Today’s successful mega-producers are generating plenty of business, but unlike the customers of yesterday, today’s real estate customer is beginning online. According to the latest figures, in excess of 90% (94%) are beginning their search online. In my last installment, I explained how successful agents today are going way “upstream” to capture their business — before the customer has had the opportunity to be attracted by old-school marketing techniques. If you haven’t read it yet, you owe it to yourself to start there.

We are all under the gun every day in real estate sales.  Most of us get up every morning unemployed.  We need to go out and find a person to buy and sell with everyday.  How do we “pressure proof” our business?  We must put ourselves in the position where we are always winning.  When we are on a listing appointment, and we are struggling with the seller, we must believe they will sign the listing before we leave.  We must know during our prospecting block that we will turn up a new listing or new buyer every day.  Let me share with you a few ideas to make your business “pressure proof” and successful daily. 1.      Trust Your Skills and Abilities We all go through droughts or slumps in our business.  I s

The real estate market is challenging throughout the United States.  For the first time in nearly thirteen years, U.S. home prices experienced a quarterly decline, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO, November 29, 2007).  Additionally, single family home sales fell by 13 percent in 2007, which was the largest drop in 25 years (CNNMoney.com, January 24, 2008).  Credit markets are in turmoil and the stock market is down from last Summer.  As a result, it is harder to make a living representing buyers and sellers as a real estate agent.

Before we launch into this segment, let’s recap the last installment. In it I was discussing how in the 1960s and 70s, our industry was in a Broker-centric Era. The brokers had all the power. Customers had very little access to listing inventory except through them. Agents had no business except through them. Modern real estate brokerage was in its infancy. By controlling the inventory, broker-owners were able to build real estate dynasties. It was common place to see multiple office operations with teams of agents, and it was during this climate that companies like Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, and other similar broker-centric companies became huge empires.

Salespeople love referrals. They’re the sincerest form of compliment and a remarkably cost-effective route to new business. The idea of attracting referrals is so popular that sales trainers who bill themselves as referral gurus make fortunes promoting magical systems that supposedly deliver more referrals than an agent can handle, all in return for tuition at a three-day seminar. What they talk about for three days is a mystery to me.  Referrals are really pretty simple stuff.  A lot of it you can only acquire through perfect practice of your scripts, over and over, of referral-generating and referral-cultivation tactics.  

Referral Truths and Consequences

One study after another has shown that your body language and tonality account for over 90% of your presentation’s effectiveness.  What you actually say accounts for less than 10% of the delivery.  If you’re scrambling to find the right words, as most salespeople are, you’re spending your energy in inverse proportion to what impacts your effectiveness. The solution is to plan what you are going to say beforehand, so that during the presentation you can focus on language, tonality, and the following four steps to a great delivery. 

Sales professionals in the top 10% of their industries share a common trait: They control, use, and invest their time more wisely and effectively than their lower-performing associates. Among sales professionals, time usage determines income.

How effective are you when you are face-to-face with your clients on a listing presentation?  Do you get the signature quickly and efficiently at your desired price?  What do you really sound like to your clients? These are all valid thoughts regarding your presentation.  Do you know of any sports teams that don’t watch films of themselves and their opponents?  Athletic teams and individuals are constantly evaluating their performance by viewing videotapes of the game.  Have you ever videotaped your presentation?  If you want to be truly professional, you need to take the step to record at least an audio version of your presentation. 1.      Make the commitment to record your listing presentations. 2.  &nb

There are two key words that lead to success in life.  These words control the successful outcome of your business, marriage, and many other areas of life.  Although you may have incredible talent and skill in life, you will fail if you do not master these two words – and vice versa.  Even if you have only limited talent and skill, you will win if you live by them.  These two words determine your future.  They are attitude and expectation.             

By Cheri Alguire

You have heard the arguments for having accountability in achieving your goals and you’ve decided to bring one or two or a dozen people into the process of achieving your goal. How do you start? What can you do to make sure the accountability functions as you want it to, as it’s supposed to?