…for some people.  Wow, did I actually write that?  I am launching one of the biggest technology platforms of my career right now and have worked on the cutting edge of technology in our industry for 15 years and yet today, I am going to say, some agents just need to surrender and forget about ever incorporating technology into their business and stop investing time and money in the newest and greatest widgets.  They just will never use it and it is a waste of time and money and can …

Most of the leading Social Media sites such as MySpace and Twitter have been offering customized and/or vanity URLs for their profiles for quite some time; the world’s largest social-network, Facebook has not.
 
This all changed late Friday and early Saturday, June 12th and 13th, when Facebook allowed its 200 million users the chance to claim a personalized Web address on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
Within three minutes 300,000 users had grabbed a name.  Fifteen minutes later that number rose to 500,000 and to more than 3 million within the first few …

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 …

Episode 41: This week’s video: Top Agent Bryan Bomba shares what he is doing to achieve such great results with his blog.

We’ve all heard that Web 2.0 - the era of social networking is the future for building relationships and a profitable real estate business.
Truth be told it’s Not the future … it’s here now and [...]

In order for marketing to be illustriously effective, your message needs to be properly structured.  From a selling standpoint, your message needs to achieve the highest impact.
In other words, if you want to end up powerful marketing…you have to start with a powerful message.
I often tell people that marketing is like a quarter.  $0.25.  Take a second and pull one out of your pocket.  It has two sides - heads and tails, right?  Now take a good look at the edge.   Can you see that it’s actually two pieces …

Step One: First Things First
Let me ask you a simple question: Why should anyone use you as their agent?  Go ahead, take a minute to think that through.  What do you bring to the table that 1,000 other agents don’t bring?  A key to the lock box?  Access to the MLS?  Are you kidding?!
OK.  Then let me ask you this question: Who’s the best agent in your market?  If the answer is not you, then I need to ask you this: If you’re not the best agent, then why don’t …

In this week’s episode Top Agent Darryl Baskin shares money making results he has experienced by using virtual outsourcing.

A while back I read a National Association of Realtors report that the average real estate professional makes approximately $150 - $200/hour.
This is factoring in an average number of deals over the course of the year - and I can’t remember the number of hours they based this on but let’s assume this is an accurate assumption.
My question is …. drum roll please …. would you pay someone $150 - $200/hour to …

One of the most rewarding things I get to do is to teach agents, and yet one of the most frustrating things I do is to teach agents! What’s up with that?! Here’s what’s up with that: Some agents “get it”, and some agents don’t. The ones who don’t remain set in their ways no matter how much training they get, and they typically fail or merely subsist on a meager income for most of their career.

I think the agents that fail, or at least fail to …

The Law of Difficulty basically says this:  The harder the task, the fewer the people who will try to accomplish it.  There is an advantage to the tougher tasks like being a Champion level objection handler.  Most Agents will not do the work to perfect the skill.  Once you do perfect the skill, you will have very limited competition.  When most people face a challenging problem or task, they will stop before they even get started.  That’s why so few Agents have the right attitude with objections and the skills …

Many agents struggle with the idea of some sort of closing gift that has to be given when their clients complete a transaction.

I’ve always believed that YOU are the closing gift. Think about it … you just helped someone realize the Great American dream of home ownership. They should naming their next born after you in show of thanks.