Tag Archives: Real estate jobs

10 Questions to Ask Your Broker When You Get Your Missouri Real Estate License in Kansas City

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10 Questions to ask your broker when you get your real estate license in Missouri or Kansas City

When you get your Missouri real estate license in Kansas City one of the most important days in your career is when you decide which broker to hang your license with. You will quickly find out the getting your Missouri real estate license is just the first part in a successful career in real estate. When you are new, you don’t know what you don’t know. Here are a list of 10 questions that your broker should be able to answer:

10 questiosn to ask your broker when you get your missouri real estate license

  1. What do you have in place as far as new real estate agent training or mentoring? What does it cost? Show me your last 12 months metrics on the success of the program. How many agents enrolled, how many transactions over what period of time?
  2. Can I see a copy of your local and regional training calendar?
  3. What Strategies, Systems or Techniques are your agents using to outperform the average agent in the market place?
  4. What is the commission split? Are all agents on the same split? Why do certain people get a different split? Why can’t I get that deal?
  5. At what point in my dollar volume production do I truly get to keep 100% of my commission? 
  6. Do you have hidden or added fees that I have to pay for if my clients will not cover them i.e transaction fee, administrative fee, additional marketing fee? If so, what do I get for those fees? When do they go away?
  7. How much of the owner’s profit did you share back with your agents?
  8. Would I be able to see the office’s financial statement? Are your books open to your agent population? Why not?
  9. When can I earn ownership in the office?
  10. Do I have a say in how the money that I contribute to the company is spent? 

Now that I know which questions to ask my broker, what’s next?

Getting your Missouri real estate license is just the first step in a fulfilling career in real estate. Make sure you partner with a company that views you as a business partner and not just the customer. You want to find an environment and a culture that matches up with yours. When choosing an office to hang your Missouri real estate license with, be sure that the answers you get to these questions make sense to you.

To have Keller Williams Platinum Partners answer all of these questions for you, feel free to set up a confidential consultation. 

-To your success.

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Getting Your Real Estate License in Missouri and Kansas City

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Getting Your Real Estate License in Missouri

If you are considering getting your Missouri real estate license you may find that is is easier than you thought. The process of getting your real estate license, whether you are in Kansas City or St. Louis is pretty much the same. The Missouri Real Estate Commission mandates a certain number of classroom or online hours to get your Missouri real estate license.

Many real estate license schools in Kansas City and Missouri in general have both classes that you need.

Getting your real estate license in Missouri and Kansas City is easier than you think!

Getting your real estate license in Missouri and Kansas City is easier than you think!

Classes required to get your real estate license in Missouri

  • The first class needed to get your Missouri real estate license is called the Missouri Pre-License Course, which is exactly what it sounds like. This 48 hour class prepares you to take the Missouri Real Estate License Test. Once you complete this course, either in-class or online, you are ready to take the real estate license test for Missouri , which covers national and state specific questions.
  • The second class needed to get your Missouri real estate license is called the 24 hour Missouri Practice Course.  This class begins to show you the “Practice” or the business workings of real estate. You will go over forms, and some very basic best practices of running a real estate business in Missouri.

Additional Steps to Get Your Missouri Real Estate License

Along with your Missouri Real Estate Classes, you will need to take the Missouri State license test. If you took the classes at a school or online they will give you the information on approved real estate license testing centers. These will be proctored exams, so be prepared to remove all personal belongings.

One last thing you need to do to get your Missouri real estate license is to get your fingerprints taken for your background check. In Missouri, you are required to use an approved third party vendor for this. Yes, even if you are cleared for top secret defense contracts, and you just came back from a 4 year tour with Homeland Security, the Missouri Real Estate Commission would like you to submit new fingerprints.

I Just Passed My Missouri Real Estate Classes and Test, Now What?

So you have complete all the requirements for your real estate license in Missouri, now what? The next decision you make after this will be the biggest decision you may make in your real estate career – which company to hang your Missouri real estate license with. Getting your Missouri real estate license is one thing, partnering with a real estate brokerage that has the tools and resources to help you get your business off the ground is a whole blog post in and of itself.

Welcome to the Real Estate Industry!

The Number One Real Estate Brand in Kansas City

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The number one real estate brand in Kansas City has been and always will be – YOU!

Real estate in Kansas City, and every other market across the country, is a local business and people do business with whom they know, like and trust. The National Association of Realtors 2011 profile of home buyers and sellers, surveyed home buyers and sellers and asked them why they chose the agent they worked with. Here are their findings:

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If the number one brand in real estate in kansas city is YOU – let’s take a look at where most new and seasoned agents have the best opportunity for growth:

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More new agents and seasoned agents are beginning to PROFIT FROM THE TRUTH and are no longer buying into the rumors our competitors are feeding them.

Keller Williams is not threatened by the individual agent’s success. We believe in business conversations based numbers, in growth, education and training. The real estate company you choose to partner with has less to do with splits, and costs, and more to do with your NET result at the end of the year. We focus on building business worth having, careers worth owning and lives worth living.

Are you hitting your potential? What does the next level of success look like for you? Who at your current brokerage is helping you get there? How much longer are you willing to wait to make what you deserve?

Let’s sit down for a cup of coffee and go over these questions. Contact me today for a confidential business strategy session so you can get your answers from the source. You can always buy into the rumors, or you can PROFIT from the TRUTH.

5 for July: Getting Seller Leads in a Hot Market in Kansas City

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Getting Seller Listing Leads in a Hot Market Can Be As Easy As 1-5!

For July, while we are hanging on to this seller’s market here in Kansas City I wanted to share some effective strategies to increase your listing inventory. So this whole month I will be posting 5 strategies for picking up new listings in Kansas City or any market for that matter. These listing strategies are simple, easy and effective. If you are not implementing lead generation activities for picking up listings then you are really missing out in this real estate market shift.

5 in July Listing Strategies

  1. Getting Listings from Your Database or Sphere of Influence

  2. Getting Listings from Open Houses

  3. Getting New Listings From your Geographical Farm

  4. Getting For Sale By Owner Listings or FSBO Listings

  5. Getting Expired Listings

 

Why work three times harder?

Why do we focus on getting listings leads for our business? One word – LEVERAGE. If we have listings we have an opportunity for three transactions, let me explain. First, you sell the listing. Second, that seller also needs to buy a new home. Third, you will get sign calls that can be converted to buyers, and who knows they may also have a house to sell. There is also a bonus, if the caller is unrepresented and wants to stay that way then you can double side the transaction.

So listings equal leverage. You don’t have to be there to show them and they have the opportunity to turn into multiple transactions. When you have a steady listing inventory you don’t have to focus on getting buyer leads, they will be coming to you. Not enough buyers? Simple, get more listings! So stay tuned for the next post, where we dive into your Database and the Acres of Diamonds there.

The Secret to Converting For Sale By Owners into Listings in Kansas City

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Are you looking to convert more For Sale By Owners into listings in your market?

Regardless of the market, one of the best listing opportunities are still the For Sale by Owner, or FSBO (pronounced Fizz-Bo by most Realtors). There are several reasons why FSBO’s are still and have been one of the best listing opportunities for realtors and they are:

  • They have already “raised their hand” that they want to sell.
  • Most are already willing to work with agents who have buyers, so getting in touch and creating a relationship is fairly easy.
  • There are usually plenty of them to prospect and they have their phone numbers and emails readily available.

So why aren’t more agents listing For Sale By Owners in their market?

While the reasons vary, most agents don’t convert FSBO listings due to several reasons. Do any of these apply to you?

  • Since FSBOs are called on by many agents early on, they may get a frustrated individual on the phone and it makes them feel bad, that “All FSBOs are just MEAN!”
  • They don’t have a system to keep in touch over time, so they fail to follow up and then some other agent invariably gets a sign in the yard.
  • They don’t have anything of value to offer when they follow up with the For Sale by Owner so each call feels like they are bothering them.

These are just several of the main reasons why most agents give up on FSBOs and why you can use this information to your advantage.

A few stats on For Sale By Owners that you need to know.

  •  94% of for sale by owners do not sell on their own.

    Kansas City For Sale By Owner conversion information

    Information so you can effectively list more for sale by owners in your market.

  • of those that do sell, they sell on average 11% less than if they would have been represented professionally.
  • The biggest obstacle that FSBOs face is getting the property priced right
  • The second biggest obstacle is understanding and executing the paperwork.

So what can I do to convert more For Sale By Owners into more listings?

  1. Truly come from contribution and don’t be like every other agent who is just going in for the listing. If you approach FSBOs with a real regard to help them, they will remember that when they decide to explore a professional listing.
  2. Be sure to have information, or items of value, available to help a FSBO in their sale. The stats are still valid, and most will not sell due to lack of exposure and marketing, but they will remember the agent who actually tried to help them sell.
  3. Actually follow up when you said you would. If you told them you would call every week to check in on them and they said it was okay, THEN DO IT! Sure week one, 15 agents are calling. By week two that number is in half. Week three there are maybe you and one other agent calling. By week 4 it is you and only you.

Recap:

Converting for sale by owners into listings in your market and in Kansas City does not have to be a stressful and painful experience. Keeps several of these lead generation tips handy and you will be increasing your listing inventory like clockwork.

If you want to take this conversation even deeper and discuss the specifics of your action plan and what items of value you leave with your FSBO prospects, just contact me for a private and confidential consultation. Worst case scenario is that you leave with some great information that will help you grow your business.

How do you get your real estate license in Kansas?

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So how do you get your real estate license in Kansas?

So you have thought about getting your real estate license. You live in Kansas. Now what? Well to get your real estate license in Kansas it is a simple 4 step process.

  1. Take the 30 hour pre-exam course.  This course prepares you to take the Kansas real estate license test. There are in class and online options, we have recommendations, but you can find out what is best for you. During this class it is advised that you get your fingerprints and send them off to the state for your background check.
  2. Take the Kansas real estate license test. The test is comprised of a majority of general real estate questions and portion of state specific questions as well.
  3. Take a 30 hour real estate practice course. This course is designed to introduce you to the way that real estate business is done and how to negotiate your way through a transaction. Like the first course there are in-class and online options.
  4. Apply for your License with the state!

    Get your Kansas real estate license!

    Get your Kansas real estate license!

Getting your license real estate license in Kansas is actually not that difficult. One of the hardest decisions you will make is where to “hang” your license. In Kansas, in order to practice real estate you have to be supervised by a Broker. All that means is you have to choose a real estate office to work at. The options are literally vast.

Questions to ask when choosing a real estate company to work for:

When choosing a real estate brokerage in Kansas to work for, there are several questions that are pretty important, especially if you are brand new to sales and also brand new to real estate.

  1. What types of new agent real estate training do you offer? Do you have a real estate mentoring or shadowing program?
  2. What tools, technology and systems do you offer, and what are their costs? Are the tools and systems included in my monthly dues how are they paid for?
  3. Do you have any statistics on new agent successes in your office? What are the averages that your office has in regards to helping brand new agents in real estate get commissions quickly?

Getting your real estate license in Kansas is one thing. Choosing a great real estate company in Kansas to work with is another.

If you are thinking of getting your real estate license in Kansas then we should talk! I would love to set up a confidential no obligation meeting to go over your needs.

To your success!!!

-Mat

Overcoming NO in Real Estate Sales and in Life

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Overcoming NO in real estate sales and in Life – changing the way we look at asking for what we want!

I had a recent conversation with a dear friend about their business and we came across a really great subject that I wanted to take a minute and go over with you. In a nutshell, we were talking about our respective services and that there were times when their bids seem high and they sometimes freeze before presenting them for fear of rejection – fear of the NO. Overcoming NO in real estate sales

The word NO is such an interesting word – only 2 letters – but those two letters have the power to completely paralyze  us and cause us to fall into inaction. So why is that? My daughter is about to turn three and she is fearless when it comes to the word NO, she will ask and ask for hours to get what she wants, sometimes getting 10-15 no’s until either I tire of the struggle and say yes, or she gets bored of the asking and moves on. At what point in life do we lose this never ending desire to get what we want?

In sales and in life we have to deal with NO on a daily basis. It’s just a part of the job, and those who can overcome the fear of NO don’t just do a little bit better than their counterparts, they are crushing it.

So what is the main fear behind NO?

Rejection. We all want to be liked and making a call, meeting with a client or asking for something you want puts us in a vulnerable state. Asking someone to work with us or choose us puts us in a position that if they say no, it can oftentimes feel like they are rejecting us personally, even though more than 95% of the time it has nothing to do with you personally. They are usually just not ready for your service, or you have not demonstrated enough value for them to make any type of switch.

So how do we get past the paralyzing fear of hearing NO?Getting to YES in real estate sales in Kansas City

  1. Don’t be tied to the result! – A pro baseball player in the hall of fame strikes out 70% of the time during their entire career! What kind of career do you think they would have if they got discouraged after 2 or 3 strike outs?
  2. Make collecting No’s a game. – If it’s about numbers, then if your goal is to get to 30 No’s a day, then imagine how many Yes’s would be sprinkled in there. Also, notice the mind shift, if you are making calls to get No’s then what happens when you hear one? That’s right, success! The Yes’s are in there and they will come out.
  3. Never forget that if you never ask then the answer is always NO.

So get over your fear of NO! It’s little, it’s insignificant and most importantly it’s just two little letters that are standing in the way of your true potential and life changing opportunity.

Real Estate Jobs in Kansas City and 2013 Trends

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Right now may be the best time to get a real estate job in Kansas City.

Have you ever hear the term, “It’s all in the timing?” Timing plays a big role in those who succeed and those who wait.

Let me introduce you to the three main types of people in this world:

  1. Those who “Do”. These are the first to act, they take calculated risks when presented with all the facts, but also reap the majority of the rewards. They seem like magical fortune tellers. If you ask them how they do it their answers are simple, “All the indicators pointed in a particular direction and history indicated that the next ‘big’ thing was about to happen.”
  2. Those who “Watch and Wonder”. These individuals are on the sidelines watching those who “Do”. They often have the same information presented to them, but due to either fear or lack of understanding they fail to take action. So they stand on the sideline wondering what happened and how those who “Do” knew it would be a slam dunk.
  3. Those who have no clue. These individuals are completely out of the loop and are not even aware that there was an opportunity. They are content in their current situation and have no desire to change their status. They are often heard saying things like “Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees” or “Slow and Steady” or “Get a good job and work hard”

If you are in category number 2, I am about to share with you some very important information in regards to real estate and the housing market in Kansas City, Lawrence and the state of Kansas as a whole.

The market is shifting – Big time. If you have been considering a job in real estate in Kansas city, or investing in real estate in Kansas city then please pay attention because here is your opportunity to be a part of category number 1.

The center for real estate at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University just released it’s 2013 Kansas Housing Market Forecast and the results should excite you.

For the Kansas City Market:

Home sales are expected to rise over 5.4% over last years total volume of 26,960 to almost 29,000 units sold. Prices will continue to see a nominal increase of 1.5% appreciation and lending rates are expected to remain stable for the next 12 months.

kansas city real estate market activity and 2013 forecasat Kansas City home price appreciation index and forecast

For the Lawrence Market:

Existing home sales are expected to rise over 15.8% to 1,390 units which is near 2007 levels and prices are expected to climb 2.1%. One of the biggest indicators are that NEW homes permits are expected to rise 3.1%.

Lawrence Housing market activity and 2013 forecast Lawrence Kansas Home Price apreciation and 2013 forecast

So, now what are you going to do?

You have the information, now what are you going to do with it? Call me now to find out how a job in real estate my be the best thing for you and your family. Don’t be caught sitting on the sideline – you are now in the know, take action.

-Mat Lewczenko – 913.322.8379 – MatL@kw.com – www.KWcareersKC.com

Overcoming Sales Cold Call Reluctance in Real Estate

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Overcoming Call Reluctance in Real Estate Sales

Are you having difficulties overcoming call reluctance in real estate? The good news is that you are not alone! Most real estate agents that get into the business don’t realize a couple things:

  1. Real Estate is a Business and you need to learn how to run one.
  2. Real Estate is a SALES job and to grow your business you need to find and create leads
Overcoming Sales Call Reluctance is a conditioned trait!

Overcoming Sales Call Reluctance is a conditioned trait!

On the surface this all sounds fine and good, until you have to make your first few sales calls. You think to yourself, “I’m going to be amazing at this, I’m on the phone all day anyway. What’s so hard about making sales calls to potential clients?” Then they get their list ready, which is your cell phone database to begin with…and then….it starts.
The sweats, the doubt, the fear and that phone and that list become every sales agent’s worst nightmare. You just got a case of sales call reluctance – the good news is that you can overcome it.

So what is Sales Call Reluctance in real estate?

In its simplest form, sales cold call reluctance is a fear of rejection. We all have it; we all want to be liked. So when we call people to talk about business or to ask for a referral there are several limiting beliefs that all sales people get:

  • I personally hate getting sales calls so I will be bothering others.
  • What if they hang up on me?
  • What if they yell at me?
  • What if they are rude?
  • What if they laugh at me?
  • What if I stutter and sound like a tool?
  • No one answers their phones anyway; this is a waste of time.

Regardless of the fear, there are some very simple tips to overcoming sales call reluctance! You can become a sales master in a very short time!

Top 5 tips to overcome sales call reluctance in real estate.

  1. Have a purpose before your call – know why you are calling every time before you dial.
  2. Have a script – scripts are a game plan, in football the offense calls a play before every snap of the ball – it’s their script and then they react to what the defense provides them, but they always start out with a script – get over it and start using them.
  3. Come From Contribution! People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. They who give the most value and care the most get the sale.
  4. Realize that sales calls are a numbers game – and that hall of fame baseball players strike out 7 out of 10 times at bat and still make millions a year. Same thing – you can’t help every call, but every call gets you closer to a yes.
  5. Time On Task Over Time – You will get better and more confident over time. Accept the fact that you are nervous. So what! The more calls you make the better you will get and your conversions will get and your account will grow.
You are now a Sales Cold Calling Master! Congratulations!

You are now a Sales Cold Calling Master! Congratulations!

So do yourself and your family a favor and start overcoming sales call reluctance in real estate by implementing these tips immediately. One of the best things you can do is contact us now and get into coaching. Next thing you know you could be writing a blog about how you overcame call reluctance too!

If it doesn’t HURT a little – you are Doing it Wrong!

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We can learn most from our mistakes and failures.

We can learn most from our mistakes and failures.

The Confession

So this week at my accountability weigh in that I share with my Facebook friends in order to keep me on track, I came across an opportunity to elaborate on a little concept that we talk about a lot at Keller Williams Diamond Partners. Before I get to it let me share with you, I wanted to take a second and apologize to everyone that I fell out of integrity and that this week I did not lose weight, in fact I gained half a pound back.

So, I’m standing there, a bit dejected and starting to get really embarrassed and thinking “great, now what am I going to post on Facebook?!” So, with my pride deflated, I wanted to turn this into an opportunity for learning and share some concepts that we talk about:

  1. Accountability has to hurt a little or it’s not doing it’s job. Posting or sharing successes rocks! Posting setbacks, SUCKS…A LOT!
  2. When we are winning, it is at that time that we have to focus on our fundamental tasks and actually work even harder. (Just ask K-State what happened right after they received their #1 ranking this year – Baylor? Really?!?!) anyway…

We get into coaching and accountability not because it’s fun, or easy, but because, by nature, we cannot hold ourselves accountable – or at least not to our true potential. If you are not in coaching or mentoring at some level, then you are leaving growth opportunities on the table – period.

The Hard Lesson

#1 can never take a week off

#1 can never take a week off

Point number two is what I wanted to elaborate a little bit on. If you noticed last week, I was on week 3, had three weeks of nice losses, and even mentioned that I was able to start doing some points in my head. Well, just like in our businesses, when things are going good, we are receiving referrals and you have had several closings this month and have a couple in the pipeline – what is the first things that falls off your schedule? YUP – Lead Generation! Then 30 days go by, and you are through celebrating your recent past success and look ahead and now there are no closings, or maybe just one small deal. So point number two happens to be the answer to so many agent’s question “When does the income roller coaster stop in this business?” Simple – consistent lead generation regardless of production.

For me this week, my points tracking completely fell off my radar and I got lazy. My scale doesn’t care what I did last week, it just posts results. We have a saying in the office “You can have reasons or results, but you can’t have both.” Well this week, I had to face the reality that I just did not do what I was supposed to and my results reflected that 100% – I only have myself to look at.

Getting back to Integrity

So, let me refer back to a BOLD theory called PTFAR – (Pronounced Pointfar) which stands for Programing leads to Thoughts which affects our Feelings which lead us to taking Actions and actions produce Results which go back to changing our Programming.

This week’s Scale in reference to PTFAR:

Programing – this week’s results triggered an embarrassed and pissed off reaction in me.

Thoughts – I had to go back to what I did and didn’t do, and reevaluate and put a plan together to get back into integrity.

Feelings – I am embarrassed to share with everyone that did not take steps towards my goals this week, this feeling SUCKS!

Actions – Back to tracking, no shortcuts, no cheating

Results – I’ll check back in with you next week!

Goal for next week – 4lbs! See you then!