Welcome to Mike Ferry TV. It is the week of November 4th. We have two months to score. We have two months to do deals, two months to take listings, two months to get sales made, two months to get a few closings under our belt, two months to accumulate some leads for 2025. This could be the best two months. I can’t even tell you how many agents I talked to that have always said, I look forward to November and December more than any other months of the year, because the number of people that are competing, as I mentioned last week, is at a minimum. So therefore, if you’re competitive, if you’re driven, if you’re out there trying to do deals. So, think about the other side. Let’s say that you say to yourself, you know, my goal was 24 deals. I’ve done 24. There’s two months to go. I’m going to just kind of kick back and relax. And I understand that you’ve earned the opportunity to sit back and relax. But is it a good choice? Because you think about this. You kick back and relax and then it’s January 5th, sixth or seventh. You’re starting back. It’s going to take you 30 to 60 days to get back into the work mode you had in June, July, August, September and possibly October. It’s going to take time. So, in essence, you’re going to have 30 to 60 days plus November and December not being active. That’s four months. Now, what are the odds of you being as successful as you have been this year, next year, taking basically four months off? The odds are very slim.

I mentioned last week that we did a finishing strong program in Fort Lauderdale. We had a great audience that was there with a lot of excitement. I well, let’s put it this way, one of the best audiences I’ve had this year was Fort Lauderdale. Two weeks ago. And it’s because they knew that they had just gone through two terrible hurricanes that affected a major portion of the population in the state of Florida and surrounding areas. So, what I talked to them about is how do we finish as strong as possible, which kick starts 2025? I had ten points I gave them I gave you the first five last week.

6) Be a lot stronger in your pre-qualifying process and presentation

Let’s go to number six this week. Be a lot stronger in your pre-qualifying process and presentation. And make sure that the motivation to do something, buy or sell, is at least on a scale from 1 to 10 a 7. I have said all year long, the name of the game in 2024 is pre-qualifying. Whether it be a buyer or a seller. Finding out the motivation because see, with the interest rates playing games with us, with the economy slowing down a little bit, and then we have on the other side a national election, coming up virtually in a few days, at least in the U.S., there’s been a lot of well, almost, the word chaos would be a good way to explain the market over the last six, seven, eight, nine months. The people that spend their time looking and questioning a buyer or seller prospect for motivation, or the people that have the most success. Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions. If you’re not 100% sure of what questions to ask. Go to Mike Ferry.com and type in the word scripts. We have all those scripts for pre-qualifying a buyer or a seller.

7) Simplify your pre-listing package

Number seven, simplify your pre-listing package, and then I put down, maybe consider trying the one that I’ve been recommending for 35 – 40 years. I don’t know why Real Estate people think they have to be creative with basic concepts. A pre-listing package is designed to save you a lot of time. Think about the length of time you spend on a listing presentation. And I have agents still telling me today, Mike, I just can’t use that pre-listing package. I feel the need to discuss in detail every single document, every single paragraph, every single line of every single contract. What have you lost your head? That’s going to take 2 or 3 hours of your time, and then you’re probably not even going to have a thorough understanding yourself of those documents. So, watch a CMA completed with suggested list price a net sheet with all the costs that break down for them, your sales plan of action. Obviously, any contract that they have to sign completely filled out and waiting for approval. Keep the Pre-listing package as simple as possible because it allows them to read those parts they want to read. They can jot questions if they have them, and instead of going in thinking you’re going to be there for an hour or hour and a half, go in with the attitude that you’re going to be there for 15 to 20 minutes.

8) Practice, practice, practice, practice the MFO Listing Presentation

Number eight on this list I wrote down practice, practice, practice, practice. The MFO Listing Presentation. The people that use our presentation verbatim are listing anyplace from 5 to 10 to 15 to 20 listings a month, and whether the market’s going up flat or going down, they’re listing 10, 15, 20 listings a month because they are so confident in what they’re saying. You’ll notice that the one thing that I have going for me is the confidence and belief in what I’m saying is the right thing for you. And I don’t hesitate to tell you. And if you’ve been to my seminars enough times, you know that my strength is normally the scripts and dialogs. I review this stuff all the time, so when I’m presenting it, I can present it with confidence. Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice. We have two professional teams here in Las Vegas. We have the Las Vegas Raiders professional football team, and then we have the Golden Knights professional hockey team. They spend every week practicing, whether they’ve been a rookie on the team or they’ve been playing on the team for five, ten, 15 years. They spend all their time practicing. So, when they do perform, they perform at the highest level.

9) Track all the objections and questions you get from buyers and sellers on presentations 

Number nine on our list. Think about this one. Track all the objections and questions you normally get from buyers and sellers on presentations, and then spend a little bit of time every week reviewing a good, solid answer and test your answers. Don’t be afraid to test some of the material to see if it makes sense to you, and to that buyer or seller, but have you ever noticed every seller gives the same objections, every buyer asks the same questions, and for us to be hesitant or not being confident is only because we haven’t spent the time learning what they say so we can learn to respond to what they say.

10) Identify the values you bring to a potential buyer

And number ten on finishing strong regarding buyers, identify the 5 to 6 points of difference or in other terminology. Identify what are the values you bring to a potential buyer since August 17th, at least in the US, and this probably in most of the world, the commissions are now being divided between buyer and seller, and most agencies in the US are used to charging a seller 4 or 5 or 6%, and then dividing that with the buyer’s agent when the transaction closes. Well, that world has been turned upside down, at least in the US. So how do we get a buyer to sign a contract and pay us our commission. Identify the exact steps you take and what you go through, because they think it’s just a matter of pressing a few buttons on the computer. 3 or 4 pictures show up and you show them property. There’s a big process that a good buyer’s agent has to follow, and that process is called selling. And part of selling is having points of difference. But then second, I wrote down agree on what fees you’re going to be working for before you put them in the car and show them property. But then third, and this is probably the one that probably is the most abused, get a strong buyer broker agreement signed every time. In fact, I think with the new laws in effect, and I guess they’re not really laws, they’re just suggested regulations by NAR for August 17th. Going forward, you have to now get a buyer broker agreement signed. In 1970, my broker, Pat McVeigh, had a buyer broker agreement that we had to get signed before we showed property to a buyer. We’re talking about 50, 60 years ago. So, let’s get up to date as to what things we have to do. Talk to your broker. Talk to your board of realtors. Check the state standards. Find out what their qualifications are and working with buyers. Follow the steps. And remember, asking questions is much better than talking all the time. So, when you get your buyer, be sure to prepare 4 to 5 questions to get their opinions, their attitudes, and what they’re thinking about doing. So hopefully last week and this week will help you finish strong and start fast. Watch this 3 to 4 times this week. If you have any questions, send me an email at MikeFerry.com and I’ll look forward to talking to you soon. Talk to you again.