We get into the real estate business with little business training. All businesses must have goals and a plan delineating how they will achieve their goals. In other words, you must know the steps to take to achieve the goal.

To achieve the income you desire you need to know:

• How many leads you need to generate
• How much money you need to generate those leads
• How much support staff you will need to service your business
• How many contacts it takes to get an appointment
• Your average sales price / commission earned

You must have appointments with buyers & sellers and you must convert these appointments to listings and then to sales. There are a set of skills you must master to be successful in real estate; the skills to convert leads to appointments & appointments to listings.

 Lead Generation is Key

Here are some ways to begin lead generation:

• Call your sphere of influence
• Call expired listings in your farm area
• Contact past clients
• Meet with banks
• Develop relationships with allied businesses
• Walk neighborhoods
• Attend community & social events
• Hold seminars

Most importantly talk about your business. Listen to the people you are talking with and ask for the business. So many times we do everything right but then never ask for the business!

Ellen & Michael have embraced the web 2.0  environment & are reaching out to colleagues & the community to build their business and sell their listings.

The first two tips will provide you with what a repeat buyer wants most from their real estate agent.
The agent expectations by the repeat buyer are to:
Help find the right house to purchase -53% of buyers want this from their agent.
Help with price negotiations – 13% of buyers want this from their agent.
Help with paperwork – 8% of buyers want this from their agent.
Based on the above, here are some questions for you to consider.

Do you listen closely to your buyer’s wants and needs?

Are you up to date with the inventory of available homes in your marketplace?

Do you have negotiating strategies and skills to support buyer wants and needs?

Do you clearly understand purchase contracts?

Do you want to increase your competency in the areas that buyers want you to be skilled?
Please give me a call today and let me coach you to increase your buyer skills!

Here is a video on how to use Postlets

Postlets are a great way to get your property noticed. Where other Agents may post their property listings on Craigslist and other sites, a property listing done on Postlets outshines them all.

You can also post the same flyer on various sites like: Craigslist ,Facebook,FrontDoor, GoogleBase,  HotPads  
MySpace ,Oodle ,Trulia , Twitter,  Zillow 
This is a major time saver. Vflyer is another program that is also very good. 

Please participate in the survey below

Your first consideration is “How much did you invest in your real estate business last year and what was your ROI?  Secondly, what were the dollars that produced “results”!  Start making a list of your activities, dollars spent and what were the results!

Here is your measuring stick and rules:

* You must constantly be measuring because you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
* Look at your past expenses and determine if you received a favorable return on the investments in your business.
* Simply focus dollars in the areas that generate a result.
* A rule of thumb for marketing dollars:  You should invest a minimum of 15% of your gross income (dollars before commission split and or fees to your broker) in marketing dollars.

If you would like some assistance in creating a budget, give me a call! Let’s make it work!

I’m sure you would agree that productivity is never an accident!

Wouldn’t you agree that it’s usually the result of a commitment to excellence, through intelligent planning and focused effort? Here are some of the thoughts to consider as you evaluate your planning objectives.

Do you have a written Business Plan in place?
How many transactions are you going to close this year?
What is your average sales price going to be?
What is your average commission percentage per transaction?
What is your buyer to seller ratio going to be?
What kind of expenses are you going to have?
Why not separate yourself from the competition and get a business plan in place.

Let me help you develop a “bulletproof” business plan !

Start by filling out this online business plan today and then lets talk.

The Real Estate Business!

• 48% OF SALES PEOPLE NEVER FOLLOW UP WITH A PROSPECT
• 25% OF SALES PEOPLE MAKE A SECOND CONTACT AND STOP
• 12% OF SALES PEOPLE ONLY MAKE THREE CONTACTS AND STOP

• ONLY 10% OF SALES PEOPLE MAKE MORE THAN THREE CONTACTS
• 2% OF SALES ARE MADE ON THE FIRST CONTACT
• 3% OF SALES ARE MADE ON THE SECOND CONTACT
• 5% OF SALES ARE MADE ON THE THIRD CONTACT
• 10% OF SALES ARE MADE ON THE FOURTH CONTACT
• 80% OF SALES ARE MADE ON THE FIFTH TO TWELFTH CONTACT

Now! What does this tell you?

Persistence and Perseverance are the keys to success!

Never give up!

Make a list of the people you meet and keep the list updated!

Pick a time each day to keep in touch!

Provide your contacts with valuable information!

SEIZE THE MOMENT!

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY NOW!

DON’T WASTE TIME!

This information is from Todd Nordstrom from the Nordstrom Network

68% of the total  condo sales in the Aventura area are below $300,000. The $300,000 and below price range accounts for 39% of the condos currently on the market in Aventura.

We also have seen a decrease in the number of listings on the market . This is an indicator that the market may be changing for the better.  18 months ago we had  a 33 month supply of condos in Aventura to sell . Today we have an 18  month supply which is much  healthier number.

Before you know it we will be on the upswing with more selling and less inventory.

Are you getting this information from your broker?  This information and anaylsis can keep you a step ahead of your  competition.