Opt-Out of the Recession

by Brian Brady

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

I won’t be participating in the recession.  I’ve opted out.

The whole thing started when Chris Johnson slapped everyone for whining.  That was an important message.  Essentially, Chris has been saying, “I know it’s tough and it’s gonna be work but that’s why they call it WORK”.  If you’re a loan originator facing extinction, buy Chris’ Loan Officer Survival Guide, do the homework, and start implementing.  It costs about fifty bucks.

Folks who attended BloodhoundBlog Unchained Phoenix heard me talk about how to hunt for prospects using social media.  I discussed how to “find a herd” through social media and “building a fence around that herd” through the system outlined in the Millionaire Real Estate Agent.  If you’re in “my herd” you’ll recognize my e-mails, radio shows, blog posts, and postcards as the various slats of the fence I’m trying to build around you.

I recognized that transactions per agent were going to drop, about a year ago. I used to count on real estate agents for 3 loan referrals annually.  Today, I budget for one per year.  How then, can I close 100 loans annually with only one loan from each agent?  Increase the agent count, or size of the herd. It’s really that simple if you understand fourth grade math.

My refinance business has all but dried up.  When Hope For Homeowners was announced, I pounced.  While the particulars of the programs are still unclear, I figured that stressed out homeowners would be happy to have SOMEBODY who tried to help them.   These borrowers are a starving crowd.  While I don’t have steak to serve them, a few might get by on the rice I do have to offer them.  Commenters on Zillow’s Mortgages Undressed criticized me for outhustling them but I decided that serving needy homeowners was more important than being popular with a bunch of originators.

Jenna Jameson, actress and entrepreneur, defines courage as never letting anyone define you.  Don’t let the criticism of the competitors you’re crushing ruin your career.

Do you have the courage to change your business?   I suggested that the old saw “listers last” would be usurped by a strategy of attracting buyers online.  That hasty generalization was quickly answered by one of the greatest real estate agents in the nation.

My theory was that agents should build up their online marketing strategy to attract buyers rather than to chase overpriced listings.  What I didn’t include was that you should contract every potential buyer with a buyer’s brokerage agreement and perhaps collect a non-refundable deposit from them.  Of course, when Russell Shaw suggests that pursuit of listings is a superior strategy, he assumes that you’ll price them competitively and pay close attention to the days on market, securing periodic price reductions in order to compete.

While Russell’s plan is proven and mine is but theory; both strategies require action and commitment.  If you follow Russell’s listing strategy, you’ll turn away a lot more listings than you take.  You’ll probably get fired by unrealistic sellers when you deliver the news of the declining market.  You should listen to Russell’s words and heed Jenna Jameson’s advice and stick to your guns.  There will be loads of willing sellers who are dying to hire you; find them.  Ignore the bitching and focus on your job which is to sell the home.

The way to opt-out of the recession is to take action. The number one quality of all top producers, whether they sell homes, loans, or lumber is that they are action-oriented.  Agent partners and colleagues often chuckle at my ready, fire, aim approach to business.  I’m more interested in trying to make something work rather than to dwell on the potential problems.  It is that action-based strategy that works in the gummed-up, malaise-ridden real estate market of today.

Here are five things you can do today to opt-out of tomorrow’s recession:

1- Make a commitment.  Commit to the idea that failure isn’t an option.

2- Get on the phone.  If you spend 3 hours a day prospecting or connecting with your “herd”, and explain what’s happening with this market, you’ll most likely speak with 5-10 people a day.  Miracles happen when you talk to 100 people a month; I know this to be an unimpeachable fact.

3- Try direct mail.  I know, I know…direct mail is dead.  If you want to learn how to employ direct mail profitably, join Dan Kennedy’s Inner Circle (about fifty bucks a month).  Better yet, get out and meet other entrepreneurs and see what they’re doing.

4- Start thinking about money properly.  There is plenty of money in the world, regardless of the stock market crash and credit crunch.  You must, I repeat…MUST…stop listening to the well-intentioned but poor people who want to drag you down to their level of mediocrity.  Stop listening to the “get rich slowly” crowd and start surrounding yourself with high achievers.  High achievers will never resent you for doing well, in fact, they’ll try and encourage you to do better.

I’ll be interviewing Russell Shaw about the book “Think and Grow Rich“, on a podcast series, sometime in the next 2-3 months.  This will be free and available on Number One Home Agent and Bloodhound Blog.  I’ll ask Russell questions about the principles in the Napoleon Hill classic and he’ll give you practical advice about how he implements those principles into his business (and life).

5- Finally, if you’re looking to learn more about how to promote your business online, you can  opt-out of the recession by clicking here.