Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Q&A with Michael Perna: Powerful Prospecting Defined


There’s prospecting, and then there’s The Perna Team. These guys have got it down to a science. They know how long to lead generate, how quickly to respond to leads, and exactly what to say. They stick to their top lead sources and refine their systems to convert leads at a higher level. The result: $81 million in closed volume for 2013.
At the helm of the operation in Northville, Mich., is Michael Perna. We caught up with Perna to discuss how he generates and closes hundreds of leads a year.
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Q: Where does your business come from?
A: Twenty percent comes from a combination of repeat clients and referrals. Twenty-five percent from farming, 25 percent Internet lead generation and then 30 percent outbound prospecting.
Q: How does your team of 15 lead generate systematically?
A: Every day we are in the office by 9 a.m. and spend two hours making outbound calls and sending emails to buyers, expired listings, FSBOs and circle prospecting. We use BoomTown for buyers and the Mojo Dialer for outbound listing prospecting.
I give a lot of credit to J. Michael Manley for designing the “21 Days of Gain.” He put together a fantastic program for staying on top of Internet leads that didn’t respond to the first call. The strategy is a mix of emails and phone calls that go out over the first 21 days after a lead comes in.
Q: What do you say in the phone calls and emails?
A: At first, we start discussing the property that the client asked about. Then we go into more general topics. Would they like a list of foreclosures? Would they like a list of general homes for sale? Would they like a best-buy list for the city they’re looking in? A lot of people go on our site looking for home values similar to theirs. Would they find a neighborhoo sold report helpful? The goal here is to elicit a response.
For past clients we follow the layout in Michael J. Maher’s book (7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals. It’s extremely well written and packed with info.
Q: How does such a large team manage the leads? How has your organizational structure been set up to support it?
A: We do lead shifts in three-hour increments. An agent is on shift for three hours, and any and all leads that come in during that three-hour period are theirs. They have to be present at the office to ensure that we have a response time under five minutes. If we can respond in under five minutes, we have a roughly 80 percent connect rate at the first phone call. If we can email them in under five minutes, then we generally get an email back within 15 minutes.
Q: What technology do you use to support their lead generation, conversion and management activities?
A: We post 20 Craigslist ads per day. We also use BoomTown to both generate and manage leads. We use Top Producer to manage the listing side of the business. The rest of our leads come from Realtor.com, Zillow and open houses.
Q: What key lead generation numbers do you track to grow your business and how do you hold your team or system accountable?
A: We are averaging a 4 percent close rate. My goal is to get that up to 7.5 percent this year. I don’t necessarily want to get more leads at this point. I just want to do better with what we have. Scripting and dialogue practice is helping to move this number in the right direction. We use the 411 for tracking. More teams should use this! It helps us stay on track and look at that big picture that we’re all working toward. It also helps to hold people accountable. I focus on the personal side of the 411, with the Big Why in front of us daily. The rest sorts itself out.
Q: What kind of training do you use?
A: Every position on my team has a 100-day action plan. Three of us have to sign off on a new buyer agent before they can receive a lead. We have to feel comfortable with the agent, and confident that they know our systems properly, that they can create urgency in buyers and have mastery over the subject matter. It’s about three hours of class a day for the first three weeks. Then they have to sit through two buyer consults, go on two different appointments showing homes, and two inperson appointments where buyers are writing offers. They also have to sit with our closing coordinator for a day and learn the contract-to-close process.
Q: What are two of the most powerful techniques you’ve used to increase the number of great leads your team gets?
A: With Craigslist, the number of leads you put out is completely scalable to how many leads I need. If I put 20 posts in a day, every single day, I’d generally generate somewhere between 80 to 100 leads per month. I can increase my yard sign count. The more listings I have, the more calls I get. Generally, if I have 25 yard signs in the ground at any point in time, I’ll average 125 buyer calls per month direct call-ins.
Finding leads is easy. The hard part is converting the leads and not letting the sand slip through your fingers. I can increase BoomTown. I can put more Craigslist ads out there, but it doesn’t do me any good unless I have a powerfully skilled buyer agent behind the wheel taking and converting those leads. Finding and hiring talent is my biggest challenge.
Q: How do you manage the marketing activities through your team members?
A: I have an in-house graphic designer. She handles the mailings, design work, etc. I hold her accountable with a weekly meeting to make sure all tasks and objectives are met and see if we can improve response rates by tweaking what we’re currently doing.
Q: How do you consistently and systematically market the seller listings for more leads?
A: We use ProQuest, an 800-number IVR. Buyers can hear a recording of the home and it texts the buyers info to our agents. Eight years later this is still one of my most profitable tactics. It runs $39.95 per month and generates about 125 leads a month. Also holding open houses is very successful for generating additional listings in the same neighborhood. Utilizing a professional photographer ensures my listings look better then 90 percent of the homes out there, causing buyers to want to see mine over others.
Q: What else should we know about teams and lead generation?
A: Profitability through accountability. You can generate all the leads in the world but until you’re working one-on-one with your agent to make sure they’re properly trained, they’re responding in the proper timeframe and they’re responding enough times to get that buyer to finally call back and at least say, “Stop calling me!” you’re just going to keep throwing the money and effort out the window.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Are You Ready for Mega Camp 2014?


The time has finally arrived where hundreds and hundreds of Keller Williams agents gather together in Austin, Texas for the annual Megacamp gathering hosted by KW MAPS Coaching. Starting September 15th, real estate professionals unite and network with the most esteemed leaders in the industry. This year’s lineup will feature interviews, motivational speakers, live role-plays and panels. 

Mega Agent Camp:
When: September 18th-19th
Gary Keller leads this Mega Agent Camp complete with speakers and panels focusing on experiencing success and creating systems and strategies that deliver results by focusing on ONE Thing. 

Mega Leadership Camp:
When: September 15th-16th
Lead by Keller Williams Realty CEO Mark Willis, President Mary Tennant, VP of Growth John Davis and CEO of KW MAPS Coaching, this event is designed for market center leaders and KW agents that are wanting to build power teams. 

Mega Technology Camp
When: September 17th
This half-day seminar is lead by Cary Sylvester and helps to provide strategies that produce amazing results. Through technology, agents can learn from the best in the business how to utilize all the proven systems to their advantage. 

Cultural Summit
When: September 17th
Keller Williams has spent the better part of last year focusing on the wellness and overall well-being of their agents. This half day seminar focuses on culture, wellness and how the quality of life cultivates a happy and fulfilling career.

Masterminds
When: September 16th & 19th
On Tuesday, September 16th, Keller Williams owners, team leader, market center administrators and productivity coaches will gather in small groups with hands on learning and collaborations. Hosted by KW MAPS Coaching for both sessions, Keller Williams agents will have the opportunity to take part in the same small group brainstorming sessions on Friday, September 19th. 

This year’s list of featured speakers include Gary Keller, Mo Anderson, Mark Willis, Mary Tennant, Chris Heller, Cary Sylvester, Dianna Kokoszka and John Davis. With such an exciting lineup of speakers and so many different options to choose from, Keller Williams associates are sure to benefit from this exciting event. 

Friday, July 25, 2014

Inman News Names Ben Kinney 2014 Innovator of the Year


At Inman Connect San Francisco, a popular conference and networking event for real estate and technology leaders, Keller Williams associate Ben Kinney of Bellingham, Wash., was named the 2014 Innovator of the Year. Ben leads the Home4Investment Real Estate Team, serves as operating principal of numerous Keller Williams market centers and has founded multiple technology start-ups. Here’s what Inman News had to say about Ben:

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“Ben Kinney not only heads one of the top producing real estate teams in the U.S., he’s the owner and operator of seven Keller Williams Realty franchises with more than 700 agents. Recently, Kinney has used the insight he’s gained in 10 years in the real estate business to found two new startups — Brivity, which blends elements of a customer relationship system, marketing platform and task manager into a ‘transparency tool’ that lets agents share tasks with clients, and Blossor, a long-tail listing search site that partners at Google Ventures think could be a ‘Zillow-killer.’”
Ben has been a frequent presenter at Keller Williams events like Mega Camp. Read more about Ben from the KW Blog archive:

Monday, July 21, 2014

Keller Williams Associates Earn Top Spots on List of Canada’s Best Real Estate Agents


Keller Williams associates made a strong showing on the inaugural REAL Trends list of Canada’s Best Real Estate Agents. The report ranks the top individual agents and teams by transaction ends and closed sales volume. To qualify, individuals had to have closed at least 100 transaction ends or $35 million in sales volume in 2013. For teams, the eligibility threshold was 150 ends or $50 million in volume.

With an incredible 261 transactions, the #1 individual agent across all of Canada was Keller Williams associate Marvin Alexander of Newmarket, Ontario. Congratulations, Marvin! And congratulations to all of the other outstanding KW associates and teams who are building extraordinary businesses and delivering exceptional client service.
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For the complete REAL Trends list of Canada’s Best Real Estate Agents, click here.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

3 tested ways to make sure your technology choices don’t disappoint

Insights from Keller Williams Realty's Cary Sylvester



With seemingly endless technology options available to us in both in our personal and professional lives, it can be difficult to make an informed, pragmatic decision about what we actually need versus what we think we want.
There’s a lot of noise, and finding the technology solutions that will deliver the most ROI for your business can be challenging.

Too many real estate agents and brokers make technology purchases they ultimately regret. They find out their colleagues are using a certain technology and decide it’s right for them, without looking at the big picture.
When you’re being inundated with product pitches, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But, impulse buying can waste a lot of time and money, and hurt your business in the long run.
You wouldn’t buy a car without visiting several dealerships, talking to a salesperson, going for a test drive and doing your own research online. And just like in our personal lives, brokers and agents need to ask the right questions before pulling out a credit card.
Why are we buying this? Do we really need this new technology? Have we looked at all the options? What are all the factors involved? Are we being objective? Do we like the company we’re choosing?
Too many real estate agents and brokers make technology purchases they ultimately regret. They find out their colleagues are using a certain technology and decide it’s right for them, without looking at the big picture.
When you’re being inundated with product pitches, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. But, impulse buying can waste a lot of time and money, and hurt your business in the long run.
You wouldn’t buy a car without visiting several dealerships, talking to a salesperson, going for a test drive and doing your own research online. And just like in our personal lives, brokers and agents need to ask the right questions before pulling out a credit card.
Why are we buying this? Do we really need this new technology? Have we looked at all the options? What are all the factors involved? Are we being objective? Do we like the company we’re choosing?
Keller Williams, with more than 100,000 agents, we don’t take companywide technology decisions lightly. We follow three steps when it comes to evaluating a potential purchase that have saved us in the past. In the instances when we’ve deviated from these steps, it’s come back to haunt us. This is how we do it.
1. Avoid the shiny object syndrome
There’s an old school way of thinking: If you’re offered a job, but weren’t searching for it, you shouldn’t take it without exploring your other options. It’s exciting and flattering, but don’t just take it because it’s been offered to you. After all, you weren’t looking before, so if you’re willing to jump ship, you owe it to yourself to make sure you’re reviewing all of your options.
The same goes for buying technology. You’re walking through a trade show and a skilled salesperson gets your attention with a new gadget. Before you know it you’re buying it, even though five minutes ago you didn’t need it for your business.
As vice president of technology, innovation and communication at Keller Williams, I get pitched a lot. There’s no hard-and-fast rule, but here’s the criteria I generally go with. Whenever I’m pitched a product, I ask myself a series of questions:
  • Who is the audience? Who will benefit from this technology? If the answer isn’t obvious, it’s probably not worth a purchase.
  • What problem is this technology trying to solve? Every new technology should be fixing a problem or making a process better. If it’s not, I don’t need it.
  • What do I have that already handles this problem and how does it compare to this new product? If my current solution is just as good, there’s no point in investing in something new.
2. Stay frosty
As Michael Corleone famously said in “The Godfather,” “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.”
Thankfully, we’re not dealing with crooked cops and the mafia (I hope!), but the idea still holds true in real estate. Let’s say you’ve followed step No. 1 and asked all of the right questions, and you actually do have a technology need. The next step is to evaluate your options objectively.
A few years back, Keller Williams was looking for an e-commerce solution. We focused our search on companies and people we had worked with in the past, rather than digging deeper to find the other potential solutions. The result? We skipped this step and ultimately made the wrong choice, costing us nine months and a lot of money. We had to scrap the whole project and start over.
You can avoid this by staying frosty. A good technique is to use a thorough spreadsheet. We have a matrix — a standardized format, with all the features we need fulfilled. You can easily make one, too, and as you look at each option, tick off the boxes it fills for you on the matrix. This will allow you to be pragmatic and analytical about your decision. The solutions that tick the most boxes move on to the final round of evaluation. It’s that simple.
Below is an example of a matrix I used to evaluate a customer relationship management (CRM) solution. You can imagine the features we looked at, but either way, it shows how simple it can make this process, not to mention how it removes biases and preconceptions that keep you from making the most informed decision.
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3. Don’t ignore chemistry
OK, so you have a technology need and now you’ve narrowed down your options. That’s when you can finally be a bit more subjective, and consider chemistry.
Chemistry can loft one company and their solution above the rest. At Keller Williams, we sign long-term contracts with our vendors, so we need to make sure we like who we’re working with.
After we’ve narrowed down our choices, I usually ask, does their company culture fit ours? If the answer is a resounding yes, we have a winner. And there’s not a single instance where we’ve gotten down to our final selection and one company hasn’t risen to the top as a better cultural fit.
Back in 2009, when we were searching for a transaction solution provider, we came across dotloop. At the time, dotloop was a small, emerging company. They easily passed through our vetting process, ticking all of the important boxes on our matrix and meeting all of our requirements as an enterprise-grade solution.
But among the top three contenders, dotloop was the company whose culture best fit with ours, and would lead to the most successful long-term relationship. That’s pretty amazing for a company their size. The fact that dotloop was far and away the best transaction solution for us combined with the great chemistry we had is what drew us to them and ultimately won them our business.
As a technical person, I always have competitive intelligence on the products I’m using, so when I’m making a decision, it’s a purposeful, thoughtful decision.
But even technologists can be lured by the shiny objects. The key is to stay true to what you need to get accomplished, leave emotions at the door, and take a look at company culture.
Following these steps will save you from falling victim to shiny object syndrome, which can waste your time and your money.
Cary Sylvester is vice president of technology innovation and communication for Keller Williams Realty International. She’ll be participating in a panel discussion  on using data and predictive analytics to find homebuyers on Wednesday, July 16, at Real Estate Connect San Francisco. Follow her on Twitter: @carysylvester.


Thursday, July 10, 2014

Build a Top Team Tour - Coming September 22nd!


Are your wins determined by how
much YOU can do?

DATE:  September 22, 2014

TIME:  9am - 4pm (8:30 checkin)

Location:  Salt Lake Board of Realtors Auditorium

230 W. Townridge Parkway
Sandy, UT


PRICE $79

REGISTRATION DEADLINE

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Walk in registration $99
After building and branding "The Bizzy Blondes" in Los Angeles, Calif., one of the most successful real estate teams in the nation, Rae Wayne was invited by Gary Keller to participate in the original mastermind group that functioned as an integral part of research phase of The Millionaire Real Estate Agent. Licensed since 1986, Rae’s passion is sharing what she’s learned throughout the years of building and growing a real estate business. A master of scripts and dialogues, Rae’s favorite topic is the art of leverage, staffing and building a team. With a fun and interactive training style, she prides herself on bringing solid, money-making substance to every class.

Tax & Legal Strategies Every Realtor Should Know in 2014!




3 Hour CE!!
 3 Hour CE!!

Coming to Salt Lake City
July 22nd!
Tax & Legal Strategies Every Realtor Should Know in 2014!
 Health Care … Self-Employment Tax … Federal Tax … State Tax
Capital Gains … Estate Tax … College Savings … Retirement Planning
and TRYING TO LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM!

Mark has the solutions!  Either give the cost of this workshop to the IRS or come and learn how to save thousands more! 
                                          – S-corp for the realtor
                                          – LLCs for rental
                                          – Paying your family members
                                          – Self-directing your retirement plan
                                          – Auto and travel strategies
                                          – Hot deductions for small business owners
                                          – Asset protection in Utah

Traning Information:

SEATING IS LIMITED SO MAKE SURE TO REGISTER TODAY!

Date:    July 22, 2014, 2014

          1:30 – 4:30 pm (1:00 pm check in)

Location:    Salt Lake Board of Realtors

                 230 W. Towne Ridge Parkway

Early Bird Registration Only $35!

Instructor:  MARK KOHLER

Deadline to Register is
July 18, 2014
Registration at the door is $55

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Keller Williams Excels on REAL Trends/Wall Street Journal “The Thousand”


Keller Williams, the largest real estate franchise in North America, has 112 associates and teams on the 2014 REAL Trends/Wall Street Journal  list of the top real estate professionals in America.
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REAL Trends, Inc., a leading source of analysis on the real estate industry, partners with the Wall Street Journal each year to compile an industry summary of the Top 1,000 real estate agents and teams in the United States. The report categorizes the Top 250 real estate professionals by transaction sides and volume, as well as team sides and volume.
Keller Williams reinforced its reputation as the place for top teams. The company is home to 33 of the Top 250 teams by sales volume and 66 of the top teams by transactions – more than any other real estate franchise. Moreover, those teams handled 22,909 transactions and more than $3.8 billion in sales – likewise, more than any other real estate franchise.
“As an education-based, technology-driven company, we’re committed to providing our associates and teams with the tools they need to secure the leads, listings and leverage to grow their businesses,” CEO Mark Willis said. “We are honored to be in business with these exceptional leaders and congratulate them and their clients on this well-deserved recognition.”
In May, REAL Trends released its annual list of the industry’s Top 500 brokerages. Keller Williams brokerages comprised 26 percent of the list – more than any other franchise. Keller Williams also increased its representation on the REAL Trends Canadian 250, with the number of offices listed by both transactions and volume increasing 18 percent year over year.
Keller Williams Realty’s strong showing on the REAL Trends reports mirrors the company’s achievements in 2013, including becoming the largest real estate franchise by agent count in North America and being named the #2 training organization across all industries by Training Magazine.
For a complete list of Keller Williams representatives on the REAL Trends/Wall Street Journal “The Thousand,” click here.

Keller Williams President Mary Tennant on the Success & Future of the Company

In her role as President, Mary defines the mission and vision for Keller Williams international support center and continues to raise the bar for the entire company in terms of profits, production, technological leadership, culture and education. Not to mention a joyful approach to work and life.

Tall orders for an average girl who grew up riding horses in the small community of Greeley, CO. But there is nothing typical about Mary. In fact, when she joined Keller Williams in 1992, she was named Rookie of the Year. Since then she has consistently redefined what's possible, while opening doors of wealth building and leadership for countless real estate professionals.

Holding tight to her go-getter reins, Mary blew the hats off her colleagues when she took the Austin Southwest market center from $90 million closed volume sales to $1.3 billion in eight years. She outpaced most by moving from COO to COO and President within one year. And, she gained industry notoriety when she was celebrated as a Leading Woman in Real Estate by the Women's Council of REALTORS®, received the Austin Business Journal's Profiles in Power Award and was named among the 100 Most Influential Leaders in Real Estate by Inman News.

Always wanting to be remembered most as someone who made things better, Mary strives to keep learning each day. Patience, for instance, is not a virtue she was gifted. However, she prides herself and Keller Williams in the care provided to their family members.
When Mary's not making things better at KW, you may find her and her husband Jack visiting her stepson Duane in the windy city, hanging with her son David and his three boys or helping her daughter Jessica renovate her next property. Mary lives in Austin, TX.


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