It may sound obvious, but you can’t take advantage of opportunities to build your business until you first see those opportunities. I call this skill “Opportunity Vision,” and while it can be harder to learn that you might think, it is indeed learnable—not to mention essential. Get into the habit of constantly asking yourself this…
When you care about what we do, are passionate about our service to our clients, and deeply involved in their situation, it’s hard not to take things too personally. Particularly if your business involves helping people through difficult or emotional situations – the purchase or sale of a home, for example – it’s not uncommon…
The real estate business asks a lot of agents. You need to always be on call. You need to be unfailingly patient, understanding, and positive no matter the circumstances. You need to have knowledge of the market that’s both deep and broad. And on top of all this, if you market yourself (as most agents…
No matter what kind of business you are in, no matter who your clients or patients are, you need to have a consistent and solid strategy for follow up. It may sound simple, but the reality is that you could be missing out on valuable business if you are not re-contacting your customers after your…
We all know those clients. They call you at 7AM on Sunday and launch into their questions without apology for the early call, or regard for what else you might be doing early on a weekend morning. These are the clients who cause that heart-sink when you see their names appear on your phone or…
I’ve written before about business planning and how important it is to establish goals and objectives and to have a structure to your business. However, there is a step that is just as important to take before you get to the planning stage: evaluation. We all know the income roller coaster that’s comes with working…
So, your real estate license is sitting crisply in your wallet, you just set up your laptop on you assigned desk in your new office, and you are about to announce to your friends and family that you are a real estate agent and open for business! Good for you. Okay, but, where do you…
Real estate mogul and business expert, Barbara Corcoran, once said: “Don’t be afraid to…take on clients just outside of your knowledge base. Confidence is overrated. It’s when we’re uncomfortable and looking for answers that we learn and grow the most.” To all you real estate agents out there who wish you were selling in higher…
I met with an agent this morning—let’s call him John. John is relatively new to the real estate industry, and he was feeling discouraged after having one of those weeks we’ve all had. First, a buyer he’d been courting for weeks made an offer on a FSBO over the weekend. Then the building owner he’d…
It was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” I love this quotation, I love its message. It’s a reminder to all of us to push ourselves, to test our limits, and move outside of our comfortable place, every day if possible, but certainly on a frequent basis. I use…