The first thing that you have to do to eliminate fear is to admit that you are afraid.  Admit it to yourself.  You do not have to tell anyone else.

     Ask yourself this question," Other than fear, what would prevent me from...."

     Calling that prospect
     Asking that person for a date
     Attending that first meeting

     Admit that you are afraid.  Once you admit that you are fearful, how can you get yourself to do what ever you need to do in spite of your fears?    Start.  "Do the thing you fear.  Fear will disappear"  Some famous person said that.  Can you think of a hundred things that you used to be afraid to do that evoke not one ounce of fear today?   Surely you can.   Remember swimming across the pool for the first time.   If you are afraid to call prospects, call one anyway.  Then call another.

     Practice.  Practice.  Practice.  As I was writing this article, I Googled the word fear.  A quote from Bruce Lee, the greatest martial artist ever, came up.  The quote was, "I fear not the man that has practiced 10,000 kicks.  I fear the man that has practiced one kick 10,000 times."

     If you want to eliminate fear, practice until you are  so good at what you do that you could not possibly mess it up.  You could do this with one recipe.  You could do this with one presentation.  You could do this with one skill.

     If you are a salesman, you could practice your prospecting phone call every day on 25 strangers.  It would not take long until you were goooooooood on the phone.  You would probably overcome your fear of calling strangers on the phone.
Do the thing you fear.  Fear will disappear. 

     Another favorite Bible story is David and Goliath.   When David went out to fight the giant Goliath, he did not go to fight him in hand to hand combat.  He did not go to fight Goliath with a club or a sword.  He went to fight Goliath with a weapon that he had been practicing with for many years.  David slung a rock from thirty feet away.  Do what you are good at.  You get good by practicing.

     Hang around with people that are not fearful.  Who you associate with affects your fear.  If every one else is jumping off the high diving board, it must be an OK thing to do.  Once you do it, you know it is an OK thing to do.  Maybe you would not have jumped if your comrades were afraid.

     When I was in college, we went to a sink hole in Pinellas county Florida to go scuba diving.  When we got out in the woods to this sink hole there were about twenty 12 year olds jumping out of a forty foot tree.  There were wooden steps nailed to the tree that went up to a little platform made out of two 2x4s .  These little kids were  lined up climbing up the little wooden steps and jumping into the water.  It looked scary to me.  It looked scary to my classmates.  When that little six year old girl climbed up and jumped, I knew I had to go.  When I hit the water, I went so deep I did not think I would have enough breath to get back to the surface,  I had to go again.  Do the thing you fear.  Fear will disappear.

     Remind yourself constantly that the other people you encounter are fearful also.  Why do you have to introduce yourself to that stranger at the convention?  The answers is because he is afraid to introduce himself to you.  Speak first.  It is called leadership.

     Remember the parable of the talents.  The third servant did not live up to the expectations of his boss.  Remind yourself that someone else has trusted you to do this thing.  Someone else thinks you can do it.  What do they know that you do not know?  They know that you have talent and ability and charm and wit and skill.  Recognize your own skill.  If your boss thinks you can go close that deal, he is probably right.  If your boss did not believe in you, she would not have sent you.  It cost the company $$$$$$ to send you.

     The next thing that comes your way that causes you fear, do it.  Eliminating fear will change your life. Admit your fear.  Start.  Practice. Practice. Practice.  Associate with winners.  Remember someone else trusts you.  Speak first.  www.fourseasonstoastmasters.com

     If you are considering a career change, contact Ron at First Real Estate School in Hendersonville, North Carolina www.firstrealestateschool.com .  If a fear of public speaking is holding you back in your career,  join Ron at Four Seasons Toastmasters on Wednesday morning.  Click on the above link.  for information about that. 

Sunday, January 22, 2017

The Charlotte Easy Rider Motorcycle Show 2017

     The Charlotte Easy Rider Motorcycle Show on January 21, 2017 was super cool.  There were hundreds of ultra fine bikes.  There were thousands of bikers admiring them.  There was plenty of other stuff to look at. There were antique cars.  There were vendors selling everything from T shirts to attorney services.  There were several live bands and the " Perfect Angel" dancers.  There was plenty to eat if you like arena burgers and arena nachos.
Charlotte Easy Rider Motorcycle Show

     What a wonderful place to schedule a meet with a old motorcycle friend that you don't get to see often enough.   I saw my old friend Greg Norris.  It was nice to see him and catch up.

     I had my little 1961 Harley Davidson Super 10 in the antique competition.  I had no chance of winning against that 1946 Harley Panhead that looked like a new one.

     If you like motorcycles. put the Charlotte Easy Rider Show on next years list.

    
Charlotte Easy Rider Show was worth the trip
If you have a favorite event in the Carolina, leave us a comment here with a link.















Friday, January 20, 2017

North Carolina Real Estate Exam Pass Fail Statistics for December 2016

     The North  Carolina Real Estate Commission released the pass fail statistics for December for the North Carolina real estate exam.  Five hundred and sixty eight real estate exam applicants took the North Carolina real estate exam for the first time in December.

     Three hundred forty one passed.  Two hundred seventy six will be paying $91 to take the North Carolina real estate exam again.  That is a sixty per cent pass rate.  That is dismal.

     It would seem that repeat exam applicants would do better than first time test takers.  That is not true.  Of the 1993 repeat test applicants in December, 2016, only 428 passed.  That is a twenty one per cent success rate.  At $91 per shot, that sounds like no fun at all.

     If you are soon taking the North Carolina real estate exam, please heed this advice.  STUDY. STUDY. STUDY.

     Problem number one is that test applicants underestimate the North Carolina real estate exam.  Problem number two is most test applicants set their goal to barely pass.  Set your goal to make a 100% on the North Carolina real estate exam.  Study so much that you would be willing to bet $91 that you will pass the first time.
 Ron Climer of  First Real Estate School in Hendersonville

     Read the textbook.  Read every word of it.  Answer every question in the textbook.  Look for help on the internet.  If you look, you will find my free You Tube videos to help you with the arithmetic that is on the North Carolina real estate  exam.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueNMrduMZqw

     Watch the videos.  Be sure that you can do the math. There are five videos where I am wearing the black T shirt shown above.  Be positive that you can do those problems.  Real estate math is 15% of the North Carolina real estate exam.  http://rondclimer.blogspot.com/2016/12/solving-real-estate-math-problems-for.html

     If you look for help on the internet, you will find my practice real estate exam for North Carolina. http://rondclimer.blogspot.com/2015/04/real-estate-practice-exam-for-north.html   Take this test.  Take it like a real test.  Uninterrupted.  Mark your answers.  Grade yourself.  If you are not making a 90% on this test, you are not ready for the North Carolina real estate exam.  Keep studying.

     If you are not sure what to study, the North Carolina Real Estate Commission tells you what to study in their book, "Real Estate Licensing in North Carolina" .  Here is a link so you can download it for free.  www.ncrec.gov  If you want more info about this wonderful book, here is a link to a video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZFPZGo_DJ4

     Turn off the TV .  Turn off Facebook.  Turn off the video games.  STUDY, STUDY, STUDY.  Forty per cent of the first time test takers did not study enough in December.  This is a $91 mistake.

     I have a video review online at www.northcarolinaexamreview.com   It is not free.  It is effective.

     Here is a simple study tip.  Make flash cards.  Take 3x5 cards.  Write,"What is excise tax rate?" on one side of the card.  Write, "$1 per $500 of price" on the other side.  Write,"What is T.R.I.D.?" on one side and put the answer on the other side.  Make 500 of these.  Use them all the time until you pass the North Carolina real estate exam.

     Here is another study tip.  When you go to the exam site to take your test, leave a legal pad on the front seat of the car.  When you return from the exam with a pass notice in your hand, congratulate yourself.  If you return with a failure notice, start writing notes about the questions that were on your exam.  Tax your memory.  Write down as many questions as you can remember .  You don't have to remember the entire question.  Just remember the concept.  Compute commission.  What is dual agency?  Priority of liens.  How many acres in a section?  Fill up several pages.  Do this now.  Do not tell yourself that you will do it after you finish crying.  Write while the tears are falling on the page.  This info will never be fresher in your mind.  You will see the same concepts when you come back.  When you return as a repeat test taker, you need to be in the upper 21% to pass.

     Do not underestimate the North Carolina real estate exam.

     If First Real Estate School can do anything to help you, contact us at 828 440 1064 or www.firstrealestateschool.com .  We are in Hendersonville, North Carolina.  We have videos on line to help you.  We have several articles right here on this blog.  We also teach post license classes.

     Pass the First time.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Mr. Realtor, What Is Your Marketing Strategy To Get My Overpriced House Sold???

     I went to the hair stylist yesterday.  She asked me,"What do we want to do today?".  Make me look like I am 25.", I replied.  She retorted," I am a beautician, not a magician." .

     If you are a Realtor, do you have any over priced listings that won't sell?  The property gets shown by you and other Realtors.  The potential buyers buy a competitive house that they consider a better buy.  Your client wants to know why no one is buying his house.  Your client wants to know what you are doing wrong.  Your client wants to know what your strategy is to get his house sold. Your client wants to know what is wrong with you.

     It is no wonder so many Realtors suffer from low self esteem.  My client wants to believe and wants me to believe that there is something wrong with me because I can not sell his $350,000 house for $385,000.

     Fortunately, I know it is not my fault.  It is my fault that I can not convince my seller to lower the price to what the property is worth.  I can try to be more convincing when I ask the owner to lower the price.  If I could only find that "rich dumb out of towner" that doesn't care about comparable sales in the neighborhood that forsalebyowners are always telling me is out there in the marketplace.  Alas, I can not find him.

     I have been selling real estate long enough to know that I can only do so much to convince owners that the market is talking to them.  Father Time and their wife are so much more effective than I am.

     If your house is listed with a Realtor anywhere in America and it has been listed for more than six months, it is overpriced.  You can believe that now or you can wait six more months to start believing it.

     See that picture.  How much advertising and marketing would it take to sell that item in the picture
I can not sell this or your house for more than it is worth
for $19.99 ?   It would not take much marketing to get it sold.  How much marketing and advertising and salesmanship would it take to sell that item for $20.25 ?   I submit that no amount of marketing would sell it for $20.25.

     I don't make the rules.  I understand the rules.If your house has been for sale longer than you would like, maybe the problem is simple.  It is overpriced. The solution is equally simple.  Price it right. 

     Another frustration that can be avoided by proper pricing is when some extra ordinary Realtor does find a buyer willing to pay the list price, the house has to be appraised by the appraiser from the bank.  When the bank appraiser says the contract price is fifteen thousand more than he believes the house is worth, we have two choices.  We can lower the price to the appraiser's price or we can convince the buyer to sign a form that states that he is certified stupid and is willing to pay more for the house than an expert says it is worth.  Often, Mr.  Realtor can convince the buyer to pay the the overage IF he has the cash to pay it with.  That is more often than not too big of an IF.  Mr. Buyer does not have the cash.  The bank loans based on the appraiser's value or the price whichever is lower.  

     Now, that buyer goes away and we are right back where we started.  We have an overpriced house for sale.  Should we lower the price to what the bank appraiser says it is worth?  Should we continue to market it at a price that has proven to be too high?   

www.ronclimer.com