By Gino Blefari
This week my travels first found me in Northern California, preparing for the upcoming Berkshire Elite Circle Conference. This morning, I departed for Hawaii, and I’m en route to the Big Island as I write this to you now.
Another important milestone of the week happened in celebration of a longtime friend. Between conference calls and emails, I took time to honor a titan of our industry, Mike Ferry, on his birthday, which took place yesterday.
This week my travels found me first in New York City for meetings with prospective brokerages then back to Irvine at our HSF Affiliates headquarters. I’m a big fan of the idea that new eyes see old things in new ways and that’s why I am constantly listening to books. It’s also why I often re-listen to those books that have a deep and profound impact on my business, philosophy and life. Recently, I gave a second listen to Never Split the Difference, an enlightening book by former FBI lead hostage negotiator, Chris Voss.
In today’s post, I want to outline five additional pieces of wisdom he puts forth that I think you’ll find useful in your own business negotiations:
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me on Monday in Northern California, on Tuesday through Thursday at noon in Minneapolis and now, as I write this on Thursday afternoon, in New York City. But let’s get back to Monday when, ironically I was in my beach house, the Capitola home once belonging to my partner and great pal, Dwight “The Catch” Clark. It was there I received the tragic news from Dwight’s wife, Kelly, that he lost his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and had passed on.
While in Minneapolis for the HomeServices of America, Inc. CEO meeting, I was greeted with hugs from colleagues and endless condolences from those who knew of my close friendship with Dwight, including many who had met him at our Sales Conventions in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
To say Dwight inspired me almost doesn’t do the word justice. He helped me understand the kind of selfless, determined and generous human being every great leader should be. I was lucky enough to witness his incredible charity work with the Intero Foundation and the Sunshine Kids, and well before that to be a San Francisco 49ers fan in the 1980s and watch Dwight play for my favorite team.
By Dallas Eichers
Everyone seems to be looking for a magic wand to generate leads. Wave your wand once and buyers and sellers are delivered right to your office door. Of course, there’s no such thing and lead generation programs offer the next-best solution, though not all programs are effective and some are too expensive to be worthwhile. Don’t get me wrong: There are agents who are wildly successful using lead-generation programs but the majority of real estate professionals tend to throw money at systems with few results.
What’s an agent to do when looking to generate new leads and meet new people? The answer is simple: Hold open houses!
This week my travels found me in Orange County for leadership meetings and the HSF Affiliates Town Hall. As I discuss initiatives and track our 4DX WIGs with the team, I want to share some key takeaways we’re focused on to create positive, sustainable momentum that may be applied in your own businesses:
By Vanessa Patterson
There’s a big difference between what you see on TV and what it actually takes to make it as a real estate professional. Vanessa Patterson, agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty, shares the real story of real estate … the one cameras won’t show you.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in Washington, D.C. for the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo held each year in our nation’s capital to provide an opportunity for NAR members to take an active role in advancing the real estate industry, public policy and the association at large. In between meetings I also visited a local Real Living brokerage, Real Living At Home, and spoke to the dynamic team, sharing my eight principles on success and conducting a class on time management.
But tonight as you read this, I’ll be attending the RISMedia Power Broker Awards, where the first-ever Real Estate Newsmaker Awards will be bestowed to several leaders in our industry. These leaders exemplify an outstanding ability to garner positive headlines, a direct result of their effectiveness in creating change. Congratulations to our own Teresa Palacios Smith, VP of Diversity & Inclusion at HSF Affiliates, (pictured in photo above) and Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO of HomeServices of America, Inc., for receiving this prestigious honor!
Additional honorees include: National Association of REALTORS® Chief Executive Officer Bob Goldberg; Howard Hanna Real Estate Services Chief Executive Officer Helen Hanna Casey; RE/MAX Boone Realty CEO and National Association of REALTORS® 2018 President Elizabeth Mendenhall; Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty General Manager and Chief Creative Officer Joseph Rand; and HomeSmart International Founder and Chief Executive Officer Matt Widdows.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me first in Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting over the weekend, next in Northern California then to Southern California for alignment sessions and Mike Ferry’s 2018 Management Retreat at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach.
As I travel from event to event and meeting to meeting, I’m reminded about the importance of being held accountable to the goals I’ve set. It’s easy to forget your goals in the often chaotic whirlwind of the everyday. Yet, it’s during those moments when you’re at your busiest that you must hold yourself accountable the most.
