Do you want to be your client’s real-life Wizard of Oz and give them what they never even thought possible? Steve Sims, a speaker, coach, author and master of making things happen, has some invaluable advice for REALTORS® who really want to WOW their clients in today’s solution-based economy. Listen in to learn how you can give people more than what they want – even before they know it’s possible.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting leighbrown.com.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Steve, a speaker, coach and author of Bluefishing
• 02:50 – He believes people overthink marketing; he helps people market effectively, especially those in real estate
• 04:40 – Communication fixes things that otherwise look complicated
• 04:50 – People don’t clearly ask for what they want; they ask for what they think is possible
• 06:06 – On giving people more than what they want
• 06:20 – Think, dream and vision for your clients to go beyond being a service provider
• 11:00 – We settle because we’re afraid of failing and being seen as a failure; our greatest achievements come from our greatest failures
• 15:45 – On his book and work
• 16:00 – He speaks globally, likes to grow, and loves to help people get out of their own way
• 17:00 – A second book is in the works
• 17:20 – On what he wants from a REALTOR®
• 18:15 – He wants someone to solve a problem and tell him what he needs to know
• 19:50 – Give answers to questions people don’t know to ask
• 20:35 – On his tag-team relationship with his wife
• 21:20 – His wife knows how to ask questions and communicate
• 22:20 – His wife didn’t like their current property at first; they made a pros and cons list and eliminated the problems she didn’t like
• 25:00 – On listening to both sides
• 25:05 – Usually one person in the relationship makes the ultimate decision; determine that person but keep both sides in mind
• 26:40 – Steve’s wife has ultimate veto power because she needs to be happy in the home
• 27:15 – We’re in a solution-based economy
• 28:00 – How to hear more from Steve – Read Bluefishing, listen to his podcast The Art of Making Things Happen, check out his website, and find him on all social media channels

3 Key Points

• Go beyond providing a service by giving more than what you’re asked for.
• Don’t settle. Don’t be afraid to fail.
•  Solve more and be the “who” people need.

Credits

• Audio Production by Chris Mottram
• Show Notes provided by Melissa Valder

Question: When do you know a listing appointment has taken a turn? Answer: When the conversation topic changes from the home to penises and circumcisions! You heard it here first, folks! Paula Brahan, a REALTOR® in Hattiesburg, MS, has been on the show before, but we had to bring her on again to share her most recent crazy shit. Listen in to find out what the heck happened – and learn what crazy things her client had been collecting.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting leighbrown.com. 

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:20 – Introducing Paula Brahan; a REALTOR® in Hattiesburg, MS who has been in real estate for 5 years
• 02:20 – She was a nurse for 23 years and worked in psychiatry; she knows how to deal with crazy
• 02:50 – Paula’s CSIRE story
• 03:08 – She went to a listing appointment 30 minutes away; it was a rural community
• 03:30 – The cigarette odor was very strong inside; the home was neat but the woman “collected” a lot of things
• 04:30 – There were a couple rooms that they had not entered because of the amount of “collections” inside
• 05:00 – She was very concerned about her things; Paula tried to change the conversation to the issue of the cigarette odor
• 05:44 – She suggested some ways to part with the belongings, like taking photos and making albums of the belongings
• 06:30 – The appointment took a turn when the woman said her middle son was circumcised and she kept the little plastic piece in a scrapbook
• 08:02 – Another CSIRE story
• 08:30 – A woman’s husband died three days before closing
• 09:00 – How to get in touch with Paula: text (601)606-6686, call her office at (601)668-1600, or visit her website

3 Key Points

• Being a psychiatric nurse and being a REALTOR® isn’t that different.
• Some people collect everything.
• Be mindful of how you inform someone about their home’s odor or messiness.

Want to imagine what a flooded home filled with 60 cats smells like? Well, no need to guess because Rod Meyer can tell you! Rod Meyer is a REALTOR® from Grand Forks, North Dakota whose whole family is in real estate. Tune in hear about the destroyed “cat house” (that sold!) and the silly things he’s had to do to get approval from FHA appraisers.

Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting leighbrown.com.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:50 – Introducing Rod, a REALTOR® of 10 years in Grand Forks, ND; he and his wife have a brokerage and he feels he’s a magnet for strange real estate happenings
• 01:35 – All four of his kids are in real estate in one way or another; his wife thinks everyone should sell real estate
• 02:40 – They all talk about real estate around the dinner table
• 03:00 – CSIRE stories
• 03:10 – His wife walked into a home when the owner said, “Come on in, it’s open” and the man was sitting on the couch in his underwear smoking a doobie
• 03:15 – Rod’s attorney friend asked him to look at a property on a sunny day at 20 below with three feet of snow
• 03:30 – They walked into the house and walked back out because of the smell; there was four feet of water in the basement from broken pipes
• 04:08 – The neighbor was supposed to be in charge of the propane tank to keep the heat on all winter but had forgotten
• 04:25 – He and his son pumped the water out; there were 60 cats on the property that had been crawling through the ducts
• 05:30 – They listed the property for $100,000, it was 15 acres on a creek, and it got sold; the guy eventually got divorced and built a new house
• 07:15 – It took two days to pump the water out and there was cat hair everywhere; beds and clothes were floating everywhere
• 08:55 – He’s shocked that someone bought it; there’s a buyer for everything
• 10:20 – Silly FHA loan requirements
• 11:40 – Rod had to paint a chicken coop and garage off the property per the request of an appraiser; the husband of the seller had died shoveling snow
• 14:00 – How to reach Rod: email meyerr6@gmail.com or by phone (701)739-1716

3 Key Points

• There’s a buyer for everything!
• Sometimes appraiser requirements are silly.
• The real estate is NOT like what you see on HGTV.