Good Real Estate Sense from Gary Keller founder of Keller Williams International Realty

I had the good fortune to hear Gary Keller founder of Keller Williams International Realty speak in Livonia Michigan yesterday thanks to an internet invitation.

“Shift Happens. Always has, always will.”

Gary Keller spent over three hours providing an overview of some of the key features of his latest Real Estate book called “Shift How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times”.  Michigan agents have known tough times since 2005 when the market began to decline here. We all know agents who have taken other jobs or switched careers to make ends meet, but we also know agents who are surviving or finding their niche in this market.

Here are a sampling of some of the topics I found interesting:

“History repeats itself”

Gary Keller points out that history proves amazing change is produced after extreme challenges.  Our real estate market has shifted and as professionals working in the industry, we need to reinvent how we work within the industry to adapt to the market.

He is an engaging speaker, but what struck me most, is that he is a realist.  I’ve listened to a lot of motivational speakers and read many books on sales techniques. Gary Keller had the most practical advice to date.  Typically I walk away from seminars with one gem, one good idea I adopt or put into practice.  Today I walked away with a handful excellent concepts and confirmation that many of my previously conceived ideas were solid.  It was a productive day that will benefit my clients and my professional & personal life.

“It is a myth to believe you can be great at everything. You can be great at some things.”

According to Gary Keller we get to decide what we’ll be great at. We try to do too much.  We can’t possibly be great at everything due to the amount of practice time required to excel at any given activity.  He recommends choosing the most important activities and excelling at those.

“What’s your delegation criteria?”

Lead generation and money management should never be delegated. You, as a business owner, should directly manage those two tasks, whether by doing it yourself or completing it with help.  Everything else can be delegated if necessary. Trim the fat and decrease expenses in financially restrictive times.

“It’s always about quality not about quantity”

There is one critical issue with people. You either have the right person or the wrong ones.  The right people streamline your business and make it run smoothly in difficult times.  Gary Keller warns us to consider the people we use. Were the vendors and Virtual Assistants chosen during a time of bloat when inefficiencies weren’t as devastating to your business? Are they effective now? Surround yourself with people who are also great at what they do. They will help your business excel and protect your bottom line.

“Plan your personal time first”

An invaluable easily implemented gem is time blocking. Gary Keller recommends blocking personal time off first, planning time to lead generate and then filling your calendar with the remainder of your duties.

“It’s not about the market… It’s about what you do!”

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the message that Gary Keller imparted and I suspect you’ll find more detailed information in his book. I recommend trying to attend one of the Keller Williams seminars because he is motivating, and we can always use some realistic positivity in this real estate market when surrounded by media negativity.

Spend a few hours listening to Gary Keller, at the very least you’ll be entertained. Or perhaps he’ll shift your thoughts about the current housing market and help you discover more effective ways of doing business.

“If there were only 300 sales in your market and you got all 300 of them. Would it be a good market or a bad market?”

If you’ve heard Gary Keller speak in the past or on this tour, what do you think of his message?