Success As a Real Estate Agent for Dummies

With home prices jumping nationwide, the real estate market is clearly starting to show stabilization. In the latest edition of Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies, expert author Dirk Zeller shows you how to become a top-performing agent. Whether it's lead generation via blogging or social media channels, you'll discover key ways to communicate and prospect in a new online world.

Inside, you'll find the latest coverage on being successful selling high-value homes, how to sell short sales to buyers without scaring them off, dealing with residential and commercial real estate, how to use third parties to drive leads and create exposure like Trulia, Realtor.com, and Zillow, and much more.

• Features tips and tricks for working with buyers
• Includes must-haves for successful real estate agents
• Offers tried-and-true tactics and fresh ideas for finding more projects
• Gives you the skills to close more deals

Whether you're looking to rev up your real estate business, deciding whether to specialize in commercial or residential real estate, or just interested in fine-tuning your skills, Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies has you covered.

Dirk Zeller is recognized as the premier coach for the real estate industry. He has developed a system that takes "regular" agents and "regular" managers and transforms them into Champion Agents and Managers.

Introduction 1

About This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Showing Up for Your Own Success Story 5

Chapter 1: Skills and Strategies of a Successful Agent 7

Having Goal Objectives and Sales and Income Targets 9

Acting Like a Top Producer from Day One 10

Serving your professional representation 10

Making the right financial decisions 12

Avoiding the role of Designated Door Opener 12

Securing Customers and Clients 14

Rule #1: It’s about lead generation 14

Developing sales ability to win customers 15

A real estate market won’t dictate your success 17

The Reasoning and Rationale for Being a Strong Listing Agent 18

Choosing Your Avenue to Success 19

Chapter 2: Selecting the Right Company 21

Real Estate Office of the Future 22

Weighing All Your Options 23

Choosing residential or commercial 23

What makes a great office? 24

Bending or breaking the rules 27

What really matters? Looking at size, online presence,

training, and market share 30

Prioritizing your needs and expectations in a company 31

Creating Your Agency Short List 32

Completing your homework 32

Ask 12 key questions 35

Left-side/right-side your research 38

And the winner is? 38

Getting Off to a Fast Start 39

Building a relationship with your manager 39

Forming partnerships inside your company 41

Chapter 3: Mastering Any Marketplace 45

A Seller’s Marketplace Seems Easy 46

The coming soon listing strategy 47

The attraction of new competition 48

Sellers don’t think they need you 48

Demonstrating your value to sellers 48

Reducing the effect of discount brokers 50

Buyer’s Market? No Problem 50

Do you even want sellers? 53

Where to find leads when they’re scarce 53

Convincing sellers — why sell now? 54

Building urgency in buyers to act 54

Shift Happens 55

Recognizing early stages of a market shift 55

Shift recognized — now what? 56

Focus on motivation 58

Part 2: Creating Leads in Our Online World 59

Chapter 4: Facebook: An Online Lead Juggernaut 61

Personal or Business? Using Facebook Effectively 62

Using your personal page to create business 63

Getting people to share your posts, business or personal 65

Creating your business page 66

Using Facebook Marketing Strategies 68

Targeting sellers 68

Targeting buyers 70

Using the secret weapon of Facebook Lists 72

Chapter 5: Creating Leads with Online Search 75

The ABCs of Online Leads 76

Distinguishing two types of leads 76

Dealing with the prospect brush-off 77

Converting the forced-registration lead 79

Converting the direct-inquiry lead 79

DIY Mentality and Misconceptions 80

Selling your value to the online shopper 81

There Is No Substitute for Speed to Lead 83

Designing your lead follow-up strategy 83

Are phone calls still effective? 83

Using text to connect with a prospect 84

Video email: The secret sauce 84

Persistence pays off 85

Knowing the Psychology of an IDX Lead 86

Be first in line 86

Don’t set it and forget it 87

Show and tell 88

Ask them to engage 88

Making the Most of Your IDX System 89

Combining your property search system with other strategies 90

Chapter 6: Creating a Larger Online Presence 93

Building a Quality Website for Long-Term Success 94

Knowing your website’s purpose 94

Creating leads through your site 95

Delivering value online 95

Understanding Real Estate Blogging 96

Creating the look and feel of a professional blog 97

Setting up your writing and posting schedule 97

Positioning yourself as the marketplace expert 98

Integrating a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solution 99

Using a CRM as your electronic brain 100

Property search system + CRM = money 101

Chapter 7: Creating Leads with Third-Party Websites 103

The Elephant in the Room: Third-Party Real Estate Sites 104

The love-hate relationship with Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com 104

Results can vary by marketplace 105

Zillow, the White Whale of Real Estate 106

Pay to play as a featured agent on listings 106

Using premier agent status even when a new agent 108

It’s about the reviews 109

Check your production 110

Realtor.com: It’s Not Ours Anymore 111

Lead-generation options with Realtor.com 111

Avoiding some of the pitfalls 113

Trulia: The Third Spoke in the Wheel 113

Part 3: Creating Leads through Timeless Channels 115

Chapter 8: Sales Prospecting to Generate Listings and Sales 117

Knowing Why Prospecting Still Works 118

Video email 120

Handwritten notes 120

Phone and face-to-face communication 122

Prospecting for seller leads 123

Prospecting for buyer leads 124

Understanding the Four Pillars of Prospecting 125

1 Set a daily time and place for prospecting 125

2 Fight off distractions 126

3 Follow the plan 126

4 Be faithful to yourself and finish what you start 127

Building Momentum in Your Prospecting 128

Targeting the right prospects 128

Setting and achieving prospecting goals 129

Using technology to your advantage 133

Shattering the myths 134

Knowing the Numbers and Ratios 136

The law of accumulation 136

The power of consistency 137

The never-ending prospecting cycle 137

The importance of tracking results 138

The challenge of managing contacts 139

Staying in Touch 140

Chapter 9: Generating Referrals, Recommendations, and Introductions 141

Knowing the Referral Truths and Consequences 142

Building Your Referral Base 142

Defining referrals 143

Finding sources of referrals 143

Constructing a referral database 149

Following the three golden rules 149

What’s Up? Referral Strategy 154

Defining the type of referrals you seek 155

Setting and achieving your referral goals 156

Approaching your referral sources without begging 156

Asking the right questions at the right time 159

Honoring the referrals you receive 160

Developing and Expanding Referral Relationships 161

Making first-time contact 161

Converting referrals into clients and referral sources 162

Chapter 10: Expired and FSBO Success in Any Marketplace 165

Three Reasons to Work Expired and FSBO Listings 166

The ABCs of Expired Listings 167

Expireds are high-probability prospects 168

Engaging conversations 168

Qualifying expired listings 170

Calling the seller: What to say 172

Using technology to leverage your expired efforts 176

For-Sale-by-Owners Think Selling Is Easy 176

Understanding why to pursue FSBO listings 177

Using technology to find FSBO listings and opportunities 178

Zillow’s “Make Me Move” sellers 179

Converting FSBO opportunities to listings 179

Mastering the game of lead follow-up 183

Using stats to make the case 186

Chapter 11: Open Houses: New Agents’ Bread and Butter 187

Online Buyers Have Helped Open Houses 188

A chance to meet potential clients face to face 189

A means of catering to the do-it-yourselfer’s home-buying needs 189

A high-touch opportunity in a high-tech world 190

Setting Your Prospecting Objectives 191

Planning Your Open Houses to Gain Maximum Exposure for You 192

Featuring a high-demand home 192

Looking good: Leveraging the power of curb appeal 193

Marketing to the neighbors 194

Guiding prospects to the open house 194

The New Strategy of Mega Open Houses 195

Creating a neighborhood event 195

Facebook-targeted marketing 195

Three signs and a cloud of dust 196

Banners and flags and blowups, oh my! 198

Being the Host with the Most: Effectively Managing the Open House 198

Setting up for success before prospects arrive 199

Wallflower or social butterfly: Meeting and greeting during the open house 201

Winning follow-up systems and strategies 203

Part 4: Winning the Business and Getting Paid 205

Chapter 12: Making Your Listing Presentation a Masterpiece 207

Qualifying Your Listing Prospects 208

Using questions effectively before your listing presentation 208

Knowing why and how to question listing prospects 209

Deciding on a one-step or two-step listing presentation 211

Checking your prospect’s “DNA” 214

Presenting to Qualified Prospects 216

Knowing the purpose of your presentation 216

Delivering a compelling presentation 218

Making your presentation useful, interesting, and engaging 224

Keeping your presentation focused and targeted 225

The four components of a great presentation 227

Staying in control 229

Dealing with Sales Objections 231

Delaying or deferring objections 231

Handling objections in four easy steps 232

Asking for the Business 233

Bringing the Presentation to a Natural Conclusion 234

Chapter 13: Getting the House Ready for Showing 235

Getting the Home Ready for Pictures and Virtual Tours First 235

The essential image online 236

Unlocking secrets to perfect property pics 236

Counseling Clients on Home Improvements 238

Improvements that contribute to the sale price 238

Improvements to skip 241

Passing the Curb Appeal Test 242

Curb appeal is more important than ever 242

Landscaping your way to success 242

Exterior paint condition and color 243

Prepping the Interior of the Home 244

Staging a home 245

Making a clean-up checklist 248

Making a Great First Impression: Final Ways 250

Enhancing the first glance 251

Helping the buyer “move in” 251

Chapter 14: Marketing Yourself and Your Properties 253

Shifting from Print to Online 254

Setting up a monitoring system 254

Focusing your marketing dollars online 255

The Importance of Photographic Images 256

Putting pictures to work for your listing 257

Choosing your camera 257

Taking digital photos 258

Choosing Internet Strategies That Work 259

Company websites 259

Property information websites 260

Lead-generation websites 260

The Art of Persuasion: Getting Prospects to Buy into You 262

Get the customer to interact 262

Expand your reach in cyberspace 263

Using Technology to Market Yourself and Your Properties 264

Call capture still effective 265

Text-back strategies 266

Targeting Your Marketing Message 267

Defining your target audience 268

Positioning your offering 269

Creating and Placing High-Impact Ads 272

Emphasizing benefits versus features 273

Staying legal 273

Choosing the right media outlets 274

Converting ad interest to action 275

Enhancing Exposure via Virtual Tours 275

Producing a virtual tour 276

Leading prospects to your virtual tour 278

Chapter 15: Negotiating the Contract and Closing the Deal 279

Preparing for the Task Ahead 280

The right tone 281

Keys to representing a seller 282

Keys to representing a buyer 284

Advice for partnering with the other agent 286

Advancing or Accepting an Offer 287

Presenting a buyer’s low offer 288

Receiving a buyer’s low offer 288

Taking the insult out of an insulting offer 289

Getting beyond emotion 290

Turning concessions into victories 291

Dealing with I win/you lose clients 292

Closing the Deal 292

Forming a closing team and working with the players 293

Avoiding derailment 295

Part 5: Creating Ongoing Success in Real Estate Sales 297

Chapter 16: Keeping Clients for Life 299

Achieving Relationship Excellence 300

Defining your service standards 302

Promising, then flawlessly delivering 303

Viewing the closing as a starting point, not a finish line 304

Creating After-the-Sale Service 306

Laying the groundwork during the transaction period 306

Setting a service agenda for the first 30 to 45 days after the sale 307

Establishing an ongoing communication strategy 310

Customizing your messages 316

Establishing Awesome Service 319

Developing a service plan 320

Extending extra touches that create gold 321

Chapter 17: Maximizing Your Time 325

Spending Less Time to Accomplish More 325

Applying Pareto’s Principle: The 80:20 Rule 327

Making time for the things that impact your success 328

Weighting your time to what matters 330

Keeping PSA time in check 331

Managing Your Day 332

Knowing the power of the 11 a.m rule 333

Tracking your time 333

Dealing with time-consuming fires 334

Time Blocking Your Way to Success 335

Setting your schedule in time blocks 336

Avoiding time-blocking mistakes 338

Killing the Time Killer Called Procrastination 341

Moving forward with a clear vision 341

Knowing your objectives 342

Setting your priorities 342

Giving yourself deadlines and rewards 345

Carpe Diem: Seizing Your Day 346

Stop wasting time 346

Stop letting others waste your time 346

Manage interruptions 347

Handle intrusive clients 347

Keep phone calls short 348

Use your car to gain efficiency and career advancement 349

Part 6: The Part of Tens 351

Chapter 18: Ten Must-Haves for a Successful Agent 353

Good Contact Management System 353

Online Lead-Generation Software 354

Enhanced CMA Software 354

BombBomb 355

Tablet Computer 356

DocuSign or Dotloop Software 356

Facebook Business Page 356

Personal Website 357

A Phone Headset 358

Sales Scripts 358

Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Listing Presentations 359

Winning the Seller with Preparation 359

Knowing Your Competition 360

Sticking with Your Strategy 360

Forgetting about a “Be Back” Listing 361

Using Technology to Impress a Prospect 361

Conveying Your Benefits Clearly 361

Inserting Trial Closes Strategically 362

Talking about Value Rather than Price 362

Being Willing to Walk Away 363

Clarifying Service and Next Steps 364

Chapter 20: Ten Advantages of Teams 365

Increased Skill Improvement 365

Lone Wolf Syndrome 366

Lead Coverage 366

Quality of Life 366

Stability of Income 367

Leverage 367

Specialization 367

Coaching and Training Others 368

Increased Income and Increased Leads 368

Saleable Business 368

Chapter 21: Ten Tips for Agent Safety 369

Trust Your Gut 369

“Talk Time” Leads to Higher Security 370

Create Your First Appointment Strategy 370

When You Meet at a Home 371

Trail Behind When Showing a Home 371

Inform Others and Check In 371

Distress Code for Safety 371

Taking a Self-Defense Class 372

Arrive Early and Plan for Your Exit 372

Practice Your Excuse 372

Index 373

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