Profiting from the real estate downturn, part III

Sad to say, many Realtors and others who serve the real estate market will drop out over the next few months. They'll buy into the gloom and doom and stop trying.

We have to be honest here, and realize that a whole lot of agents who got in when the market was hot weren't really trying much then, either. Just being there gave them enough business to keep them in the game. During my 19 years in real estate I met dozens of them who gave little effort to sharpening their skills - either as an agent or in marketing themselves.

Their decision to drop out is good news for you! They really were just cluttering things up and making it harder for customers and clients to find you.

Now is the time to sharpen your expertise - about all the homes for sale in your niche, and especially about how to deal with selling repossessed properties. And now is the time to market yourself as an expert.

Since many of those homes are in a pre-foreclosure state, it's also the time to learn all you can about handling short-sales. They do require an extra dose of patience and persistence. They also call for your use of compassion and kindness, because those home sellers are in a state of unhappy turmoil.

For those who serve the market in other ways, you may have to shift your idea of who your customers will be - for instance, instead of marketing exclusively to home sellers, also market to the agents who handle REO properties.

But think about this: Those people who are not in financial trouble, but who need to sell and move during tight times, may need your services more than ever. We all know that a sparkling clean and properly staged and landscaped home will sell faster than homes that merely look "lived in."

Your task is to show home sellers the advantage you can give them over their competition.

So get out there and present yourself as the professional they need! And if you have a hard time developing your marketing plan, get in touch.

This really can be a time of prosperity...

Marte

Do you believe in the law of attraction?

I do, and that's why when I found this link to the new book "Money and the Law of Attraction" I was anxious to bring it to you!

Try as we might to keep a positive thought - and think only of the things we want to manifest in our lives - sometimes it helps to do some serious reading and remind ourselves of just how much we influence the "outside" events that shape our lives.

I've been reading Abraham for quite a while - and realizing why so many people are stuck in a kind of "rat on a wheel" existence. As much as they "wish" for something better, deep down they only believe in what they've always experienced.

Like my friend who once again hired a Realtor who isn't marketing his home. This makes #3. The other day he said "I didn't expect any better from her." Well gee, why did he bother to hire her then?

I hope that when you embark on a new marketing program or strive to create a winning sales letter - or even head out the door to meet with a client - that you are expecting the results you want. And that you're putting your belief behind that expectation.

It really is the only way to get from where you are to where you want to be.

Yours for success,

Marte