Thought'd I share the beginning of the book. It's in layout right now. With a bit of luck the color cover and the final product will be ready in a month or so and hopefully, real estate careers across the country will take a fun leap forward. I'll keep you posted. Cheers.

1. Less
Blah- Blah
More
Ah- Ha
By Ken Brand

2. Copyright © 2011 Ken Brand
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0615462421
ISBN- 13: 9780615462424
Printed in the United States
Permission to reproduce or transmit in any form or by any
means, electronic, including photocopying and recording,
or by an information storage and retrieval system, must be
obtained by writing to the author at the address below:
Ken Brand
The Woodlands, TX 77381
832- 797- 1779
Ken@KenBrand.com

3. It’s minor miracle that you’re reading this book.
No way I ever could have accomplished this with-
out the monstrous individual gestures of support,
encouragement, and an occasional kick in the butt
from my friends and family.
First, thank you to my wife of twenty- eight years,
Robyn and our kids, Lauren, Nick and Heather.
Without your encouragement to keep the faith and
keep writing, I never would have finished. You guys
have always been my biggest supporters; you were
my tiger- blood difference makers.
Workwise, there are so many I’ve learned from.
I don’t have enough room to list everyone, and I
hope you’ll forgive me if your name does not ap-
pear here. The following people have had a pro-
found impact on my career, and thus on the book.
Mom and Dad - - who knew, right? Thank you Joe
vii

4. Vane, Sandy Bassler, Charles Marsh, Mac Bintliff,
Marilyn Eiland, Mark Woodroof, Linda Sawyers,
Greg and Michele Flory and Roger and Lupe Davila.
Writerwise, it’s completely ironic that I’ve writ-
ten a book. As a kid I loved to read, but hated and
avoided all writing projects in school. My desire to
write was kindled and shaped by my friends and
teachers at The Wizard Academy in Austin, Texas.
Thank you Roy H. Williams, Jeff Sexton, Chris
Maddux, and fellow tribe members - - without
your example and encouragement, we wouldn’t be
reading this.
Thanks Dr. Liz Alexander for being my Book
Doula and transforming my supremely raw and
uncut diamond into something I’m proud of. It was 1994 when we acquired an office in The
Woodlands. As I set out to find the perfect leader,
I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to Benn Ken Brand’s name came up again and again. I sus-
and Lani Rosales for allowing me to share and pect that this book and all the Ah Ha moments the
shape many of the ideas you’ll find in this book reader will experience will spread his fame even
on their award- winning blog, AgentGenius.com. further.
Their support and the constructive comments of
my fellow AG readers were key in helping me to Let’s face it. Perpetual superstardom in real es-
crystallize and express my thoughts and ideas. tate is elusive at best. So when you see a leader
Thanks, man. that can orchestrate the evolution of his team into
consistent high performers, you know he is on to
Lastly, thanks to my REALTOR Icon Tribe mem- something. Ken Brand has not only figured it out,
bers at Prudential: Gary Greene, realtors, and our he has a most engaging and irreverent way to ex-
Research Forest Office. Where would I be without plain what to do, how to do it, and why.
you beautiful souls? Nowhere. Thanks . Cheers.
When email was just beginning to take its place,
front and center, in our lives, Ken’s special talent
viii ix

5. for nudging his team in the right direction became
evident. The night before his weekly sales meeting
he sent an email inviting them to breakfast on him
at a local spot. The breakfast was to replace the
meeting. You can probably guess the outcome but
that was the day the journey began.. from attach-
ments to YouTube to Facebook and Twitter and
SlideShare and all that social media has to offer.
I have never known anyone in real estate who
loves to learn more than Ken and that he wants
to share what he has learned is our good fortune.
Keeping the ‘new world’ consumer in the forefront,
he shows us how to use the technology to gain and
maintain top of mind awareness. If you want to be
a real estate professional perpetually connected,
trusted, chosen and referred, read this book!
STAGE I: Fundamental Laws of Human Behavior 1
Marilyn Eiland, President Chapter 1: What It Takes to Succeed in Real Estate 3
Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors
February 2011 Chapter 2: Surprise! We’re Not in the Real Estate 7
Business
Chapter 3: Earning True- Blue Trust and Credibility 15
Chapter 4: Make Top of Mind Awareness Work
for You
Chapter 5: It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who
Knows You
x xi

6. Chapter 6: Why The Future of Your Future is Chapter 15: How to Navigate Social Media
Psychographic and Cyberspace Frontiers
Chapter 7: The Golden Rule 2.0 Chapter 16: How to Transform Your Messages from
Lightning Bugs to Lightning Bolts
Chapter 8: On- Purpose and In- Person Contact
and Conversations Chapter 17: How to Go from Zero Escrow to
Boo- Yah in Thirty Days or Less
Chapter 18: How to Adopt Abandoned Buyers
Chapter 9: Are Fear and Doubt Strangling
Your Success? Chapter 19: How Not to Flub Future
Referral Recommendations
Chapter 10: Are You Prepared to Reap
While Sluggards Sleep? Chapter 20: How to Simplify Success: The Fix- It or
Fire- It Method
Chapter 11: Q&A Self- Sabotage or Client- Centric
Communication? Chapter 21: How to Unshackle the Natural Law of
Shared Favors
Chapter 12: Are You Seizing Hiding- In- Plain- Sight
Opportunities? Chapter 22: How to Dipping Bird Your Way to
Perpetual Referrals
Chapter 13: Is Misdirection Stunting Your Success?
Chapter 23: Thirty- two How- tos for Three
Types of Real Estate Agents
Final Thoughts
Chapter 14: How to Gossip Your Way to the
Closing Table About the Author
xiii

7. It was 1978. I was twenty- two, a brand new real
estate agent and out- loud clueless. Supremely
green, I showed up at the office almost every day
around 10 a.m. I arrived embarrassingly enthusi-
astic, I hoped and prayed believed today was the
day something lucky and magically amazing would
happen to me because I was a good person. Which
of course it never did - - because hope, no matter
how enthusiastic, and praying for good luck, are
doomed success strategies.
Natalie, our sales manager, knew this, of course;
she took pity on me took me under her motherly
wing and set me in motion: “Get to work, Kenny.
Get out of the office, go knock on doors; go some-
where, anywhere – start handing out your business
cards. By the boxful!” So I did.
xv

8. My first sale came just six days later. I’d been I swaggered in early for our next sales meeting.
handing out my freshly- printed Mr. Big Shot busi- Early enough to brag around the office about my
ness cards when Muriel, the general manager at awesomeness and how easy I thought selling real
my gym, asked if I knew the La Costa area. She estate was. I must have mentioned how there were
and her boyfriend wanted to buy a home there. I’d only three properties to show because instead of
never been to La Costa, but I knew where it was: hip- hip- hooray and high fives, there were side-
thirty- seven miles up the Pacific Coast Highway. long glances, nervous laughter, and a smattering
I said, “Sure, I know LaCosta like the back of my of disapproving headshakes.
hand – let’s go look this weekend.” Muriel said,
Turns out, the reason that there were only
“Okay.”
three suitable properties listed in the MLS book
I went to work. Thumbing through our fat San was because La Costa wasn’t in San Diego County.
Diego MLS book, I found what I was looking for in La Costa fell into an entirely different Multiple
the very back of the book In a tiny two- page sec- Listing Service Area, which had its own REALTOR
tion titled , I found three properties Association and thousands- of- properties- thick
that matched Muriel’s criteria. MLS book. I had thought meant
that it was a long drive away. DOH!
Not wanting to get lost or look lame with clients
in tow, I set up Friday afternoon property preview Luckily my clients LOVED their new place and
appointments to learn the route and inspect the my utter inexperience didn’t harm them. But I
properties. While touring I noticed signs knew I needed to wise up. So I did.
in every neighborhood. I thought that was weird;
Except…
only two tiny pages in the book, yet so many
signs? Huh? Hmmm? Whatever. Hustling for- The sale closed in thirty- two days and my first
ward, windows rolled down, eight- track blaring, I commission check was a princely $2,700. Woo-
finished my tour and headed home. hoo! Before passing the real estate exam I had
earned $106 a week as a drive- through teller at
Saturday morning came and went. Muriel and
the Hillcrest Branch of Bank of America. What do
her boyfriend fell in love with the first home we
you think a 22- year- old knucklehead was going
saw. The seller accepted our full price offer and I
to do with the sudden lump sum equivalent of
had my first sale. Boom goes the dynamite!
twenty- five weeks of bank teller pay? You’re right.
Parrrttyyyyy Everything but .
xvi xvii

9. After squandering my money, I returned to the Whenever Sandy worked her phone following
office eager to collect my next big commission up with clients, calling expired listings, answer-
check. I was still hoping harder than I worked and ing sign calls, cold calling, and negotiating con-
quickly came to realize that my lonesome sale was tracts - - I stopped what I was doing, put on my
the result of dumb luck, that the business wasn’t elephant ears, and listened . That wasn’t
easy, and I definitely wasn’t awesome. I was right all. I watched what she did and how she did it.
back where I started: ignorant, frustrated - - and
Sandy wasn’t the only real estate agent I eaves-
out of money.
dropped on. We had fifty- seven cubicles and our
I knew I had to get my act together or it was office was full. I listened with intent, kept an open
back to banker’s hours for me, cashing other peo- mind, and took notes. Along with Sandy’s rock-
ple’s checks and taking - - instead of making- - star lessons, I learned what not to do from the
bank deposits. So I did. loose cannons, the mediocre, and the plain lazy.
Fast- forward a few months. What I learned from Sandy was that she listened
more than she talked, and asked way more ques-
In those days, private offices for top producers
tions than the other real estate agents I watched.
didn’t exist. Serendipity planted me in a cubicle
Whenever phone conversations turned tense, the
next to Sandy Felspar, a living real estate legend.
other agents would react defensively - - aggres-
She sold dozens of houses a year, carried an in-
sively, arrogantly, or just plain ignorantly. Sandy
ventory of over twenty listings at all times, out-
didn’t react, she responded. Calmly. Her conversa-
worked, out- charmed, and out- produced every
tions remained firmly confident and silky smooth.
agent in the Clairemont/Mission Bay marketplace.
Sandy’s focus was always on other people; she
I was still supremely inexperienced, but I wasn’t
cared more about her relationships with them
stupid. So I acted casual and paid strict attention
than how great and famous everyone thought she
to Sandy. Things were about to change.
was. Her sensitive approach and focus on people,
rather than deals and units, along with hard smart
xviii xix

10. Today we live in a don’t- bore- me, don’t-
work, created a neverending conga line of new, re- bullshit- me, and definitely- don’t- sell- me soci-
peat, and referred customers and clients. ety. The old ways of bragging, chasing, capturing,
closing, and strong- arm selling don’t work. Today
we create success through sharing, solving, sup-
porting, and serving others. To help real estate
agents navigate their way to new success in our
new world, I’ve written this very different kind of
Thanks to Sandy and all the other real estate sales guidebook.
agents who influenced me - - both superstars and
secret agents—I’ve notched up some pretty im- All told, the best of my thirty- two years of ex-
pressive accolades of my own. Since those early perience is shared here. You’ll find lessons and
days, I’ve been involved in over 17,000 real estate straightforward action steps and strategies that
transactions. I’ve led, managed, trained, and men- will create renewed relationships, Top of Mind
tored hundreds of new and experienced real es- Awareness, trust, opportunity, self- respect, and
tate agents in San Diego, Austin, Aspen, and The sweet success.
Woodlands, Texas. I’ve survived three real estate
depressions and as many booms. I’ve seen mort-
gage rates spike as high as 22% and free fall as low
as 3.5%. I’ve collaborated, commiserated, and com-
peted with renowned top producers and thought-
leaders in the business. I’ve received awards as an
individual, as well as a member of and the leader
of winning teams.
Most importantly, what I’ve learned is that the
real estate business isn’t about self, sticks, bricks,
and stucco houses. I’ve learned that the key to
modern success in our industry depends on earn-
ing trust, consistent high performance, and the
willingness to adapt to current cultural and soci-
etal values, expectations, fears, and desires.
xx xxi