7L: The Seven Levels of Communication. Michael J. Maher

of serving people in the field of sales, this is a must read. Regardless of your field, it’s the people you already know who can lead you from where you are to where you want to be and Michael is living proof that this works. It will work for you too. Act now, not later! Do it now! Your family, your clients, your wallet and you will appreciate it.”

      Jim Sahnger, Chief Faculty Member Loan Toolbox and Top-Producing Lender

      “Michael J. Maher goes straight to the heart of success for anyone in business: it’s all about relationships. Rather than theorize on this, though, Michael uses (7L) to craft a tangible, actionable strategy for doing exactly what every smart businessperson needs to do to build a lasting, meaningful, extraordinary business. When you’ve heard someone say, ‘It’s really pretty simple to be successful’ you’ve likely shrugged it off. Now, with (7L), let me tell you with certainty, success is simple AND here’s the book to help you do it. All of my coaching clients will have this as a required read, and I’m recommending it to colleagues and family members as well. Congratulations, Michael—your dad is proud of you.”

      Amy Stoehr, Founder and CEO of Real Estate Masters Guild and Founder and CEO of Changing Lanes Consulting

      THE SEVEN LEVELS

      OF COMMUNICATION

      THE SEVEN LEVELS

       OF COMMUNICATION

      GO FROM RELATIONSHIPS TO REFERRALS

      MICHAEL J. MAHER

      BENBELLA BOOKS, INC.

       Dallas, Texas

      Copyright © 2014 by Michael J. Maher

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

      BenBella Books, Inc.

      10300 N. Central Expressway Suite #530

      Dallas, TX 75231

       www.benbellabooks.com

      Send feedback to [email protected]

      Second e-book edition: July 2015

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Maher, Michael J. (Realtor)

      (7L) : the seven levels of communication / Michael J. Maher.

      pages cm

      ISBN 978-1-940363-21-9 (trade paper)

      1. Business referrals. 2. Customer relations. 3. Success in business.

      4. Real estate agents—Psychology. I. Title.

      HF5438.25.M3243 2014

      658.4’5—dc23

      2013044611

      Text composition by John Reinhardt Book Design

      Printed by Worzalla

      Distributed by Perseus Distribution

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       DEDICATION

      To my father, Patrick Joseph Maher. He was a high school teacher and coach who taught me and many others until his death at the age of 54 after a three-year battle with cancer. During those three years, I learned more about my dad than I had in the nearly 20 years before. One of his regrets was not writing his memoirs—and what words of wisdom those would have been! You will not only be learning from me during your time with this book, but you will also be learning from my father. He passed away on September 1, 1992 and had over 1000 people at his funeral.

      Dad, we wrote this together.

       CONTENTS

      Introduction

       1 Lunch of a Lifetime

       2 Jay Michaels Speaks

       3 Communicating with Yourself

       4 You Can’t Even Spell Communicate Without Time

       5 You’re in the People Business

       6 Phone Calls

       7 Communication Plans

       8 Electronic Communication

       9 Transformation

      10 Jay Michaels Speaks Again

      11 Another Lunch of a Lifetime

      12 Epilogue: The Generosity Generation

      Glossary of Terms

      Heartfelt Appreciation

       INTRODUCTION

      IHEARD MY HEART FLAT-LINE. The heartbeat monitor screamed its alarm.

      Soon after, I opened my eyes to a large German woman all in white hovering over me. Heaven? No, Heaven wasn’t quite ready for me yet.

      “Welcome back. You gave us quite a scare there,” said the head nurse.

      I wasn’t even thinking I was dying. Not me. It was too unbelievable. It wasn’t my time. It couldn’t be. I was in good health. I looked around the hospital room and I realized . . . I almost DIED just now. Reality hit me. Tears welled up in my eyes. I fear very little, but I was scared. I am NOT a crier, but as they prepped me for surgery to implant a temporary pacemaker, I was frightened to tears.

      I remember looking at the nurse’s chalkboard in the room on which December 18, 2007 was written. I thought, “I can’t die on that date. There is nothing significant about December 18, 2007.” Then I thought of my wife, Sheri. She would kill me if I died! She does not take loss well and I knew she would be mad as well as sad. The cardiologist asked me her name and number. I told him quietly and asked him to hold off on calling her. I would have to coach him on how to approach her.

      Another thought flashed through my mind. I don’t have any children. Sheri and I had discussed children, but never seriously. I was ambivalent to the idea—until that moment. I now wanted a child.

      Something else came to mind and frankly, it surprised me a little. I thought of my father. My father was a high school teacher. He was very influential in the community and coached three sports. With that schedule, he was busy. When we talked, it was mostly about sports. . . until he got cancer. During a poignant moment just before his death, he shared with me his only regret; he had not written his memoirs. Thinking about him and his words that day made me realize I had knowledge, a system, and a belief that needed to be shared. This book, the one you have in your hands or on your screen at this moment, is the accumulation of my learning, implementing,