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Just like every good chair, every successful real estate agent has four legs. If you're missing one, there's a chance you could get wobbly and even fall over. You need all four to be sturdy and steady. Luckily, remembering those four legs is as easy as remembering four P words: People, Planning, Process and Performance. Let's get started. People - Newsflash: Real estate is a people business. If you're not connected with hundreds (even thousands) of people, you won't survive. People buy and sell property, not the latest phone, not software. (Those are important tools I'll discuss in a minute, but phones don't buy or sell houses!) Is your daily schedule keeping you in front of people. Are you going to school functions? To business luncheons? To civic events? Always look for ways you can grow the number of people who know you. How many people are seeing you every day? Increase that number. But be strategic. Always have your ideal prospect in mind. Think FSBOs, people moving, renters, baby boomers - insert your own niche here. Always be aware of the people you're around. And on the other side of the people equation, have the right people on your side in your business. Is your assistant truly the right person to help your business grow? Hiring the right people is a must. Your team is your number one asset to build and maintain superior customer service. Planning - That's a word you might be tired of hearing but it's vital. Plans are a must. Without one you're at the mercy of the wind - and the wind doesn't care where you end up. Far too many would-be real estate agents obsess over getting their license. Yet, when they do, they fail when they hit the streets because they didn't develop a plan and follow it. They failed to understand the business side of things, to develop a budget and a business plan. Actually, planning can be fun. It lets you daydream and imagine the future. Your future. Make that your successful future. Start at the end (picture your perfect workday, your perfect income, your perfect life) and then work backward until you arrive at today. Think actions. What specific actions do you need to take to create that perfect real estate life? Process - A good segue from planning is process. You have the actions from your plan. But to be efficient, you need to turn those actions into processes. Take time to create written processes and procedures for every facet of your business from hiring right to becoming number one in your market, it's all a process. Here's where all your gadgets and technology can help you - your contact management software - for example. To reach higher incomes you have to free up time for what you need to be doing: listing, prospecting, negotiating and selling. Performance - All successful business people know their numbers, they know what it takes to create a sale and the value of that sale. In short, they know and regularly measure their performance. Without measurement, you'd be totally lost. Would we know the name Michael Jordan if we didn't have the facts about his career? The reason he's revered is the measurement of what he accomplished. When you approach a new prospect, your record of accomplishment will weigh heavily on whether or not that person hires you. Tell me what you're thinking. How are your four Ps stacking up these days? Are you wobbly because you're missing one? What can you do today to make your Ps better? Katherine Ross is Director of Coaching at Corcoran Consulting & Coaching, Inc. (800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems for residential REALTOR, mortgage brokers and real estate companies.
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Katherine Ross, Corcoran Consulting, real estate, Realtor, real estate advice, real estate tips, residential real estate, real estate selling tips, residentia,
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