Doug Spak
Customer Service 101
In April 2019, Forbes magazine reported 19 percent of consumers in a survey select the businesses they want to work with based on customer service. This should come as no surprise. As real estate professionals, we all know the importance of providing excellent customer service to all our clients: That’s what keep referrals coming in,…
Read MoreLeadership Rules
Today, we’re going to discuss leadership. If you manage a team, regardless of its size, you know the challenge of being an effective leader. Many people assume that leaders are born with those natural skills. Think again. You have to learn how to be an effective leader. And the lessons aren’t always easy ones. And,…
Read MoreThe Power of TRUE Engagement
Social media is all about engagement-likes, shares, comments. Our social media value is based on the degree to which people interact with our content. But how is engagement defined outside the realm of social media? In real estate, the only engagement that truly matters is that kind that happens between two people: talk. We are…
Read MoreLearn How to Pace Yourself
Surely you’ve heard of the old axiom: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Training for a marathon requires a strategy. You can burn out if you train too hard too soon. By the same token, if you wait until the last minute to start training, you won’t have the endurance needed to complete the 26…
Read MorePut a Face to a Name: Video Email Options for Real Estate Agents
How many of us have said this in the past few weeks: “I wish I had been smart enough to buy stock in Zoom.” Indeed, COVID-19 and “shelter-in-place” has turned Zoom video conferencing into the must-have app of 2020. Families, businesses, social groups, support groups…practically everyone is “zooming” to stay connected. Our new-found obsession with…
Read MoreHow to Get Courage to Dial
Perhaps you’ve noticed: America is awash in fear. And rightly so. We’ve never experienced anything as frightening and daunting as the coronavirus pandemic. It cuts to the core of our need for control and security. If you’re a real estate agent, it’s possible your fear is compounded by the belief that nobody, absolutely nobody, would…
Read MoreSelf-Discipline Leads to Excellent Results
“With self-discipline, most anything is possible,” said Theodore Roosevelt, one of America’s great and arguably most motivational presidents. He had a good point. In fact, there’s a reason a simple Google search of quotes about self-discipline turn up hundreds. By now, we surely know that while talent is a bonus, it’s for nothing if we…
Read MoreEspresso: Empowering Agents With FRBOs
The best real estate agents are always hungry for new sources of leads, new numbers to call. If you’re an Espresso Agent client, you’re fortunate in that you have access to the best For Sale by Owner and Expired leads. Recently, Espresso Agent expanded its best-in-class offerings to include a new category of leads: For…
Read MoreA Little Bit of Thank You Goes a Long Way
Real estate professionals are driven by the need to list more properties, close more transactions and work more efficiently. And, while tools to achieve these goals are important, there’s one tool we probably don’t talk about enough: Client appreciation. Showing your appreciation for business can take several forms. Yes, communicating is a way of showing…
Read MoreLooking Within: The Best Strategy
As kids and young adults dreaming of our careers, none of us wish to be average. Who among us doesn’t aspire in our dreams to become great at what we do, be it a professional athlete, chef, or yes, real estate professional? And yet, something happens to many of us mid-career. Our lofty goals vanish.…
Read MoreSome Thoughts on Scripting
Few agents embark upon their career without the use of scripts and many veteran agents continue to swear by them. Others think a few years of script training and experience provide the preparation needed to have a successful career without continuous reliance on scripts. We’re here to unpack both sides of the discussion. Pro: Routine…
Read MoreProspecting Strategies for Success
Ask any rookie agent what they dislike most about the job, and odds most will mention prospecting. But, it’s a basic tool of the real estate business and no one becomes – or stays – successful without continuing to prospect. We examine some of the mental blocks that make this part of the job so…
Read MoreUniversal Rules for Success
Just as the universe is governed by rules and laws that dictate how everything is connected, so does the practice of real estate have universal rules for success. There aren’t shortcuts to becoming a top professional in your field. So, in this post, we review some of the general tenets that, if you follow diligently,…
Read MoreAdding Production To Your Business
There’s nothing like the feeling of signing a listing – it never gets old. Even better than that, however, is being able to score multiple listings in a single week. There’s no better way to see a dramatic increase in business, but for many agents, making the jump to more than one listing a week…
Read MoreLoving Monday: How to Start Your Week Off Right
Many a song has been written about time managemeny and, in particular, how much we dislike Mondays. “Every other day of the week is fine, yeah . . . can’t trust that day,” sang the Mamas and the Papas in the 1960s, while the Bangles recorded “Manic Monday” in 1986 about the stress of starting…
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