The last nine steps I’ve shared what I believe to be crucial keys to being successful in this new age of real estate. But this final step is the most important step of all. And more importantly, if you skip this step, you may as well not do any of the other nine.
I believe there is one major obstacle you must overcome before you can achieve greatness on any level, and certainly greatness in real estate. You have to conquer the six inches of ground between your …

A number of years ago, I was speaking to a high-powered group of agents in Houston, Texas.  I was sharing with them the seven key numbers in a real estate agent’s practice; the seven key numbers an agent must monitor, watch, evaluate, and, for most, change.  These seven numbers, because I controlled them well, enabled me to sell over 150 homes annually, while only working Monday through Thursday and taking Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.  I didn’t answer the phone, fax, or e-mail on those days.  I was off with …

What if I offered you a choice between two options.  Option 1 you earn $1,000 every day, starting July 1, for the entire month.  Option 2 you earn one penny on July 1st, and double your earnings every day for the entire month.  Which one would you choose?
If you chose Option 1, at the end of the month you would have earned $31,000.  Not a bad month!  For most of us, Option 1 is the easy money.  The sure money.  The safe money.  On the other hand, if you chose …

A Champion Agent can convey the six key rules that equate to professional value to any prospect or client.  They are able to drive home the key points to raise their value to the prospect.
 
1. We don’t sell properties
 
We are sales people, but we are really selling something other than a property.  What we really sell to the marketplace is our knowledge.  Our knowledge is better and more complete than our competitor’s, which enables us to charge a higher fee for our service.  Why is one Attorney $500 an hour …

Have you ever had so much business that you couldn’t even keep up? So much that when you eventually got through that wave of business, you took a deep breath, and realized you didn’t have anything else going on?  You suddenly realized that you had to start from scratch again filling that pipeline of business.  I don’t know about you, but it’s definitely happened to me.  It’s what I call “the slinky effect”.
 
Stopping the Slinky Effect
Remember the cool little toy spring that stretched and contracted, flipping end over end to …

Ask a dozen Agents to explain their home pricing philosophy, and you’ll hear a dozen different approaches. And if the talk reveals frank responses, you’ll also learn that the most common pricing strategy is no strategy at all.
 
Here’s my advice: Break out of the ranks by establishing and following a specific strategy for arriving at the ideal selling price for each home.
 
Adopt the philosophy that, in real estate sales, price is king. Price trumps all other factors – including marketing approaches, home condition, market competitiveness, and sales approach. …

A Champion realizes it’s not what happens but how they react to it that counts.  It’s not the absence of challenges, struggles, and slumps that makes top level Agents more successful.  It’s how they approach them mentally and move through them that separates these Agents from the crowd. 
 
When I speak, I often ask groups if they think that an Agent who sells 100 homes a year has more slumps, challenges, struggles, problems, and distractions.  Most Agents say that the large production Agent has fewer, not more.  The truth is …

The need for Agents to focus more on securing listings is at hand.  It is impossible to become a great listing Agent without investing time in prospecting for listings and practicing your qualifying and presentation skills.
 
One of the main reasons few Agents become successful as listing Agents is the fact that the amount of time they must invest into the listing side of the business is significant initially.  So, as Agents, we spend far too much time working with buyers, longing for more listings to come our way.  We hope …

Once you’ve received a referral, gathered information, and ranked the lead, it’s time to pick up the phone. The following advice and scripts will help you at each step of the lead-conversion process.
 
Making first-time contact
 
The first call is the hardest one. Until you make first contact you really don’t know the quality of the lead. It could turn out to be a huge business opportunity – or nothing at all. You have to hope for the best. The referral lead could result in years of business and an important new …

Most highly successful Agents are Listing Agents who represent home sellers. But the majority of all Agents ­– and nearly all newer Agents – earn most of their commissions by serving as Buyer’s Agents in the real estate transaction. As you build your business in the early years, use the following ten tips to increase your effectiveness and efficiency working with buyers.
 
Qualify Your Prospects
Prospects either are motivated and able to buy, or they’re not. Agents who work with low-quality buyer leads hoping they can raise their interest levels and …