I love reading the newspapers and online news sources to discover the new real estate deals out there in the marketplace. Everything from an Orlando developer giving away Mini Coopers to buyers to this buy one, get one free deal in California. Developers are pulling out all the stops to clear inventories.

As a real estate agent, it is important to understand that buyers are after your expertise more then they are after someone who can take care of the transaction for them. Anyone can do the latter. It is your job to find the best deals out there and expose them to your expert investment advice.

Recently at an event in Boca Raton I was speaking to one of the country's top five real estate agents. First, I asked him how he manages to do so well even in a down market. His reply was "what down market?" He went on to tell me that he markets each listing with 5%-10% more marketing dollars then in a thriving market. His reasoning was simple. "If there are less buyers out there, I need to do more to get out in front of the ones who are buying because they are definitely out there."

The next question I asked him was how, after 20 plus years in the industry, he was able to continue solid growth year after year. "I've lost more deals then I have made." Very often buyers, specifically those who are interested in buying for investment reasons go to him to buy a specific property. 9 out of 10 times he talks them out of it. He does this because he looks past the one transaction. He knows that if he can convince them to buy a property that will yield a higher return on investment then that buyer will come back to him for repeat transactions. A very simple that works. "The key is that you have to be willing to let a client walk away because no agent should want to be a part of a losing investment."

Thanks for the sound advice Gene!

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, "Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing"