If you saw the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" you'll remember the father of the bride, a man set in his ways but with his family's best interest at heart.  And of course you will recall that he was constantly telling people the root word for any particular word was from the Greek language.  As far as Mr. Portokalos was concerned, all words have a Greek origin.

So what does this have to do with real estate?  Ask yourself this.... How often to you bring up real estate in a conversation?  Do people you meet, or even the people you are already acquainted with, know that you are in the real estate business?  Have you established yourself as the real estate "expert" among your friends and family? 

In the movie, everyone knew that if you wanted to know the Greek root of any word he was the man to see.

In real life, does everyone know that if they want to know anything about real estate YOU are the one to see?

This doesn't mean be pushy or self-promoting.  It's not about meeting people and immediately trying to get their business.  It's about providing good information.  It's about being perceived as someone who is a subject matter expert.  It's about being the one people turn to when they need real estate help.

For instance, reently I attended a seminar on credit reports.  After the session I spoke with the lady sitting next to me.  She had brought her teenage daughter with her because she wanted her to learn about sound financial management at an early age (which I applaud her for).  We talked about ways for young people to establish credit and payment history.  We also discussed rental properties and how they pull credit as part of the application process.  Eventually, she mentioned she was considering purchasing a home and asked me for my card. 

And then there was the referral from one of my husband's former co-workers.  He contacted me via email.  The message included the originally email from the person who referred me.

"....she really knows her stuff.  She's always sending me information on what's going on in our area and if I have any questions she's the one I call.  She helped ___________ buy his place."

This person has referred half a dozen people to me so far.

In today's uncertain economy many people are eager to talk to someone about the current market situation.  So do your research, know your numbers and be your local expert. 

BTW "Real Estate" has Greek roots. Real comes from Areios which means warlike or conflict and Estate comes from Eschatia which means the furthest part, edge or border.  So Areios Eschatia, conflict over borders, ergo Real Estate.  Ok not really but hey, it sounded good. :)