Doug Spak
Minimize 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…
Read MoreSuccess Begins with Your Business Plan
Did you know that, according to the NAR, 87% of all new agents fail within five years? While there are myriad reasons to account for the success of the remaining 13%, a common thread among them is a focus on business planning. Does having a written business plan ensure success? Not for everyone, but, to…
Read MoreA Healthier, More Successful 2021
We focus a lot of energy in this blog on sharing strategies to maximize your performance as a real estate agent. But there is, perhaps, no more important strategy for success than taking care of your physical, mental and spiritual health. In that spirit, we close 2020 with a few tips on how to live…
Read More6 Strategies for Starting the New Year STRONG!
As the clock winds down on 2020, it’s time to review our performance for the year, and get our heads into 2021. None of us will soon forget the COVID-ravaged year of 2020. The pandemic disrupted our lives, personally and professionally. But, for many real estate agents, 2020 was a case study in resilience, and…
Read MoreWarm Connections During the Holidays
Real estate agents have different approaches when it comes to end of the year business. Some turn up the heat on prospecting, while others pull back to enjoy the holiday season and prepare for the coming year. Regardless, this is a perfect time to connect with your Sphere of Influence. Last week, we posted Video…
Read MoreVideo Email: Spread Holiday Cheer to your Sphere
Our November 11th post, Successful Selling During the Holidays, highlighted the value of prospecting during November and December. Often considered a “down time” in the industry, we reviewed how it can be anything but down to agents who up their prospecting game during the holidays. And, of course, because of historically low interest rates, most…
Read MoreA 7-Point Blueprint for Real Estate Success
As we near the end of 2020 and begin to plan for (hopefully a less disruptive) 2021, we thought it might be helpful to take a step back and consider what really matters when it comes to success in real estate. We’ve touched on many of the points below in previous posts (and will continue…
Read MoreSuccessful Selling During the Holidays
Nobody wants to sell their home during the holidays! Whether you’ve been in real estate a few years or a few decades, you’ve surely had to contend with homeowners who push back on your prospecting efforts with this handy, little objection. Of course, the holiday season is unlike any other time of the year, which…
Read MoreHyper-focused Neighborhood Farming
Not all real estate agents prospect on a regular basis. For those that do, many use a multi-tiered prospecting approach, that might include: Calling expireds, followed by… Calling FSBOs, followed by… Calling sphere of influence. Another widely-used prospecting strategy is circle prospecting, or real estate farming. In fact, some agents focus heavily on circle prospecting…
Read MoreKnow Your Numbers!
If you’re not the kind of real estate professional who obsesses over the numbers that define your business, maybe it’s time to reconsider. Top performers in our business understand the importance of understanding their business analytics. But we understand that you might be one of those people who never felt comfortable with numbers (“I’m really…
Read MoreFinish Strong in 2020
As of this writing, you have about two months left in 2020. While many real estate agents are now thinking about goals for 2021 (which we’ll cover in a separate post), there is still a lot of revenue to be had in the final two months of this year. Typically, November and December are soft…
Read MoreGet Back on the Bike!
It doesn’t matter how successful you’ve been, or how long you’ve been selling real estate or how many transactions you had last year. The hard, cold truth about the human condition is that our minds can be fickle, and fragile. You can be at the top of your game, then go through a losing streak…
Read MoreYour Value Proposition Matters
There are more than 1.3 million real estate agents in the U.S. In any given year, the median number of transactions among this group of agents is 12! In such a hyper-competitive industry, it takes a special effort to stand out, to differentiate yourself when meeting with a prospect. Why should a homeowner trust their…
Read MoreBeating Call Reluctance: 2nd Part
In last week’s post, we covered the basics of call reluctance: the reasons why we get it, and the signs we are struggling with call reluctance. Fear is a major factor leading to call reluctance. Fear gets stirred up when we dread some future activity and our initial response is to run for cover, or…
Read MoreBeating Call Reluctance: Part 1
Regardless of how long you’ve been in the real estate business, you’re familiar with a few basic characteristics common to top performing agents: They focus on listings as their primary source of revenue-generation. They tend to be “listing agents.” They are almost obsessive about routine, especially morning phone-prospecting. This is the first of a two-part…
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