6 Most Important Points From The Production Retreat

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Mike Ferry TV. My name is Ira Naiditch and I’m a senior coach and speaker for The Mike Ferry Organization. Two weeks ago, about 2000 of you arrived in Las Vegas to attend the 2023 Production Retreat at Caesars Palace. Not only was the venue great, but more importantly, the information we all received was exciting, informative, mind-expanding and really the perfect way to begin the year. In 2022, interest rates were between 2.75% and 3.25%. Today, interest rates have gone way up. They range between 6.5% and 7.2%. That’s right. They’ve more than doubled and inventory is growing. During my Coaching Call this week with Sean McCarthy, a great agent from the New Orleans area. He told me that the number of listings has doubled in his area compared with January of 2022, even as actual sales are down 50%. Now, numbers like that are not uncommon in other parts of the country. Fortunately for Sean, his skills are strong. And even as the New Orleans market is down, his production is up. It can be that way for you, too. That’s why it’s so important for all of us to double down on improving our skills, becoming market experts and really learning to excel in the Real Estate industry. The days of just taking orders are over. The days of taking a listing and having it sell in less than 24 hours with multiple offers … they’re over! We are going to have to really work for our clients in order to get the job done. 

For many of you, this may be the very first time you’ve experienced this type of market. For many of you, seeing interest rates in the sevens is an absolute shock. For others of you, it’s just the normal part of the ups and downs. The normal cycles in Real Estate that we’ve experienced over the years. And for a few of us seeing agents fretting about interest rates in the low sevens. Ha! It’s almost laughable. We remember rates when they were in the 18% and 19% range in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I guess I’ve aged myself. All of this is really why Mike opened the Retreat with a question. He asked us, “How the market is going to affect my production?” He asked us, “What our transaction goals were for 2023 and if that’s higher than 2022?” He asked all of us, “What that means in terms of income?” What were your responses? Are you going to let the downturn we’re experiencing affect your business or are you going to make the changes that are necessary to move forward and make 2023 the best year of your Real Estate career? 

At the Retreat, Mike gave us all the tools to make this the best year ever. He taught us how to build our productivity. He taught us how to differentiate ourselves from the competition. He taught us the presentation skills and worked with us on objection handlers. We spent a lot of time learning how to ask good questions. There were 20 points on business maturity, a topic we don’t hear enough about as we learn to run a real business. And there were great panels to learn from and role-plays to observe. Then when it was all over on Friday, when you were either home or traveling to get home, all of the coaches stayed for another full day of training with Mike and Sabrina. Working to become even stronger for all of you so that when you work, you can help make yourself have the best 2023 that’s absolutely possible. It was during that coach’s training that Sabrina asked us, “What are the two most important things we learned as coaches during the Retreat?” I thought I’d just take a couple of minutes and share with you what the coaches saw as their most important things we learned. 

#1 Learn to ask good questions

Number one, the section on learning to ask good questions. Remember, telling isn’t selling. Asking good questions is selling. How many of you wish that you could ask questions as well as Mike does? I know I do. You know, it’s great questions that separate you from your competition. Let’s all work on this one. 

#2 Work more on skills

Point number two, we need to work more on skills. You know, the past few years have been pretty easy and did not require a lot of skills. Well, folks, those days are over. We need to practice daily. Just like any other profession. Doctors, lawyers, actors, sports stars. They all practice. What could possibly make you think that by winging it, you’re going to maximize your potential? 

#3 Lots of deals to be done

Point number three, there are a lot of deals to be done. How often have we read that on Mike’s Daily Messages? How often have we heard Mike say that the market may be changing, but we cannot let the market dictate our production? 

 #4 Do you believe in yourself? 

Point number four, playing small does not serve the world well. What are your goals for 2023? The year has just begun and if you want it bad enough, you can do it. Mike believes in you. Your coaches believe in you. The question is, do you believe in you? 

 #5 Don’t let your competition set your standard 

Point number five, The standards are set by us. The standards are set by you. Don’t let your competition set them. Remember, there are no glass ceilings. Only the limiting beliefs we set for ourselves. Don’t let yourself and don’t let others limit what you do. The sky’s the limit. You can do this. You know, it reminds me of a quote from the TV show Schitt’s Creek. One must champion oneself and say, “I am ready for this.” One must champion oneself and say, “I am ready for this.” 

 #6 Business Maturity 

And point number six, there were the 20 points on business maturity. And I thought that those were really special and we don’t study them enough. Business maturity. The person who understands the activities required commits to the time and effort to succeed and then continues to commit themselves to a higher level. Is that you? Do you understand what it takes and are you committing to the time and effort to succeed? 

For those of you who were not able to attend the Production Retreat, and even for those of you who were there, I highly recommend you consider calling MFO right now and ordering the IR30. That’s the instant replay that you get for 30 days. The recording of the entire Retreat and watching it again and again or for the first time. It will be well worth your time. 

And another announcement while I have you here, Mike is bringing back the Action Workshop, a four-day event that is actually four half days where we’ll work on lead follow-up, learning powerful lead follow-up and setting appointment techniques. Time management, grasping time management and scheduling efficiency. Prequalifying. Specializing in the prequalifying of your buyers and your sellers. We’re going to work on your presentation skills number four. Mastering how to become a great presenter and learning the attributes of a great presenter. And five establishing the core of business. Establishing a core. A business with your Past Clients and Centers of Influence. And then during the second half of each day, you’ll go back to your hotel or your office and work on what we learned that day. The first Action Workshop will be in Indianapolis, Indiana, just in a couple of weeks, February 14th and 15th, 16th and 17th. I hope to see a lot of you there. Thank you for joining us today on Mike Ferry TV. I hope this segment was useful for you and that you learn something that will help you grow your business in 2023. Have a great day and remember, “There’s a lot of business to be done.”