Sylvia Perreault

First, don't make it a personal recession! Make a little more personal effort, you know you can!

Convince yourself that there is no recession in your profession! Recession creates, as in any change, opportunities for the real estate agent who can see how to benefit.

You have a job! So, contrary to some of your less fortunate clients, you still have opportunities to make transactions. Help them and yourself!

What do you do when buyers stop buying? You have to double your effort to sell. Do you have the expertise and training to do so? No? Then get help!!

Stop talking about and blaming the recession. If you want to blame someone for your failures, go look in the mirror!

Focus your energy on prospecting and selling instead of complaining with others! Stay away from the pessimists and the complainers that eat away at your positive energy.

Have "hotcakes" ready to sell! There is always a type of property in demand in any market, so find it and list it!

Solutions:

Action! The following phenomenon has always impressed me: Action creates reaction! When the real estate industry falls quiet, and this happens regularly, do not just panic! When this happens for me, I take action! I make more calls, I prospect and I engage in volunteer work. Within a short while my business is back with a vengeance! By taking action and putting myself out there, I meet people who may want to retain my services. I am constantly prospecting and on the lookout for opportunities. In most cases you will notice that when you present your business card, everyone around you becomes very interested in the property market. Whether you want to or not, you become the focus of attention. You are given a platform on which you can get people interested in yourself and your profession and you will probably find someone who is in need of your services at that time. I try to distribute more than 2,000 business cards a year. They will do more good given out than in your pocket!

• Be accountable. You don't have a boss, so you need another way to receive performance analysis, constructive criticism and suggestions. This can be done with a coach, your broker, a spouse or your partner. Your goal should be to share and discuss your skills and areas for improvements regularly. You will notice your progress, so get organized!

• Control your emotions. You may not realize just how much valuable time in your life is eaten by emotions. Control the anxiety monster in your head! Stop spending so much time contemplating what may never happen. Forget past mistakes. Enjoy the present moment and everything will be better.

• Make one more call a day. Eventually your efforts will be rewarded, and then some!

• Share your good news and your sales results. Your optimism will spread and will benefit everyone and help your business!

• Smile and show your successful attitude! It will encourage people to adopt your positive attitude and people will want to do business with you!

• Give this article to all your colleagues and managers. With your talent, you can all be the initiators of an economic recovery!

I hope you choose to take the path to success and that you never forget that you are all excellent brokers and agents. Never let anyone believe otherwise, especially you!!

I wish you REALTY-SUCCESS!

Sylvia

With the unlimited commissions available in the real estate profession, there is a large potential for growth which should motivate you to set and achieve personal goals. But the definition of success in this career is to always do better than you did before!

Inevitably, a lack of time becomes a major obstacle in achieving that next level of success for most accomplished businessmen and women. We all began this profession with the definition of a "self employed person" in mind; someone who is highly competitive with a strong sense of individualism, someone who is very focused on this competitive market and someone, who above all else, must do everything on his own!

The first option is for you to be very organized in order to survive in this environment. But ultimately, with listing appointments and visits accumulating as a result of your increasing success, you find yourself trapped - dreaming at night of cloning yourself just to complete the tasks necessary to achieve the next level of success to which you aspire.

However, it is also said: "No change, no gain!"

If you succeed beyond your physical limits and time, what are the options before you consider cloning?

Your second option could be to find someone close to you who can help you cope with the increased tasks that result from your rising success.

So you may consider unloading some work on your spouse, your child, a member of your family or even a helpful friend. These people may seem ideal for helping you with all the small jobs that overwhelm your life like putting up signs, filling out sales reports and bringing valuable documents to the notary. But this option would involve your loved ones in your crazy life! Is this really what you want?

Here are some real solutions and important changes you can make in order to progress and improve your quality of life!

Hiring external support is definitely the first step. A secretary or a licensed assistant, working part or full time, will help while you focus on the more important (and lucrative) tasks like listing and selling! The hourly wage you will pay will be far exceeded by the money you will have the time to make! In other words, the money you will make in the time saved not addressing various tedious tasks, will quickly cover your expenditure. On the other hand, it's important not to lose your precious time in the office training your employee(s) indefinitely! Finding the right person takes a lot of time and patience but the investment will pay off if you try it!

The next step after hiring an assistant is to think about associating other agents and forming a team.

However before making this big step, I would recommend looking for an agent who you can refer clients to for a percentage of the commission. Forming a team requires management, organization and above all else, handling the added pressure of providing sales activity for your team. You will need to be strong and take time to train them in your image and you must accept decreased profits and less free time at the beginning. It goes without saying that a written agreement in this scenario is essential to avoid potential disputes.

This could become a win-win situation for everybody as long as it doesn't result in constant employee or team turnover. It should benefit your clients, your agents, your life and your night sleep!

Progress in this profession is possible if you want it, so consult for help, set goals and maximize your potential for success!!

I hope you choose to take the path to success and that you never forget that you are all excellent brokers and agents. Never let anyone believe otherwise, especially you!!

I wish you REALTY-SUCCESS!

Sylvia

Tricks of the Trade:

«It pays to refer clients to other agents! »

Your REALTY-SUCCESS Affirmation of the Month :

«I put effort in building my team so we can provide superior service to my clients. »

Realty-Success Quote of the Month

«It is important to associate yourself with people of the same level of professionalism, image and values.» Agent Immobilier; De la réalité aux rêves, Volume II

Copyright © 2009 Sylvia Perreault Immo-Succès © Realty-Success, Canada www.immo-succes.com