Going Back To Basics...Not a Bad Idea!

Going back to basics, like putting on your name tag and picking up the phone to connect with a friend might not be such a bad idea. 


                                                         

Today I spoke with Michael Maher, an ActiveRain member, a CyberStar and a fellow author. He wrote the book 7L and I just read the first chapter. During our conversation, we realized that Floyd, my first trainer, had endorsed both of our books. I shared the following story with Michael.

When I think back early in my career, we were taught to COLD CALL.  Go to  the Criss Cross Directory, pick a street and start calling home owners... asking if they wanted to sell now or in the near future. The assignment was to make these calls until  an appointment was obtained. That was the, then, philosophy of  Floyd Wickman     who I have followed since 1990 when I took his first Sweat-hog course.

But did I make cold calls from that directory...absolutely not! I figured out a different way to make those "calls."

Yes, I followed the script but not the method..the idea was to get appointments.  How many calls should we make? One if you get an appointment  or 100 until you succeed. The goal  was to get a face to face.

At the time I was power walking early in the mornings on a high school track. There was a crowd who walked and talked. You could find people there at  any hour of the day and in all kinds of weather. I used to call it mobile psychiatry. Lots and lots of conversation and  lifelong friendships were formed.

So it was natural when I got into real estate... these were the people to "call."

Since I was walking every day, people coming and going at different paces, changing walking partners was quite frequent. It was easy to try out the technique taught in class. Just ask a simple question. "Are you planning to buy or sell in the near future?

And the follow up..."Do you know anyone who might be thinking about buying or selling in the near future?"
Simple...very simple! Bet this type of "cold calling" would work just as well today. Give it a try! Nothing to lose! No cost involved!

                                      


Look who just returned my phone call while I was writing this post!! Jason is a super star who understands the need for connecting face to face.  Go read his latest post. The Phone Call Challenge 

Give him a call and tell him "Margaret Rome made me do it!"

Going back to basics, like putting on your name tag and picking up the phone to connect with a friend might not be such a bad idea.

A Bit of Paradise...Good Friends at The Bay Cafe in Baltimore, MD

A Bit of Paradise…Good Friends at The Bay Café in Baltimore, Maryland

Gary Sisson is a Floyd Wickman trainer and one of my mentors. We met early in my career after I took the Sweathogs program, and have stayed good friends throughout the years. Gary called to say he was on his way to New Jersey visiting family, and would be coming through Baltimore on his way back home to North Carolina. We made plans to have lunch on his way home.

Lee and I would meet them at a favorite restaurant, the Bay Café in Baltimore,Maryland.

This is not a first for us..take a look You Can Get There From Here...Baltimore's Bay Café

It was a perfect day for us to have lunch at the Bay Café with Gary, his wife Lauren, and their lovely daughter, Olivia. The bar and restaurant has multiple levels, but we took a table outside and right on the water.

Bay Café is also known as Baltimore's Best Beach and with good reason.

When you walk from the parking lot it feels as if you've been transported to the tropics!

Look how they have made this feel like an island beach with gorgeous plants, lots of palms and flowering hibiscus.

Even the chalkboard of special events had a tropical feel, thanks to a couple of talented artists who work at the Café.

A Bit of Paradise...Good Friends at The Bay Café in Baltimore, Maryland

It was so pleasant sitting by the water, with good friends and good food. We enjoyed the superb shrimp salad, crab cakes, pizza and curly fries. In fact, we got so wrapped up in our conversation and feeding the birds that I forgot to photograph the food! But we have proof that the birds enjoyed the fries.

What else would you want for paradise but good friends, good food, and good conversation?

A Bit of Paradise...Good Friends at The Bay Café in Baltimore, Maryland

It Doesn't Get Any Better! The Floyd Wickman Summer Forum

It Doesn't Get Any Better! The Floyd Wickman Summer Forum-Ask The Experts

It was a perfect weekend getaway, just what I needed in the middle of an incredibly busy time. Last weekend I traveled with my good friend Anne Hruby to Detroit for the Summer Forum with The Floyd Wickman Team. What fun meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends. (Be sure to read Dean Moss' blog about it, too.)

Dean Moss and Floyd Wickman with lucky me in the middle

I was fortunate to take my first Floyd Wickman course in 1991 – back then they called it "SweatHogs." Since then I've been a Floyd fan, and try to connect with him when I can. So what is a "Forum for Master Salespeople?" It is a gathering (twice a year, summer and winter) to publicly help everyone hit their goals. It was an active participation, open discussion, with asking and answering some special questions - and with a great deal of enthusiasm. As you see in the photos, everyone was intensely involved in our round table discussions. So much wisdom shared by so many successful Realtors. There were topics for discussion like "Best Money Making Ideas," and the ideas flowed!

Social Media was also one of the topics, and I was asked by Mike Pallin of the Floyd Wickman Team to speak about none other than ActiveRain. There was plenty of interest as I shared some of the ways AR has been a big part of my real estate business in the past three years. There were lots of questions, and I asked for business cards from those who wanted to try AR so I could send them an invitation. Little did I know there would be so many interested! The first night back I sent out a bunch of AR invitations, late as it was.

We had a terrific panel discussion about REO and Short Sales led by Mary Johnson. With so many agents around the country experiencing lower income and depressed markets, this was the absolute best time to get back to basics.

Of course it wasn't all work. There was also a lot of fun stuff, too, with karaoke on Friday night, and presentation of an award to Floyd by The Rat Pack. Saturday was dinner at Buce Di Beppi with mounds of delicious food, drink, laughter, and above all friendship.

I wonder how many of you have taken a session with Floyd? Can we find out? We have Floyd Wickman and the "You Get By Giving" philosophy in common. Anyone reading this who has been a part of a Floyd Wickman course, or knows someone who has, can we connect again?

It doesn't get any better than this!

I Was SMART ...SMART Program That Is!

I had a great day! While having lunch with Kim Jones last week (she was Maryland Association of Realtors® Rookie of the Year), I noticed she was carrying a SMART bag . That is Floyd Wickman's program, and anyone who knows me knows that I am one of Floyd's biggest fans. Heck in my book Real Estate the Rome Way, his name is indexed more than anyone else's, and the first blurb is from Mike Pallin.

Me: "Oh, you know Floyd?"

Kim: "Well yeah, I am enrolled in the SMART program right now. We meet on Mondays. Steve Caudle knows you and missed you at Master Sales Academy this year."

Kim spoke to Steve and I was invited to stop by. I was wonderfully busy on a Monday morning, up at 5:30, went to the gym, took a couple of new listings, working on a property going to auction, two settlements this month. In there, too, was checking on my Active Rain membership with the change in rules today, scanning through Brad's post and the more than 400 comments! But when I got an email from Kim saying she was leaving for class, well, I decided I was not too busy after all…WIN!

After 19 years since I first took the course (back then it was "SweatHogs"), other than the technology everything was so familiar. I found I was chiming in with the class. They even allowed me to do some role-playing and welcomed me with open arms. There were lots of questions about how I am getting listings, making contacts, marketing, and just real estate in general. It was fun with this enthusiastic group, so eager to learn in spite of the negative/slow market. These agents were doing something, they were learning, they were excited. And so was I.

Steve Caudle, Margaret Rome, Michelle Nolan, Ulysses Cooper, Phillip Graham

Kim Jones, Sean Regan

A few photos, handshakes and hugs, and the day was over. It was great to see Steve and I was honored that he asked me to sign a book for him. Then he handed me a pen…it was from Dean Moss - a wonderful friend, Rainer, Floyd Wickman follower, and Carolyn Howd award
winner from Chicago.

The day was complete. Networking, friendships, learning, sharing, and seeing again how the world goes round and round to bring good friends together.