Why She Lost the $700,000 Buyer... - 01/28/07 07:36 AM
Her heart is broken. She feels rejected. She wants to hang up her real estate license and crawl under a rock.
Why? Because her $700,000 buyer prospect choose another agent.
She's beating herself up. She's asking herself, "Did I not dress the part?" "Was my car not nice enough?" She wonders if she should have worn her fancy leather boots and more make-up (this is Texas, after all). Maybe she should have borrowed her sister's Mercedes SUV.
No, no, I assure her. It's not your dress or your car. It's actually worse than that. Worse, as in, it's going to be … (6 comments)

Real Estate in Jammies (part two) - 01/27/07 07:13 AM
(To read Part One, Click Here)
... In retrospect, I realize that the ability to work from home changed my life. For the first time, I truly flourished and discovered a creative side to myself I'd never known existed. Being somewhat shy and a bit of a privacy freak, working in an office made me feel self-conscious and ‘on display' all the time. And it was so distracting! I need peace and quiet to focus. I need a sense of privacy to recharge my batteries. Surrounded by chatter, I feel myself getting anxious and frazzled. But that's just me.
The other … (3 comments)

Real Estate in Jammies? (part one) - 01/27/07 06:35 AM
Should you work from home or from a real estate office?
For some, the answer is obvious. The majority of salespeople prefer the busyness and chaos of an office. They need the social interaction and would be unproductive at home. They claim that they can't work from home because they'd be too distracted and wouldn't get anything done. If this sounds like you, you have your answer. Start working toward getting that corner office with a mountain view.
For those of you like me, naturally introverted, you may find yourself working primarily from home already. I did. Within one week of … (11 comments)

Real Estate Is Not a Numbers Game - 01/25/07 11:39 AM
Real Estate Is Not a Numbers Game!(at least, it doesn't have to be)

You've heard the cold caller's philosophy...for every 100 phone calls you make, you'll get five appointments; for every five appointments you go on, you'll get one listing. Therefore, if you make 500 phone calls, you can count on five listings as a result. If your average listing commission is $5,000, then every phone call is worth $50 since it takes 100 phone calls to get a listing. Supposedly you will actually start to enjoy each rejection, because you realize that every 99 "no's" equals a "yes" which … (25 comments)

So... You Wanna Be a Real Estate Agent? - 01/19/07 01:28 PM
Almost every week, I hear from a friend or friend-of-a-friend who wants to talk about ‘going into real estate'.  Is now a good time?  Is it hard work?  Can I do it part time? How quickly can I make money?  Should I work as an assistant first? 
Successfully selling real estate IS hard... some estimates quote the first year drop-out rate as high as 80%.  But for those who make it through that painful first year (or two), it can be a dream job for the right person.  The financial potential is unlimited and eventually you can choose your own hours and take … (37 comments)

I'm a Reluctant Prospector - 01/13/07 08:40 AM
What's the Difference Between an Extrovert and an Introvert? An Extrovert is someone who gets his or her energy from being around others; an Introvert is someone who is energized by being alone. When an Extrovert is left alone for long periods of time, he becomes lethargic. Conversely, an Introvert will be exhausted and drained after a day of social interaction.
I'm naturally shy. Not wallflower shy - I'm not afraid to speak in public and I was even a cheerleader in high school, but shy as in... socially uncomfortable. Small talk is a foreign language to me. I've faked more … (8 comments)

Are You Tired of Pestering Strangers for Business? - 01/12/07 01:21 PM
In response to Loreena Yeo's blog, Do You SOI?...
Nine Reasons to "SOI"
1. Generating business from your Sphere of Influence is fun. A good SOI business model includes lunch dates, housewarming parties, afternoon BBQs, friendly email exchanges, cocktails and football games. Conversely, mass marketing to strangers involves stuffing envelopes, paying for postcards, licking stamps, disturbing day-sleepers, shaking off rejection and designing newspaper ads.
2. Generating business from your Sphere of Influence is relatively cheap. Getting your SOI campaign up and running will cost you a few pennies, but no where near what you'll spend promoting yourself to strangers. You'll probably … (13 comments)

First Things First ~ Some Thoughts on Choosing Your Office - 01/12/07 12:21 PM
If you haven't yet selected a real estate office to bless with your presence, here are some ideas to ponder.
Be assured that there is a place for you. If you are marginally presentable looking and have a pulse (most days), a real estate office will "hire" you. In fact, the interview process is more about you interviewing them, rather than the other way around. Big Name companies specialize in recruiting and training new agents fresh out of school and will be happy to talk with you. You might even feel a little flattered at their attention and persuasive recruiting tactics!
… (28 comments)

Your First Open House - 01/12/07 09:16 AM
Be on time for your open house. If the home you're holding open is another agent's listing, remember that you are representing the listing agent who is counting on you to make a good impression on his seller. If the seller has to call the listing agent to find out where the heck you are, that's not a good beginning to the afternoon. Allow plenty of time to put up your directional arrows and make sure you place them in highly visible locations. When you arrive at the home, be prepared for people to come through the door as soon as … (12 comments)

Unsoulful Attitude #1: "Open Houses are Great for Picking up Buyers!" - 01/12/07 08:10 AM

 
"The Only Reason Agents Hold Open Houses is to Prospect For Buyers"
Yes, this may very well be true. That doesn't always make it right.
One of the first prospecting techniques new agents learn is how to "pick up buyers" at open houses. Agents are urged to be on high alert for open house visitors who don't already have a buyer representative. Pushing sign-in sheets and personal brochures, agents strive to make their open house "productive" by walking away with a fistful of names and numbers of potential buyers who dropped by. The more contacts an agent makes at an open … (24 comments)

Discount Brokerage - Can It Work For You? - 01/11/07 12:05 PM
I just had a long conversation with one of my consulting clients who works at a well-known discount brokerage. We both had several Ah-HA moments during our discussion and I thought I'd share some of them here since the topic of discount brokerage comes up from time to time.
First, let me disclose that I am in full support of the discount brokerage concept. I owned a discount brokerage that offered full service (above and beyond most full-fee companies) and was proud of my ability to provide terrific service for a lower-than-market fee. And, I made great money. Coulda made more, certainly, … (4 comments)

 
Jah-sws Rainmaker_large

Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn, Author of Sell with Soul

Pensacola Beach, FL

More about me…

Sell with Soul

Cell Phone: (303) 947-1335

Email Me



Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog