Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Group Coaching Clears a Path To Success

During the first day of Mega Agent, Keller Williams associates gathered in groups to participate in informative Lunch and Learns centered around various KW MAPS Group Coaching courses.
“Everybody comes together and shares,” KW MAPS Coach Monica Reynolds said. “The group setting really encourages assistants to build self-esteem and take leadership.”
KW MAPS Coaching offers group courses that amplify earnings by transforming outlooks through module based learning. Growth is essential to personal satisfaction and success; and, it doesn’t just happen. Success requires intention, focus and accountability. And today, it required some food too.
Reynolds led a lunch focused on hiring the perfect real estate assistant. Hiring a real estate assistant can free up your time for the work you want to be doing—selling. But, not everyone has the skills they need to select and train the perfect assistant. “If you want to be a top agent, you have to have a top assistant,” Reynolds said.
KW MAPS Coach Monica Reynolds

Keller Williams Agent Kenny KlausThe ‘farming’ discussed at another lunch and learn was not the kind that puts the food on the table. Kenny Klaus, whose team closed 335 transactions for $73.8m in volume in 2014, showed participants how farming can make them millions.
Agents who consistently farm are successful, even when market conditions shift, because they can adapt their business without changing the way they reach consumers.
When farming, a consistent brand identity and marketing presence are critical. Farming agents are a trusted member of the community and the go-to person for anything related to real estate; these agents also tend to get higher commissions than other agents.
SaritaSarita Dua shared her secrets for buyer agent success. Dua closed approximately 100 buyer sides for each of the last two years. In 2014, her total production was $68,189,958, of which $42,275,533 was buyer production.
Dua’s proven strategies include build a reputation, create a buyer system and turn happy buyers into a lead generation machine.

Nina


Last, but not least, Nina Rowan Heller got her session energized for good mental and physical health. In her course, The Energy Advantage, she focused on ways to use increased health and wellness to fuel increased business success.
“If you have more energy, you will have an advantage in your business,” Heller said. “It will change your business!”
This program is about holding you accountable, improving your mindset and making a permanent lifestyle change, so you have the energy to reach your business goals. Heller said: “You have your strategic schedule for your business. Is your health in it?”
Group Coaching provides access to concentrated courses that precisely target areas within your business that slow progress. Facilitated by proven experts in each field, group courses consist of weekly sessions teaching the methods, scripts, language patterns and mindsets that empower Millionaire Real Estate Agents and leaders across North America.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Leading Through People

On day two of Mega Leadership in Austin, Texas, Vice Chairman of the Board Mo Anderson, interviewed Smokey Garrett, regional director for the North Texas/New Mexico/Memphis Region, about the journey of his growth path from agent to a regional leader.
Mo Anderson Interviewing Smokey GarrettAnderson recognized that Garrett had a deep passion for the Associate Leadership Council (ALC) even before he joined Keller Williams. Garret, who entered the real estate industry right out of college, was with Prudential for the first four years of his career. When he realized that sometimes what is good for the broker isn’t always good for the agent, he began to search.
Immediately upon joining Keller Williams, ALC membership was a top priority and he initiated the conversation on his first day with his market center.
Some tips from Garrett’s road map include:
Agent
Get Involved. Garrett didn’t always see the value in being on committees. However, he quickly learned that by leading committees, he could practice his leadership skills, which would lead him to the next role on his journey. Garrett lead several committees, including education, finance and growth; he felt that each one taught him something new.
Protect Your Investment. When Garrett was faced with an ALC member who complained and wasn’t part of the solution, he replaced them. He said: “I am investing my time and my time in them. And, they need to do the same. It is a 50/50 effort.”
Take Advantage of Profit Share. Within Garrett’s first six months as a KW associate, he was collecting profit share distributions from eight people. By the end of his first year, he had 15. Today, Garrett has 520 people in his profit share tree. “Profit share became real to me when I earned $4,500 in one month,” Garrett said.
Team Leader (TL)
The Arlington (Texas) market center had 60 associates when Garrett became the TL. During his nearly five-year tenure, the market center grew to 300 associates.
As a TL, Garrett focused on building the market center through his people, not around them. “When you build a market center around what associates want and do well, you attract more people,” Garrett said.
While TL, Garrett implemented a policy that all ALC members had to have a members in their profit share tree. The reason behind this decision was to ensure ALC members were vested in the growth of the market center. He taught profit share classes and educated associates on how to effectively refer leads. “Just like we teach our clients to refer us new clients, we would teach associates how to refer new associates,” Garrett said. This method worked. Ninety percent of the market center leads are through their own people.
Operating Principal (OP)
When Garrett became an OP he knew his role was to paint vision and deliver the models and systems to associates. Additionally, it was important to him that he teach people the benefits of wealth building through profit share.
Regional Director (RD)
In Garrett’s current role as RD, he leverages all that he has learned from the previous positions he held. Just as he did, he coaches TLs and OPs to build their market center through their people, not around them. He even invites selected ALC members to participate in leadership meetings. “The key to being a great team leader is to make the connection between the market center’s business and the agent’s business,” Garrett said. “As the TL, you build that bridge.”
Garrett’s path to OP illustrates the limitless growth KW associates can experience. “The destination is known; It’s the journey that makes it fun,” Garrett said. “We are all on this journey together.”

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

There Is no Finish Line for Keller Williams

Keller Williams CEO Chris Heller and President John Davis got Mega Camp 2015 off to a roaring start with their high-energy State of The Company presentation.
There is no question that 2014 was a historic year for Keller Williams. And today, Heller and Davis confirmed that the first half of 2015 has set the stage for yet another record-breaking year. “You shattered records in 16 major categories we track,” Heller told associates in the audience.
Keller Williams CEO Chris Heller and President John Davis update associates on the state of the company, KW Worldwide, KW technology and culture
So how are we doing in the first half of 2015?
  •  In the first three months of the year, KW associate count increased by 4,000 associates and keeps rising! Keller Williams is now home to 125,000 agents worldwide.
  •  Closed units are up 20 percent!
  •  Closed volume is up 26 percent!
  • GCI is up 23 percent. In the month of June alone – a single month! – KW associates earned $672 million dollars helping clients.
  • And it’s the same story with Owner Profit. Through the first two quarters, owner profit is up 37 percent.
  • Profit Share and Growth Share have increased for 49 consecutive months and distributions were up 48 percent – building momentum for another record year.
Keller Williams agents aren’t just shattering internal records, they are rattling the industry and leading performance lists.
On the REAL Trends/Wall Street Journal list of America’s top real estate agent teams, Keller Williams had 108 of the Top 500 teams. “No other real estate franchise had as many teams,” Davis said. But, there is more!
On this year’s REAL Trends 500 – which is a list of the top brokerages in the United States – Keller Williams was represented by 143 offices by transactions and 140 offices by volume.
What is the secret to their success? Heller said: “Our answer is always the same. We’re following models and systems. We’re getting into business with the best people. We’re taking advantage of the best training in the world. And, we’re using tools to leverage our time and talents.”

KW Worldwide
Bill Soteroff was announced as the president of KW Worldwide and the three newest Worldwide regions and countries are: KW Belize, KW Colombia and KW Greater Shanghai.
KW Culture
A report on the state of the company wouldn’t be complete without an update on Keller Williams culture.
  • To date, KW Cares has awarded 2,500 grants totaling more than $20 million. “The Keller Williams culture is all about helping those in need. Our local market centers maintain emergency funds to take care of associates experiencing hardships,” Davis said.
  • KW Wellness is going global this year with Run 4 the Water. Ask your wellness ambassador for more details.
  • The Family Fund, which was formed to help KW Greater Des Moines, will remain active even though the matter in Iowa, which sparked the creation of the fund, has been resolved. “We’re keeping the fund open so we can be ready the next time a market center runs up against challenging competitive practices. At Keller Williams, we take care of family,” Heller said.

KW MAPS Coaching
KW MAPS coaching continues to help the growth and success of leadership, agents and more.
Year over year, market centers where the Team Leader is in Mastery Coaching profit is up 80 percent.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Market Aha Q2 2015- Mortgage Rates: Opportunity Knocks

According to Freddie Mac, the national average for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose from 3.98 percent to 4.05 percent in July. Although there was a slight increase, rates remain at historic lows.  While there is no crystal ball to tell when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, experts believe it is inevitable.
Mortgage rates are affected by Federal Reserve policy, bond and Treasury investments, mortgage-backed securities, the housing market and the current U.S. economic climate. For a look at these factors in more detail, review our earlier Market Aha post on mortgage rates.
The aha – There is Opportunity in Every Market!
Mortgage rates- one hand holding bag of money another hand holding a home
Mortgage rates change daily, so understanding trends is just as important as knowing the current rates. With rates remaining low, it is expected that more people will apply for a mortgage loan over the short term. Low mortgage rates combined with an increase in first-time home buyersseems to be setting the stage for a very productive summer selling season.
Additionally, with mortgage rates remaining low, many home buyers are able to afford to purchase homes in a slightly higher price point.
While a lot of what agents experience with buyers and sellers is dependent upon the market of the moment, advances in technology and the subsequent availability of information to consumers has led to new challenges for agents. Here are three opportunities with buyers.
Calculating Mortgages
When working with clients to determine affordability of a home they want to purchase, it is a good idea to discuss other factors that contribute to a buyers total monthly payments, such as insurance and taxes.  Your KW Mobile App has a built-in mortgage calculator that can help you help your client. Your clients simply enter the sale price, down payment percentage, mortgage length and interest rate. The result will be an estimated monthly payment. Keep in mind this does not take into account insurance and taxes. Although this calculator gives a good starting estimate, clients should speak to their lender for a complete monthly payment.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Market Aha Q2 2015- Home Sales: Get Ready For Millennial Buyers


The second quarter of 2015 saw a healthy increase in home sales with three of the strongest months since the recovery. Home sales in May hit their strongest pace since November 2009;  this trend also continued in June 2015, as sales hit their strongest pace since February 2007.
Home sales increased 3.2 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million.
The market performance in the second quarter of 2015 shows the promise of a healthy market that is recovering at a comfortable steady pace. One of the contributing factors to the rise in home sales is the increase of first-time home buyers who remained mostly inactive during the recovery.
First-Time Home Buyers are Starting to Move In
Historically, first-time home buyers make up 40 percent of buyers. They were at 32 percent in May, up from 27 percent at the same time last year.
First-time home buyers are important in the housing market because they fuel additional demand allowing existing home owners to “trade-up.”
With the rental market tightening and mortgage rates still low, many first-time buyers see now as good time to buy. And they are correct.
New research by TD Bank indicated that nearly one-in-five potential first-time home buyers are actively looking to buy their first home.
The study also found that when it comes to home amenities, first-time buyers are most interested in having a backyard or pool and an attractive design as well as energy efficient / smart homes technologies.
Market Aha
With the expected increase in first-time home buyers in 2015, here are some helpful tips for working with millennial home buyers.
  • First-time home buyers may have more questions. Be prepared with answers. Have a list of FAQs available for your clients to help education them.
  • Be purposeful in your searches. Unless your clients appreciate the financial requirements for buying a fixer-up home, most first-time home buyers are interested in move-in ready homes.
  • The average age of first-time home buyers is 31. This puts them in the millennial category. Millennials are notoriously connected to technology. Make sure to share your KW Mobile Appas their smart phone is likely to be their house hunting tool of choice.
Thirsty for more information?
Don’t miss Gary Keller’s Market Update at Mega Camp 2015 in Austin, Texas. Gary will deliver the much anticipated review of U.S. and Canadian housing trends as well as a discussion about we can anticipate for the remainder of 2015.
Stay tuned on the KW Blog for more Q2 2015 Market Aha’s. We will publish new posts concerning home prices/affordability, unemployment, housing starts and GDP. Subscribe to the KW Blog and never miss an important post.