agent advice: Not Everything is a Winning Strategy
- 01/31/19 01:00 PM
Not Everything is a Winning Strategy
We are often asked about best business practices to generate income as self-employed Realtors®/Brokers. Most of us who survived The Great Recession cringe when we hear, "Now, that was an epic fail!"
Why? Because we tried anything and everything (legally, of course) to build our businesses during the recession. Additional challenges, besides the obvious (fear of home buying and selling unless a new job took one to a new city) was the sheer volume of shiny, new objects that were pedaled to us daily. Which one do we choose? Which one will bring the highest ROI...if any?
We bought lots of shiny new … (53 comments)
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agent advice: Oh, When Will We Learn - It's All About THEM?
- 02/09/18 07:38 AM
Oh, When Will We Learn - It's All About Me THEM?
Before building a new website back in the day, I checked out, probably hundreds of real estate websites, and also took an informal poll from several of my then, current clients, former clients and friends pertaining to functionality and content of websites. One sweet client of mine actually sat down with me one day and showed me what he loved about real estate sites and what he didn't like about them.
One of the common ingredients on most of the sites that he disliked was the front-and-center self-promotion. For the most part, the others that I polled said the same thing. … (90 comments)
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agent advice: If You Woke Up Broke, You Had No Business Going to Sleep!
- 10/28/17 09:02 AM
If you woke up broke, you had no business going to sleep!
In our world, you simply cannot take your foot off of the gas! It's a constant that, if not practiced, will lead you to what is known as the 'Roller Coaster Ride of Real Estate' and quite possibly, financial ruins.
As I was chatting with another agent about her business, I dug a little deeper into the situation to see if I could help her get to the root of her problem. She's through raising children and decided a few years ago to resume her real estate business. She is passionate about … (23 comments)
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agent advice: Time - If You're Selling Real Estate, It's an Issue
- 10/23/17 01:38 AM
Time - If You're Selling Real Estate, It's an Issue
I received a call from an agent who I had mentored a couple of years ago who is doing a great book of business now but, is, in her words, "headed to the insane asylum if I don't get help!"
HELP! How do you have time to work and also live life in this business?
I'm certainly no real estate coach (nor do I want to be!) but, here is my advice...
I remember asking my mentor years ago how to balance family life, social life and my business without feeling that someone is feeling 'left out.' His … (22 comments)
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agent advice: The Best Way to Destroy Your Reputation...
- 10/14/17 09:33 PM
The Best Way to Destroy Your Reputation...
Oh, I'm sure everyone has their opinion of real estate agents and particularly, those characteristics that bring our profession's reputation down to one of the least respected of all professions. My biggest beef with my peers is poor communication. I used to believe that those of us who give 100% to our clients are eventually, "going to weed the wanna-be agents out of the business so, take a deep breath and just deal with it!" Well, the number of new agents continues to rise so, if you're a new agent (or one who needs a reminder), please read and take … (132 comments)
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agent advice: "I Don't Do Open Houses!"
- 09/08/17 05:11 PM
"I Don't Do Open Houses!"
"...but, if I were to be doing them, I would not be trying to get buyers - I would be working to get MY seller's home sold!"
So, which is it? Do you work for your sellers to get their homes sold or not?
Repeatedly, I have heard other agents, literally boasting, that they don't do open houses. Later, when the topic of conversations turns to focus on those who DO host open houses and how they register buyers, some of those same 'I-don't-do-open-houses-agents' say that agents who DO, should't keep a registration log. NOR should they try to land new buyers … (92 comments)
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agent advice: Trolling the Obituaries? THINK Before You Do
- 11/03/16 01:43 PM
So You've Been Told to Build Your Business by Trolling the Obituaries? THINK Before You Do!
Before you take the advice from your real estate broker, trainer or coach, PLEASE READ THIS. You never know who the recipient of your contact REALLY is or, possibly even more importantly, WHO THEY KNOW!
A dear friend in the business shared with me that following the recent death of her father, her mother began receiving letters and calls from agents (coincidentally, all from the same brokerage), letting her know that they were sorry for her loss. Nice, right?
Well, before you respond, read on. Not only are they … (84 comments)
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agent advice: Don't Be Bringin' on the Drama Unless You're Taking Me to a Play!
- 08/14/16 08:44 AM
Don't Be Bringin' on the Drama Unless You're Taking Me to a Play!
Yes, this is a spawn off of a great read on Inman a couple of days ago, "Liked or loathed: Does agent reputation impact values?" Established, productive agents are all too familiar with what is meant by this and it most certainly DOES have an impact on the sale of a listing! Sadly, the ones who need to be worried about their reputations are completely oblivious!
What about the reverse - when the listing agent sees a specific agent scheduled to show his/her listing?
We get those too! How many times have have we … (46 comments)
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agent advice: Going On Vacation? You REALLY Should Have Someone Cover for You!
- 03/14/15 01:48 PM
Agents...Going On Vacation? You REALLY Should Have Someone Cover for You!
...And you need to let your clients know who to contact!
'Tis the season for active home buying here in Charlotte! Thankfully, if one of our agents takes a few days off during this (or any other) season, we have other agents cover for us. I was notified today by an agent who is actively seeking a home for a buyer of another agent who is on vacation, looking for an up property in an area which I specialize. As it happens, she is covering for an agent from a completely other brokerage than her own. … (55 comments)
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agent advice: Agents, Know Your Limitations
- 06/09/13 04:12 PM
Agents, Know Your Limitations
Let's just get this out of the way first - I am incredibly competitive! Competitiveness, however, does not or should never interfere with our desire to provide accurate information for the consumer with the highest level of integrity possible.
My insane competitiveness leads me to "check out" the competition and often, I find myself having jaw-dropping moments that cause my, normally LOW blood pressure, to rise to a palpable throbbing in my head!
I pride myself on accuracy, professionalism and customer service, as we all should! Some of the information that is provided on agents' personal and, even company websites, is so far off, it makes one … (16 comments)
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agent advice: Am I Missing Something? Is Collaborate a 'Bad Word?'
- 05/12/12 12:59 AM
Charlotte has a lot of great agents, and for the most part, we work rather nicely together. Transactions are always far more pleasant for our clients when we have responsive, responsible agents working together to achieve one common goal.
But, what about working together to sell our listings? I don't mean bringing me buyers either, I'm talking about collaborating to get one particular neighborhood or area spotlighted and get our clients' homes sold.
We have found that neighborhood open houses work far better than stand-alone opens for the obvious reasons--say you have 6 or 8 agents within the community who plan … (45 comments)
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Not Everything is a Winning Strategy
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