As we plan our 2009 real estate adventure, our company leadership is working with our agents in groups and one-on-ones to build  solid executable business plans with activities that drive business online and create a referral business to sustain their future. We chose to make this a very focused effort with multiple levels of accountability which will span throughout 2009.  I keep repeating this:  “There will be a certain number of properties sold in 2009, the number will be whatever the number is.  Your job is to capture the highest percentage of …

As part of the annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report that is published every year during the first week of February, the research team wraps their four month study of the real estate industry by announcing the top 10 Newsmakers, Events and Trendsetters for the year.
The second list to be released is the top 10 events that during 2008 had the largest impact and influence on the real estate brokerage industry. Events are defined as those occurrences that transpired during the previous calendar year (2008) that made headlines and captured the …

The chronicles of Kellie Pillors….
I have a young agent who is so tenacious she refuses to see any discord in this market.  Instead, she chooses to see the opportunity of a lifetime.   Why?  Because she is doing the right prospecting to make her phone ring and her closing count is rising.  I met Kellie when she was a succesful rookie at one of my client’s offices in Southern California.  I knew the minute I met her she was a very talented agent and prospector.  It was my great fortune, when she …

From an early age, every child learns the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Customer service pros replace the Golden Rule with the Platinum Rule: Treat others the way they wish to be treated. 
The Platinum Rule was coined by speaker/trainer Tony Alessandra, who explains that a salesperson’s job is not to treat and serve clients as you want to be treated but as they want to be treated.  
The only way to know how a person wants to be treated is to ask and observe. Different …

I started writing this article a couple days ago when I was on a tangent regarding the blatant, in-office solicitation of our agents (and myself) to join network marketing companies. I decided to sit on it to see if my feelings simmered… they haven’t and since today is the day we launch our 2009 Business Planning Coaching Course, I feel it is a very good time to let everyone know just what business we are in.
What business are we in?  I don’t know about you, but I am in Real …

Many of you are a lot like me.  Entrepreneurial.  We’re constantly looking for opportunity, and when we see it, we often just naturally go for it.  Some of us more than others, depending on our place in life, our risk tolerance, financial ability, and the other things on our plate, but all of us, to some degree, learn to spot opportunity and react.  Such is the life of an entrepreneur.
I thought that some of you might find it enjoyable or even possibly instructive, if I were to walk you through …

Every year the Swanepoel TRENDS Report identifies, analyzes and then details out the imminent changes that are expected to impact the real estate industry over the coming 12 – 18 months.The 2009 Report is currently in the final 60 days of research and writing and obviously with all the recent financial disasters, the energy crisis, the housing collapse and foreclosure catastrophe this has made 2008 the worst year in real estate and financial history.

Already thousands of hours of researching has been invested in drafting the 2009 Swanepoel TRENDS Report by …

The Holidays are in full swing and I am reminded of a post I made last year between Christmas and New Years as I struggled to work from my home office with 2 of my children just outside my office door.  So many agents are moving home and vacating their bricks and mortar offices to save money but is it really the right decision for their financial and personal goals???  Not everyone can work from home and I am seeing actual signs of depression in some of these agents who …

As someone who spends a large part of my life training agents to succeed in this new age of real estate, I’m often amazed at the general lack of understanding on the topic of advertising in our industry.  I’m not talking about understanding the nuances of Madison Avenue or even being a student of David Ogilvy, Al Ries, or Jack Trout (some of the giants in the advertising industry).  I’m simply talking about having a good working understanding of the fundamentals of advertising, since as working agents, advertising is our …

Everywhere you look the news is grim.  Today there are record numbers of foreclosures.  Huge inventories of new and existing homes are being reported by nearly every media outlet.  The mortgage industry is in a state of chaos.  Many real estate agents are experiencing their toughest times ever in the business.  It is a very difficult time, and it is hard not to be discouraged.

I realize that this goes against what everyone is saying, but there IS good news!  Lots of good news!  First let me give you some numbers: