Thank YOU!!! Happy Holidays!

So I've missed a couple of Blog posts.  Mostly because we've been trying to ramp up and now work out the kinks of the move that our company underwent last week.  I'm happy to say that the Elizabethtown, Ephrata, and Lancaster offices are full and bustling with excitement from our wonderful agents and staff!  For any RE/MAX Associates of Lancaster agents….Thank you so much for your patience during this time of transition!  2012 will be a bright year for each and everyone of you!  To our staff….how do we begin to show our gratitude!  The support and the patience you have exemplified over the last few months has been priceless!!!  

As we begin to think about settling down for our short "winter's nap".  I hope each and every one of you finds some relaxation (we all need it) and some much needed time with family and loved ones!  

The recipe for success is our Agents and our Staff!!!  As we gear up for a prosperous 2012…We are Thankful for each and every one of YOU!

Happy Holidays!

Moving Time....

It's moving week here at RE/MAX Associates of Lancaster.  Our Lausch Rd office is relocating to our newly remodeled Delp Rd office.  The Delp Rd. furniture is coming to Elizabethtown.  We've all been anxiously waiting for this day to come...but the logistics of pulling it off have kept everyone busy!  We all are just hoping everything goes smooth and our phone lines stay afloat!

This makes me think about working with your clients and doing what you can to assist them with their moves!   How many of you do something out of the ordinary?  Do you provide a list of contact numbers, menus, etc. in the area that they are moving to?  Do you sign your clients up for the Lowe's Realtor Benefits Program?  Do you stop in and visit with your clients after their move? 

I want to hear from you!  Please let me know your thoughts on this?  How involved should we stay with our clients?  Don’t you think going above and beyond is exactly what customer service is about????  

Training Classes

I wanted to formerly invite you to some of our upcoming training programs. Please feel free to join in on any of these awesome classes. As you know, this office is committed to your success!

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Where is YOUR business going in 2012?

December tends to be the busiest time of year.  With the holidays, parties, traveling, cooking, baking, decorating, shopping….ahhh and the traffic.  Just look around and you don’t see anyone slowing down. 

I’ve always been amazed that with everything going on around us…. This tends to be times of change in the Real Estate business.  This is when agents start to reevaluate their business practices.  They take a look back over the last year and ask themselves if their pleased with their results.  Each one of you should be proud of what you’ve accomplished!    

Do you have a plan for 2012?   For better or worse, we all need a business plan; just as a builder needs plans to build a house.  You must have goals and action steps, and you need to review it regularly and keep it updated.  Most of all it needs to be easy, we won’t work it if it’s not easy. 

My suggestion is to separate your marketing plan from your business plan.  Your business plan needs to be about the big picture of how you run your business.

Find a quiet place without distractions.   Start asking yourself some of the tough questions?

·      Where did my business come from over the last 12 months?

o   What’s working?

o   What do I need to do to get better?

o   What needs more consistency?

o   What adjustments do I need to make?

·      How many appointments did I go on?

·      How many listings?

o   Percentage Sold?

o   List Price to Sale Price Ratio?

·      How many Buyers?

Know Your Numbers!!!!  Nothing is more powerful than your numbers!!!

Consider the 3-5 things you really want to attend to in relations to your long term vision for your business, write these down and then write action steps for each of these, with time lines for each.

Having a plan is critical to your business growth.  Whether you’re looking for more clients, more visibility or more income in your business.  You can reach all of these goals by creating and following through with a plan.  Afterall, the things we focus on expands!!!

If you would like any assistance with working on your business plan, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I’d be happy to sit down and help you define your business goals.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

That time of year is upon us!!!  You can't go anywhere without being reminded that Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are right around the corner.  

My Christmas shopping is just about done (thanks to a good friend for helping out).  I have spent the last 4 days stalking stores and hunting online shops looking for the "hot" toy for my son.  Today I think I made the realization that I won't be acquiring the toy this year.  When I sat down and made of list of everything that each of my children are getting, this hot toy doesn't seem to be as important as it was as late (or early) as 2am this morning!  He's getting enough according to our standards.  He may be disappointed, but not as disappointed as some kids are this time of year.   

When your out doing your Holiday shopping this year, take a moment and grab a toy for all the kids that benefit from the Marine Toys for Tots Program.  Local campaigns are set up in 500 cities across the 50 states. I know personally the local Toys R Us is a location that you can donate at.  The one gift you take the time to donate will be enough to put a smile on a little kids face!  

I'm proud to be with an organization that is now ranked #2 of the corporate sponsors that donates to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.  RE/MAX Affiliates have donated over $100 million dollars to aid sick children.  The donations are used to purchase equipment and pay for uncompensated care.  Give a child an extension on their life.... is there a greater gift?  If you want more information about how to donate to The Children's Miracle Network...just drop me a line.  

This weekend my kids will be spending their day going through their old toys to give away.  We'll be taking the toys that are in good condition to a few local charities to be donated to the children.  It may not be that new shiny "Hot" toy.... but to them.... it’s something they didn't have yesterday!

Have a great week!!!

Time to Give Thanks!

The first Thanksgiving feast was held in 1621 and included the colonists and the Wampanoag Native Americans.  After that, Thanksgiving was celebrated by individual colonies and states, but it wasn't until 1863, during the Civil War, that President Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

From the time I was a little girl, I was taught that this is the time to give Thanks.  Traditions over the years have consisted of such things as everyone reciting what their thankful for around the dining room table; Classroom projects talking or writing about what your thankful for.  I’ve even watched social media become the platform for people to recite what they are thankful for on a daily basis during the month of November.  Aren’t we missing the boat (no pun intended)? 

Shouldn’t we be Thankful year round? 

I’ve had the privilege to serve on the GHAR Foundation for the last several years.  Being part of the Foundation has reminded me day after day of everything I have to be thankful for. This year I’m proud to announce that in a down economic time, we’ve managed to raise $30,000 + to give back to the local charities in our region.  Not only have my peers found money to give, but also found time to donate (REALTORS Out Reach or Extreme Home Makeover).  Our Thanksgiving Food Drive will feed more than 700 families this year.  Some of those same people that found it in their hearts to help the less fortunate are finding themselves in tough economic times.  I say Thank You to every one of them!  It makes me Thankful to be surrounded by such giving and wonderful people. 

What would our world look like if we took a little more time to be Thankful year round?  Would there be more charity involvement?  Would we find a little more peace?  I’m not sure any one of us can answer that question, but each one of us can just try to take a moment each day (not just the month of November)…and be Thankful.  Be Thankful for our faith, our family, our friends, our professions, our customers, our freedom, the air we breathe and the life we live. 

Giving thanks for the Creator’s gifts had always been a part of Wampanoag daily life.  Maybe we should take a lesson from the Native Americans that attended the first feast!

I hope everyone has wonderful Holiday!  Turkey, Football, Hunting, Shopping…. whatever your Holiday Traditions may hold!  I’m Thankful for each and every one of you!

Saving Trees One Contract at a Time!

Are you paperless?  I'm not just talking about docusign....I mean paperless!  We run a Paperless system at RE/MAX Associates of Lancaster.

Benefits:

• Automates the entire real estate transaction from listing a property to closing the deal.
• Prepare and store documents.  Manage every step of the process from one central platform
• Provides a secure document repository with documents easily posted via scanner, email and direct upload
• Create to-do lists and reminders
• Archive transactions onto CD's for clients or company records
• Save all email messages and notes as a permanent transaction record in the communication log
• View the status of a transaction and details with one single click

You have 24/7 access to all stored documents.  You can access them anywhere at any time.

It's a simple system to use and designed especially for the "not-so-technical" person.

The BONUS....our agents pay no additional cost to have this advantage.

Just something else that sets us apart from the competition.  Think about how impressed your clients will be when you had them their transaction on a CD?  Now that's great customer service!

If you want to know more about what makes RE/MAX #1.  Please don't hesitate to contact me!

Have a great weekend!!!

Jessica

JFleisher@remax.net

Learning What's Important!

If you live anywhere near Central PA, this past week has been tough for you.  As the scandal at Penn State unfolded, our community was rocked with questions....that frankly we never imagined having to contemplate!  Emotions ran high and you found out very quickly where the lines were drawn.  I stood on the side that your morals prevail over any policy that your institution may or may not have in place.  This wasn't the most popular side to stand on, but when I begin to think of our society not stepping up to do the right things...I'm disgusted by what I see.

The later part of this week, my family personally experienced a loss of a great women.  As I watched her dying in the hospital a good friend of her's commented to me that in the end all you have is who you were as a person, your family, friends and love.

Talk about helping me put things into perspective.  We are faced everyday with having to make decisions, that not only affect ourselves by those around us (family, friends, co-workers, clients)  As realtors we have to complete ethics courses to get and keep our license.  Ethics defined by the Webster's Dictonary states "a system of moral principals".   I want to challenge each of you today to ask yourself...."Where do my morals lie?"  If you were dying tomorrow...how would you be remembered?