By Samantha Jones It’s the end of another year. Nearly 365 days of memories, decisions, transactions, milestones, love, heartbreak, and more. Yet we’re truly on the precipice of the newest of beginnings. I encourage you to treat this year-end differently. We’re facing the culmination of another decade in our lives. The skies the limit, and in my eyes, a new …
How to Be an Innovative Agent in the Age of iBuyers
By Lee Davenport Blockbuster, Toys R’ Us, Blackberry, Amazon, Netflix: What do those names mean to you? You may see Amazon and Netflix as innovative companies that make life easier for consumers. They’ve also evolved over time. Remember when we rented Netflix DVDs through the mail before they offered streaming? Amazon started as an online bookstore. Today, the retailer spoils …
Take A Day Off—You Can’t Afford Not To
By Jef Conn Shout out to the agents who are working long hours, evenings, and weekends, without taking a personal day so you can keep up with business or better serve your clients. I’ve been there. Most of us can look around our offices and see fellow agents working hard and not taking time off. We want to serve our …
Carpe Diem: Taking Time to Travel
By Samantha Jones The elusive work-life balance—many of us strive for it—but it’s easier said than done. It can be difficult to step off the hamster wheel in this 24/7 business. Yet, I’ve found the harder it is to unplug and unwind, the more crucial it is that we do so. Removing ourselves from the grind of real estate is …
Making Ends Meet Between Closings
By Jef Conn We’ve all been there—we close a deal and then realize it’s going to be a long time before our next deal closes because we don’t have anything else in the pipeline. That stress is something all agents have faced at some time in the career. Real estate is a tough job, but making the right money moves …
9 Tips For Teaming Up With Family
By Samantha Jones The beauty of the real estate industry is there’s no one way to run your business. We have fluidity and flexibility. This leads to some agents (like myself) adopting a team approach, and oftentimes, team members are part of the same family tree. After working with my mother for nearly five years full-time, I’ve learned a few …
Heads or Tails? Making Sense of a Shifting Market
By Samantha Jones It’s no secret most of our markets rival the uncertainty of a roller coaster ride at an amusement park these days. Buyers expect to pay less; sellers don’t want to drop their prices. Pristine homes that should seemingly sell in hours, sit on the market stalled. Deals falling apart multiple times for the same client. You feel …
Pocket Listings: An Ethical Conundrum
By Dale Swanton You’ve no doubt heard the term “exclusive” or “pocket listing,” referring to a listing that is not promoted on the MLS but is marketed to the listing agent’s brokerage only or to a select group of “in-the-know” agents. Although not illegal or even unethical in and of itself, the practice is rather controversial as it often puts …
How to Deal When Your Plate is Full
By Rebecca Donatelli Closing sales, managing my team, serving on my association’s board of directors, working as YPN chair, hosting seminars, blogging about the industry—what a mouthful—and that’s not the half of it. Selling real estate can be more than a full-time job, so tacking on other responsibilities may seem exhausting and overwhelming, especially when many of them are volunteered …
7 Tips for Promoting Real Estate in 2019
By Anita Clark Real estate is a competitive industry, which means that finding some way to set yourself apart from your fellow agents can occasionally feel like a lost cause. But you don’t need to completely reinvent the wheel. Often, effective real estate promotion is just a matter of putting a unique spin on a tried-and-true technique. Just a small …