Some of Arizona’s most Successful Agents call John Hall & Associates home.
Tag Archive: Diane Flannigan
Diane Flannigan left her heart in San Francisco
I was told many years ago that the only thing consistent in our industry is change. It appears that this is true!
It is with mixed emotions that I tell you Diane Flannigan will be leaving John Hall & Associates.
It has been a wonderful three years since she joined us. But Diane’s heart, as the song says, has been in San Francisco. She loves the Bay area. She loves the climate. As anyone who has ever talked to her knows, this is where she has always wanted to be and she’s said she hopes to retire there. Yes, she is going back.
Coldwell Banker had a need for a national trainer and will soon have her covering at least three states doing what she loves. We thank her for the time here and the wonderful contribution she has made to us individually and through the company.
We will miss you Diane, but wish you success and happiness as you enter another stage in your career.
How do I start a career in real estate?
Some of the Valley’s most successful agents call John Hall & Associates home, and a lot of them started their real estate career with us.
Regardless of which real estate agency you choose, step one is most definitely getting an AZ real estate license. This process begins at a real estate school, not a real estate brokerage. (Let us know if you are interested in discounted tuition to some of the top real estate schools here locally.) Once you’ve completed the state required 90 hours of real estate school curriculum and passed the state and national real estate exams, you’re ready for hire by a brokerage.
ProStart Training for New Real Estate Agents
ProStart is just what the name suggests – a way to get a Professional Start to your real estate business. Our ProStart New Agent Training Program includes 2 weeks of classroom training split into staying legal skills and sales skills followed by Professional Mentoring.
Classroom Training
Marge Lindsay is one of Arizona’s top real estate trainers. Not only does she teach Continuing Education classes for the Phoenix Association of REALTORS® and the AZ School of Real Estate and Business, but she’s a Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI) instructor as well. In between teaching existing agents how to improve their businesses, she teaches new agents how to effectively build a business from the ground up.
Lindsay is the the primary instructor for the classroom portion of ProStart. The main focus is generating business and completing transactions with strategies and techniques on avoiding legal trouble. After ProStart students complete the REALTOR® fundamentals, the real world training begins.
Mentors for New REALTORS®
New real estate agents exit the classroom and enter the arms (not literally, but close) of their professional mentors. Mentors are practicing REALTORS® that are hand selected to help guide and motivate new agents, while being a great resource for learning the nuances of this business.
So there you have it. How do you start a real estate career? Get a license and join the John Hall & Associates ProStart Training Program. Please don’t take my word for everything I’ve shared here – check out what new agents say about ProStart. If you know of anyone that might be able to benefit from having a structured start in residential real estate, have them give Diane Mork a call (602) 953-4043.
Selling and Marketing Strategies: The Newly Improved GRI 101
Twenty-Seven sales associates from John Hall & Associates gathered at the Phoenix Association of REALTORS® on January 8th and 9th to view the new, improved GRI 101. In addition to a few first time GRI designees, many needed this class toward their designation and several were already GRI graduates and were there because of the outstanding information provided.
So, what made this class new and improved? First and foremost, this class now centers on generational selling strategies delineating and defining “Baby Boomers”, Generation “X” and Generation “Y”. We took full advantage of the extraordinary research done by the National Association of REALTORS®. Since the average age of a REALTOR® is 56 and the average of a buyer is 32, some “disconnect” can be expected between generations. If we understand the mindset of all generations, prospecting, marketing and closing become easier. We learned how important personal referrals are to “Gen X & Y” as well as their housing desires and expectations about technology. With that information in mind our sales associates were invited to determine how their business and marketing strategies needed to change to attract and adequately service these new clients.
The class moved rapidly into answering prospect and client objections and strategies to uncover buyer and seller motivation, two elements key to our sales associates success. Marketing Consultations (formerly Listing Presentations) took on a new spin when we explored seller’s resistance to the standard presentation format. Rather than presenting services and marketing, we suggested a Pre-Listing Package followed by a “skill approach” to listing. This class outlined four (4) skills that agents seldom explain to prospects and clients; merchandizing, network marketing, information analysis, and negotiation.
We are operating our real estate business in a new market reality that needs to be discussed and explored. Once upon a time, buyers found houses through us, now buyers find us through houses. It is time to change how we do business as well as how we set expectations for our clients and prospects. This new, improved GRI 101 does just that.
Our thanks to our generous and supportive sponsors. Empire West Title Company – Lee Lynch 480-383-8726, Old Republic Home Protection – Julie Smith 800-282-7131 X 1164, and 2-10 Home Buyers Resale Warranty Corporation
Fredi Stillman 602-692-5587.
DF
(Diane Flannigan and Marge Lindsay will be teaching this class again March 26-27 at WEMAR – September 23rd-24th at PAR – October 29th-30th at WEMAR. For enrollment information and other schedules please visit AAR’s GRI website.)
Do You Dress For The National Weather?: The Rest of the Story Series
I just read a news item on azcentral.com entitled “Pending home sales plunge to record low”. If you only read the headlines, like most people, it leads you to believe that all housing markets are in tragically poor condition. Better stay in that rental as long as possible, all markets are going under! But think about this for a moment, what if you switched on the local news and it gave you only the “national weather”? The forecaster says, “Our weather here today will be 47 degrees with rain which is based on the median weather reports for 20 metro indices over the last 6 months.” Did that give you any indication of what the weather is like right NOW or how you need to dress for the day? Of course not, nor does a “national housing” report give you any viable information about the greater Phoenix real estate market.
The report goes on to concentrate on “plunging sales” in November. Of course there were fewer reported closings in November, there were only 16 1/2 business days in one of the shortest working months of the year. The figures don’t explain the “why” of the market or the fact that real estate sales are highly localized. Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) which services the greater Phoenix area indicates that home sales for December 2008 were UP 60% over home sales in December of 2007 a nice peak for sales that have showed a year over year monthly increase since June of 2008.
One of the biggest problems that agents and consumers face is the “bald” numbers tossed out by various news sources. Frequently, the numbers are inadequate, incomplete and irrelevant. Numbers alone don’t tell the “Rest of the Story”. Like it or not consumers need a local real estate expert to help them with the information analysis necessary to take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities in this LOCAL market.
DF
The birth of a series… by Diane Flannigan
Tired of all the negative news that panders to those individuals that would rather feel like victims? Yeah, us too! The press has determined that bad news sells newspapers and really bad news sells even more newspapers. They go out of their way to put a negative spin on almost everything. The Sunday after “Black Friday”, they practically apologized that retail sales were markedly “UP” and there wasn’t a parking spot to be had at most retail outlets. “Sorry folks but business was good.” That was followed by the announcement that they would be running a 12 part series on foreclosures! Talk about relentless!
We believe it is time that the real estate industry, especially in Arizona, take responsibility for some of its own press. We also believe that what we focus on expands. Put those two beliefs together and you get ……The Rest of the Story.
We’ve decided to spend some time talking to individual agents who have had successes. What did they do to motivate sellers to sell and buyers to buy? What prospecting and marketing techniques have worked for them in finding business in this market? We’ll also dig down into “the numbers” to try and help you make sense of them and what they really mean. What price ranges are selling? How will new lower interest rates spur sales? What do foreclosures really do to the market?
Why explore these topics? So that you can tell your clients and customers………The Rest of the Story.
Some peoples’ daily mission is simply to annoy you!
Check out this video…
Ever feel that way? Well, everyone does, it’s human nature but it is particularly likely if you sell real estate. It shouldn’t surprise you when you consider the uneven commission only income stream, wishy-washy buyers, and desperate unrealistic sellers. Now top that off with a spouse who wants you to get a “real job”, and it feels like everyone is simply out to annoy you. It probably isn’t true but just knowing that won’t help much. Try this:
Close your eyes and take a long deep breath. It may or may not help much but it will give you a moment to relax and refocus. Learn to let it go. Chances are that the annoyer has moved on to other things, you should too.
It’s NOT about you! It never is. People act out of their own self-interest and 9 times out of 10 – ignorance. Consumer focus groups have shown us that about 93% of consumers have no clue what you do to earn your commissions. That’s why you spend hours showing them properties only to find out that their cousin Ethel just got her real estate license and is going to write their offer. She’s a full time hairdresser though and “could you maybe review the paperwork just to be sure it’s right?” Sounds to me like you forgot to educate your prospect.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. One of the biggest stumbling blocks to higher productivity is perfectionism. A lot of real estate agents keep “getting ready to get ready”. Education is a wonderful thing but if you know it and don’t practice it, what’s the point? Some agents actually keep attending classes so they can feel productive without having to actually look for a live prospect. You don’t have to be perfect but you do have to be there!
Lower your expectations. Yep, you heard me right. Set those high expectations about yourself but don’t be unrealistic about others. I have found that when I am disappointed in others it is because I expected them to act differently. It’s like being angry at a dog who barks, they’re dogs for goodness sake, they bark. People are just people, they don’t live their lives to fulfill your expectations.
Now, watch the video again – you might just be the monkey!
Diane Flannigan is the Director of Career Development for John Hall & Associates. In her dynamic ‘Skill Series’ set of real estate agent training classes, she teaches agents how to improve their mindset along with their presentation, counseling, marketing, and negotiation skills.
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