Every good agent has a solid SOI (Sphere of Influence). You probably have one. The problem with an SOI is that most agents don't use them. They have an SOI, but they don't make any effort to make their SOI work for their business. The biggest failure when it comes to SOIs is that agents do not maintain contact.

Maintaining contact with your SOI is very important. You should be contacting your SOI in a personal way (meaning not through emails or fliers) at least twice a year minimum. There are many ways you can do this. Here are some great ideas:

- Throw an SOI party. This could be for Halloween, your business anniversary celebration or just a simple gathering.

- Give a seminar. You could get a local professional to give the talk about an important topic, like taxes or legal issues of small businesses.

- Throw an open house at your office. Invite everyone to see how your business has grown and to thank them for helping you get to where you are with your business.

- Host a dinner in their honor. You can break up your SOI into different categories and throw a diner for each group. For example, throw a dinner for people in your SOI who have purchased multiple houses from you or for those who have provided you with referrals.

- Host a charity event. This is a great idea because you are getting face time with your SOI and also raising money for a good cause. Many people who may not attend other SOI events will likely come to this one since it is for a good cause.

No matter what ideas you use, the point is to have personal contact with your SOI. You want to be able to talk with them and let them know how grateful you are to them and how important they are to your business.

Following up on leads is a very important aspect of being a good agent. If you fail to follow up then you fail to ever turn a lead into a client. In many cases speed is the key to good follow up. You want to follow up with a lead as fast as possible so you don't lose the opportunity.

To help ensure speedy follow up you should start by making follow up a priority. You should set a time limit on following up on all leads. The NAR recommendation for lead follow up is 15 minutes and no longer than 24 hours. When you can follow up fast you will have the best chance of connecting with the client and becoming their agent.

Automate whatever you can. If you are using email then set up an auto responder to reply immediately to a lead. Make sure that you keep it personal and offer them something of value, like neighborhood report or market news. Let them know you will be contacting them within the next 24 hours.

You need to have a plan in place on how you deal with leads. Having a good follow up plan can make a big difference in your business. You will find yourself with more clients and more money when you become a master at speedy follow up on leads.

Many agents don’t even deal with expireds, but for those that at least try it, many are failing. It is not because expireds are not a good market. Expireds can actually make you a lot of money. The trick is all in the timing.

When you hear about an expired listing do you jump right on it? Are you right on the phone making calls and trying to get face time with the homeowner? If you are doing this, have you noticed how many other agents you are up against?

It is common to want to jump right on an expired listing, but this is not the right time. Let it sit. Leave it alone for a couple months.

There are a few reasons to do this: 1) The homeowner is not likely to have had the best experience trying to sell their home and may have some bitter feelings towards agents. 2) The homeowner may not know what they want to do. These two reasons will either get you wrapped into a deal where the homeowner changes their mind or they are difficult to work with. It is much better to let them reorganize and figure out their plans before you jump right in.

You might be surprised at how many expireds sit for a few months before they ever go back on the market. The reasons above are why this happens. If you are there at that point when the homeowner has figured out what they want to do then you can grab up the expired and actually end up with a great listing.

Take a look at how you handle expireds. If you are making this big timing mistake then it is time for you to improve your expireds strategy.

One of your goals in business is to make people want to work with you. A good lesson to learn that will have people flocking to you is about the power of a positive attitude.

There is a lot of talk these days about something called the power of attraction. The idea behind the power of attraction is that positive attracts positive and negative attracts negative. You don’t have to take anyone’s word for it, though. Simply give this concept a try.

Spend one day being completely positive. If you feel any negative thoughts creeping in then push them away and replace them with positive ones. When you speak, only speak positively. Put a smile on your face and greet every person you see with a friendly hello.

You might just be amazed at how well the power of attraction works. You should see immediate results. Imagine if you did this everyday. You could really make some big changes in your life and in your business.

Start trying to be more positive every day. Always look for the good in any situation and make the most of it. You should start to see a positive influence in your business and in your own life once you adopt a positive attitude.

As a business owner one of your most important skills is the ability to communicate with your employees. Without communication your business will slowly crumble. You will lose control and eventually fail.

Good communication is essential to good business. You must be able to communicate clearly your ideas and thoughts so that your staff knows what they are supposed to do and how you want it done.

Communication is also important to making sure your employees are motivated and that they know when they are doing a good job and when they need improvement. There is no room for unclear messages. You have to know how to get your employees moving and how to get them working at their peak performance.

The best business owners are the best communicators. No matter what other skills you have or what else you do for your business, without good communication you will struggle. You can be the best agent in the market, but if you cannot communicate with your staff and even with your clients then you will never become a top agent.

Communication is something that comes naturally to some people, but for others it can be something they have to work on. Figure out where your communication skills rank and work to improve them. Communication is really the key to business success.

As a real estate agent you probably do many different tasks everyday. However, as a business owner you need to be focusing your efforts on only the tasks that will make you money and delegating those tasks that are simply administrative or otherwise do not directly make you money.

There are only four tasks that will make you money. They are:

- Listing
- Prospecting
- Selling
- Negotiating

As you can see those four tasks are directly related to your clients. You are trying to attract clients, work with clients and make sales. These are the tasks that should be taking up the majority of your time.

A top agent knows that they need to be making the most of their time. If you want to be a top agent then you will access your business and access what you do on a daily basis. If you see that you are wasting your valuable skills doing tasks other than those four money making tasks, then it is time to make some changes.

In the end your goal is to make the most of your time and to make the most money for your business. Once you focus in on the four money making tasks you will start to see that is exactly what will happen.

Nobody ever said that business has to be complicated. There are many aspects of your business that should be simple and should be free of needless complexities. Right now is a great time to stop and take a good look at your business. See if things have gotten too complicated and complex.

A simple business runs easier than a complex one. Sometimes simple is much better. You will likely find many aspects of your business that have been made more complex than they need to be. Take time to simplify things. Get rid of unnecessary processes and make things as simple as possible.

You cannot get rid of every bit of bureaucracy, but you can clean up many things. You can get focused on what is important. Take your business back to the basics. Once you do a good cleaning you will see how much it benefits your business.

The current real estate market has everyone wondering if an end is near. It can be tough to make your business progress and grow in a market that is just not performing. You don't have to just take the losses, though. A good agent can flourish in a slow market if they are willing to just put in some extra effort.

Here are some great tips that you can use to make your business a success in a market that seems to be failing:

 Understand that you will have to work a bit harder because easy transactions are far and few between. People may not be coming to you as they used to, so be willing to go out there and drum up your own business.
 Put your best foot forward at all times. Buyers and sellers are going to be very picky. You will have to show them you have the skills and the ability to help them.
 Take this time to make improvements. If you have been wanting to upgrade things in your office or do some rearranging within your business then now is a great time to handle those things. Improving your business will pay off down the road and with some extra time on your hands you can now do those things on your to do list.
 Reconnect with past clients. Send out cards, make calls, get connected with people that you have not spoken to in a while. Work on your database. Clean out inactive contacts and work on updating contact information.
 Look to markets that you may not be familiar with. You should look into markets like expireds and FSBO. It is a great time to expand your knowledge and try something new.

All good agents are going to be working hard. They will be trying to make their business benefit from the slow period. If you want to be part of the group of top agents that will come out of this market slow down, then you have to keep working and not let this market get you down.

There will come a time when a seller wants to discuss cutting your commission. This is never a pleasant topic and one that most agents would rather never deal with. However, in a tough market it will be more likely to come up and you have to know how to deal with it.

Start by being prepared before speaking with a seller or even starting a deal. You need to make sure that you inform sellers about the current market and about pricing. You want to make sure they understand how the market is and what they should expect trying to sell in the current market.

Make sure you know your company’s policy about commission cuts. If you are not sure then find out. You don’t want to end up with a huge problem if you don’t follow protocol and policies set by your company.

Lastly, you have to believe that you are worth every bit of your commission. You need to make the seller see that you deserve every penny of that money. When you believe in yourself and the seller believes in you then commission cuts are not as likely to ever be brought up.

We are in the midst of a great buyer’s market and you probably have faced many negotiations. Sellers want to get as much as they can and many times lowering prices makes them uneasy. They may ask you to take a cut in commission so they can get as much profit as possible. Do you know how to ensure you don’t take the fall for the buyer’s market?

Here are some tips to help you out:

- Know your stuff. In any type of negotiation the person who has the most information is usually who wins. You need information in order to negotiate and to help the seller to understand why pricing is set where it is and all the other factors of the reality of the situation.

- Don’t put your commission out there as a bargaining tool. Don’t even tell the seller you will drop your commission rate. If you don’t offer it then many people won’t bother asking.

- Keep a positive attitude. It is essential to project an attitude that says things will work out. It puts the seller at ease and gives them hope that they will end up in a good place.

Follow these three tips and you should be able to better deal with nervous and worried sellers who fear they will be on the losing end if and when their house sells without having to take the fall yourself.

The real estate market may not be booming these days, but a good agent knows where to look for opportunity. One market segment that offers you great opportunity right now is the second home market.

The second home market is the baby boomer generation who are realizing that the time has come to buy a second home. Some people will get a vacation home, while others are strictly looking to invest in another property. Either way, the second home market is the place to be if you want to stay a top agent.

Baby boomers make up a huge chunk of the population. They are the highest earners and they are ready for something different in their lives as they approach retirement age. They are prime for buying real estate and the price is not going to be their deciding factor.

You have more opportunity to sell top dollar homes to baby boomers. They will be looking for amazing homes, loaded with amenities and features. You can really move some of your higher priced homes as second homes.

If you have yet to move into this market segment then now is the time to get started. Get out there and feel out the second home market in your area. See if you can start bringing in clients and getting those second home sales. You should notice a big difference in your business and your profits.

Years ago, a real estate agent was simply an agent. You sold real estate, networked with clients, set up beautiful staging, and sold houses. Today’s real estate market is much different. There are more agents than ever and it takes much more than just being a traditional agent to make it.

Today, you have to be a business. It is not enough to know how to sell a house or get new clients. You have to know the business inside and out. This means knowing everything from marketing to budgeting.

To stay on top in the real estate market today, you need to think like a business owner first. Everyday you need to focus on your business. Being an agent is secondary. Things have changed and without the right approach and a chance in focus, you will drown amongst the agents that are business minded.

When things are going bad with the market and there is not a lot of hope on the horizon it can be easy to fall into a pessimistic state. You can very easily see the bad in everything. You attitude turns to one where you start to stop planning for the future and begin to believe that things will never look up.

If you want to continue growing your business and make it through this rough patch then you have to change how you think right now. You have to get rid of the pessimistic attitude and start adopting an optimistic attitude instead.

Start by changing how you think. Instead of jumping on negative things, try to find something positive in everything. Look for positive news or something positive to focus on everyday so you can start to ignore the feelings and thoughts that are negative. It takes focus, but after a while you will find yourself going to the positive instead of the negative.

Make a plan that allows for set backs. Set goals. Try to set yourself for success instead of failure. Give yourself steps to reach your goals that will be easy to reach. Do not set goals that will be too hard to reach. Don’t set yourself up for failure. This is common in people who take a pessimistic view.

Changing from being a pessimist to an optimist is not easy, but it is worth it. When you start seeking out the positive, you will see a big change. You will be happier, more productive and better able to cope when problems do occur.

As a business owner you probably know that time management is essential to keeping your business running smoothly. However, good time management does more than just help your business run properly. Here are some more rewards you get from proper management of your time:

- Boost in self confidence. This is a side effect of things running good and of knowing that you have everything handled. When you are organized and have time management mastered you just feel better about yourself and that will show through in every aspect of your life.

- Balance between work and personal life. When you have time management skills you can balance things at home and work without feeling as if you are being pulled in a million different directions.

- Less stress. When you have things together and everything is running as it should be you are less likely to be stressed.

- Better relationships. When you manage your time you include time to allow you to build up and nurture relationships, both personal and professional.

- Better perspective. Your planning and managing will allow you to not get overwhelmed and you will be able to really see what is happening. This will lead to being able to ensure your business is on track and let you catch problems early.

Time management is about more than just making sure things get done. It is something that will effect you in every aspect of your life. It can make your life easier and help you to run your business better. If you are not using time management well in your business then right now is the time to start.

It is common for a business owner to get themselves overwhelmed with work. You try to do everything because you want it done right and you don’t trust anyone else to do it. You have a lot riding on the success of your business so you throw yourself into it, completely. Is this really helping?

The answer is no. You cannot let your business run you. You are supposed to be running your business. Don’t get so wrapped up in the business that you lose yourself.

Sometimes all you need to do is take a step back. Look at what is happening. Are you able to really live your life or are you always working? Is it worth the pay off? Are you sacrificing important things in life for your business?

Owning a business does involve sacrifice, but you should never lose yourself. You still need to live. After all, you started your business so you could have a better life, right? Sometimes you have to know when it is too much.

If your business is running you then get help. Hire assistants. Outsource tasks. Do what you have to so you are in charge again. You can be a success without living for your business. It is a part of your life. It should not be your life.

Do you ever feel like you are losing focus? Are more days overwhelming than not? Do you wake up wishing the day was over already? It may just be time for a day off.

Don’t’ be so shocked. Even top agents take a day off. Everyone needs a break now and then. Working yourself to death won’t do you, your clients or your business any good. One day without you is nothing.

Think about it. When you are only half there are you really doing a good job? Not likely. That is why you have to take a day here and there to recharge. Once you do, you can get right back to work with confidence and energy.

You have to take time off. You cannot work day in and day out. It is bad for everyone. You won’t be able to give your clients the best service and your business will end up suffering.

Don’t fear a vacation either. Sometimes one day won’t cut it. Take a week. Just rest up and refresh so that when you come back you are able to jump back in and tackle everything that comes your way with a healthy energy and passion.

Nothing kills a business quicker than an overworked owner. Don’t let your business suffer. Take some “me time” and don’t feel bad about it. You’re doing it for everyone.

You may think that you are doing an amazing job with handling your clients. Your people skills may be great and your ability to communicate may be second to none. You might also be missing something about how you interact with clients.

There are two main ways to approach client interactions. You can either connect with your clients or impress your clients. Connecting with clients means that you are forming a real relationship with them. You are friendly and show an interest in them.

When you are simply out to impress clients, you are more focused on you. You are sales oriented and you try to show off your knowledge and skills. Clients see this as being pushy or being disconnected and only interested in making money.

Every good real estate agent knows that to be successful, you have to stop trying to impress clients and focus on connecting with them. Only then can you really build that bond that will keep them loyal to you and that will give them the ability to trust you.

How you deal with a crisis is important in business. As a business owner you probably face crises everyday. Some may be small and some may be very serious. No matter the extent of the crisis, you must know how to handle it properly and not let yourself freak out in the face of an issue.

Here are 5 simple steps you should take to handle any crisis that comes your way:

Step 1: Face the crisis head on. Many people often feel the need to avoid the crisis or put off handling it. This usually only makes matters worse. Step up to it and face it right away instead of running or ignoring it.

Step 2: Clarify the crisis. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed and make things out to be much worse than they are. Simply take a look at the facts. Separate out the fiction and stick with the facts. Get to the heart of what is happening so you are better equipped to handle it.

Step 3: Take emotions out of the situation. When you get too emotional about something it clouds your mind and takes away your ability to reason. You need to push emotions aside and look at the crisis with a clear head.

Step 4: Come up with a solution. Now that you know what is happening and you have a clear head, you can begin to formulate a solution. This can take time, but you should be able to clear up any crisis if you just focus on finding the best solution.

Step 5: Solve the crisis. Once you have your solution all that is left to do is put it to work and solve the crisis.

These 5 steps may seem simple, but all too often when faced with a crisis, people get too worked up. By taking a step by step approach, you can be a master at handling any crisis that comes your way.

You probably know that getting feedback is a good way to monitor your sales efforts and ensure that your business is on track. Feedback allows you to find out what people think about your service and if they think there are things that you can improve upon. You need to get feedback from anyone you work with. That includes those selling homes, as well as those buying homes.

Seller feedback can help you to lower stress and make clients happier. It will help you to learn about what things you did that really stood out. You can find out if they would do business with you again and why or why not.

Feedback should be collected on a regular basis. It is not something to let slide. If you must, hire someone to handle feedback. This not only includes gathering it, but also addressing concerns and making you aware of what the feedback has been about all aspects of your business.

By getting feedback and using it you can make your business better. When you improve your business, you improve your profits, so it is something that you definitely want to keep a handle on.

Halloween makes for an amazing marketing opportunity. It is a fun holiday that allows you to be real creative with your marketing and try some out of the ordinary things. Take advantage of Halloween and kick your marketing efforts into high gear during the month of October.

A fun marketing idea that is sure to draw a large crowd is staging a Ghoul street. This is great f you have several listings in one neighborhood. Have the homes decorated in different homes. Make it a fun time by sending out a public invitation. Everyone comes and tours the decorated homes, enjoy a few treats and possibly even help you make a sale.

Another idea, if you are not into house decorating is using postcard marketing. Instead of the typical ho-hum postcard mailing, dress it up for Halloween. Try an eerie headline, a creepy design or even make the postcard an invite to a Halloween party.

Halloween is a very unique time of year. It is fun and a great theme for your marketing efforts. Don’t let the month of October pass you by without taking time to plan at least one big Halloween marketing event.

Part of being a top agent is knowing what is happening in the market. One day you may be focused on sellers and the next day you may need to switch to focus on buyers. You just never know where the market will lead you. You have to stay on your toes and keep up with the trends if you want to be on top.

In the current market there has been a lot of focus on REO and short sales. Maybe you have been focusing your efforts in this market. There has been a temporary drop in volume in REOs and this has proven to be hurting many agents who have not adjusted their sales methods to accommodate this change.

Another thing to watch for is the coming wave in REO and foreclosure. This is anticipated to be a nice wave, but what you may not know is that it is likely to be much bigger than what we just saw. You should be working towards moving efforts that direction so you can capitalize on it.

You also should be aware that with the current trends in real estate, some markets may never fully recover. Homeowners have been hit hard by the economic conditions and that has led to a rapid change in many markets across the country. These changes may mean some markets may never regain their value.

These are just a few things that are happening and that may happen in the near future. You have to stay sharp and know what is going on if you want to reach top agent status. Keep up with trends and do your research so you are not wasting time focusing in on markets or segments that are not profitable.

Setting goals is the easiest part of achieving your dreams. It is reaching the goals that can be difficult. Many people feel overwhelmed and just do not know where to start on the path to reaching their goals. The best way to go about it is to take small steps.

When you take small steps it breaks down the long process and makes it easier. It makes your goals much more attainable. You no longer feel like you are trying to accomplish so big that it is impossible.

You may think that by taking small steps you will never reach your goals, but the truth is that when you try to accomplish too much too soon it can hold you back. When you try small steps you will be working at a pace that you can keep up with. You will not be trying to do more than you handle.

Here is a video that talks about reaching goals through small steps. This video focuses on MLM, but what he says really would be applicable to any business. The main idea is all about how to take small steps to make big things happen.



When you set a goal try to break it down into small stesp. Once you get started you will see that you can make amazing changes rather quickly just by moving in small steps.

Many business owners have big dreams of success. They have so many ideas that putting them all in action can get a little messy. When you lose focus and things start to get bungled, your best ideas can fall apart.

Having great ideas is a good thing, but not organizing them and getting some focus to carrying out those ideas can result in problems. You need to set up a plan so that you can follow through with ideas. This will allow you to make better use of your ideas and actually end up getting results from them.

Focus is the key to making ideas work. When you have focus you can get things done. You can accomplish goals and you can make those ideas work for you.

Your ideas can be amazing, but just having something in mind won’t get things done. You need a plan of action. You need things scheduled and organized. Only then can your amazing ideas produce amazing results that will get you and your business on the path to success.

Long term listing leads can be a great source of money or disappointment. If you do not track them and keep up with them then you are not alone. Most agents walk away from or lose 10 to 50% of their long term listing leads. To keep on top of things you have to stop dropping the ball.

You should be tracking them and staying active. On leads you lose, you need to find out why you lost them so you can fix the problem and not lose out in the future. You also need to constantly keep an eye on them. Figure out what you need to do with them. Watch for future expired status. Identify those sellers who may be ready in 6 to 24 months.

You need to be doing regular monthly emails and mailings to your long term listings leads. You have to stay on top of things. This is a great job for an assistant to do.

No matter what you need to not lose out on a 10 to 50% increase in profit because you lost these leads. Don’t drop the ball! Stick with it and you could get a nice pay off.

One of the largest and most beneficial online tools for real estate agents is Craigslist. Are you using Craigslist? Top agents are using it for listing marketing. It is a way to reach thousands of people with one targeted ad. You can list in almost every major city in the United States. Craigslist is something that you must incorporate in your marketing plan if you really are serious about making it to the top.

You should be posting listings at Craigslist every week. You can post once a week or if you are really advantageous about it you can post up to three times a week. One perk of Craigslist is that it is low cost. You will be getting a lot in return for each marketing dollar that you spend.

Using Craigslist is something top agents are doing. You have to really start to diversify your listings marketing if you want to be a success and Craigslist can be part of that diversification plan. You just need to get started and post today.

It is just a common part of human nature to want to receive more than you give, but it is a habit that you must break. Anyone who is top in their business knows the key is about giving more than taking. When you adopt a giving attitude you will see changes in how people approach you and how they treat you.

So, how do you give more than you take? It is actually quite simple. Approach all interactions with others by thinking about what you can do for them instead of thinking about what you want from them. If you only give a little that is fine. Soon you will develop a natural approach to giving and it will become second nature.

When you give to others they will appreciate you more and be more willing to help you out when you do need something. It can be difficult at first to develop a habit of giving, but it is so worth it in the long run. Start today by giving something - an idea, a helping hand - to everyone you interact with today and do not ask for anything in return. You will be amazed at the results.

Have you ever wondered what your clients think about you? Have you ever thought that maybe you are not doing all that you can for your clients? If you have ever just wanted to know what your clients opinions are about you then you need to get proatvie with your customer service calls.

Stop asking them about how they are doing and start asking how you are doing. When you start asking them what they think about you it shows that you really do care. Your clients will see that you are interested in providing them the best possible service.

Making proactive customer service calls turns the tables. Instead of you trying to figure out what the client wants, you will be told straight from their own mouth what they want. This can do wonders for your business, so get proactive today!

Many agents fail to see the many benefits of focusing in on client marketing. Instead agents are insistent upon sticking with lead generation as their main form of marketing. When you are willing to actually look at what client marketing gives you, then you will see that your efforts should be focused there instead.

Client marketing is more cost efficient than lead generation. With client marketing you are paying out at about 5% of your marketing costs and with lead generation you are paying out 10 to 30%. That is a huge savings right there.

That is not all, though. Client marketing is easier to manage and to delegate. It is much easier to track and measure your efforts. Plus it allows you to reap major benefits from your client database.

Let’s look at the financial aspects, since marketing is all about what you can gain. With client marketing you should generate 4 to 10 closed deals per year. That is a total of 20 to 50 closings per year. It is well worth your time and energy.

Client marketing is something that every agent must be doing. If you are not doing client marketing then you are missing out on the possibility of getting those guaranteed leads that will end up as closed deals and profit for your business.

Any good agent knows that establishing a personal connection with your clients is important. Sometimes making that personal connection doesn’t have to mean hours on the phone or tons of face time. Sometimes making a personal connection can be as simple as one small change in your direct marketing campaign.

Back before computers and telephones, people either communicated in person or through postal mail. Handwritten letters have given way to emails and it seems that that personal connection has been lost. Many people miss the personal feel of a handwritten letter and they yearn for those old days when people sent you something in the mail because they really wanted to reach out to you.

You can use this sense of nostalgia to help you make a big impact on your clients. You do not have to hand write out every flyer or letter you send. That would not only be time consuming, but we all know how handwriting is much more difficult to read than typed items. You can still type of your letters or other mailings to make them clean and easy to read, but you can insert a bit of familiarity by hand addressing your envelopes and other mailings.

Think of the impact it can make when a client goes to their mail and sees a hand addressed envelope. They will probably rush to open it just to see who sent them a letter. It will fuel their excitement and will help you to get their attention. This small change can make a big impact on your business and on your relationship with your clients.

Real estate agents do four types of work. These four types of work are:

- not doing anything
- doing what you should not be doing
- doing assistant work
- doing sales work

Top agents skip the first three types and focus their efforts on the last one. However, most agents spend too much time trying to spread themselves out over all four categories.

Agents not doing anything are wasting their valuable time. Maybe there is a lapse in demanding work, but that does not mean that there is nothing to do. There is always something to do and it should be sales related.

Doing work of an assistant is simply a waste of resources. If you are doing assistant work then what are your assistants doing? Are you paying people to sit around? If you do not have enough assistants then get more. You should never waste your talents on work that can be done by an assistant.

Focus in on sales work. That is what you should always be doing. If you think you have nothing to do then work on leads, touch base with clients or do something that will help further your business.

Wasting your time is not productive and not helping your business. Do not let busy work keep you from doing real work that is going to help you grow your business.

A mystery shop is when someone goes to your website and uses like a real visitor, but they are evaluating it the whole time. What this mystery shop does is allow you to see your website from the point of view of a visitor. If you have not done a mystery shop of your website then it is something that you must have done.

A mystery shop will give you instant feedback about what is good and what is bad about your website. You will find out if your website is user friendly and if it is welcoming to a visitor. You will learn if the visitor can easily get their questions asked or if they feel like they are left with questions after visiting your website.

During a mystery shop the visitor will be using the forms you have available. They will be acting just like a regular visitor that is interested in using your website to buy or sell a home. If something is not working then they will let you know.

You take all the information that the mystery shopper gives you and you end up with pointers that you can use to make your website better. You will be able to correct problems and address issues to make your website user friendly. A mystery shop puts you in a great position to ensure that your website is representing you and your business in the best light.

There are many different tasks in your business that you simply cannot handle everything on your own. You may hire assistants or even other agents to work in your business for you. These employees may handle many of the tasks that you cannot handle yourself. However, there is another option that you can try to get help in your business and make the best use of your budget.

At home workers are quickly becoming a valuable business resource. Agents who discover the usefulness of at home workers will not only get more work done in less time, but also spend less money doing it. At home workers are not permanent employees. They are contracted to do a specific job for you. They are paid to do that specific job for the specified time. Instead of having a part time employee that you must pay by the hour handle a task, you can set aside a specific amount of money and hire at home workers to handle the task.

It is well worth learning more about at home workers and the type of tasks that they can handle. You will find out that you can get a lot of quality work from at home workers for a smaller price then you would ever pay an actual employee.

Your unique talents are what will make your business unique. You need to figure out quickly what your unique talents are. Once you figure them out you should explore them and work with them to perfect them.

Your unique talents are the things that you are naturally inclined to do. Perhaps you are a good communicator or you love to work with people. Maybe you have a great eye for staging or you can sell anything. Everyone has unique talents, so it is all about finding out what yours are.

Once you have defined your unique talents, you must start working on perfecting them. Attend seminars or take classes that relate to your unique talents. Do what you can to make yourself better at doing them.

The time you spend working on your unique talents is time invested in your business. In the end, your unique talents will help you grow your business and become a successful real estate agent.

You already know that setting goals in important in business. When you set goals you are setting yourself up to achieve new things and to reach milestones in your professional life and in your business. However, when setting goals, many agents forget that a goal does not have to be something difficult or something that will take years to achieve.

Every time you set goals, you should set some that are very easily attainable. Set simple goals that you can reach in a few weeks or even a few days.

By setting attainable goals you will motivate yourself. You will make yourself feel better and give yourself that little boost of confidence you need to stay on track to reach those more difficult goals.

To set an attainable goal, you need to be able to control the circumstances 100%. Make sure that you are in compete control over the situation so that you can be positive that the goal can be reached easily and quickly.

Setting easily attainable goals keeps you on track, but at the same time encourages you. When you are constantly working towards long term goals, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and feel as if you are not accomplishing anything. Avoid failure by setting some goals that you know you can reach without a problem.

Understanding the value of your database is essential to your success as a real estate agent. You have to have a strong grasp on your database and just how important it is to your business overall. Only by understanding this can you succeed in your business and grow it to the level you desire.

Only about 1 in 1000 agents really know the value of their database. The reason why this number is so low is that most agents do not realize the importance of their database.

Your database is the backbone of your business. It is the one thing that opens doors and allows you to grow. Your database is very valuable. As such, it must be maintained carefully and it must be used to its full potential.

If you have no clue how to manage and best use your database then it is time to do some learning. Research and learn what you can about using your database and how to properly manage it. Once you have a good idea, make sure that you never forget the value of your database.

Expired marketing is a segment that can really take you a step up in your business. Handling the expired market, though, can be a lot of work. You need to have every aspect in order to ensure that you are dominating the expired market in your area.

The first thing you have to do is be confident in your own abilities. You need to be strong and willing to go that extra step. You need to be able to distinguish between the listings that are worth your time and which ones are not.

You should also know the market inside and out. You need to ensure that you understand the market conditions. You need to understand the trends in your area. You have to know the market so you do not waste your time on listings that won’t sell.

You have to do your research. This not only includes research on the market, but also on buyers. You need to know who would buy your listings so you can create a good marketing campaign to reach them.

It takes some effort to get into the expired market, but there is a lot of opportunity there. There is a lot of ability to make some major cash. You have to take that leap of faith and get started.

No matter how long you have been in business, you know that you cannot handle every aspect on your own. You have to hire assistants, work with other agents and assign tasks to others if you ever want to be able to go home at the end of the day.

In your own business you know what jobs that you have to handle. You know what is important to growing your business and helping you to get ahead. Working directly with clients and handling the finances are two things you must always do. Those tasks are things you should handle to keep your business going strong.

There are things, though, that you can assign to someone else. You can either hire an assistant or consider outsourcing these tasks. Outsourcing tasks is actually a great option for many reasons.

First of all, when you outsource, you only pay for the work done. You do not have to pay hourly wages every day as you would with an assistant. Secondly, outsourcing allows you to quickly get someone to handle your work because the company or person that you outsource to will be capable of handling the task and have the experience they need. You won’t need to train them.

Outsourcing is a fast, easy and cost efficient way to ensure that every aspect of your business is being handled. You save your own sanity while being able to run your business smoothly.

You probably have several databases with contacts stored in them. You have your email account, your cell phone, your laptop. Are the contact lists all the same or do you have different lists in each place? If you want to make the most out of your contact lists then you need to merge them.

You should take the contact lists you have in each place and make sure they are the same. You do not want to miss someone just because they were on your Blackberry and not your email list.

Besides just getting all your contact names in one place, you will also be able to merge all the information you have for each contact. This is essential. You do not want to make careless mistakes, like sending seller information to a buyer because your database is not up-to-date.

It can be a lot of work to organize and merge your databases, but it is well worth it. You will guarantee that you have every contact in one database so you can successfully manage them and your business.

Books are often forgotten about these days. It seems whenever anyone wants to know something they run to the internet. Books are still valuable business tools. Do not think that taking the time to read a good business book is a waste of time. It can be something that helps you in many ways to improve your business.

There are millions of business related books on the market. It can seem a little tedious to go through them and try to find one that will help you. Instead of spending your valuable time trying to find a good book consider turning to book reviews. Book reviews can lead you in the right direction and give you a good idea of whether or not a certain book will help you. You can find book reviews easily online.

You can use business-related books to help you in all areas of business, from general real estate to sales to service. There is a lot to learn and it is your job to find all the outlets that will help you to better yourself and your business. Do not count out books as an old fashioned method. They can be just what you need to get a step ahead.

Marketing is a major part of your business. You can easily get carried away with 5, 10 or even more marketing segments. That is too much. You have to streamline your efforts to get results. The best thing to do is to limit yourself to just three marketing segments.

This allows you to stay focused. You can put more effort into three segments and you will get more from them. So, what three should you focus on?

- Focus on getting referrals and repeat business through client marketing.
- Get leads through one direct seller lead marketing segment.
- Don’t forget listing marketing.

When you narrow your focus and put your efforts into these three segments only, you will start to see more happen. Too often agents think they must diversify to grow their business. All that does is scatter your energy and overload you with too much.

Simplify and you will see just how big of an impact that can have. You will be more productive, more focused and your business will start growing.

Managing client lists can be a huge task. It is an important one, though, and one that requires attention on a continuous basis. In order to keep your business alive and keep it growing, you have to have proper list management.

List management is more than adding names and making calls. It is about keeping the list current and making sure it is being used to its fullest potential.

Your client list needs to have labels, clearly marking each client with the next step in your dealings with them. You need to mark them with helpful information that will let you and your staff know exactly what is the next thing that will occur with that client.

You should have labels like:

- downsize

- upsize

- check in on new buy

- assist with staging

Whatever you will be doing next with the client should be marked on your client list. You want to have this list handy so that everyone can refer to it and be on the same page when interacting with clients.

Your client list will also serve as a to do list that will let you know when you need to contact clients and what type of contact it needs to be. A well managed client list can take you a long way in your business.

Every top agent knows that appearance is important. It is important when selling a house, so you do staging. It is important when you show houses to potential clients, so you dress nicely. Do you know what is also important in your business? You need to show that your business is solid and stable by keeping a consistent staff. High turnover of employees can give your business a bad image.

You need to start off strong. When you hire a new assistant or an agent to work for you, make sure that you do a complete interview and background check. You want to be sure that this person is capable of handling the tasks you will be giving them and that they have the proper attitude to work in your business.

You want to keep on top of new employees. Check in with them often and ensure that they are happy working with you. You want to address issues right away and try to keep your office a great place to work.

When you start to see a cycle where you are losing employees and hiring new employees, then you must take action. You have to find out what is wrong. It could be the people you hire or it could be a problem in the office. By staying alert and ensuring your employees like working for you, you can keep a stable team.

Having the same people there all the time will give clients and potential clients a better feeling about your business. It will also help them to be able to trust in you and believe that you can handle their needs.

In the last post we talked about the importance of delegating tasks. There was no specific mention of what to delegate, though. Not all tasks should be delegated. You already know that you should work on the important tasks, the real money making tasks. Another thing you have to keep in your own hands is the financials of your business. Never, ever delegate the financial controls of your business.

You can not trust anyone when it comes to money. Too many business owners have thought they could trust their staff and ended up being ripped off for large amounts of money. Reclaiming stolen funds is difficult if not impossible, so do not even risk it.

The financial controls of your business is a very important task. Not only do you need to handle them to keep from having problems with theft, but part of being a business owner is understanding how your business is doing financially. If you do not handle the financials then you will not see where changes need to be made or where problems are starting to occur.

The financial aspect of your business needs your direct attention. You can get assistance with it from a professional, but you should always be right in there, learning and watching what is going on.