June 2005 Issue
Page 4

FIVE SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL AGENTS

RISMEDIA, June 8 - What makes the industries best and brightest stand out? No one knows better than the people who have coached them to the top. Veteran real estate coach Roy Argall explains what makes the top agents tick, and what you can do to apply the lessons they've learned.

1. Use a Contact Management Program
The single biggest opportunity that real estate agents miss, whether they are new or have been in the business for several years, is not using a contact management program that is specifically designed to manage the real estate transaction from start to finish. With several systems available that allow the agent to work with ease, many agents feel that working hard is the secret to success. In fact, the trick is to use tools that do the "work" and leave the remainder of the time for doing what is fun and - more importantly - profitable.

The best contact management programs systemize everything: agents attach action plans to everybody who he or she has met or wants to meet. These action plans remind the agent or an assistant what is to be performed on a daily basis. This can include mailings to be sent, calls to be made and people to be seen. A contact management program leaves time for a spouse, children, exercising, recreation or vacations - in other words, a life.

2. Practice Time Management
When an agent uses a good real estate contact management program, he or she has the ability to utilize the calendar functions. This can be used to schedule: showings, listing presentations, and office business meetings. More importantly, the agent can set aside time in what is normally called "time blocking" for working on the business instead of working in the business.

One of the things that many agents forget is that they are building a business. Build it well and it can be sold when the time comes to exit from the business due to health, age or other reasons.

3. Get Training - and Don't Stop Learning
There are many training programs and classes available to agents where learning can be fun and stimulating. The top 7-10 percent of agents owe their success to having an attitude of continued learning.

Why not attend a class or seminar presented by a local association of Realtors or by a local college or university? You might be surprised how easy it is to begin a designation program. These programs empower agents to feel mastery over a complex field. That mastery puts money in agents' pockets, because clients and customers appreciate the agent's skill set which leads to a genuine trust in their relationship.

And be sure to set yourself up for success by reading. The top agents are consistently in the middle of a book about rapport building, trust building, sales presentation skills, scripts and dialogues, negotiating, or any number of real estate topics. These are the basic building blocks that agents need in order to achieve success. One study shows that if a person read one hour a day for a whole year on any one subject, he or she would be an expert in that field. So only 365 hours of reading will put you over the top.

4. Get Your Name Out There
If agents worked a sphere of influence to its maximum potential, only 12 people would be needed to produce 12 closed transactions a year. Imagine 12 people who would personally refer one person a year to you who wants or needs to buy or sell a property - think of how successful you would be. Thinking about and finding these 12 people is what top agents do during the time-blocked periods mentioned above. Of course, there is no reason to believe that it must be limited to 12 influential people. What is important is finding people who are willing and able to be what a number of trainers call your angels. Having quality contacts in your database is what is important and it all begins with these important people.

5. Build Farm Area with Passion
Another thing that agents forget to concentrate on is the power of working with people they love. In addition to doing personal marketing and connecting with a sphere of influence, why not connect to people who are like you - people who like what you like and do what you do? Productive farms can be found by going through life with your eyes open instead of closed, by being actively aware of the universe. Noticing where you like to go and who you like to be with will bring you many referrals. Farms can be geographic, such as subdivisions that you frequently love to drive or walk through. They can also be demographic, meaning certain groups such as pet lovers, medical people, theater people, attorneys, horse people, or renters. Whatever your choice may be, turn up the heat by getting to know everything about it. Who are these people? Where do they live? What do they like to do? Where do they like to go? Make a genuine effort to be their agent, and when they think of real estate, they will think of you.

Roy Argall is principal of U.S. Coaching http://www.UScoaching.com a prominent real estate coaching company. With active broker's licenses in the states of California and New York , an ABR designation and over 33 years of experience in the field, Argall has practiced real estate on both coasts. Argall can be reached at info@uscoaching.com

Taken from June RISMedia.com

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