Want to add thousands of dollars to your real estate income next year? And add loyal clients to that bank vault of contacts you need for long term success? Then follow these tips. (After 8 years of running a now-thriving real estate business, I honestly think I would have at least $100,000 more in the bank if I…
We just updated The Agent Guide’s main resource page for new agents — if we do do say so ourselves, it’s pretty good! Head on over and see what you can find — there’s plenty of free stuff, plus our top picks for good business tools that work. (And if you just need a smile…
Have you ever stumbled upon an online resource that suddenly seemed to make your life ten times easier? Well, over the years we’ve found quite a few. Here are 10 of The Agent Guide’s favorite links — some real estate related, some not. Use them yourself, and share them with your clients! 1. www.SeatGuru.com Never…
So… On Sunday, the other agent said you could expect the inspection response from his clients to arrive on Monday or Tuesday. Now it’s Tuesday 3 pm, and so far nothing. Technically, they’re still within the time frame they mentioned (and their legal deadline doesn’t run out until Wednesday). On the other end, your own…
Every now and then we come across a business tool that’s so incredibly helpful and beautifully easy to use that after about 30 minutes we start to wonder how we ever managed without it. Basecamp, the online project collaboration tool by 37Signals, is one of those things we wish we had found out about a…
I was shocked last year to lose some buyers that I’d been working with in the 700K to 1 million price range. I referred them to a well-known agent who worked with many high end clients, and who was a “neighborhood expert” in their area of preference. I assumed it would be a perfect match….
Did you know that testimonials are one of most under-used sales tools in real estate? The power of your current customers to sell your value to others is far greater than your own power to sell yourself. And unlike most forms of real estate advertising, testimonials are free! Unfortunately, most agents spend years generating happy…
A few days ago I heard that an old friend of mine, Rick Bakke, had just passed away. I hadn’t talked to Rick in a couple of years, but back when I was a struggling new agent 7+ years ago, Rick was kind of the maverick warhorse in the office — a high-volume agent who…
Here’s a reminder of how easy it can be to overlook important information when representing clients in a transaction. We’re sharing it in the hopes it will help someone avoid making the same mistake in the future: Home buyers Bob and Ellen (not their real names) weren’t looking for a property in a flood-prone area….
A couple of points from my recent comment on Redfin’s blog: (Actually, my comment that was submitted to but never made it onto Redfin’s blog…) The concept of not having a buyer’s agent present at a home inspection (especially since it typically means having the listing agent there with the buyers instead) makes no sense….
