Take A Day Off—You Can’t Afford Not To

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Personal Fulfillment, Work/Life Balance 2 Comments

By Jef Conn Shout out to the agents who are working long hours, evenings, and weekends, without taking a personal day so you can keep up with business or better serve your clients. I’ve been there. Most of us can look around our offices and see fellow agents working hard and not taking time off. We want to serve our …

Carpe Diem: Taking Time to Travel

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Personal Fulfillment 1 Comment

By Samantha Jones The elusive work-life balance—many of us strive for it—but it’s easier said than done. It can be difficult to step off the hamster wheel in this 24/7 business. Yet, I’ve found the harder it is to unplug and unwind, the more crucial it is that we do so. Removing ourselves from the grind of real estate is …

Making Ends Meet Between Closings

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Establishing Your Business 3 Comments

By Jef Conn We’ve all been there—we close a deal and then realize it’s going to be a long time before our next deal closes because we don’t have anything else in the pipeline. That stress is something all agents have faced at some time in the career. Real estate is a tough job, but making the right money moves …

9 Tips For Teaming Up With Family

Blog Contributor Being a REALTOR®, Business Challenges, communication 4 Comments

By Samantha Jones The beauty of the real estate industry is there’s no one way to run your business. We have fluidity and flexibility. This leads to some agents (like myself) adopting a team approach, and oftentimes, team members are part of the same family tree. After working with my mother for nearly five years full-time, I’ve learned a few …

Heads or Tails? Making Sense of a Shifting Market

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Customer Service 1 Comment

By Samantha Jones It’s no secret most of our markets rival the uncertainty of a roller coaster ride at an amusement park these days. Buyers expect to pay less; sellers don’t want to drop their prices. Pristine homes that should seemingly sell in hours, sit on the market stalled. Deals falling apart multiple times for the same client. You feel …

Pocket Listings: An Ethical Conundrum

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Code of Ethics, ethics 3 Comments

By Dale Swanton You’ve no doubt heard the term “exclusive” or “pocket listing,” referring to a listing that is not promoted on the MLS but is marketed to the listing agent’s brokerage only or to a select group of “in-the-know” agents. Although not illegal or even unethical in and of itself, the practice is rather controversial as it often puts …

How to Deal When Your Plate is Full

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Political Action & Involvement, Work/Life Balance 6 Comments

By Rebecca Donatelli Closing sales, managing my team, serving on my association’s board of directors, working as YPN chair, hosting seminars, blogging about the industry—what a mouthful—and that’s not the half of it. Selling real estate can be more than a full-time job, so tacking on other responsibilities may seem exhausting and overwhelming, especially when many of them are volunteered …

7 Tips for Promoting Real Estate in 2019

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Sales Tips & Techniques 65 Comments

By Anita Clark Real estate is a competitive industry, which means that finding some way to set yourself apart from your fellow agents can occasionally feel like a lost cause. But you don’t need to completely reinvent the wheel. Often, effective real estate promotion is just a matter of putting a unique spin on a tried-and-true technique. Just a small …

Questions to Ask When You Want to Generate More Business

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Sales Tips & Techniques 2 Comments

By Lee Davenport What are you learning that’s new? If you are stuck in the loop of your daily grind, then consider the beginning of the year as a perfect time to shake up the doldrums with something that will grow your business. But how do you know what you don’t know? Reflect on these questions to help: Lead Generation …

New Year’s Inspirations

Blog Contributor Being a REALTOR®, Business Challenges, Work/Life Balance 1 Comment

By Samantha Jones The old adage, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” rings true more than ever at the beginning of a new year. Sure, 2019 means a theoretical blank slate and chance to improve every facet of our lives. Yet, sometimes we set ourselves up to fail with those lofty goals. I’m all for continuing to strive for excellence, …