Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Impacts of Non Decisions

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Recently I found myself in a Fast Food Establishment, This particular restaurant (I know it was technically one because it said so on the sign) has 12 pre-established meals. It has been the same 12 meals since I was in High School some Twenty years ago, minus the occasional rib burger thingy or kids movie character sandwich. So you can imagine my frustration when the couple in front of me couldn’t decide between a # 3 and # 6, to say they where undecided would be an insult to people who have no cognitive activity at all. Apart from my general aggravation at this particular chain a # 3 and # 6 are no where near similar at all, “I can’t decide between buying a hamburger or a Parakeet”. So I started thinking how these people make it through a day, we all have to make choices, some lead to prosperity and some don’t”. But if you are one of these non-decision makers, think of the opportunities that you didn’t get (or actually never had a chance of getting). Whether it’s a hiring issue, or a customer service issue or one of the hundred other decisions you have to make each day, your ability to move forward will impact your short term business more than anything else.

To be honest, your ability to make these decisions have already impacted the business you currently have. These decisions you have made (or more importantly avoided making) have consequences. Are you missing out on opportunities, or advantages over competitors by simply NOT.

Gareth Beale is the Marketing Director for Choice Title LLC, you can respond here, or contact him directly Gareth@choicetitle.com

 http://twitter.com/gareth_beale

 His weekly Blog can be found here.

BREAKING NEWS…RURAL HOUSING DISASTER FUNDS RECEIVED IN LOUISIANA!!

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Rural Development gets an extension for our area. Here is the email I just received.

LOUISIANA MORTGAGE LENDERS ASSOCIATION

Website: http://www.lmla.com                email:   office@lmla.com

 BREAKING NEWS!! GUARANTEED RURAL HOUSING DISASTER FUNDS RECEIVED IN LOUISIANA!!

Rural Development in Louisiana has received approximately $321 million in 2005 and 2008 Hurricane Disaster funds. These funds will be used to obligate guaranteed rural housing loans in the 52 declared disaster parishes in Louisiana. In the 11 non-declared disaster parishes of Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Jackson, Lincoln, Red River, Webster, Desoto, and Natchitoches (Orleans Parish ineligible), we will use regularly appropriated funding based upon availability.

With the receipt of disaster funds and based upon current loan volume, it appears we will have adequate funding for the Guaranteed Rural Housing program in Louisiana for the next few months. We encourage you to submit complete eligible loan applications to our office for processing.

Debbie B. Redfearn / Single Family Housing Program Director Rural Development U. S. Department of Agriculture

It seems to me that between Rural Development and NFIP, the real estate industry is going to limp along through the year. Not sure if these actions really inspire a feeling of confidence, or not. What do you all Think?

Gareth Beale is the Marketing Director for Choice Title LLC, you can respond here, or contact him directly Gareth@choicetitle.com

 http://twitter.com/gareth_beale

 His weekly Blog can be found here.

Don’t wait for the Market to come to you, CREATE YOUR MARKET…

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

This past week I was talking to an agent and of course the regular questions came up, “You Busy?”, “Whatcha working on?”, “How’s your business?”. Then she said something profound. She said, “I am not waiting anymore, I’m going to Create a Market!”. The more we discussed it, the more concentrated her market became, until she had a laser point focus on what her niche was going to be. While I don’t want to give her hard work away, I will share the process. And next week discuss what I see my Niche may become.

 

As a professional you have to separate yourself from everyone else. You need to determine what YOUR focus is going to be…YOUR niche. By targeting your business to a few markets you not only protect yourself from the competition, but you shield yourself from the state of the economy. If you do this successfully, your clients won’t now what they did without you. I know of an agent in our area that was/ is the “short sale expert”. Even when times are good you will get referrals for your specific market. In an arena of generalists, people in need will seek out the specialist.

What is your Niche? First ask yourself, what is the competition NOT doing? Is there a Niche they have failed to fill? It is very easy to become the expert of something no one else is doing. Then determine if what you are currently doing relates to this “prospective niche”, you can’t be an expert in one area one day and a completely different area the next. Then ask yourself, how can I differentiate my business from others? How can I create the perception that my market simply cannot live without me. What do I have to offer?

Time to Focus…Decide what your client looks like, define who they are, and more importantly where do you find them. Too many times people stop focusing before they reach their client. “First Time Home Buyers” is not a niche…”Young, Married, plant workers in the Ascension Parish Area” is a niche. You know who they are, you know where to find them, and better yet, it is easy to ask other people to market your niche.  Make sure your niche is different, and make sure your niche is viable. No point going after “Young, Married, plant workers in the Ascension Parish Area” if all the plants are laying off workers.

The Unpaid Sales Rep… Ask yourself where is you client? Does your niche have an association? Where do they gather? How do you get to as many of them as you can, efficiently? I know a Disability Insurance sales rep whose niche is dentists, at the end of each graduating class guess who is making presentations at the state school of dentistry? As you position yourself as THE expert, the leaders of these groups will seek you out.

The only constant is change… Re-evaluate your niche, when it gets old go through the process again. Look where you market has been, how it evolved (and it will) and where it is going. Develop new products and services to add to your Business, competitors will respond to your success and you will need to grow to stay ahead. The secret to niche marketing is being able to evolve with time.

Gareth Beale is the Marketing Director for Choice Title LLC, you can respond here, or contact him directly Gareth@choicetitle.com

 http://twitter.com/gareth_beale

 His weekly Blog can be found here.

 

 

Don’t Let Negative Attitude Block You from Your Success

Friday, March 26th, 2010

It is no secret that I have been focusing on getting to that “Next” Level this year. I have read several books recently from management to marketing , but without the right attitude no amount of knowledge can get you past whatever is blocking you from your goals. Recently I was discussing this with Ryan Lowe and shared my desire to write a blog on the subject, my problem was I am no expert on the matter nor do I wish to research it and take away from my current focus. “Just use my Blog posts”, was his answer. Hopefully his generosity is reciprocated in the additional exposure to his website and upcoming book. Ryan is an inspiration to all that know him which is only topped by his charisma and willingness to help a friend. Thank you Ryan for your help.

Don’t Let Negative Attitude Block You from Your Success

Originally Written By Ryan Lowe 02/02/2010

Blatantly Stolen By Gareth Beale 03/25/2010 (with permission)                                                 

The other night I was reminded by a close friend of mine why I decided to write the book “Get Off Your Attitude.”  She had mentioned that she thinks that most people let their negative attitudes block them from their successes in life. It could be any type of success; it could be in friendships, marriage or their career. We discussed several possible reasons for this, and the ones that really hit home to me are your past, your current situation and the influence of your circle of friends. The reason why these hit home to me is because they are areas in which I have personally struggled. Please note that I am writing these blogs and the book because I have know how it feels it how these areas can drain you and keep your from your success.  Our past is something that always reminds us of where we have been, and too often we let it dictate our present and our future. This is a habit that I think we have all struggled with at some point in our lives, and some of us have never learned how to let go of the parts of our past that haunt us. We simply must learn to let it go.  No one on this earth can change it, rewrite it or relive it. We must accept that it is over. The one thing you can’t do is forget the lesson.  There is beauty in every lesson of our past, and is the most important aspect of our past. Have you ever noticed that when we first choose not to see the lesson, that it just keeps coming back at us until we do?

Your Past

I firmly believe that one of the most powerful things we can do to discover these lessons in life is to journal.  I write in my journal every day. I write down the good, bad, and the ugly. I write it down and move on. This is one way that can help you know that you are moving on and that you are a student of life. Whether your current situation is good or bad, always remember that it will change. We all seem to think that the current situation is forever, but it is important to realize that it is only for a season. This is true whether you are in a bad relationship, a bad job, or in a bad financial situation.

Your Current Situation

One of the things you can do to get into a better current situation — it doesn’t matter what it is, how bad it seems, or how long you’ve been in it — is to have a game plan to make it better. You also must have goals. Your goals and game plan will keep you on track to a better situation. One the things I have learned is that you can’t change this overnight, but you can work on it a little bit daily and take it one day at a time. This will put you in control and it will definitely help you to develop a better attitude. The people you are surrounding yourself with will dictate your future. I remember growing up and my mom and dad always saying things like, “birds of a feather flock together,” or my favorite is: “You lay down with dogs and you will get fleas.” I never really understood it until I was older and I must admit I didn’t listen to them. I thought I could hang out with anyone and I could keep on moving towards my goals in life. Take it from me, it does not work that way. You must surround yourself with people that are on the same playing field you are on. If you are looking to live a great life and you are looking to better yourself, you must.  I remember going to one of my first motivational seminars at a young age and the speaker said, “If there is someone in your life that consistently stresses you out, get rid of them.” I did exactly what he said and it worked. I focused on others that could lift me during tough time. Remember also that you don’t want to be the person that they want to get rid of, and so make sure you bring value to your relationship to them. The way you can do that is to be positive with them and be truthful when it comes to helping each other.

 Your Friends

One of things you can do is write down the top five people you surround yourself with.  Ask yourself, are they bringing a positive effect and bringing joy to your life and are you doing the same for them? Also, you must ask yourself, “Are these individuals people that you can trust and are they people you wan to help achieve success their own lives?” This will be one of the most important things you do to help yourself achieve and maintain positive attitude.

Keep in mind that these three areas are only a few that I decided to write about in this blog. There are more that I will discuss in future blogs and in the book.  I strongly welcome your feedback and I ask you to please let me know if this has helped you and if you have any suggestions on how to work on these areas and make them better. I love to hear how people have gotten of their attitude. Also, please feel free to share this blog with any of your friends who you think will benefit from its message. I truly want help others reach their dreams and goals in life with a positive attitude.