Create Space to Attract More Business
Two themes we have consistently covered in this newsletter are the importance of eliminating tolerations (all those annoyances that are like paper cuts that pull you off focus) plus the Law of Attraction that says that if you want to attract more business you must have the space for it to occur. Consequently, clean your closet, clean your office, clean your garage, etc. 
Since I’m working on three major contracts, I decided this was a great weekend to create space by doing a major cleanout in my office, two walk-in closets, plus donating a lot of clothes that I’m not using or no longer fit. I also decided to get rid of all my electronic recycling that has been accumulating for several years.
I worked at it for 12 hours yesterday and probably have another half-day of work to get it all cleared out plus dropping off the charity and electronic recycling items.
This morning, it was great to see all the space in my office walk-in closet plus, the contents of my drawers and cabinets all neatly organized. I’m now eagerly awaiting to see what shows up.
In the meantime, if you haven’t tried this approach, it has always worked for me. I’m certain it can work for you—check it out!
Two Secrets for Hitting Your Production Goals for The Rest of 2024
If you want to hit your production goals for the rest of 2024, here are two secrets for attracting more business. First, review your revenue goals and your business plan at least once daily. If you don’t already have a business plan in place, make one for the fourth quarter 2024 as well as working on your business plan for 2025 as well.
Second, clean out your office, clean your closet, or any place where there is too much stuff. You could also tackle your undeleted emails. It makes no difference where you start. Getting rid of old stuff creates room for new business to
come in.
The reason? One of the Principles of Attraction is that you cannot attract new business (or anything else you want for that matter) unless you have room in your life for it.
Now is a great time to clean house and make room for all the new business you need today to hit your goals tomorrow.
The New Rules Are in Effect: The MLS Changes You Need to Know Now
On Saturday August 15, 2024, the New MLS Rules resulting from the settlement in the Sitzer Burnett Commission lawsuit by NAR went into effect. Here is a summary of what those rules are based upon what NAR and Inman News is reporting:
- Eliminate any requirement of offers of compensation in the MLS between listing brokers or sellers to buyer brokers. Previously, NAR’s Participation Rule, also known as the cooperative compensation rule, required listing brokers to
offer buyer brokers compensation to submit a listing to the MLS. - Forbid agents, brokers, and sellers from making any offers of compensation in the MLS to buyer brokers and from disclosing listing broker compensation or total broker compensation in the MLS. This requires the MLS to eliminate all broker compensation data fields in the MLS.
- MLSs must not help agents, brokers, or sellers make offers of compensation to buyer brokers through any non-MLS mechanism, such as by providing MLS data to websites that function as a platform for offers of compensation from multiple brokers.
- Require brokers working with a buyer to enter into a written agreement before the buyer tours any home. If an agent or broker will receive compensation from any source, the written agreement with the buyer has to specify the amount or rate of compensation to be received or how that amount will be determined. The amount has to be “objectively ascertainable” and can’t be “open-ended.” The deal also specifies that the compensation an agent or broker receives for brokerage services can’t exceed the amount or rate agreed to in the buyer’s agreement.
- Require agents and brokers acting for sellers to, in writing, “conspicuously disclose” to sellers and get their approval for any payment or offer of payment that the listing broker or seller will make to a buyer representative. They also have to specify the amount or rate of the payment.
- Require agents and brokers to conspicuously disclose to prospective sellers and buyers “that broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable.”
- MLSs must not provide the ability to filter out or limit MLS listings that are communicated to consumers based on the compensation offered to the buyer broker or the name of a brokerage or agent.
In order to comply with these settlement terms, some MLSs are instituting hefty fines. In fact, in one MLS alone that implemented these changes early, 39 agents reportedly received non-compliance notices. Whether or not they received a fine is unknown. Reports from other sources indicate fines as high as $2,500 have been issued in a number of other areas.
The bottom line is look to your broker, your MLS, your state association of realtors, and/or your company’s attorneys for guidance on how to move forward as all of this shakes out over the next few months.
Should You Put Your Listing Addresses on Your Advertising?
Here’s a quick question for you—when you post your listings online, do you include the address? In the past, it’s been standard practice for many agents to leave the address off of their listings so that people will contact them to get the information.
Recently Sara Bonert shared some important discoveries from Zillow’s research about what happens when a listing does not have an address when it is posted online in an ad, open house, video, etc. 
- Consumers skip over listings that don’t have the address.
- By leaving off the address, you don’t allow various geo-location mapping programs to help people find their way to your listing.
- This also means your listings do not display properly on many of the mapping-based types of software that consumers constantly use.
So, put your addresses on your listings. Failing to do so can cost you a substantial number of potential client leads.
Feeling Stuck? How to Get Unstuck
Procrastination is a major reason that people get stuck as well as being the greatest enemy of increased production. If you’re stuck, here’s a simple approach to getting unstuck.
To make sure that you always complete the top activities that give you the greatest return in your business, identify the three core activities you must complete to increase your production. Now here’s the secret: do them at the beginning of your day, preferably before noon before the chaos of the day takes over.
If you’re really stuck, choose one simple activity to get yourself in motion. A great choice can be calling your favorite past client to check in and say hello. Sometimes taking one or two baby steps can break the log jam of procrastination, and who knows, that past client may be ready to move or knows someone who does.