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Making the Most of Your Open House (Downtime)

Blog Contributor Open Houses, Professional Development, Sales & Marketing, Sales Tips & Techniques 16 Comments

By Lynn Minnick You’ve done all the prep work for a successful open house event: Every online venue has your open house details posted, signs are up, packets for buyers and potential sellers are prepped, the music is picked out, refreshments at the ready, you’ve thought about what questions buyers are going to ask, and you’re ready for them to …

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Tips for Working With Friends

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Commitment to Excellence, Professional Development, Sales & Marketing, Working with Clients 3 Comments

By Scott Newman So you just found out your buddy got a big promotion and is now ready to buy a sexy luxury condo in downtown Chicago.  He’s your boy–you’ve known him since grade school–of course he’s going to give you first crack at the business, and you’ve already started spending the commission check.  But before you blindly agree to …

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I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Helpful Tools, Professional Development, Sales & Marketing 15 Comments

By Scott Newman So you’ve made it through the worst of the real estate bubble, you’ve developed a nice client base, and you’re taking over the entire industry – great! If that’s the case, then this blog isn’t for you. Instead, this blog focuses on what we as veterans of the industry can share with the newbies to shorten the …

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Dealing With Unrealistic Sellers

Blog Contributor Code of Ethics, Mark-to-Market, Professional Development, Sales & Marketing, Sellers 7 Comments

By Scott Newman The market is recovering—in some areas it’s even a seller’s market—and that means sellers can once again be a little more demanding…and a little more unrealistic. So your client is turning into a “sellerzilla.” What do you do when your relationship with the client is on the line, but you need to get your point across?  Read …

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3 Tips for Transforming Your Job Into a Business

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Managing Your Office, Professional Development, Sales & Marketing 5 Comments

By Dave Robison How many times have you heard it?  You are your very own business owner in real estate.  You are an independent contractor, you incur and write off expenses, you spend your own marketing dollars and you work your own hours.  You own a business. It definitely sounds like a business. Years ago,  I was convinced I had …

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Social Media: Are You Doing it Wrong?

Blog Contributor Professional Development, Sales & Marketing, Technology & Social Media 8 Comments

By Scott Newman You’re on Facebook and Twitter four hours a day and you’re telling me you haven’t closed a lot of business lately?  Of course not!  Social media is just a tool in your arsenal — and when used effectively and efficiently it can help you cultivate business.  So, how do you best use social media to benefit your …

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Evolution of the Point-of-Sale

Blog Contributor Helpful Tools, Professional Development, Sales & Marketing, Technology & Social Media Leave a Comment

By Dave Robison When I first started in the real estate business more than 14  years ago, I took classes where everybody touted using flyers to “capture buyers.”   One of the tactics was to leave the price off the flyer so that buyers would call to get the price. Others had special offers or asked buyers to call for …

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3 Tips to Avoid Financing Pitfalls

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Commitment to Excellence, Sales & Marketing 6 Comments

By Scott Newman Many agents forget that barriers to getting deals to the closing table exist in both good and bad markets.  We are seeing a lot of appraisal issues in the Chicagoland area as over-regulation and timidness on the part of appraisers to push values — despite undeniable appreciation — has resulted in many deals dying at the financing …

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Are Short Sales Becoming a Thing of the Past?

Blog Contributor Customer Service, Helpful Tools, Mark-to-Market, Sales & Marketing, Short Sales & Foreclosures 2 Comments

By Jennifer Klein and Derek Sandoval Is your market changing like ours? Increases in home prices and home values here in Sacramento, Calif., is good news for homeowners who once thought they’d have to do a short sale. In our latest video, we discuss what the latest market conditions mean for our business and our clients. Jennifer Klein is a …

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The Wild Ride of Interest Rates

Blog Contributor Business Challenges, Mortgage Financing, Sales & Marketing 1 Comment

By Jason O’Neil Sit tight. Last week mortgage interest rates jumped drastically. Some say without warning, but then again, most have been preaching for months, if not years, that rates can’t stay this low. Can they? Why did they rise? Is Wall Street fed up? Was the Federal Reserve testing the market’s tolerance with some well thought out comments?  “The …