A resource for real estate agents, brokers, buyers, sellers, and people interested in the most up-to-date real estate information.

I have a question for you – What can you do differently in today’s changing market?

Stumped? No problem. Here are a few more follow up questions to ponder.

Are you motivated?

How bad do you want it?

Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve your goals?

If you answered “yes” to any of those, then there’s good news: you have a great mindset for success.

As such, here’s a list of seventeen things you can do right now to better your business and to help you adapt to the current market… and to any market you’ll face in the future!

1. Call all your leads immediately (within 10 minutes of receipt if possible).
2. Follow up 24/7 – a lot of people can’t be reached during the day.
3. Call all past clients or send newsletters- make a concentrated effort to do so.
4. Make a business plan – have a clear objective of what you need to do and follow it.
5. It’s a numbers game – the more people you put yourself in front of the more you will sell.
6. Look at your listings – are they priced right? Coach your clients, what is it going to take to get their listings sold.
7. Maintain client database and stay in touch with past clients.
8. Use thank you notes.
9. Use target marketing – target clients that have the same interests, use your sphere of influence.
10. Sponsor classes (e.g. Tax credit) and events for associations you are a part of.
11. The slower it gets, the more time and/or advertising money you need to spend to reach more people.
12. Hand out your business cards to everyone you know or meet.
13. Customer Service is huge – be the agent the client remembers.
14. Goal setting – Personal goals like; I will sell 4 homes a month or will not take time off. Don’t give up and don’t take a day off until you meet your goal.
15. Establish short term personal goals.
16. Know your market, know what’s in inventory.
17. It is critical that you have a strong Internet presence as over 90% of the people who have a real estate need use the Internet.

Be sure to “like” HouseHunt.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

I wanted to take a moment to share some news of Broker associate Brenda Schofield, who is also an exclusive member agent with HouseHunt.com representing multiple communities in the Holmdel, NJ area.

Like so many of our members, Brenda is very busy and very happy about her increased sales activity. She is also excited to be working with multiple buyers who are in the million dollar plus range.

“We closed the million and a half sale in Colts Neck in February,” Brenda said, “and recently closed another in Howell for $285,000.”

By plugging into the consistent pipeline of buyers and sellers generated from her HouseHunt.com areas, Brenda has created a large number of new sales opportunities.

“We are now working with five customers we recently received from our HouseHunt websites,” she said. “Their price range is between $400,000 and $20 million dollars.”

Like every other successful HouseHunt member, Brenda makes a habit of immediately contacts all of her customers and utilizes our follow up system to create consistent contact with them. The combination is powerful and very profitable for Brenda who is very happy to be part of the HouseHunt network of agents.

“You guys are wonderful,” Brenda said.

Be sure to “like” HouseHunt.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

We’ll end our week of highlighting a few our new HouseHunt.com hall of famers (don’t worry, we’ll be back with more profiles on our most recent class soon!) with Alexia and Bill Gallagher, a top producing team for Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners Realty in Suwanee, GA.

Like all of our 59 other HouseHunt.com Hall-of-Fame members, the Gallaghers have proven that they are experts at handling the needs of online customers and have utilized the proven HouseHunt.com success system to its full capabilities.

Our Hall-of-Fame members have all closed a minimum of $17 million in sales and/or a minimum of 100 transaction sides in HouseHunt-related business generated solely from their HouseHunt.com exclusive territories.

The Gallaghers are exclusive HouseHunt member-agents for Suwanee, South Forsyth County and Cumming, GA, in the northeast Atlanta Metroplex.. They attribute much of their success to the HouseHunt marketing system and consumer-related programs that enables them to respond quickly and meaningfully to the needs of their customers.

“I would say that we are currently getting 80% of our business from HouseHunt,” Alexia said. “We have a great Internet presence and get tons of customers from them.”

For more information on the HouseHunt.com Hall-of-Fame, click here.

For additional information on HouseHunt and its services, including how our nationwide network of exclusive territories has been serving agents for fifteen years, visit HouseHuntNetwork.com.

Be sure to “like” HouseHunt.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

We continue our week of highlighting our 2010 HouseHunt.com Hall-of-Famers with celebrating the success of Steve Hinrichs and Jean O’Reilly, a top-producing real estate sales team with Edina Realty in Maple Grove, MN. We’re excited and proud to have them join the ranks of our near sixty member Hall-of-Fame!

Steve and Jean have embraced the HouseHunt model and have shown their ability to work with and close customers generated online. Heinrich and O’Reilly attribute much of their success to the HouseHunt marketing system and consumer-related programs enabling them to respond quickly and meaningfully to the needs of their customers.

“People are nervous right now, not sure of their jobs.” Hinrichs says. “We believe in being totally honest and forthright with them.”

He estimates that 10-12% of their business comes directly from HouseHunt leads and contacts and both Hinrichs and O’Reilly are strong advocates of establishing and maintaining good communication with customers, both current and past.

For more information on the HouseHunt.com Hall-of-Fame, click here.

For additional information on HouseHunt and its services, including how our nationwide network of exclusive territories has been serving agents for fifteen years, visit HouseHuntNetwork.com.

Be sure to “like” HouseHunt.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

On the blog this week, I want to spend some time highlighting our HouseHunt agents who’ve earned their way into our HouseHunt.com Hall of Fame, beginning with Barry Newman, a top-producing Realtor for Century 21 M.B. in suburban Chicago. He is one of 24 member-agents named this year and joins an elite group of 59 member-agents to be honored since the the HouseHunt.com Hall of Fame began in 1995.

It takes a special member-agent to handle the needs of buyers originating from the Internet and Barry has certainly demonstrated his expertise in this category. This recognition also validates the HouseHunt business model by promoting one individual agent as the real estate expert in their community. Plus, it proves that business can be generated in any market.

The production achievements of Barry and members of his elite group are even more remarkable when you consider that much of the nation is still in the throes of the worst housing market recession in three decades. “Their focus is on their ability to deliver superior customer service. I congratulate each and every one of them.

To qualify for Hall of Fame consideration, Newman had to close a minimum of $17 million in sales and/or a minimum of 100 transaction sides in HouseHunt-related business generated solely from his exclusive HouseHunt territories.

Newman, the exclusive HouseHunt member-agent for the communities of Deerfield, Glenview, Highland Park, Northbrook and Northfield, IL, credits the HouseHunt marketing system and consumer-related programs that enables him to respond quickly and meaningfully to the needs of his customers.

“Success in my business is also based on providing great service and maintaining effective, personal communication with my customers. I’ve found that it’s better to be in front of them than rather than relying on e-mail,” he emphasized.

Since 1995, HouseHunt has been a successful consumer-oriented Internet firm that provides valuable free services and information to homeowners, home buyers and home sellers through nearly 1,500 member-agents serving exclusive territories through its primary websites, HouseHunt.com and move-up.com. For additional information on HouseHunt and its services, click on HouseHuntNetwork.com.

Be sure to “like” HouseHunt.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Have you ever worked with a client who was apprehensive about you bringing buyers around their home on the weekend or at night? Certainly, it’s understandable on one hand, but on the other, it can be quite frustrating. The opportunity to spend family time together is limited for many people and while just one night, or a weekend, might not seem like much, for your customers it might be a big deal.

Of course, it’s a problem easily solved with open and honest communication between you and your customer.

By reminding your customer that while they’re working during the day, so are potential buyers (because how many serious buyers don’t have steady day job?). Obviously, a large majority of buyers are free to view when some sellers don’t want company or just want to relax.

It’s important to stress to your customers that it can be simply a numbers game – the more people who view your home, the more likely your home sell. Clearly, we all know this like the back of our hand, but our clients might not realize it. Once they comprehend that fewer buyers will translate into a lower selling price, I suspect that they’ll find some free time for you to show their home!

Be sure to “like” HouseHunt.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Record Number Qualify Despite Sluggish Housing Market

Bearden said the production achievements of the 2009 group are even more remarkable because much of the nation is still in the throes of the worst housing recession in three decades: “Their focus is on their ability to deliver superior customer service. I congratulate each and every one of them.”

You can follow HouseHunt.com on both Facebook and Twitter by clicking on the following links:

HouseHunt.com Fan Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Huntington-Beach-CA/HouseHuntcom/286964576537

Follow HouseHunt.com on Twitter: http://twitter.com/househunt_inc

John Jaskolka and Nancy Richardson represent the exclusive community of Barefoot Resort, SC. John became a HouseHunt member agent in 2005 and Nancy joined soon after.

In a recent message to HouseHunt, Nancy reported having an upswing in business in their local market.

“While HouseHunt has always paid for itself for John and I, the leads seem to be more serious,” Nancy said. “This change happened within the past 45 days or so.”

A real boom in serious buyers has been the largest impact.

“I have four pending sales that are directly from HouseHunt and one other that is an indirect result of your service,” Nancy explained.

John and Nancy discussed the activity increase and agreed neither is doing anything differently. They still call leads immediately, follow up consistently, and strive to satisfy the real estate needs of every customer equally.

“The market is indeed shifting and the quality of buyers has greatly improved,” Nancy said.

The next few months look extremely promising for John and Nancy as they are positioned to close several transactions and earn more income.