Bob Corcoran

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner recently said that he is optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy, though recovery has been uneven. Of course, the same page of the MSN homepage featured a story about why the U.S. is in decline. Read both stories and you'll realize you have to make a choice. You can accept things going on in our society as "proof" things are on the downslide or you can accentuate the positive.

You may be thinking, "Oh, that's what Bob always says." If so, you are right. You choose how you feel. I have built my coaching career on this premise. A traditional market doesn't make you feel any way; you make yourself feel the way you do. No one else, no event, nothing makes you feel that way. It is all your doing, period.

This is not saying that things in our economy (or any segment of life) are perfect. If you dwell on the imperfect, you can fall not thinking that things are hopeless and opportunities are limited.

If you like books, grab a copy of The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews. He is a big fan of personal responsibility and is as motivating as they come. You can also visit my website for a document I wrote titled, "Fear or Confidence: Which Are You Choosing?" that may help you discover bad choices you might be making.

Commitment: I will train myself to see life in a more positive manner.

Deadline: ________

To take full advantage of the upcoming housing recovery, I recommend getting back to the basics of building relationships with past clients. Remember, it's cheaper to keep the old clients than to find new ones. Revisit them with 30 touches during 2010.

Whoa, Bob, that's a lot of touches. Not really. Not when you break it down. Let me explain - first, you snail mail to them once a month - that's 12. E-mail them once a month, so we're up to 24 now. Then send a quarterly market update - 28 touches. Then send a birthday card and a card marking the anniversary of when they bought their home - and that makes 30. See, it doesn't sound so overwhelming now.

I also recommend on top of these personal touches to increase advertising because most Realtors actually cut back in lean times so you will stand out from your competition. My rule of thumb for ad budgets is anywhere from six to 15 percent of your commission income.

The fundamental fact is people need to see you. To know you're there, still in business and ready to help.

It's easy to forget the basics -- simple things like a personal handwritten note or a quick phone call to show care and concern. These things don't take a lot money - often, the personal touches never do. yet these are the type of things that peopel remember.

Let me know what you think about the real estate market's future. Send me an e-mail at bob@corcorancoaching.com.

We look forward to hearing from you. Sign up TODAY for your complimentary business consultation. http://www.CorcoranCoaching.com/bpw.php

In America, we have a fascination with the new. Ask anyone who works for a city trash collection department. Tree lawns, especially in wealthier suburbs, are covered with usable furniture and working appliances in need of a new knob or some other small repair. In some cases, it's becomes cheaper to buy new small electrics than repair them.

There's one area where it is definitely not cheaper to go for the new rather than salvage the old.

In a document entitled "Keep Those Customers Coming Back!," the Better Business Bureau stated businesses will spend roughly five times more to obtain a new customer than they would to keep an existing one. And yet when many small business owners think of customer communication, they are thinking of reaching new customers and potential clients. They are wondering how to increase traffic to their website, or how to make the phone ring with new business.

Here is a statistic to think about: according to Businesstown.com, if you currently retain 70% of your customers and begin a program to improve that to 80%, you will add an additional 10% to your growth rate. By taking care of the clients you already have, you increase the chances of repeat business, add-on sales and referrals.

As a real estate agent and small business owner, chances are you do not have a huge promotion budget. That's why newsletters, brochures, thank-you notes and satisfaction questionnaires remain a great way to keep in touch with past clients ( a potential source of referrals), and past contacts who aren't quit ready to buy.

For additional information and guidance on this topic we have posted an article on our website entitled "Tips for Staying in Touch without Spending a Fortune" for you to review.

Show us your commitment by commenting with your thoughts, plan and deadline below!

Make A Commitment: I will implement at least one of these ideas and track my results.

Deadline: _____________

In the current housing market, eager buyers may have their wings clipped when they go to the bank. Interest rates are low but requirements for getting a mortgage loan are tougher these days.

Here's where you as an agent can really earn your commission. Most of us portray ourselves as "real estate consultants." So what can you do to help clients?

We all know that days of encouraging clients to get pre-qualified by a bank are long gone; pre-approval is what's needed now. If, after talking to the client, you know he might have some credit issues, encourage him to get that pre-approval letter sooner rather than later. If you know of some lenders who are particularly good at dealing with borrowers with lower scores or certain financial circumstances, make sure you share you expertise with the client.

When he gets the word back from the bank(s), the client may have some loan choices available to him as well as being informed of the maximum loan amount. With several loan choices, the potential buyer may be able to buy more home for a certain payment level. If he is not quite sure what the lender was talking about, make sure you help him understand all his options.

Once you know the maximum loan the client can get, make sure you steer him to properties in his price range. If a client on a beer budget falls in love with a champagne-priced house, it will be hard to get financing unless he has more cash available. Maybe you can exceed the limit a bit if you think a seller will take a low ball offer, but this will end up wasting everyone's time if you don't gear your efforts toward great properties the client can afford.

Once the deal is in process, the buyer may be very enthusiatic about getting new furnture, new carpet,new drapes, etc. Not that you want to squelch his joy, but make sure you mention that charging a major purchase may affect his ability to get hhe loan. it's very important for buyes to maintina the same debt to income ratio they had when the loan was approved.

If the client can't get financing, obviously you do not want to waste his time or yours when there are no more options, but if you have treated him with respect and been clear about his options, he'll be willing to work with you when the time is right for him to buy. Just make sure to check in with him occasionally until that time comes where you can turn a lead into a SALE.

A recent Microsoft Money blogger Louis Navellier outlined 7 reasons housing is doomed:

Low housing starts... foreclosures hit record numbers... expensive homes still not selling... banks not giving loans... property prices falling... housing permits drop... homebuyer credit expiring

The responses by commenters ranged from "at last, someone outside of real estate is telling us the real truth" to "one that I believe is the only response that will help the situation:

I bet that if the media did an experiment and just decided to write positive things about the housing market for 4 or 5 weeks people would start to believe that houses are a good investment and the market would begin to heal itself...so much of this is an emotional reaction and pack mentality....try it please....

If real estate agents, analysts, journalists, builders, lenders, and the general public write off housing, how will anyone better off? People need homes, lenders need customers. There's always roadblocks, things could always be better. But, as have been proved time and time again in the past couple years, creative agents have been successful at matching up buyers with homes.