Your marketing budget can easily get blown when you do not have a good plan. You have probably heard a million times that you need a good marketing plan for it to be effective. A marketing plan is also good to keep your budget in check.

A simple plan is all you need. Set a basic spending pattern, like spending $1 for calling leads for every $1 spent on lead generation of internet leads. A simple goal like this can keep you on track with your budget.

Tax time is winding down, but you can still take advantage of the new tax credits. Use tax advantages and special credits to target the segment of the market that can benefit from them and draw in new clients for your business.

You should start by familiarizing yourself with the details about the new tax advantages. Then you can start a mailing campaign to target those who are in the area of high income, but still below the cut-off for receiving the credits.

This will open you up to a whole new client base that could pay off huge this year. Use targeted mailings to get their attention and then back it up with the knowledge and skills you have to get their business.

One of the hardest jobs as a manager is to manage people. It may seem odd to say that, but it is easy to manage numbers and facts because they can not argue back and no emotions are involved. It takes someone special to be able to interact with people and manage them well.

As a top agent, you have to be able to hold your staff accountable for their actions. They need led and taught. You have to make sure they are on top of things and that they are doing their job well. There is no point in having a staff if you can not rely on them to do a good job.

If your staff is falling apart, then it means your business is falling apart. You cannot have a successful business if you do not have a staff that is functioning well. You may have to fire people, make changes to workloads, and hire new people. In the end, it is your decision how to manage your staff, because it is your business on the line.

You know how important it is to stay on top of the trends each year. For 2009, it seems the market is heading towards trends in buyer leads, expireds, REO/short sales and client marketing. These four areas need attention if you want to get ahead this year.

You probably have client marketing well in hand or at least have a good plan in place since this is always a focus. That means you can focus in on the other three coming trends.

Are you ready to focus on buyer leads, expireds and REO/short sales? If you are not efficient and active in all three of these areas then it may be time to seek out some additional assistance. Getting on top of the trends beforehand will give you an edge and allow you to reach your goals for 2009.

Humans are by nature very visual beings. You can probably attest to the fact that seeing something usually works better than reading about it or simply hearing about it. When you see something, it sticks in your mind and it seems more personal and real to you.

The use of video emails as a way to reach out to clients is very personal. It is something they are probably not used to and it is a welcome change from simple email messages.

Video emails are not too hard to create either. All it takes is a webcam and microphone. Many of you probably already have those things built into your laptop. In no time you can learn how to create a video email.

You can make video emails for each client as a personal way to connect with them and stay in touch. It allows you that personal touch with the ease of an email.

Are there new people moving into your market? Have you met them? Have you tried to welcome them? If you think new residents are a waste of time, then you are missing out on an important segment of the market.

You might think that they just bought a house and do not need a new one anytime soon, but you know how things go. They will eventually need a new home. You can let them go back to the agent who sold them their home or you can swoop in and become their new agent.

Become a welcome wagon for new home buyers. You can bring a small house warmer gift, share local news with them and help them with suggestions about things to do. Become a friend so when they go to buy again they come to you.