To be completely frank the experiment of prospecting 6 hours a day for 120+ days was a failure if all you look at was the raw statistics of did I prospect six hours a day? NO I did not. I DID however have a major shift in mindset.

What came out of the experiment was that six hours a day for me at this time is not a realistic expectation. As a single dad of 2 teenagers and candidly not willing to work 14 hours a day I cannot expect myself to prospect six hours a day. I did however learn that prospecting is Job One and that without prospecting daily I will not make my income goals for 2011.

Since Prospecting is Job One here is how I am going about prospecting each day in 2011.

I use Microsoft Business Contact Manager and I find it to be an excellent CRM for the way that I work. I have spent quite a bit of time dialing the tool into how I go about work and it is now keeping me focused on the tasks that I must do each day.

An example is that I will hold 36 Open Houses this year.

To be fully transparent here the Open Houses are for my benefit more than they are for the benefit of the home seller.

36 Open Houses with the goal of 360 contacts made, and 6 transactions completed directly related to the Open Houses. In 2010 I closed 4 deals directly related to Open Houses. 3 from one house alone. Open Houses have worked well for me and I enjoy holding them. This works out to over $800 PER OPEN HOUSE is my assumptions are accurate. This is very important for me to understand. My scheduling weekly my efforts to plan Open Houses have been entered into BCM and I am provided with an updated task list daily that I use to keep me focused on prospecting and the actions that generate the best return for my investment in time. My time blocking my schedule for the activities that produce the biggest return on my investment I am securing a better financial and professional future.

Another thing I learned while working on prospecting six hours a day is that my time is valuable. It was made apparent to me that I give away too much of my attention and my time to activities and things that do not return a fair return for the investments I made in them. For example Facebook and other social sites can be an amazing consumer of time and of attention. Can they be useful? absolutely but they can absolutely be a complete waste of time and energy. I now very closely monitor my time and energy spent on social sites. I have a much better understanding of the value of my time now. I have with the help of a good friend created a spreadsheet that shows me in black and white just what the monetary value of my prospecting activities  are worth. This has been a very valuable exercise. I strongly recommend that you take the time to go through the process of knowing your numbers as they pertain to prospecting. If you would like a copy of the spreadsheet contact me and I will send it to you to use.

Time and energy are two closely related but very different aspects. Time is simply put time. Break it down by the day, hour, minute etc. it is static. Energy is very different and something that I am now just getting a handle on. My energy levels vary greatly during the day. I need to make sure that when my energy levels are highest I am working on those tasks that require my energy. When my energy levels are lower I need to be working on tasks that do not require as much of my energy. This simple concept has been an eye opener to me. I am structuring my days differently now as to take advantage of my natural energy levels.  This effort is already paying huge dividends in my productivity and prospecting efforts. I do not need to put in six hours a day to be successful. I need to prospect with a purposeful mindset daily and the results will be better than if I simply prospected for six hours daily without any other considerations. The key is to be purposeful and mindful.

By raising my efforts to prospect I have raised my awareness of myself and this makes the experiment a complete success but for completely different reasons than I set out to complete. I actually think that I succeeded on a greater level than if I only successfully prospected six hours a day. By raising my awareness of myself I am now a better person than I was six months ago. If that is not success I do not know what is.

Here’s to a successful 2011!

Best wishes,

Scott Cowan

As I write this the thermostat is a balmy 23 degrees. It’s almost shorts weather! If you are living in an older “classic” home you need to be aware that you have a bit of extra maintenance to do this time of year. If you’ve just purchased a classic home or are thinking about buying a classic home you need to know that like all classics yours will need a bit of extra attention to help avoid the expensive calls to your local plumber.

Here are some simple and inexpensive suggestions to help you potentially avoid that dreaded broken pipe.

• Remove all garden hoses from the outside faucets
• Keep your home warm even when you are not home. 68 degrees or so will go a long ways to help your pipes
• Keep your cabinet doors open under your sink. This allows heat to reach the pipes easier
• Keep windows closed near pipes. Cold drafts will keep your pipes cold longer
• Wrap pipes with insulation if they are exposed in your basement etc. This is an easy step to help keep your pipes warm
• Insulate the walls and foundation of your home. (you might be budgeting for this one)
• If you are going on a trip. Turn off the water supply to your washing machine.

You’ve got a frozen pipe. Now what can you do?

• You can use a hair dryer to heat the pipe. Just be careful you are not standing in water while using the hair dryer.
• Using hot water soak towels and then wrap around frozen pipe.
• When pipe is thawing near a faucet make sure the faucet is turned on to allow water to drip out as it thaws

You have a broken pipe.

• Shut off your main water supply. (now is a good time to know where that is located)
• If a hot water pipe has broken make sure you turn off the hot water supply on your hot water tank.
• Call a plumber. If you need recommendations on a plumber please feel free to contact us (before you need one is best for you)

By being a bit proactive you can help your pipes avoid problems this winter.

As always when you are ready to sell your classic and you want someone who appreciates it as much as you do we are here to help. Ready to buy a classic? Let us help you find the right one to call your home.

Best wishes,

Scott

The holidays were a blur and I have neglected blogging. It’s the start of a new year and like all good people I am making a list of habits to either start or change.

One of my goals is to blog 180 times during the year of 2011. This counts as one! Only 179 more to go.

Stay tuned for blog posts on buying and selling homes in Tacoma Washington. There will be 179 of them this year =)

It’s just about Christmas time here in Tacoma and I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone who reads this post a very happy holiday season. 2010 has been an amazing year for us here some great things have happened in 2010 and 2011 looks t be even better.

Most of my professional energy is now being directed at The Narrows Group so you will be finding a lot of new Tacoma area real estate information being shared by me there. I will be keeping CHNW going and looking for more authors to help continue the site.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a fantastic 2011.

Scott Cowan