Brian Buffini’s 100 Days to Greatness Class and Turning Point Retreat 2007

Posted by: Lisa Sullivan
Posted on: Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Categories: Uncategorized

I recently completed Brian Buffini’s “100 Days to Greatness” course at my office, Century 21 Carole White Associates. I am thankful and very grateful to Carole White and her daughter Deirdre, who were our mentors and who decided this would be a great course for our careers in real estate.

We met once a week at our office for about an hour-and-a-half for 14 weeks.  At first I thought, “ oh wow, what a commitment,” but after viewing the video of Brian speaking and listening to what his belief is in the referral business, I said I have to do this!  I just started my second year in the business and I am enthusiastic and ready to learn, however I felt I learned all the laws and regulations after getting my license, but where do I go from here?  I was on my own in this big competitive world of real estate!

Brian’s course taught me how to build a referral business of people whom I know and trust.  I started my list and went from there –he encourages personal notes, follow-up phone calls and what he calls, “pop-bys.”  I love to write notes so that was easy, he supplies you with all the materials to do your mailings each month for a nominal fee. I learned not to be afraid to ask in this business for a referral and to be assertive with calling and following up with customers.  I’ve also enjoyed stopping by friends and neighbors with small gifts of appreciation.  My referral business has grown and I am still working on my leads and following up with calls and mailings each month.  I have gotten away from the traditional advertising in newspapers and the expense of traditional mailings.

I would encourage anyone to attend his retreats which were motivational and inspiring to hear him talk, he has a sense of humor and a gift in public speaking that is unforgettable!  I hope I can attend every year to keep my career and professionalism on a steady track.  If you want additional information check out the website: www.buffiniandcompany.com, and get ready to soar!!

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Preparing for that open House–Tips for Cleaning the Garage

Posted by: Maureen Hayes Rossi
Posted on: Thursday, at 6:06 am
Categories: Curb Appeal, Home Selling, Curb Appeal, Home Selling, Curb Appeal, Jamaica Plain, Home Selling, Uncategorized

“Honey, the garage needs to be straightened out for the open house next weekend!”

O.K., so what does “Honey” do now?

For folks selling their property, a scenario like this one and the question of how to prepare the whole property for showing (including the garage if you have one) is common.  Often, homeowners use their garage for additional storage so cleaning it up and preparing it for a public showing can indeed be a huge undertaking.

Let’s break it down into manageable steps.

Take out the car, lawn mowers, bikes, assorted sports equipment, gardening tools, snow implements, etc.

  1. Sweep the floor, wash the windows.  Decide on the items returning to the space. Before refilling put items into 3 piles:
    • return to garage or shed items that you will keep
    • give away/return to “real” owner
    • sell or consignment shop.

Will you be purchasing or making storage shelves or bins?

Organize items returning to the space that are similar, sports together, tools on another wall, etc.  If you are moving this is the opportunity to box and label. 

Well done!

Now, step back and decide if the exterior needs attention.  Do the gutters need to be cleaned and have leaves removed? The doors working properly, hinges oiled, does the outside need a paint job or touch up?  Provided you have followed these steps, you have now taken care of a very valuable asset to your property–and are ready to showcase it to he world….

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First Impressions Matter When Selling Your Home

Posted by: Maureen Hayes Rossi
Posted on: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 at 9:01 am
Categories: Uncategorized

Everyone loves to drive up to an attractive entrance. This can set the tone for a potential buyer’s first impression–the time when you really want to “Wow” them.  Here are some suggestions for creating “curb appeal” for both the urban and suburban dwellings.

Make sure the sidewalk and parking areas are free of any litter. If there is grass or shrubs they should be trimmed or shaped in a uniform manner.

When walking up to the entrance, is there an area that can be beautified with a planting container or small sculpture? If it is all “hardscape” (hard scape is considered to be items such as asphalt, concrete, granite, marble and brick) just think of placing even a small table or shelf in the area to put a  plant or sculpture on, even use it as a place to put down items you may be carrying. There are some classic items such as a crisp flying flag that might help improve your home’s curb appeal.

Have the doorway and threshold as well as knocker or doorbell been painted, polished or washed? These are your first impressions being created whether it is an urban studio condo or suburban 3 bedroom home.

Always ask yourself what are your guests may be thinking?

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Welcome to Rehubbub.com. The Beginning…

Posted by: admin
Posted on: Tuesday, at 7:53 am
Categories: Uncategorized

In his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Dr. Stephen Covey discusses the importance of being open to and aware of the occurrence of paradigm shifts as fundamental to the creation of successful habits.  He further describes these mental shifts in perception simply by asserting that when new information comes in that was not available before, it may cause you to see things differently–often quite suddenly.  This is the power of a paradigm shift.

Recently, I’ve experienced a profound paradigm shift relating to my career as a real estate professional, and it has most definitely triggered a change–really a transformation–in the way I see things.  This shift in perception, brought about by the introduction of new information that was not available before, is, in fact, the driving force behind this blog. 

O.k., so what is this “big shift” you may ask.  What event took place that was so impactful that it changed the way I think about my business?  How has my thinking changed and what effect is that going to have on the way I practice real estate?  What the hell am I talking about?

These are all fair questions that I will attempt to answer here:

First, the Internet has grown up and is beginning to deliver on its’ promise of changing the very structure of how we communicate with one another, and recently these dramatic changes are occurring at an accelerated rate.  Dubbed Web 2.0, this is not your father’s Oldsmobile–err Internet.  The Internet, as a system of systems, has recently gone through an extraordinary metamorphosis–and it is effecting change in all areas of commerce and communication in a massive way. 

Fundamentally speaking, the real power behind Web 2.0 is that it puts the end-user squarely in charge and creates a much purer form a democracy than previously existed where every person has the opportunity to be heard on a dizzying array of platforms.  What this means is the “old top-down model” of business is itself on its way out.  The print newspaper business is a perfect example of this.  For more than 100 years, the executives and editors of the local news publication decided for us what was important news for us to know and what wasn’t.  They were the gatekeepers of information who controlled the flow and distribution of content.  Now, with Web 2.0, we are seeing the rise of an army “citizen journalists“–also known as bloggers–who are taking ownership of the news gathering and decision-making process and, in that process, disintermediating the traditional approach to news gathering and dissemination.

So, what’s this have to do with the practice of helping people buy and sell real estate? 

EVERYTHING!

Changes the way we market ourselves….

Changes the way we market our inventory….

Changes the way we communicate with our clients and customers and other real estate professionals…

Changes the way we interact with vendors…

Changes the way we manage the transaction…

Changes our business model… 

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