Gary Woltal's Blog

I am constantly amazed in Real Estate by all categories of professionals in dealing with clients or their peers, how so many need to vastly improve on effective communication. Some of us out there are INCREDIBLY BAD at it. They need a lesson in

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FRIENDLY KIND.

No nothing risque' going on between professional and client here, although that might make for juicier blog material. Just clear and concise effective communication.

An effective communicator leads the discussion, asking the appropriate questions and putting the deal together. Sure things can go sideways at times and emotions are ALWAYS involved with negotiations. But the cool heads that prevail get things worked out.

The friendly side comes into play in mastering the art of disagreeing or having an alternative point of view without being disagreeable.

Also it involves setting the positive tone all along the way. Do not let others negativity drag you down into the mud with them. If you become the master of this with both peers and clients, everyone (in most cases) will leave with the good feelings that it was a good experience. Other agents and associates will prefer working with you because you were so nice to deal with. Clients will boast that you went the extra mile for them and offer up referrals.

When you are working in this Close Encounters of the Friendly Kind realm think all forms of contact. That would be face to face, phone, and letter or email. You can set the friendly tone in all of them. You are someone whom is pleasant to work with, does what you say you will do and is one of those, what seems rare these days, a person who can be counted on.

Use laughter to break the ice. Show a genuine smile to show you are open. Be positive despite the inevitable difficulties that crop up to keep driving forward to a positive conclusion for everyone.

Remember when it is all said and done at the end of the day, or at the end of the experience, whatever it happens to be, the details will fade away of exactly what transpired during the transaction. But keep this quote in mind of the moral of the story I am trying to make a point about here.

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

One thing about a skill set - YOU individually know when you are good at your craft. With all professionals they say perfect practice yields perfect play on the field. There is no more gratifying experience than to know you are one of the best in your field. You know you have reached this point in your work because

THE BEST MAKE IT LOOK EASY.

They just flat out get the job done. No hemming and hawing. No maybe it will work. Just pure execution.

I would say in Real Estate or whatever profession you find yourself in strive to be one of the best. You will know you are there when people are coming to YOU for the mentoring. They come to YOU with their questions and need for assistance. And like a hot knife slicing through butter you've got the mechanics down and the systems in place.

Whenever a great pianist is encountered the observation is that they make it look so easy. But behind the scenes, before the concert, is massive hours of practice.

To back up your expectation of greatness, even guaranteeing success, like that Super Bowl win a la Joe Namath, "knowing" and believing you are the best is sweet.

Do not fault as arrogant those who back up their claims that they are good if not great. Marvel at the hard work they have put in beforehand to care so very much to be the best. You can too, whatever you choose to work on. You will stand out head and shoulders (and parachutes) above the others and soar down from the sky.

When you wish upon a star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the earth which will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor.

Seriously, you see this with buyers of homes all the time. They talk about wishes. The focus needs to be more about dreams.

Wishes are very light and fluffy. They are a good beginning point, but the real problem with wishes is they lack vision. Start with a wish but make it into a dream.

You never heard that famous quotation from Martin Luther King Jr. come up as

                 " I Have a Wish! "

Dreaming shows action. It shows that there is some plan behind the words. Wishing is still probably not even on paper. It is very passive. It is much easier to put wishes on the shelf. Where do you think the term wishy washy comes from? Wishes can seem impractical, hopeless, and maybe even impossible. When we launched the goal of putting a man on the moon before this decade was out, THAT was a dream, not a wish.

Stop wishing and start DREAMING all those ideas you have into living breathing reality. Sure there may be fear at first.

Once you take the first steps in the direction of your dream the courage will follow. But don't wish,

          DREAM!!!

With so much "change" going on that I see day in and day out, I wonder if people first off cut themselves some slack and say whatever change they are going through it's ok. And secondly do they realize they can't do everything in life? Not that you can't do "one" or "several" things following your dreams but you can't do "everything." Just a practical point. Wherever you go, whatever you decide to do with your housing, your career, your family life, your individual self think that

Transformation Begins With Harnessing Resources.

I can think of at least five resources you need to gain control of to properly focus on changing:

Time: They only make so much of it and once used up it is gone. Things take longer to do than you think too.

Energy: Allocate the amount of energy you need for a project. Work during peak energy times.

Money: Who cannot have enough of this to make things happen? But like time, there is only so much you have to work with. Be realistic.

People: Highly underutilized in getting where you want to go. Many heads are better than one. Talk out your change with others. Enlist their help.

Spirit: Find your spirituality for YOU. For me it is faith based. But for you it may be something different. Connect with your core, your center for added strength to keep you on track.

Knowing what resources are on the table for you to tie into to get through change makes the world of difference. Get through your metamorphosis and know there is nothing but beauty lying in your days ahead.

In working with buyers and sellers of real estate it is important to discover the underlying motivation for the transaction. Realtors need to play the role of armchair psychologist at times.

What is the "real" reason these folks are selling?

Why is this buyer taking so long to make a decision?

This investor seems to be able to afford whatever he wants yet he is so picky. What is up with that?

A key motivator at times can be fear.

Another HUGE motivator in life is pleasure in pleasing oneself or pleasing others.

What about money? Money has been a motivator since the beginning of time. Going after something because it is a good deal. Selling now because of a huge windfall of a profit. Not going below a certain price because you will lose money.

As an investor you project rental income, or return on investment for a building for business purposes.

Doing something for financial gain or to avoid financial loss is a tremendous motivator.

But with motivation it can be both temporal and dynamic. What motivates you today does not motivate you necessarily tomorrow. You see this with the classic can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink.

True motivation at any point in time is dependent on our roots.

Our roots are whatever is most important to us at that point in time. If we have had a cancer scare maybe time is precious to us and we don't get hung up on money or wall paper. If we have many young children in our family their welfare and happiness and schools are most important.

Empty nesters, divorced men and women all see the world completely differently.

Be also ok in the phases of your life that you are differently motivated now vs. ten years ago. You are a different person. Life's circumstances change. So in understanding yourself or the clients we work with, dig deeper into the roots and find out the "what" is going on to explain the "why" of the behavior. You too can play armchair psychologist !!

It seems lately with watching the oncoming Presidential election campaigning hitting a fever pitch, the daily roller coaster ride we are all taking with the financial markets and for those of us here writing and reading about a still tough housing market, that we need glimpses of hope. Solutions. Being positive. Knowing that we are still on track despite difficulties.

I am BIG into images to represent things. One of our strongest coping skills is the ability to tie into our support system of great friends, acquaintances and family. Like the giant KC-135 Stratotanker, the flying gas station for military planes to refuel midflight, we need to know who and where the people are in our life who refuel us.

The good ones are ALWAYS there for us.

So imagine ace aviator that you are, you are starting to run on fumes. Who do you go to to get boosted back up? You can continue flying. You just need refueling.

Knowing FOR SURE who these people are in your life, or if you don't have them, creating them or finding them, is essential for your well being.

I know with me it is some select family members that never let me down and even some very close friends who even a short time ago in my life were complete strangers. Do not discount the Stratotankers you find. Reach out to touch them with their 31,000 gallons of gasoline. Don't worry they've got plenty for you.

Who are your Stratotankers?

And all my friends, don't forget to laugh too. The KC-135 is getting long in the tooth in its original design from many years ago. The interior even included ash trays.

I may not know everything about Active Rain, having written and read blogs here for about a year now, but I do know people. Another gem in our midst who has a heart of gold who stepped away in April 2008 for business and family reasons is Realtor Julie Neerings out of the Salt Lake City Area. Julie, who I have stayed in contact with by email, is returning to blogging. She has one of the warmest hearts you'll ever find in life. I encourage anyone that reads my blogs to welcome Julie back and subscribe to her as well. She is a precious person with an amazing blogging style all her own. She is one of the nicest most warm people you will ever meet. You have got to connect with Julie. I never let you down with these recommendations!! Her latest comeback blog is here:

  Julie Neerings                       My Response To YOU

In today's stress filled daily lives with financial and housing problems instead of offering some additional positive spin, today I thought I would add some practical thoughts.

DO YOU KEEP YOUR TANK ALWAYS HALF FULL?

This is really a bit of common sense but I wanted to raise the awareness in this area lest you overlooked it. It has to do with the topic of reserves. Examples, when going to the grocery store buy MORE than you need, to stop wasterful trips back and forth. With your personal energy, allocate personal time for rejuvenation, meditation, and sleep. It will give you more go when you would normally be flailing. Have cash reserves, build a 6 to 12 month "cash" reserve fund. All these take the edge off. But MOST IMPORTANT build that security net in the Relationships department. Build quality relationships, friendships, love with the right caring people. These bonds will be your best support in times of difficulty.

Never drive around at one quarter full, or on fumes or God forbid on empty. Sure, with illness or bankruptcy we can find ourselves at this point in life. But as the Boy Scout motto says, "Be Prepared." If you build reserves in schedule, finances, shopping, and especially relationships, your car and your life can weather the storms that inevitably hit us at various times in our life.

One other thought also is preventative health care for our body and teeth. Jumping on things early, usually stops from getting dead in our tracks at some point and is nothing but wise medicine to take.

Good luck on purring on all cylinders even when the windshield is getting pelted by rain and you are driving over bumpy roads.

In the movie Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, who are both dying with terminal illnesses they list all the things they want to do in their life before they "kick the bucket." As a writer, Realtor, and a person, if you've read me over time, you know I stand out like a sore thumb in doing my own thing. I almost never write Localism posts, because, well because they are not my thing. I tried to hide that I had a birthday Saturday, but darn if I didn't have many friends here that found out anyway. No big Jason Crouch barbeques for me. It's not who I am. But as far as Localism I do like "fun" events. In the Texas area I have over 25 years of fun things I have attended and this year's visit to the Great State Fair of Texas I observed smiles everywhere. From old people to the youngest of the young, out of towners and locals, and even both sides of college football fans. The largest state fair in the U.S. is in Texas and in Dallas. Trust me, from about Oct. 1 till about the 19th each year, PUT THIS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST. It's great!!!

One thing to be aware of if you are represented as a buyer or seller in real estate by an agent is to find one that will go to bat for you. One who works hard in the negotiation phase of the transaction. And as an agent one must ask themselves,

          Are You Mule Headed?

Every deal is a little different. Stubborness is the opposite of being open minded and creative.

Coming up with new ideas, looking at a problem from a new angle, bouncing the situation off others for additional input all mean you are a flexible negotiator. Remind all parties you want to get this deal done.

Stubborness extends to not wanting to rework business plans when necessary. Don't be a mule. Be open to change. Change happens in life, ready or not.