Success Tip #5 - Build A Solid Business Contact Sphere

A contact sphere is a group of business professionals who have a symbiotic relationship with you. They are in compatible, noncompetitive professions, such as: skill trades people, appraisors, inspectors, escrow companies, title companies and mortgage brokers and bankers. Each one is working with clients that have similar needs but require different services.

Identify as many professions as possible that fit within your company's contact sphere. Take a look at what professions your industry tends to work with to get an idea of repetitive and reciprocal referrals. Create a list of these professions.

Identify specific individuals who could fit into your contact sphere. Go to various networking groups and consult your business card file and database.

Invite these people to participate in networking groups with you so you can formalize your relationship and have a way to stay in regular contact. Maintaining the relationship is key. A good way to do that is to participate in groups that put you together on a regular basis.

Evaluate the professionals in your contact sphere that you are presently referring. If they are not reciprocating, you may have the wrong profession or the wrong person. Fill the spot with someone who is willing to reciprocate.

Success Tip #4 - Develop A Marketing Budget

Operating an effective marketing plan requires money, so you will have to allocate funds from your operating budget to cover advertising, promotional and all other costs associated with marketing. Develop a balanced marketing budget based on the cost:

• For your advertising and promotional plan
• For costs allocated for advertising and promotions
• For advertising and promotional materials
• For a list of advertising media to be used

The key to success is to have an well-planned marketing strategy, to establish your policies and to constantly monitor prices and operating costs to ensure profits. Keep abreast of changes in the marketplace because these changes can affect your bottom line.

Develop An Effective Promotional Strategy
Develop a promotional strategy that uses a diversity of media for promoting your business.

• advertising media
• print media (newspaper, magazine, classified ads, Yellow Pages advertising, brochure)
• radio / television
• networking events
• business cards
• tee shirts, hats, buttons, pens

Success Tip #3 - Fine Tune Your Direct Marketing

A lot of real estate agents are beginning to develop tunnel vision with regard to the Internet. What I mean is, they are focusing on their web presence to such a degree that they have forgotten about other forms of marketing. The Internet is a powerful marketing channel, but it's not the only one. Various types of direct marketing and public relations can be used to broaden and strengthen your real estate marketing program as a whole.

Here's a marketing tip for real estate agents using direct marketing tactics, such as real estate postcards. Tune up your direct marketing. Do some testing to find out what's working and what's not. Then do more of the good and less of the bad. Experiment with new forms of direct marketing. Add value to your message. Strengthen your offer. Give people an incentive to respond. Use the proven techniques of direct mail marketing to boost your success.

Success Tip #2 - Create A Marketing Plan

 The benefits of a planned marketing strategy are numerous. Brokers often rely solely on their intuition to make business decisions. While this informal knowledge is important in the decision making process, it may not provide you with all the facts you need to achieve marketing results. A marketing strategy will help you in defining business goals and develop activities to achieve them. Here are some tips to get started:

• Describe your company's unique selling proposition.
• Define your target market.
• Write down the benefits of your services.
• Describe how you will position your services.
• Define your marketing methods. Will you advertise, use Internet marketing, direct marketing, or public relations?
• Your Unique Selling Proposition sets you out from the rest, don't try to develop a marketing plan without one.
• It's important that you have a budget developed for your marketing plan. Marketing is an investment.
• Revisit your marketing plan at least once every quarter. Are you on target? Do you need to revise it?

Success Tip #1 - Create A Web Presence

A website is one entity. A web presence is a combination of online entities, each one reinforcing and supporting the next. When you combine online marketing tools (such as your website, a real estate blog, online press releases and articles), you can steadily increase the number of ways people find you. Also, by being "ever present" on the Web, you will reinforce your brand and be better able to position yourself as an authority.

Keep a Positive Attitude when Unemployed

During this recession a lot of people are unemployed and looking for a job. But finding a job in this economy is not so easy. It can be sometimes difficult to stay sane and to keep a positive attitude when you are out of a job and the economy is in recession.

Read more: How to Stay Sane and Keep a Positive Attitude when Unemployed | eHow.com

Starting Your New Real Estate Career

Becoming a real estate broker is a fantastic way for you to make really good income. There are many different ways that you can get your real estate license and you really just have to know the right process to get started selling! First and foremost, you need to make sure that you understand what it takes to become a real estate broker – it is a tough business and you want to ensure that you have all of the skills before you start. One skill that you absolutely have to possess is going to be ensuring that you are hardworking, have great work ethic and are all around a people person – these are just some of the skills that it takes to become a master of the trade! A real estate broker mediates between the sellers and buyers of a property for a price. They are experts in the complicated legal paperwork, rules and regulations associated with a proper real estate transactions and guide the prospective owners to get a fair deal.

Step 1

This is the most important step. Ensure that you are a hardworking, patient and self-driven individual. It is a good idea to have good communication and persuasion skills before you opt for this field of work. You might consider taking up a communication or personality development course to bring your skills up to speed.

Step 2

Collect details about sanctioned real estate institutions that offer different courses by interacting with either the Division of Real Estate or the Colorado Association of Realtors.

Step 3

Enroll in a real estate school, such as VanEd, with small or full-fledged courses and take the written test that is necessary to evaluate your familiarity with the laws of real estate. You need to be at least 18 years old (some states require 21 years old) and be a high school graduate.

Step 4

Allow the Real Estate Licensing Commission to conduct a state and federal background investigation. It is necessary because of the huge amount of money and confidential information involved in real estate transactions.

Step 5

Become a part of our brokerage by interviewing with us and agreeing to our Independent Associate Broker's Contract.

Step 6

Work with us for at least 2 to 5 years and gain sufficient experience before setting up an individual practice. Observe and learn the tricks of the trade.

Step 7

Procure your broker’s license to practice as a broker from your state licensing authority after gaining a substantial foothold in the field.

Is A Career In Real Estate Right For Me?

The truth is that real estate is only as great as you want it to be.

Can you make a lot of money as a real estate agent? Absolutely, but just as with everything else you can also fail miserably and never make a dime. Successful agents make up around ten percent of all real estate agents, the rest may either “get by” or struggle until they eventually come to the realization that they must follow another career path. Not necessarily because they don’t work hard enough or were not willing to put in the hours, they may just have not had what it takes to truly succeed. Any career built around sales can be difficult and sales people are a special breed, not everyone can do it.

Now don’t take this the wrong way, we are not trying to deter you from choosing a career in real estate, we obviously love it or we wouldn’t maintain this site. We just want our valued readers to know the truth, the real estate industry isn’t for everyone. With that being said do you have the right qualities:

• Hard worker
• Great with people
• Feel comfortable selling
• Confident in yourself and your abilities
• Not afraid to ask questions if you need help
• Positive attitude

Now those qualities are by no means the key to success, but they are important traits for someone entering the real estate profession to have. 

Advantages and Rewards of a Career in Real Estate

A career in real estate provides flexibility and freedom to set your own pace. Income directly reflects your efforts, with no limits on what astute, hard-working men and women can earn. Successful people in real estate are goal-oriented, persevering, self-motivated, ambitious and people-oriented. The rewards of a real estate career are a potential for high earnings, status in the community, autonomy, time freedom, helping people, the intellectual challenge and the satisfaction from those accomplishments.

Working in real estate allows for independence and choices of environment in which to work, such as affiliation with a large or small firm as a listed salesperson. With more experience and upon passing of an additional exam, becoming a real estate broker is the next step.