Women's Wisdom Network (827)
Have you ever wished you could predict the future—and be right? What would it be like if you could clearly see critical changes in the months and years ahead, and use those glimpses to shape that future instead of just letting it unfold by default? You can accurately predict enough of the future to make all the difference. In fact, you can hone your ability to trigger a burst of accurate insight about the future and use it to produce a new and radically different way of doing things. Being anticipatory is about looking into the future and transforming it into a new paradigm for solving “impossible” problems, unearthing “invisible” opportunities, and positioning yourself as a leader in your organization and industry. I have discovered seven principles or “triggers” that accelerate innovation and growth. They are:
#1 Start with Certainty (use Hard Trends to see what’s coming) You can use the power of certainty to…
As I approach forty years connected to the mortgage and real estate industry, I have given a great deal of thought about what the last phase of my career will look like. I have really thought deeply about what I know, and the things I have learned, and have concluded that my favorite part of all I have been a part of has been helping others find their path in this industry. So, my future will be committed to what I will call “The Mentoring Mindset”. I will continue to write and record content but will limit my individual originator coaching clients and spend more time with teams, managers, branches, and working with companies to help them develop the “Mentoring Mindset” so the next generation of coaches, trainers, managers, and leaders will be in place to help future producers, top producers and others do a better job building and nurturing…
Existing-home sales retreated for the eleventh consecutive month in December, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Three of the four major U.S. regions recorded month-over-month drops, while sales in the West were unchanged. All regions experienced year-over-year declines. Total existing-home sales,[i] https://www.nar.realtor/existing-home-sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – decreased 1.5% from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million in December. Year-over-year, sales sagged 34.0% (down from 6.09 million in December 2021).
“December was another difficult month for buyers, who continue to face limited inventory and high mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, expect sales to pick up again soon since mortgage rates have markedly declined after peaking late last year.” Total housing inventory[ii] registered at the end of December was 970,000 units, which was down 13.4% from November but up 10.2% from one year ago…
For a business or organization, cost-effective solutions to current and future problems is a primary goal of many internal leaders. Of course, this is not limited to having less scrap as a manufacturing company or offering fewer refunds to dissatisfied customers as a retailer. Much of what cost savings has to do with these days is found in processing power, bandwidth, and storage — the Three Digital Accelerators that I have identified as the cause for accelerated digital disruption since the eighties. Yes, cost savings by way of using an Anticipatory Mindset to get in front of disruption is certainly a prominent factor as a business or organization. However, the other side of the coin here is in understanding how to effectively implement digital disruption to leverage it in low-cost ways. I have previously highlighted in recent blogs the fast-moving nature of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in nearly all areas of…
Really solid news from my clients reporting from the field that new contracts, pre-approvals, and contacts for information are significantly higher than the last few weeks of 2022. As expected, the new year brought both buyers and sellers back into the market and many are interested in making something happen NOW! While not huge amount of urgency, interest in making it happen, or the commitment to the process appears to be strong. That is always a good sign, and certainly welcome now. Will sellers continue the annual tradition of listing in January? We will have to see, but it appears that there is solid interest by homeowners to trade up, trade down, or relocate. Couple that with a strong first-time home buyer interest and you have the makings of solid activity. Thanks to those who reached out to me about the call I did with Dave Savage on December 30th.…
Welcome to 2023! I am excited to enter this year with the excitement for our industry that many others are lacking but are searching for. It may just be my experience pointing me to the opportunities that are there for the taking, but I can’t help but feel optimistic about what lies ahead, and you should too! I did a call with Dave Savage of Mortgage Coach last Friday (You can find it on Facebook or the Mortgage Coach YouTube channel) and it was about what four generations of mortgage professionals thought about our business going forward. While I am not so sure that it was four generations since Dave Savage, and Dave Gallegos are less than 10 years younger than I am, but Sosi at 33 is almost young enough to be my grandson, so why not? The point is perspective! As the industry has changed in many regards,…
Buyers received concessions—such as money for repairs and mortgage-rate buydowns—in a record 42% of home sales in the fourth quarter, up from 31% a year earlier Home sellers gave concessions to buyers in 41.9% of home sales in the fourth quarter—the highest share of any three-month period in Redfin’s records, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s up from just over 30% in both the previous quarter and the fourth quarter of 2021, and outpaces the prior 40.8% high from the three months ending July 2020, when the housing market nearly ground to a halt due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Redfin’s concessions records date back to July 2020 and are based on data submitted by Redfin buyers’ agents. Concessions have made a comeback as rising mortgage rates, inflation and economic uncertainty have dampened homebuying demand, giving the buyers who remain…
You have heard the term “entrepreneurship,” and perhaps as a business leader or C-suite executive, you fear the possibility of some of your team members leaving your organization to pursue their own great ideas. This is not because you do not want to see them succeed, but because you may lose them as an asset to your operation. But have you heard the term “intrapreneurship?” Does that sound like a typographical error, or do you have an inkling as to what that may mean for you and your organization? “Intrapreneurship is a form of organizational innovation that leverages the brilliance of even the most entry-level employees.” I have long encouraged the high-level leaders and managers at a multitude of businesses and organizations to allocate for innovation hours, where all employees come together with transformative ideas to progress the business or organization further. But believe it or not, these innovation hours and…
The supply of homes for sale posted a record year-over-year increase this week as homes linger on the market. But some buyers are making their way back, with Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index showing an uptick in early-stage demand. The total number of homes for sale rose 18% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending December 25, the biggest increase since at least 2015, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Inventory is up even though new listings are down by double digits because homes are taking a long time to sell amid 6%-plus mortgage rates (the average 30-year rate ticked up to 6.42% this week), economic uncertainty and the typically slow holiday season. The typical home was on the market for 40 days before going under contract, more than double the record low of 18 days set in May and the slowest…
Last week you had just a few more loans to close to close out the year, and then close the books and start fresh with a solid head of steam into 2023. At least, that is what I hope you all did! I had a few people who did open houses with their more engaged agents last weekend, I will be very interested in seeing how they went. Your business plan should already be in place. Your schedule should be adjusted to the realities of your market. All the new tools and technologies should have been adopted and fully functional, so you are all set to go next week so all you need to do is execute and adjust; track your results and execute again. Many are forecasting a challenging 2023, if you are prepared, it won’t be. If you aren’t, it always is. Either way, people will be buying…
Many businesses and organizations in today’s economic environment grow in a linear way. However, one may notice that there are just as many organizations that are growing exponentially. Exponential growth sounds much better than linear growth, doesn’t it? It is! Exponential growth as a business or organization is profoundly advantageous, giving your organization the opportunity to make huge differences in both the industry you operate in and the industries it impacts. There are two obvious questions in regard to exponential growth: What defines exponential growth, and who is capable of achieving it? Are only certain organizations in certain industries capable of exponential growth? Is there a way for your business to go beyond linear growth and start experiencing exponential growth, regardless of your company’s size or location?
We explored these two questions and more in a recent “Opportunity Hour: Conversations with The Masters,” which featured my esteemed colleague, Brad Peterson. Brad…
Some are already gone. Others will follow shortly. Some will be back on Monday or Tuesday, while others won’t be found until some time in January. The point is, if you have your plans all set and you are taking off until next year, have a great time and I will see you next year. However, if you are planning on working next week, you might just be the only game in town! If you are working; then WORK! Show up and personally connect with everyone you can, letting them know you are working and are there to serve those who are actively looking! Believe me, there will be people looking! So, spend some time coming up with your contact plan for Tuesday through Friday, you know, make your list, and check it twice kind of thing! Thoughts on what to do: Call every one of your preapprovals and ask…
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Being Anticipatory as a leader or an organization is not necessarily a sole act of seeing the future, although paying attention to Hard Trend future certainties and seeing disruptions of any kind before they occur may make it seem so. An Anticipatory mindset that embodies an entire organization or specific leader within an organization means they have also embraced the reality that change is always occurring. Anticipation gives the right individual the opportunity to get in front of that change and turn it into a transformation within their industry and the world! The beauty of my Anticipatory Organization® Model is that any and every organization in any and every industry can leverage it to their advantage. To do so, it helps to first read about how certain organizations changed their mindset before creating positive disruptions and transformations in and outside of their operation. Their level of pushing the envelope all relates in some way or…
It appears that cold calling Realtors is back front and center with those mortgage people who never learned how to establish and build relationships. The ads and clips on social media hyping the possible rewards of making “100 calls a day” to agents in your market trying to establish a contact and a potential relationship are enough to give anyone pause to ask a few questions, like: 1. Are there even 100 Realtors in your market worth talking too? 2. Do you know who these people are and what their production is? 3. Do they control any business you would be interested in? 4. Are they more focused on listings or buyers? 5. Do they have a team or are they part of a team? 6. Does their company or branch already have a committed relationship? 7. How many other lenders are doing the exact same thing? 8.…
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