Are you developing the skills necessary to be a successful agent in the next century? This means learning the new technology that will make you more accessible while offering the service that will kept bringing clients back. Embrace ongoing relationships with your clients. Build your networks and constantly add value. It's a blend of the new and the time-tested that brings in clients and keeps them. For additional information and guidance on this topic we have posted an article on our website entitled "Ways to Turn Clients into Raving Fans" for you to review. Commitment for the Week: Show us your commitment by commenting with your thoughts, plan and deadline below! Make A Commitment: I will Create Raving Fans!Deadline: _________ Bob Corcoran Corcoran Coaching P.S. Want more tips like th... 05/08/2009

Manipulation must be instinctual.  Ask any parent of a two year old.  Even by that age, baby knows that flirting with daddy or screaming for mommy will probably get him what he wants. Negotiation skills, on the other hand, are learned.  The person who wants something offers the other person something they might want in return.  Even parents get to the point where blind love makes them realize that their kids are manipulating them, so the kids acquire a new skill set.  It so happens that the ability to negotiate is crucial to successful real estate deals. My words of wisdom for the day: learn how to keep talks constructive so that everyone in the transaction comes out a winner. In the frenzy of a transaction, the line between negotiation and manipulation can sometimes be gray.  Negotiati... 05/06/2009

"The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office."  Robert Frost The secret to success in real estate - and in life - is much closer than many of us realize: it is right inside our head. During my years of helping Real Estate Teams thrive, I have found three distinctions that separate the successful from those who constantly yearn. It is based on attitude. And the good news is, by shifting your mindset, you can see dramatic results. For additional information and guidance on this topic we have posted an article on our website entitled "Change Your Mindset and Thrive in Your Business This Year" for you to review. Commitment for the Week: Show us your commitment by commenting with your thoughts, plan an... 05/05/2009

When we hold an open house or a showing, our sellers nervously await the reaction of the potential buyer.  When the much-awaited call from the showing agent does not come, it falls on us to seek out the followup. The reasons you call the agent who showed your listings are: To jog the agent's memory about the house so that you may be able to get a second showing. To answer any questions or concerns that the buyer expressed so that the house will be reconsidered. To get the impressions of the buyers or agents that might help you to better market the house. Once in a while, the agent on the other end may say, "I've been meaning to call you." Most of the time, if an agent doesn't call you back, it means the buyers are not interested. In any case, don't expect agents to give a full critique ... 05/04/2009

All leads are not created equal.  The people may be wonderful.  They may love what you show them. They may be committed to buy from you. But if they aren't ready to buy now or can't get financing, they are not in today's top group of leads. You want to assign your leads into one of three categories. "A" leads are ready to buy or sell now. "B" leads plan to buy or sell in the next month or two. "C" leads might buy or sell in the next three to six months. Develop an action plan for each kind of lead. Don't salivate over the "A" leads so much that you forget about the "Bs" and "Cs" - they're your future business. Consider a "drip" e-mail system that automatically sends helpful e-mails to them every week or two - maybe information on homes that fit their criteria - and remember to get their... 04/30/2009

Ninety one cases of swine flu and one death have raised concerns that an epidemic is waiting in the wings.  The World Health Organization, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health departments, school districts, worried parents are already in crisis mode, perhaps for good reason.  Hopefully, the crisis won't materialize. How the crisis was managed will remain long after the fears subside. Have you ever had a crisis in your career? Maybe we should ask how many have you had today? Let's face it, a great Client Care Coordinator is first and foremost a problem solver, and because of this, the front desk will often become a crisis management center. This center is where all problems arrive and are expected to be solved within a short period of time. How can we be... 04/29/2009

"The sky is falling, the sky is falling... " Chicken Little Anyone who follows my blog knows I am an optimist.  Even when others have lamented that the real estate industry was all about bad news, I have pointed out the many opportunities that continue to exist for hard working agents.  Now Department of Commerce figures indicate that new U.S. home sales appear to be bottoming out after a 74% decline since July, 2005.  Home sales hit a record low in January, jumped a bit in February, and then fell flat in March. New home inventories dropped 5% from February levels.  All this means that the demand for new homes is likely to start increasing again.  The demand for new homes never really goes away, even in a recession, but builders are counting on an upturn in sales the second half of 2009... 04/27/2009

In a recent article in Inman's News, an agent vented that all the time she had invested in social media sites yielded her little for her trouble. As her headline proclaimed "social media sites don't sell real estate." There's no question about that - agents do. But, in this new Web 2.0 world, successful agents are finding ways to make various Internet resources work for them. Laura Duggan of West Austin Properties did just that. She advertised a $13.5 million listing on Yahoo's home page. Within a short time, it was featured as the number one most viewed listing on there. It rotated through the list as one of the top 10 most expensive homes viewed for five days. They got over 2,000 leads who registered to see listings on their website at www.WestAustin.com  in two days!  See a screensho... 04/25/2009

"Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, it is only time we have." Art Buchwald You had to love Art. He had some great quotes. And this one really puts things into perspective, especially for those of us in real estate. Yes, I'll grant you that you can look at our economy and the real estate market and proclaim it the worst of times. Totally your prerogative. But please, don't call me. I avoid those who whine and complain and see the worst in everything. The fact is - no matter what you think of today's market -- it is just as Art said, the only time we have. And as a real estate coach and consultant, my job is to help agents and brokers see how to make the most of the time they have whether it's a buyer's market, a seller's market or an alien's market. (I don't care what... 04/22/2009

The other day, we were discussing how older agents might approach first time buyers who are likely to be younger, more tech savvy, a bit wary, and a lot more casual - but with checkbooks ready to go.  The point in that isn't the age difference.  It's a matter of relating to the client where he is.  Take a look at how you approach prospective clients with your demeanor, your marketing and your attitude.  Is your intent to impress them with your knowledge and experience?  If so, they will see you as one of those irritating, pushy salespeople.  They will write you off and probably hook up with another agent who shows them respect the next time they attend an open house or call about an on-line property.  But, if you are showing a true interest in their needs and problems, you will begin to... 04/21/2009

Now that the first time homebuyer's tax credit is a reality, younger buyers make up the clientele of many agents these days. For some agents, this means approaching your clients in a slightly different way. Are you ready to help them? You might be saying no, simply because of your age. NAR reports the median age of Realtors® is 52, but the median age of buyers is 39. NAR also reports first-timer buyers accounted for 39 percent of the home purchases in 2007 and 68 percent of these buyers were under 35 and 89 percent were under 45. So you older agents will have to get with the program if you want to work with these folks. Here are a few tips to help you position yourself to work more successfully with these younger buyers. Be an educator. Too many agents are what I call "Pop Tart" agents.... 04/20/2009

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit." Helen Keller Chances are good that if you're reading this, given the title, you are not feeling positive about today's real estate market or have other associates that are not being positive. Well, let me relieve some stress. The market has been abnormally strong over the last four years, so the market is not a down market, it's a traditional market. Anyone who's been in real estate more than four years knows this. The market is doing what it does naturally; it's adjusting itself. And with this adjustment has come an amazing opportunity for potential buyers to realize their dreams. There's nothing more positive than helping others meet their goals and rea... 04/16/2009

There's a million real estate websites out there. Whether they are barebones or agency created, they should provide you with a steady source of leads. If you are creating leads from your website and yet you are not converting them into closed transactions you are probably not following up in the most efficient and effective way. If your internet leads are not producing the results that you want, ask yourself the following questions:  1.     Are you contacting internet leads within a maximum of two hours? 2.      Does your website require certain information from your visitors? 3.      Are you marketing your website? If you answered "NO" to any of these questions then you are most likely not doing those things that are necessary to most effectively convert your internet leads. You should... 04/15/2009

Someone once asked auto racing legend Bill Vukovich the secret of his success. "There's no secret," he replied. "You just press the accelerator to the floor and steer left." That is about as simple as you can get. Stop for a moment and ask yourself if you can boil down your real estate business to something equally as simple. Having trouble? Then it is time for a peek under the hood of your business.  Have things become unnecessarily complicated at your office?  Has bureaucracy crept in and started making your operations messy?  Do you feel like you have lost focus? If you are answering yes to any of these questions, you may have lost touch with the basics. But do not feel bad, it is easy to do these days with all the bells and whistles around. Nevertheless, repairs are necessary. You n... 04/14/2009

Recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) figures suggest that nearly half of all agents have websites while over half do not respond to Internet requests.  In the old days of print advertising, people sometimes let their response cards sit in a drawer - a waste of money as some respondents would eventually buy the product.  Today, when agents ignore leads from their website or email, the results are more dramatic. Often, agents are overlooking buyers who are ready to go. About 75% of real estate shoppers are Internet savvy.  This disconnect means that most agents are lagging behind their customers. Agents are not maximizing the investment they have made in Internet technology nor harnessing the power of the Internet to make a connection. Your goal in learning to use the Internet ef... 04/13/2009

This weekend, many of us, along with our clients. are celebrating Easter or Passover.  While this holiday does not result in a major work slowdown that often occurs around Christmas, many offices tend to be closed on Good Friday or people leave early to prepare for Seder dinners.  Once we get past the weekend, we have holidays every other month until October, plus traditional vacation times. For you, as a broker or agent, there will be times when you too will be vacationing or celebrating.  Other times, the slowdown will be a great time to learn more about the technology that is so important to business today.  Most everyone has an automated database that has lots of features for keeping in touch with prospects.  How are you organizing your database? For some insights on getting yoursel... 04/10/2009

"Have a minute?" they ask. "Sure," you say, though you are  really in the middle of something. Thirty minutes later, the conversation ends. Number 1 on the list of ways people invade your boundaries: Requests for time or assistance that ignore refusals, or that, once acquiesced to, go on to require far more time or effort than was originally agreed to. Some boundary invasion is very clear. Other forms are subtle enough that we may not recognize them for what they are and wonder why we feel irritated when they occur, or if we even have the right to feel irritated. All of the seemingly harmless activities that are listed in the PDF document involve boundary invasion, if they happen habitually. Incidentally, you may want to use this list to check on yourself, too. Many boundary invaders ar... 04/09/2009

Correct pricing often makes the difference in bringing real estate transactions to a successful close. If our house is not being shown, it means agents think our price is too high for that neighborhood. Recommendation: A significant price adjustment. If our house is being shown, but not getting any offers, it means the buyers are finding nicer homes for the money. Recommendation: A moderate price adjustment. If our house is in the running, but the buyers buy something else or if the buyers view the house a second time, but buy something else, it means that the pricing is close to the right point. Recommendation: A minor price adjustment. According to NAR, if our house is priced correctly, we should get one offer for every 10 showings. In a normal market, we should get 1-2 showings a wee... 04/08/2009

A great way to make sure that your customers have an excellent experience working with you is to develop an attitude of "It is My Pleasure" to serve you. You need to establish a habit whereby you say "It is My Pleasure" at every opportunity; this will let your customers know that servicing their needs is of the utmost importance to you. The only item needed to accomplish the goal of having an attitude of "It is My Pleasure" is a great attitude! For additional information and guidance on this topic we have posted an article on our website entitled "Developing an "It's My Pleasure Attitude" for you to review. Commitment for the Week: Show us your comitment by commenting with your thoughts, plan and deadline below! Make A Commitment: I will have a "My Pleasure" attitude!Deadline: _________... 04/07/2009

Our team has countless years helping REALTORS® and Mortgage Companies just like yours grow and run their businesses. We work with the top one percent of agents across the country providing systems and training to help agents grow their businesses... Maybe some people are born salesmen and born managers. Most regard their profession as a craft they have to work on and perfect.  The most successful ones call in the pros.  That's where coaching comes in.  For 20 years, I have helped talented agents developed their sales and business skills as testimonials from my clients affirm time after time. Now like in most areas of life, the real estate field is becoming more specialized than ever.  That's why my upcoming session of the Real Estate Training Center will focus on where the action is in ... 04/06/2009