Motivation By The Calendar

As we wind down April, we need to evaluate whether our goals are still reasonable and to make minor adjustments to them to proceed with the year. Don't be so quick to revise the goals, maybe the approach is all that needs tweaked.

While we are - one-third of the way through the year, there's still two-thirds to go. What we need to do to get back on track - unless we are exactly where we want to be - needs to be done now. We still have a lot of year ahead of us, but we need to examine our goals.

In my podcast message today "Motivation By The Calendar" I talk about looking at where we are in the year versus where we need to be or want to be - then figuring out how to get there

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Steve Hoffacker Dominates With "Sales Books For Realtors"

Reporting a very strong search engine presence for "Sales Books For Realtors" by Steve Hoffacker.

A search on Google last night with the search term "Sales Books For Realtors" shows that for 7.3 million returns, I rank 3rd, 4th, and 5th! I like the expansion button for "Show more results from stevehoffacker.com."

When I checked Bing, out of 10.8 million returns for the search term "Sales Books For Realtors" I came up 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the organic search!

Then on Yahoo,with the biggest number of returns at 11.2 million, I came up 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the organic search for the search term "Sales Books For Realtors."

This is powerful stuff - a search engine trifecta!

Get your copy of any of the following by clicking on their title. I will have one more book "Selling With Builders" out by mid-June:

• "Knowing The Score: The A-B-C's Of Rating Realty Customers"
• "Building The Sale: Who, What, When, Where, & More In Realty Sales"
• "You Don't Say: Wisdom For Your Success Journey

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

There's A Draft Today?

Normally there would be a lot of buildup and hype for the NFL Draft set to begin tonight, but the owners and players have created such a standoff that there hardly seems any point in having it. Don't know what will happen to the draftees anyway.

The labor impasse between the NFL owners and the NFL players has tarnished what should be be one of the most important days of the year for them. This is when the teams look to fill key positions on their teams to make up for weaknesses, trades, injuries, or retirement. This year, the bloom is off the rose. Doesn't seem to be much excitement. There may not even be a season.

In my podcast message today "There's A Draft Today?" I talk about the lack of excitement for the draft. Oh sure, teams and fans want to improve the rosters, but the labor issue has soured the mood.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Fed News Conference Was Anything But

Today's historic news conference for the fed demonstrated why there had never been one before.

So much double-speak and talking in circles. The couple of times where there seemed to actually be answer a question without a vague generality it was undone it in the next answer.

Bernanke was full of contradictions.

He said that we need a strong dollar, but he is doing all he can to keep it weak.

He said we need price stability, yet his monetary policy is fueling inflation.

He said we need maximum employment - at least he acknowledged that this idea wasn't going so well.

He said we need to keep inflation low, but his policies have driven us gas prices like never before.

He said that gasoline prices are creating hardship on families, but attributes the price increase to supply and demand. We can fix the supply. It's called drilling.

He said that gas prices accounts for all the increase in inflation, but shrugged his shoulders and said that there is not much the fed can do. Can't raise interest rates? Can't stop printing money? Can't stop buying treasuries? Can't pull down the money supply?

He said that he can't create more oil (no but we can with drilling starting tomorrow and refineries starting next week) to try to keep higher gas prices from passing into other areas and increasing prices in those other areas.

Does he not understand that higher fuel prices increase food costs and everything else that is manufactured? Then it continues to increase as products are moved about in the marketplace?

It's no wonder we are in the mess we are in with this lack of leadership.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Can The Government Compel The NFL To Stay Open For Business?

This post was published in today's edition of "NetRight Daily" and republished with permission.

The decision by the Minneapolis federal judge that lifts the NFL’s lock out of the players raises a question far more significant than whether football is played or not.  The question is whether the government can compel an employer to continue to honor an expired contract with a group of employees?  If the government can effectively force an expired deal to be honored, what incentive do the employees have to negotiate in good faith?  If the government can force an expired deal to be honored by an employer who has contract employees under a master labor agreement, can the employer then refuse to offer contracts to potential employees who are not under contract, or would that be collusion?

Essentially, if the NFL owners do not believe that it is in the interest of their business to go forward under the expired contract, what is the compelling national interest that the federal courts would compel them to operate their businesses anyway?

Just wondering?

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Making Connections

Most of what passes for marketing is passive. Mostly we use advertising that requires the person receiving the message to identify with it and then contact us.

Everything depends on the person receiving the message to initiate the contact. We are spectators until that happens.

We use so much print and electronic media, websites, signage, and direct mail to market ourselves. Yet, all of this requires the person receiving it to notice the message, identify with it, and then contact us. Until that point, we have no connection.

In my podcast message today "Making Connections" I talk about stepping up from passive marketing and becoming more intentional.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

A New Season

Easter signals a new beginning and new life. Therefore, this is a great time to look at what we are doing to determine if anything needs adjusted or changed to create new opportunities for success. We have new beginnings many times throughout the year - each quarter, each month, each week, and actually each day. We need to take full advantage of them.

We should look for and take advantage of the new chapters in our lives to change directions or recommit and be the best that we can.

In my podcast message today "A New Season" I talk about starting over or pressing on with a new attitude and commitment.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Fair Weather Protestors

Protesters against Arctic Ocean oil drilling were only willing to stick it out so long. Then the weather made them retreat. Fair weather protestors - not really so committed to their principles, just publicity.

It seems that on Friday some 11 Greenpeace activists climbed aboard a huge oil rig off Istanbul in an attempt to prevent it from reaching Greenland to begin deep-water drilling.

The activists used speedboats to intercept and then climb atop the Leiv Eiriksson at dawn after it had left a port in Istanbul. They climbed the rig's derrick, unfurling a banner that read: "Stop Arctic Destruction" and "Go Beyond Oil, Choose Clean Energy."

Fortunately, the crew of the Eiriksson was undeterred and continued on its course to Greenland's Baffin Bay without slowing or stopping.

As the rig, crossed through the Dardanelles strait, 6 of the protestors abandoned the effort. The other 5 left when the encountered a heavy gale. Fair weather protestors.

The Scottish company Cairn Energy PLC operates the rig and has already drilled 3 successful wells in the Arctic since 2010.

The protestors are worried about a spill. I'm sure that Cairn doesn't want one either.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Take That EPA

The EPA serves the EPA. It makes rules at its own discretion. Eliminating the EPA or certainly curtailing its budget would go a long way toward solving the debt crisis we have in this country.

To that end, the Florida House is doing something about the EPA's power. It has passed legislation to prohibit state, regional and local government agencies from implementing federal water pollution regulations.

HB 239 won approval 90-27. The EPA has designed rules to reduce algae blooms that they say are choking rivers, lakes and other water bodies in the state. Agriculture and business interests as well as many local governments oppose the rules, arguing they would cost billions to implement.

The Senate has a similar measure (SB 1490) is stalled in committee. Get on with Senate and pass it.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Trying Is Useless

We are taught early in life just to try something without the focus on doing it. We try different things to say we did, but how many times did we approach them with the commitment to get it done?

When we merely try to do something, we are taking a stab at it - we are leaving ourselves an out, and excuse. When we are committed to doing something - rather than just trying it - we get it done. We can't do less than our best effort. Trying says that we'll just make an attempt and it's OK if we don't succeed because we tried. Doing gets the job done.

In my podcast message today "Trying Is Useless" I talk about a half-hearted attempt at something versus a total commitment.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Being Business Friendly

We should be approachable and easy to talk with about business solutions for our customers, but that this manner should not be confused or portrayed as a sign of weakness. Being confident in our abilities will help us approach each conversation with a calm manner, but we must achieve a mutually beneficial result for our customers.

We can be polite, pleasant, easy to talk to, and helpful without being taken advantage of.

In my podcast message today "Being Business Friendly" I talk about the traits of being approachable and the cautions of being seen as weak.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Patriots' Day

Today we commemorate "Patriots' Day." This annual holiday on the 3rd Monday of April (April 19 is the real holiday) - though mainly in New England - is the day the American Revolution officially began.

At the outset, I'm sure neither side knew what it would take to win the American independence, yet we have our freedoms and rights as a result.

This holiday should be elevated to national prominence - not a day off but a day to pause and reflect.. We do well to remember our beginnings.

In my podcast message today "Patriots' Day" I talk about the importance of this day and why we should celebrate it.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Tax Day

Today I reflect on Tax Day and note that much of what we pay for as taxpayers is unnecessary and in fact unconstitutional.

We also finance many projects that we typically never use - projects that are elective and not required. Projects that affect or impact only certain areas in the country yet paid for by everyone.

At this time we do well to evaluate why we pay so much in taxes - not just from a dollar amount, but from a permissive amount. It's taxes that finance a host of unconstitutional activity in this country.

In my podcast message today "Tax Day" I talk about how the tax burden in this country has gotten out of hand.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved

Walt Disney's Vision

Consider what an impact Walt Disney World has had on Florida. Too bad Walt couldn't be around to see what his vision has grown into.

In a report released this week that was commissioned by the resort, Walt Disney World and its subsidiaries account for 1 job out of every 50 in the State of Florida.

It makes up 2½% of the State's GDP, generating some $18.2 billion a year.

Nothing funny about that.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Softly Falling Rain

We all need a little rain in our lives, and that soft, gentle rain is refreshing, renewing, and nourishing. Just as it's good for the plants and flowers, it's good for us as well.

As much as we like sunshine that we need a little rain in our lives. It gives us time to reflect and plan. Too much sunshine would not provide the variety in life that we need. Soft rain – not downpours and storms – give us a change of pace. We can still work in the rain.

In my podcast message today "Softly Falling Rain" I discuss how good a little rain is for us and how restful it can be.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Don't Hurry - Hustle

Being in a hurry is not a good thing. Hustling while performing any task is.

We add value to any task that we approach with enthusiasm and a 100% effort.

You might remember "Charlie Hustle" - Pete Rose's nickname when he played baseball. We loved to see him go all out to make a play or stretch a single.

When we hurry we make mistakes. Hustle produces results.

Hustling just means to purse aggressively. Being in a hurry often means being careless and prone to accidents.

In my podcast message today "Don't Hurry - Hustle" I talk about how we can enthusiastically approach our tasks and make a difference.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Sesquicentennial Anniversary of Civil War

One hundred-fifty years ago today, the Confederate troops of the South fired upon the Union troops at Ft. Sumter, South Carolina, and the War Between the States - the "Civil War" - began.

Interestingly, in the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War, the observation is made that before the War we referred to ourselves in the plural - "the United States are" - and afterward in the singular - "the United States is." It is maintained by that person in the film that a war was necessary to accomplish this change.
More lives were lost in that conflict than all other wars in our history - combined.

Where Leads Come From

We need to have sales leads that turn into customers to be successful in business. We need people to use our products and services.

Many people continue to rely on advertising for producing their sales leads when there are so many more effective ways of doing it. We need to take responsibility for generating our own leads.

We need to seek out opportunities each day to meet new people, identify potential in people we might already know, and explore new venues like social media. We ultimately are responsible for producing our own leads.

Leads come from being open to opportunities to meet and connect with people.

In my podcast message today "Where Leads Come From" I talk about how we can and should be responsibile for sustaining our businesses.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Why Get Up?

We really need to have a pure enjoyment of what we are doing - a passion and joy. When we do, we will forward to each day - even with any challenges that might be present.

It's our chance to create and develop relationships and to help people solve problems.

We have a choice each day as to how we proceed through the day. Making an impact on others and thoroughly enjoying what we are doing will inspire and motivate us to get out there and get going.

In my podcast message today "Why Get Up?" I discuss having a mission and purpose to inspire us to be helpful and love what we do.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

The Tough Multi-Task

To be efficient and effective today, we often have to manage or juggle multiple tasks within a tight time frame. Fortunately, some things lend themselves quite well to this.

Office activities such as reading email, doing research or reading blogs online, organizing files, or similar activities can be done quite well while watching a webinar or participating on a conference call - depending on how engaging or demanding the call or webinar is.

This underscores why online learning - encouraged by many - is not a great proposition for any but the most serious learner when there is a very engaging instructor.

In my podcast message today "The Tough Multi-Task," I reflect on opportunities to do more than one thing at once.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Dismantling Health Care A Piece At A Time

The President's Health Care Plan - a/k/a "Obamacare" - has so many provisions in it that no one knew about. Likely there are still parts that haven't been discovered.

One very onerous provision has now been removed. The requirement that a 1099 form was necessary for all businesses who purchased $600 or more in materials or supplies from a company during the calendar year is now gone.

The President still has to sign it, but it's on hios desk. He said he'd like to see it removed as well. So, we have mad a small step in dismantling the health care bill.

Had that provision remained, we would be sending out 1099s to Lowes, Home Depot, Staples, Office Depot, Office Max, home decorating centers, local office supply companies, Best Buy, CompUSA, local computer supply companies, Radio Shack, Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble, auto dealers, gasoline stations, and on and on.

What an expensive nightmare this would have been for us and for the companies receiving them. This would have created jobs all right - but not the kind that any of us wanted.

For enforcement, the IRS would have been calling the shots, and we know they would have needed hundreds more employees to do this.

This is good that it's gone (as soon as Obama signs it).

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved

Taking Care Of Business

Southwest Airlines has been in the news the past few days because of their near miss. It's also showing up as grounded planes, injured public relations, canceled flights, and maintenance woes.

A little more attention to maintenance and less on building routes or making flights might have saved the airlines a huge sum of money and possibly irreparable public relations damage. We can learn from this to take care of business in addition to sales.

We should not get so busy making sales and servicing them that we forget to take a careful look at what is going on behind the scenes. We have to keep the business strong on the home front.

In my podcast message today "Taking Care Of Business," I remind us to look behind the scenes to make sure we are attending to the important details.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Books For Realtors

We all do a Google search at one time or another - maybe several times a day, depending on what we are researching or looking for.

Tonight, I typed in the search term "books for Realtors" just to see what would come up.

It returned some 11,300,000 entries, and my two books for Realtors - "Knowing The Score" and "Building The Sale" are ranked #11 and #12, respectively.

If you haven't had a chance to get either one yet, I encourage you to do so. Visit the links above to learn more about them and how to order.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Inflation Is Back

Inflation is back.

It has returned in higher gas prices, higher transportation costs for trucks to move goods, higher grocery prices, and higher clothing prices. And this is just the start. The fed is intentionally devaluing the dollar - a contributing factor also.

We have an opportunity to do well in sales, but it's going to be challenging because most people's incomes are not swelling along with the prices. There's going to be less moeny available for discretionary purchases.

In my podcast message today "Inflation Is Back," I discuss how inflation is going to impact what we do.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Beware The Chevy Volt

Government Motors has their hand out again. Needing one taxpayer bailout to remain in business, and benefiting from the first "Cash for Clunkers" program, they now want us to give them "Cash for Clunkers II."

Currently the Congress has authorized a $7,500 tax rebate for anyone buying the Chevy Volt. That's not good enough as their dismal sales attest. They anticipate only selling 10% of the 30,000 vehicles being produced this year. They plan 45,000 for next year but would be smart to scrap that idea.

So, they want a taxpayer funded $7,500 cash payment as a rebate at the point of sale.


This, for a very ugly, overpriced experiment. At $41,000 it's no wonder they are few sales. it would have to be a spectacular vehicle like the original Mustang to generate the type of excitement necessary to pull that retail number.

The Volt is a bad idea, and a bailout an even worse one.
 
For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome To The Second Quarter

The first quarter of 2011 is history. It went by entirely too fast, but it is history nonetheless.

Welcome to an exciting second quarter.

It's totally spring now - with hints of summer. let's have a great April and second quarter.

For more information about my consulting, teaching, and coaching services visit my website at stevehoffacker.com. I also maintain a blog (Sales Quips) on the real estate network Active Rain, and you can begin participating in this great forum by visiting here. I also write and maintain blogs for Gold Coast SMC and Florida SMC. © 2011, Steve Hoffacker. All Rights Reserved