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Are You Coachable?

By Joe Lins
July 25, 2019

In this episode of our podcast, I talk with our Communications Director, Suzy Lins, about why an agent should be “Coachable”. Full disclosure, she is also my wife.

Suzy explained how we have a marquee outside our building that we use for marketing our listings and promoting our agents or community events. We also utilize it for recruiting purposes and put up recruiting posts a few times a month. One of my favorites is “Looking for sports minded people – We are hiring!” I like this post because it generates a ton of activity and phone calls. Most people think we want sports minded people because they tend to be competitive. That’s partially true. We definitely need agents like that in this competitive industry of ours. There’s also another reason. We want people who are coachable.

My favorite recruiting post on our marquee.

What does it mean to be coachable?

I use a lot of sports metaphors in my business because you can learn a lot from team play. Sports-minded people are typically coachable and agents, especially newer agents, must be able to follow instructions from their “coach”. Coachable means you are able to listen to what your coach, manager or broker has to say and then do it unconditionally to achieve success as a result.  Are you the type that goes out and asks five or ten more people their opinion and get totally confused and sidetracked? That’s not coachable.

Who should be your coach?

The first person you should got to is the broker or manager of the office. If they are not the type of leader who can coach you, they may have somebody they can refer you to. It may be a professional coach, like Brian Buffini or Mike or Tom Ferry or others like that. It could even be one of your peers in the office if they have a mentor system set up for agents.

Let’s talk about competition

Your number one competitor is you, the man in the mirror. You have to establish your goals and hold yourself accountable. You’re also competing with different agents out there from other firms that have different ways of doing business. You have to pick your way of doing business and compete on that level. You need to strive to be the very best in what you do. If you want to be part of the top 10% you have to do what the other 90% aren’t willing to do. It’s not that difficult.

What makes an agent coachable?

  • Don’t second guess your coach
  • Do exactly what your told to do – Don’t resist
  • Implement what they advise you to do
  • Trust your coach
  • Be open and honest with your coach

Listen to the full podcast here:

 

Joe Lins Author

 

About the author: Joe Lins is President and Co-owner of CENTURY 21 Discovery. If you are interested in becoming part of the CENTURY 21 Discovery team or would like more information about our services or training we provide contact Joe at 714.626.2069.

Are You Trained & In Shape For 2019?

By Stephanie Goedl and Joe Lins
January 15, 2019

To succeed in real estate you need to continually work on your presentation skills, negotiating skills and be up to date on the current industry forms. In this episode of our podcast, Stephanie Goedl and Joe Lins discuss the importance of training in your real estate career.

Listen to the podcast here:

 

Watch the video of the podcast here:

About the authors: Joe Lins is President, CEO and Owner of CENTURY 21 Discovery. Stephanie Goedl is Chief Operating Officer of CENTURY 21 Discovery. If you are interested in becoming part of the CENTURY 21 Discovery team or would like more information about our services or training we provide contact us at 714.626.2069 or Careers@C21Discovery.com.

Stephanie GoedlJoe Lins

The Brand of the Future

By Joe Lins
October 27, 2017

I recently had the opportunity to chat with new Century 21 President and CEO Nick Bailey. He shared his vision of how this iconic brand is positioning itself to be the brand of the future by being innovative and relevant.

Century 21 is preparing for the next generation of real estate to come. He challenged the brand affiliates to double transactions in the next five years all while having fun.

I’m excited about the future of Century 21 and what we’re doing. Come hang out with the cool kids to see what we’re all about.

Meet Nick and check out our conversation here.


About the author: Joe Lins is President and Co-owner of CENTURY 21 Discovery. If you are interested in becoming part of the CENTURY 21 Discovery team or would like more information about our services or training we provide contact Joe at 714.626.2069.

The Value Of The Up-Desk

By Stephanie Goedl
April 12, 2016

CENTURY 21 Discovery offers our agents some unique opportunities that are not available at most real estate offices. We have the technology, tools and online lead generating sources that our agents need to remain relevant and to succeed. We also offer a way of doing business that some may consider “old school” but it works! It’s called the Up-Desk.

The Up-Desk is the front desk of a real estate office that agents can sign up to work. They assist with answering the phone and can take any leads that come in from those phone calls. Most offices have done away with the Up-Desk because they think it’s a waste of time for the agent.

Not so! Our office has a distinctive location on a main thorough-fare in North Orange County, California. We are located across from a major medical center and have a large marquee that 30,000 cars a day drive by. That’s a lot of eyeballs. Because of our prominent place in the community we have quite a few calls off our marquee as well as walk-in clients. The agent at the Up-Desk benefits from this. Just as important, the client who chooses to do business in this manner benefits as well.

Instead of me telling you the benefits of the Up-Desk, listen to our agent Jacob McCann of the McCann Family Team tell you how working that desk helped his career.

Some people think “old school” is a bad word. Not in my book. I’m thrilled we can provide our agents with a variety of opportunities to achieve their business goals. I’m also glad we can accommodate our clients in the way they want to be served. Do you have an Up-Desk success story? Please share in the comments section below.

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About the author: Stephanie Goedl is the Chief Operating Officer of CENTURY 21 Discovery. For more information about CENTURY 21 Discovery you may call (714) 626-2000.

Investing In Your Resale by Staging Your Home

By Mary Sauer of Modernize
December 8, 2015

In most regions of the country, it is a seller’s market. In previous years, sellers were doing just about anything they could to get an offer—sometimes even selling their home for less than it was worth. Now things have turned around and homes are selling within days of going on the market. It is definitely a new time for real estate, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. But when it is a seller’s market, that doesn’t mean you can relax your selling strategies. Instead, it is vital you take advantage of the high demand for homes by doing everything possible to attract the highest offer on your home. One way this can be done is by using a professional stager to prepare your home for photos and staging.

Via Modernize

Via Modernize

What is Home Staging?

There are many ways to invest in the resale of your home, but one strategy is to stage your home with the help of a professional. While most homeowners know to declutter their home or move larger items to storage, many do not have the design knowledge it takes to stage their home without assistance. This is where a professional home stage becomes incredibly valuable to the home selling process. A professional home stager is similar to an interior designer, except they specialize in creating a simple space where potential buyers can imagine their own furniture and belongings.

How do I Find a Home Stager?

If you are looking for a professional home stager, asking for a recommendation from your realtor is a great place to start. Many realtors, including Century21, offer home staging services to their clients. Their experiences realtors can work with you to create a beautiful and simple space before you place it for sale.

If your realtor does not offer specialized home staging services, they will most likely be able to recommend a professional they trust to stage your home. The average home staging service costs $625, and this number can vary greatly based on the size of your home and how much work must be done to prepare your home for walk-throughs.

Via Modernize

Via Modernize

Is Home Staging Really Worth it?

In some cases, homeowners wonder if home staging really worth the extra expense. The truth is, staging is vital to attracting the right buyer to your home. According to buyers surveyed by Realtor.com, as many as 46 percent of families who first look at homes online are more likely to schedule a walk through if the pictures are staged. In addition to this, 81 percent of buyers revealed they had a much easier time imagining their family and their belongings in a home when it had been professionally staged.

Getting buyers in the door and peaking their interest aren’t the only benefits to home staging—it also seems to increase the dollar amount of offers. The average increase in selling price is between 1 and 5 percent, which greatly exceeds the money spent on staging.

At Modernize, we know how small changes can make a big impact on the appearance of your home. Because of this, we encourage our readers who are selling their homes to consider working with a professional home stager who can help them get more potential buyers in the door and increase the selling price of their homes.

About the Author: Mary Sauer is our Guest Blogger who works at Modernize. Modernize is where you come to get inspired, see what’s possible, and connect with a professional who will make your dream home a reality.

CENTURY 21 Discovery Visits the Comic Book Hideout

By Stephanie Goedl
May 1, 2015

This Saturday, May 2nd is Free Comic Book Day. I had to opportunity to talk with Glynnes Pruett of the Comic Book Hideout in Downtown Fullerton about her shop and the events for the day. The Hideout has been voted the Best Comic Book Store in Orange County by OC Weekly and the OC Register. After taking a tour of the shop I can see why it’s so popular. Check out our conversation below.

The Comic Book Hideout will be open on Free Comic Book Day from 9am-8pm. Stop on by this Saturday for your free comic book. This is another reason why we love this community.

About the author: Stephanie Goedl is the Chief Operating Officer of CENTURY 21 Discovery. For more information about CENTURY 21 Discovery you may call (714) 626-2000.

4 Reasons Why I Love This Real Estate Market

By Joe Lins

September 23, 2014

I LOVE this real estate market! It’s a great time for all parties involved in the process. It’s markets like this that remind me why I got into real estate…to help people buy and sell homes.

Here are 4 reasons why I love this market:

1) Buyers offers are being accepted

Buyers actually have a chance of buying a home without being out bid by investors. Investors have made a lot of money over the past few years and good for them! As home prices have slowly inched up investors are not as prevalent which allows buyers, especially first time home buyers, to get the home they want.

2) Buyers can afford a home

People who want to buy a home are able to do so because interest rates are still very low. The Federal Reserve recently announced that it would keep interest rates low for now which is good news for borrowers. In addition, in our local Orange County market home prices are appreciating at a reasonable rate.

3) Technology is helping the home buying process

I know there are a lot of people in the industry who are freaking out about the potential Zillow-Trulia merger and the affects of other third party sites on the information available to the public. They think this will take the place of the professional REALTOR®. I don’t believe that mindset. Now, buyers have the ability to make better choices because of the technology available to them. They can research everything from neighborhoods and schools to crime rates and interest rates. Now, sellers can go onto Zillow and get a Zestimate of their property, this provides an opportunity for the REALTOR to educate (or re-educate) the seller on the actual comps for their home.

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4) Homes are being sold for fair market value

It’s a true market where neither the buyer nor seller has a distinct advantage over the other. Sellers can still achieve top dollar without the fear of leaving money on the table if they had waited. Buyers can make quality purchase decisions without the fear of being priced out of the market. Both parties are able to achieve their definition of success, which rarely happens in any market.

The REALTORS who truly understand this are succeeding in helping people buy and sell homes through their micro-market knowledge and keen negotiating skills. After all, isn’t that why we got into this business?

Joe Lins photo

 

About the author: Joe Lins is President and Co-owner of CENTURY 21 Discovery. If you are interested in becoming part of the CENTURY 21 Discovery team contact Joe at 714.626.2069.