Geez, Where Has Your Success Gone?

Has your well gone dry? Over the past several years most real estate agents appeared to get by. Some made lots of money; some did OK. How about you? There have been tons of articles written about getting and keeping business. How do you respond to this slower market? Do you shut down your business and change careers? Do you just wait for it to rain and refill your well" How about doing the logical thing, that is, dig your well little deeper! I find myself working with newly licensed agents and I tell them the same thing - work harder and smarter. Note each of these activities requires action, not passivity. I call these my "G's" for success; not "geez , where is my success?"

• Get out there! You can't sit still; activity builds activity. What do you do? The first thing is get out and meet people. Talk with your sphere of influence. If you have vacant listings, drop off flyers, check the property when the neighbors are around. Let them see you working.
• Go back to past clients. If you have been around long enough to manage one closing, go back to your previous clients and ask for referrals. It is OK to tell them your success depends on them. If you served them well, they should be willing to give you at least one name. It is nice for them to give your name out but make it easy on them, just get the name and contact information. Of course you should ask them if it is OK for you to use their name when you make contact.
• Go to the internet. I tell new agents about Active Rain. What a great training resource!
• Get a domain name and put that web site to work. Look at all the other web sites such as www.localism.com/, www.realtor.org, www.21online.com (for Century 21 affiliated agents), and many others.
• Get a mentor. A successful experienced agent who is ready, willing and available. Volunteer to assist other Realtors with an Open House
• Get those reading glasses out (if you need them.) Read the literature that is so widely available. There are lots of excellent books and magazines available. There are excellent blogs out there. (Yes, I do consider a blog as educational literature.)
• Get with and associate with active, positive Realtors.
• Gravitate toward success. Certainly your office has these types, if not, look for another place to hang your license!
• Get to know the folks at the post office. Direct mail to your local "farm" area still works. There are several excellent blogs here on Active Rain regarding the merits and methods of using direct mail.
• Grab every training opportunity be it a class at your local Board, a seminar, an on line course, whatever is available. Check out the many certification course available.
• Give back to your community. Seek out volunteer opportunities with schools, non-profit organizations, etc.
• God and family. This is my personal belief that I must have my priorities in order, that is, God and family, need to have their proper place - first. Success is never easy regardless of the task. How you respond to the challenges presented by today's market tells us (fellow real estate professionals, family, past clients, and casual acquaintances) about your character. What are you telling others?

There are many other items that could be added to this list. Perhaps we should continue this list with a new article entitled...

Geez, now I am so busy!