Even top producing Real Estate agents have slow days… or weeks or months. Maybe the economy is slow or it’s that time of year. Perhaps you feel as though you have been saddled with some poor prospects or you are just another victim of the mortgage meltdown. Whatever the cause or the perceived cause of a slump, it really does not matter–those things are outside of your control. To dump your slump, you need to concentrate on what you can control. Here are ten tips to get you back on track.

1. Hold yourself accountable: As a Real Estate agent, you are an entrepreneur. This means that your compensation is tied directly to your production. You have to sell homes to earn your keep, so you cannot afford to sit around waiting for the economy to turn around or a slow season to pass. You have to start working to make something happen. When the housing market is slow, you need to ramp up your efforts, not scale them back.
2. Figure out what’s changed: Ask yourself, “What has changed?” If you can figure out what changed between the time when sales were brisk and when they began to slump, you usually know what you need to start doing. Perhaps when you were first starting out, you were making 200 cold calls a week, but you stopped doing that as soon as you had plenty of customers. In many cases, you simply need to get back to what you were doing when you were more successful.
3. Set a goal and reward: When you’re in a slump, it’s easy to lose your motivation. Set a goal and dangle a reward in front of yourself to provide some added incentive. Your goal may be process oriented, such as making 50 phone calls a day for the next month, or results oriented, such as achieving a certain gross dollar amount in sales for the month or quarter. Once you select a reward, create a reward collage by clipping photos that remind you of the reward and pasting them on a poster board. Keep your collage close at hand, so you can keep reminding yourself of what you are working toward.
4. Surround yourself with positive people: Both positive and negative attitudes are contagious. Avoid people in your office who poke fun at goal setting and other motivational tools, and gravitate toward those who have a positive, can-do attitude. People with positive attitudes will encourage and challenge you to do your best and have fun doing it. The others will simply sap your energy.
5. Focus on the fundamentals: When a professional baseball player is in a batting slump, the batting coach examines the videotapes and tries to find out what the batter is doing wrong. Then, he encourages the batter to focus on the fundamentals, the mechanics of swinging the bat. When you find yourself in a sales slump, focus on the fundamentals of selling. Are you building solid relationships with your clients? Are you following up after the sale? When you arrange to show homes, are you really listening to what the buyers want?
6. Pick up the phone: Every day, five to six days a week, I make 100 phone calls. I call it my Hour of Power. I call my clients just to touch base. In many cases, I get an answering machine and leave a message. I don’t spend a lot of time on each call, and I never try to sell anything. The sole purpose is to let my clients know that I’m thinking about them. Although this may not generate instant sales, you soon observe your sales numbers climbing. Try it. Start slow with say 25 to 50 calls per day, but work toward that magic number of 100. It really does make a difference.
7. Grow out of it: Sales slumps can often be caused by success. You achieve a certain level of success and for some reason cannot seem to break through the barrier to the next level, so you lose interest and sales taper off. Perhaps you simply need to grow out of it. Set a higher goal, figure out what you need to achieve that goal, and get to work. Need an assistant? Hire one. Need some new technology? Buy it.
8. Write something: The Internet has completely revolutionized the way everything is sold, including Real Estate. In the past, clients would hire us to obtain the information we had available through the MLS. Now we have to provide the information first to prove our expertise before a client will hire us. Now, content is king. Provide prospects with the information they need to make well-informed purchase decisions, and you are likely to earn a client. Create a Web site or blog and start writing, contribute to other people’s blogs and to online communities where prospective clients hang out, write articles for online publications related to your area of expertise. Establish yourself as an expert, and people will buy from you rather than from your competitors.
9. Hire a coach: Sometimes, you may be too close to your situation to view it objectively. A reputable agent coach can quickly assess the situation, tell you what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong, and offer several strategies and suggestions that you can immediately implement.
10. Start right now: Many people set a date when they plan on implementing changes. They say they’ll start dieting after Thanksgiving of stop smoking on Monday. Don’t put it off another minute. As soon as you have a plan in place, start working the plan immediately. Why wait? Seize the opportunity now!

I read an article recently about how video conferencing was really catching on in India, which got me thinking about why video conferencing is not as popular here in the U.S. The article, published by The Hindu (tagline: India’s National Newspaper), said that with the growing need to stay connected and be ahead of the latest developments and get a competitive edge for success, “video-conferencing has gained ground across different sectors” of Coimbatore, a major industrial city in India.

Be it engineering industries, garment units or hospitals, not only large enterprises but also medium and small-scale businesses are now accessing the technology, according to The Hindu.

In India, with an ever-increasing population and long distances to travel, video conferencing technology appears to be immensely beneficial. And with prices being what they are (India is perhaps best known these days as a major outsourcing post for high tech companies here in the U.S. who want to cut computer engineering costs while increasing the level knowledge applied to their projects and output), it seems to me that the Indian’s have figured out a way to make Video Conferencing for business affordable, scalable, and reliable.

At a core level, everyone who has ever seen a video conferencing session–be it live or demonstrated via a television advertisement–understands the huge upside to the technology. The problem for us here in this U.S. appears to be three-fold: Price, Reliability, and Perception.

As a general business application, I believe video conferencing is misunderstood. The platform’s inherent benefits, including reducing travel expenses and creating space for in-depth interaction, is so clearly offset by our perception about cost and reliability, that most small to medium size businesses appear unwilling to even give video conferencing a try or a minimal investment. The bandwidth is there–witness what a YouTube video looked on your computer monitor one year ago versus what it looks like today–so why not give it try.

I look forward to the day when we learn from India’s example and more and more small to medium size business benefit from video conferencing. In my own line of business, very few Realtors that I know of are using this technology. As I wrote on my Real Estate business blog a few weeks back:

While it is true that the vast majority of residential Real Estate transactions involve physical interaction, not all of them do. Take for instance the serious out-of-state Real Estate investor who wants to size you up before making an in-person visit, or the prospective homeowner who lives in another part of the state or is out of town on business and finds that it is more convenient to participate in a videoconferencing session than to drive 8 hours or cut short a business trip just for an initial or intermediate face-to-face encounter.

Having access to a robust and stable videoconferencing platform allows my office to offer yet another way for my customers to meet with me and my team to discuss important matters. Our high-end videoconferencing experience puts the customer in charge, which is exactly what it is like when they come to our office to meet with us in person.

Back in early-September, I wrote about RISMedia’s 2007 Leadership Conference, a high-level networking and education event for the nation’s top Real Estate leaders, held each year for the last 18 years in the heart of New York City. In addition to attending many sessions, I moderated two panel discussions related to best practices in building and managing Real Estate Agent Teams. One of those sessions, “From A to Z–How Do I Form and Lead a Championship Agent Team?,” was covered for RISMedia by John Voket. John’s article, “Finding the Right Agent Team Formula,” is now available on RISMedia.com.

Check it out for yourself: “Finding the Right Agent Team Formula.”

I am pleased to share that my latest book, “Power Teams: The Complete Guide to Building and Managing a Winning Real Estate Agent Teams” (co-authored by John Featherston, Founder/CEO & Publisher of RISMedia), will be available this coming January. Combining our years of Real Estate industry experience, John and I have created a book that is bound to serve as the definitive guide on one of the industry’s most predominant trends: Real Estate Agent Teams.

Besides drawing from personal insights and experiences in our Real Estate careers, John and I have included information collected from interviews with many of the Real Estate industry’s top teams. At the end of the day, our new book helps agents and brokers overcome the obstacles of creating and succeeding with agent teams. The book not only includes a step-by-step guide to forming an agent team, but also covers the best practices of teams who have already reached a notable level of success.

“Power Teams: The Complete Guide to Building and Managing a Winning Real Estate Agent Teams” helps you by:

• Defining and explaining the agent team concept.
• Reviewing the various agent team models.
• Helping agents decide whether or not an agent team is right for them.
• Showing agents how to build a team from the ground up.

To pre-order your copy, click “Power Teams: The Complete Guide to Building and Managing a Winning Real Estate Agent Teams” today.

My recent commentary, “The Truth About the Mortgage Meltdown,” inspired a great deal of feedback both positive and negative. Most of the negative feedback came from mortgage brokers who were understandably upset by the fact that I was placing much of the blame about the current mortgage meltdown squarely on their shoulders. Most of the positive feedback came from homeowners who were about to lose their homes because they followed the advice of misdirected mortgage originators and purchased risky products promoted by mortgage lenders.

I do stand corrected on two points. First, not all mortgage brokers are to blame. Every industry has its share of top-notch professionals who look out for the best interests of their clients. Although I single out loan originators in this particular commentary, in my book Protect Yourself from Real Estate and Mortgage Fraud, I list nearly a dozen professions that contribute to real estate and mortgage fraud, including real estate agents, appraisers, loan originators, title company representatives, REO brokers, and notaries. You can find good and bad professionals in all of these groups. Second, as at least two people have pointed out, mortgage brokers are not typically the people who package up the mortgage loans and sell them to investors. The broker may earn a commission or fee for processing the loan, but the mortgage lender actually is the one who packages the loan with other loans and then sells it to investors for a markup. In addition, the broker and originator play no role in creating the product; they didn’t invent the risky products or allow homeowners to take out these loans without setting up escrow accounts for paying taxes and insurance.

Although I do stand corrected on these two points, I stand by the premise of my commentary–the major cause of the current mortgage meltdown has less to do with the fact that homeowners are not making their payments and more to do with the fact that mortgage companies are having to buy back their bad loans. And when they run out of cash and cannot buy back the loans, their warehouse line gets cut off, they are basically forced out of business, credit becomes tight, and homeowners can’t refinance their way out of trouble.

Several disgruntled readers (primarily mortgage loan originators) have pointed out that mortgage lenders (not brokers or loan officers) are to blame for creating high-risk mortgage products and for encouraging their brokers and loan officers to push these products. One person went so far as to describe the broker as “the tool of the lender,” simply marketing whatever products the lender chooses to place on the market.

I agree that lenders and Wall Street are to blame for making risky products available, but lenders can’t force brokers to sell these products to clients who are ill-served by them. As a Real Estate Agent, I would never think of selling a particular home to a buyer who couldn’t afford it or selling defective homes to my clients simply because a builder was pressuring me to sell those homes. I believe that Real Estate professionals who deal directly with consumers should be responsible to their clients, not to the manufacturers of certain products.

Let’s not forget who the customer is!

As I wrote the other day, on Monday, 50 of the top real estate agents and team leaders from across the country met at the Bally Hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada for a meeting of the minds. Bill Barrett, a former CRS instructor and a national speaker, hosted the annual retreat to promote the sharing of ideas among industry leaders.

During this strategy swap meet, top producing agents and team leaders had plenty to share. As promised, here are some of the ideas that emerged from the conference:

Sam Miller teams up with local businesses to offer discount coupons. Over the course of three months, he picked up eight sales by mailing 15% off furniture coupons to 2500 prospective clients.

Ron Campbell recommended taking classes to become a loss mitigator. One of five clients will choose to list and sell their homes with you, while one or two more will use your services to modify the loan. Either option generates additional revenue for you. You can obtain training through Titanium Solutions at www.titaniuminc.com.

Several agent teams have added REO departments to their business. The department typically consists of an agent and assistant who specialize in working with mortgage banks and asset management companies to obtain listings. With foreclosures at an all time high, these REO departments are proving to be lucrative ventures.

Phil Herman set up his business like a doctor’s office. Instead of driving out to a prospective client’s home, clients come into his office and fill out a form. Then Herman comes in at the end for the consultation. The fact that he has never seen the home never comes up in the conversation. Herman also mentioned that he had audited 500 appraisals against his own CMAs and discovered that the appraisals are, by far, more accurate. He recommends that clients obtain an independent appraisal (for $195 to $395) and offers to reimburse them 10%, saving him the time of pulling together the CMAs and making it easier to set the right asking price.

In the past, agents would instruct sellers to pack, give, or throw away belongings to reduce clutter, but now far more agents recommend that sellers hire a stager to properly stage their homes prior to listing them. Some top producing agents even have a professional stager as part of their team. Brandon Fairbanks has a houseful of furniture he lends to clients who need to furnish their homes.

Joseph Brazen presented his innovative new office setup. He purchased a restaurant and then set up his office in the same building, increasing traffic tremendously. People show up to eat, watch ball games, and meet friends and family for dinner, often taking some time out to visit Brazen’s office to discuss their real estate needs.

At last year’s retreat, only two agents were marketing on the Internet via blogging. This year, 10 of the 50 top producing agents reported that they had their own blogs, and the remaining 40 were planning to launch blogs in 2008.

Advertising SOLD homes generated a considerable amount of discussion. When sellers are in the market for a listing agent, they want an agent with a proven track record–an agent who has sold plenty of homes in the area. The consensus was to focus 80% of advertising on SOLD homes, 20% on current listings, and perhaps leave one open spot for your prospective client.

I offered a tip on advertising economically in newspapers via remnant ads. Most newspapers plug in remnant ads when doing their final layout of the paper and they have some blank spaces to fill. You can purchase this remnant space for a fraction of what you would normally pay. The only hitch is that your ad needs to be ready to go well in advance and there’s no guarantee that it will make it in the paper. Using remnant ads, however, you can do a lot more advertising for less money.

Jean Shine sold 600 homes in her town where a total of 2200 homes were sold. One of her secrets is that she centers much of her charitable work on supporting veteran’s organizations-the town happens to be the home of Fort Hood.

Alan Shafran is well-known for his use of technology in making his real estate business more efficient. His latest addition is a service called SimulScribe that converts voice-mail messages into text and e-mails him the message. The transcription is reported to be 95% accurate.

Nearly everyone at the meeting was planning on retooling their charitable giving this year by weaving it into their business plan. Instead of giving at the end of the year, the top producers who attended the event are planning on giving throughout the year. After all, charitable organizations need money year round.

What’s most impressive about the Annual Superstar Conference is just how generous the top producers are in sharing their insights, visions, and strategies. It proves the age old adage that when you give, you receive much more in return.

I am in Las Vegas today meeting with 51 of the top Real Estate agent team leaders from across the country. Bill Barrett, a former Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) instructor and a top national speaker, is hosting this annual retreat to promote the sharing of ideas among Real Estate industry leaders.

From 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon, we are engaged in a high-energy strategy swap meet designed to raise everyone’s game to a new level. Barrett requested that every attendee bring 51 copies of either a three-ring binder or CDs or DVDs of everything they have done this year to list and sell over 100 homes. These materials include prospecting strategies, listing presentations, sales scripts, marketing materials, customer service techniques, follow-up strategies, new technologies, time-management tips, and anything else that has been used to boost sales and productivity.

This is such a great opportunity be each attendee exchanges their materials and then commences in a back-and-forth discussion that provides all of us with the opportunity to present our best system. Barrett has let everyone know that this is not a time to plug vendors, and he has discouraged us from bringing any brochures from any of the vendors we use. He stressed that the retreat is an opportunity to share and gather ideas, systems, tips, and techniques that can boost sales and revenue over the coming years.

The list of participants reads like the Who’s Who of the Real Estate Industry:

• Greg Anderson
• Bill Barrett
• Alexis Bolin
• Martin Bouma
• Barbara J. Brady
• Joseph Brazen
• Duncan Brown
• Ron Cadieux
• Ron Campbell
• Stephen Christie
• David Crockett
• Melinda Estridge
• Michelle Genovesi
• Galand Haas
• Mary Harker
• Phil Herman
• Pei Lin Huang
• Ken J. Jansen
• Jim Johnston
• Anna King
• Brad Korb
• Brad Korn
• Sheryl Knowles
• Colleen Lawler
• Rob Levy
• Sid Lezamiz
• Nate Martinez
• Leslie McDonnell
• Janice Miller
• Sam Miller
• Stanley Mills
• Chip Neumann
• Jim Nussbaum
• Mike Parker
• Janet Parsons
• Zac Pasmanick
• Carol Pease
• John Pinto
• Brenda Rawls
• John Riggins
• (yours truly) Ralph R. Roberts
• Cathy Russell
• Marsha Sell
• Alan Shafran
• Eleanor Sheets
• Jean Shine
• Orly Steinberg
• Fraida Varah
• Pat Wattam
• Phyllis Wolborsky

Selected secrets, tips, techniques, and strategies from the gathering will be shared here on my blog later this week (probably on Wednesday, November 14).

The origin of the word “mortgage” is intriguing. It is a French word generally believed to be derived from two Latin words–”mort” (meaning death) and “gage” (meaning pledge or something of value that’s forfeited if the debt is not repaid).

Although you might feel as though you are signing your life away when you take out a mortgage, that’s not really what the word means. The part of the word dealing with death applies to the passing away of the agreement. When the homeowner eventually pays off the loan, the lender’s claim to the property is dead. If the homeowner fails to make payments in accordance with the mortgage, the homeowner’s rights to the property cease to exist (or die).

A mortgage is a contract that enables people to purchase property without paying the full value upfront. In essence, a mortgage pledges the property to the lender (the mortgagee) in the event that the borrower (the mortgagor) fails to repay the debt according to the conditions stipulated in the mortgage.

Although a mortgage is the most common way to finance the purchase of a property, it is not the only way. The seller can also finance the purchase of the property by way of a Land Contract or Contract for Deed. Instead of allowing the lender to place a lien against the property, a Land Contract or Contract for Deed typically contains a forfeiture clause. The clause states that if the loan is not repaid in full, the property reverts to the possession of the seller (the person who financed the purchase).

To answer the question posed at the beginning of this blog entry, mortgages actually have little to do with death, unless, of course, you take out a mortgage to buy a funeral parlor. Mortgages have more to do with life–being able to purchase a home you cannot afford to pay cash for, so you can enjoy your life and raise a family sometime before you hit your golden years.