...And in real estate, that's certainly true. In any neighborhood, a few real estate pros typically capture the lion's share of the market, year after year. What puts these local heroes at the head of the pack? The real estate industry is all about relationships, and one of the strongest is between education and earnings.

"?It may be that the education real estate pros receive through certifications and designations provides skills that lead directly to higher earnings. Or, perhaps more motivated and skilled real estate professionals naturally gravitate toward professional development opportunities.

How powerful is the evidence that boosting your professional IQ leads to higher productivity and earnings? A quick look at the 2007 Swanepoel Trends Report shows:'

- About 55 percent of licensed agents join the NAR, earning about twice what non-NAR agents earn.

- About 55 percent of NAR members obtain an additional designation or certification.

- About 4-5 percent of NAR members participate in some kind of coaching / mentoring program to develop advanced skills.

This small group that works consistently to earn certifications and develop advanced skills through mentoring and coaching tops the productivity charts. The bottom line is that a small number of real estate professionals - those who take the time to develop advanced skills through training, certifications and mentoring programs 'complete far more transactions each year than their less-educated counterparts."?

Do you need some tuning up on negotiating,"?dealing with an increasingly diverse client base, or building local expertise"??There are more than 60 professional designations out there. Would one or more of them help to move your own real estate practice to the head of the pack?