Doug Spak
Should You Hire a Real Estate Coach?
A common characteristic among top-performing real estate agents is their willingness to invest in a personal, real estate coach. Whether you’re new to the business or have been at real estate for quite some time, it’s worth considering the potential value of working with a coach. Yes, hiring a real estate coach can be an…
Read MoreOvercoming Negative Clients
No matter how long you’ve been in the real estate business, you’ve likely experienced your share of negative clients. It’s an occupational hazard. And, of course, there are degrees of negativity, from mildly annoyed to overly irate. If you’re the kind of person who is conflict-adverse, it can be challenging to work with someone who…
Read MoreHow to Become a Circle-Prospecting Superstar
There are a lot of ways to drive your real estate business. You can prospect expireds and/or FSBOs, or mine your sphere of influence. Of course, many top performers rely on a all of these strategies. Another widely-used prospecting strategy is circle prospecting, or real estate farming. In fact, some agents focus heavily on circle…
Read MoreWinning in a Low-Inventory Market
The good news for real estate agents is that, despite the financial insecurities created by the pandemic, we’ve not seen a decline in the demand for housing. The bad news, of course, is that inventory levels continue to decline. Or, is it really BAD NEWS? The truth is, you can’t control fluctuating inventory levels, any…
Read MoreWorking with FSBOs in a Seller’s Market
Many top real estate performers focus heavily, if not exclusively, on prospecting For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homeowners. In fact, we’ve written a number of posts on working with FSBOs, two of the most notable being: Prospecting FSBOs: Here’s What to Ask Think Like a FSBO FSBOs indeed can be a rich source of revenue.…
Read MoreBack to Basics for Real Estate Success
You’ll find a lot of advice, or often “hacks” that the experts say will guarantee success in the real estate business. Perhaps. But when you get down to it, it’s sticking to the fundamentals that drives your business. Here are a few to consider: Stick to a schedule. Daily prospecting is the key to achieving…
Read MoreThe Courage to Dial
Working the phones is fundamental to success in real estate. It’s that simple. Yes, you can prospect many other ways, such as using flyers or knocking on doors. Or hoping someone calls you. But if you dream of earning a healthy living in real estate, you’ll need to follow the model used by all top…
Read MoreBuild and Leverage Your Sphere of Influence
Top performing real estate agents typically employ a blend of strategies to drive their business. Some rely heavily on working with expired listings, while others find gold in FSBOs. But nearly all successful agents understand the value of the database known as their sphere of influence (SOI). In the broadest sense, your SOI is comprised…
Read MoreAccountability Partners: 5 Point to Remember
Top real estate performers typically adhere to some basic, time-tested strategies to drive maximum financial performance: Obsessively focus on phone prospecting on a regular basis Invest in leading-edge lead gen/CRM software, such as Espresso Agent Embrace the value of paid coaching advice Work with one or more accountability partners, often on a daily basis Today…
Read MoreSix Steps to Becoming a Great Leader
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch Because of the unique, highly-competitive, entrepreneurial nature of real estate, there is a natural demand for strong, motivational leaders. Whether you’re growing your own, multi-billion dollar business or working for an…
Read MoreEmbrace Rejection with These 8 Tips
The biggest challenge for any sales professional, especially real estate agents who are active phone prospectors, is dealing with rejection: NO! I’m not interested! I have an agent! Etc. Etc. Nobody likes rejection, but there is no way to get around in our hyper-competitive industry. The key to dealing with rejection, then, is to embrace…
Read More6 Characteristics of a Top Performer
Highly successful business professionals, especially top-performing real estate professionals, tend to share a number of distinct personality or character, traits. These qualities are innate for some, but others need to analyze and cultivate these qualities on their journey toward success. We’ve identified six personality traits that define high-performing, driven professionals: Living the Dream: In general,…
Read MoreMaintaining Your Perspective Tips
“If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too” From “IF” Rudyard Kipling Kipling’s iconic poem is about the importance of maintaining our perspective, regardless of…
Read MoreHow to Close with Confidence
One of the biggest challenges for many real estate professionals is closing the deal. There is a certain discomfort that often comes with “making the ask,” and it can be easy to slip into avoidance of such discomfort. Sometimes it’s difficult to close, even when the prospect is sending us signals that they are ready…
Read MoreMinimize Distractions, Maximize Success
You don’t have to be in this business very long to know that focus is critical to long-term success. For many real estate agents, focus, staying on task, comes easy. But we’re all built differently, especially when it comes to staying focused. There seems to be no limit to the amount of external stimuli that…
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