I'm starting this thread, so we can have one thread with organized information for all new agents. I feel that there is valuable information on this forum but it is hard to find sometimes. Please, share your knowledge and links for new agents.

Good schools for Real Estate license.

California

http://www.californialicense.com/
http://www.realestatelicense.com/
http://www.retrainers.com/
http://www.dearborn.com/anthonynew/Category.asp?Category=24&Subjectid=7

Virginia
Moseley


Trainings available after getting RE license

ABR Accredited Buyer Representative
ABRM Accredited Buyer Representative Manager
ALC Accredited Land Consultant
RLI REALTORS® Land Institute
CCIM Certified Commercial Investment Member®
CRB Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager
CRS Certified Residential Specialist®
GRI Graduate REALTOR® Institute
SIOR Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS®
SRES Senior Real Estate Specialist
http://www.realtor.org/rocms.nsf/pages/educationctr

Marketing tools, websites and courses available

http://www.realmarketingpros.com/
http://www.busyagentpro.com/
http://www.adtrakker.net
http://www.realestategrowth.com/index.asp
http://www.millionairesystems.com/pages/events_millionaire_mondays.jsp
http://www.millionairesystems.com/pages/products_free.jsp

Good books for new agents

1. The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller

2. 21 Things I Wish My Broker Had Told Me : Practical Advice for New Real Estate Professionals. by Frank Cook

3. Your First Year in Real Estate: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional by DIRK ZELLER

4. How to Develop a Six Figure Income in Real Estate: Superstar Selling the Mike Ferry Way by Mike Ferry

5. Real Estate Agent's Business Planning Guide by Carla Cross

6. Power Real Estate Letters, 3E (+disk) by William Pivar

7. How To Become a Power Agent in Real Estate : A Top Industry Trainer Explains How to Double Your Income in 12 Months by Darryl Davis "

8. Terri Murphy's E-Listing and E-Selling Secrets : For the Technologically "Clueless"
by Terri Murphy

9. The Original New Agent's Guide to Starting & Succeeding in Real Estate by Mark W. Nash

Real Estate personal trainer

http://www.isucceed.com/
http://www.realestatechampions.com/
http://www.realmarketingpros.com/

Please, add your links and information as well.

I'm not sure who posted it here and I will provide the reference thread once I find it.

Door knocking tutorial for Agents.

Door knocking is what's helped my real estate career take off and stay way above my competition. It is my bread and butter (I have to preface that I am in a densely populated area. which helps a whole bunch). It's funny that this door knocking topic popped up at this time. I just started my door knocking season...I start every Feb 1st (tough to bare here in New England but I've found is the best time because people start thinking about selling in Feb when they plan on listing in the Spring).

Fact is that the average agent either never really realizes the real potential of door knocking or is worried about "bothering" people. Frankly, I'm grateful for their views as it leaves the door open for me to swoop in and grab the business.

The key to door knocking (from my experience) is to always bring something of value to the resident. This is crucial. Their neighborhood's recently sold prices are the most well received piece of information that residents enjoy receiving. I have *never* knocked on a door and had one person's face not light up with delight when I begin by telling them that I am in the area just handing out information on recent home sale prices.

What I do when I go door knocking is to first target a specific neighborhood. Logically, starting by going into MLS and checking which area/streets that the highest priced home prices are within your territory/specialty is the best choice. Then, print up that area's comps. I then put those comps *without folding them* (papers without crinkles/seams look 10 times more professional than ones that keep wanting to curl up when you are trying to read it) into a 9" x 12" envelope along with a few other papers:

***A copy of my profile/background/services offered.

***3 of my business cards.

***A copy of a couple of articles that I've written (i.e. "10 things to do to help improve your home before you start selling it", etc.).

***The profile or screenshot of the homepage of my website with URL prominently displayed.

***A directory of tradesmen (plumbers, electricians, gutter cleaners, etc...Except other Realtors, of course, :-)) that services the local area.

I buy one of those messenger bags (a plain, black one) that you can buy at Staples/Office Max for $20.00 and fill it with the packets and throw it over my shoulder when I do door knocking.

Next, I have a tablet PC with a Verizon wireless internet card along with me opened up to the town's assessor's office website (visionapprasial.com) that will allow me to pull up each house's last sale date, owners name and address, and general info about the particular house while approaching the doorstep. This allows you to ask for the owner of the house by name instead of generically asking "can I speak with the owner of the house?” I find that the novel technology of the tablet PC seems to really impress people and a great conversation starter (that the resident usually initiates!).

Door knocking is very hard work. Lots of walking (which is an overlooked benefit. You’re exercising your heart while prospecting for business. A win-win situation). It works.

I'll never forget what pushed me to door knock...I saw a man, (with a limp, mind you) constantly walking along the streets of my home town with a business bag. For years before I was even in the business, I would see him walking, walking, walking...same darn bag. I was always perplexed at where this 50 something, business-looking' guy was going since I constantly only see him in strictly residential areas. I used to fathom "Maybe he can't afford a car and has to walk to and from work?” Then, one day I was driving to lunch with a fellow Realtor friend of mine and my friend happened to point to this man when we past him and informed me that "that's Ray from ReMax...he's the top listing agent our county". I was shocked, and later absolutely leveled when I found out that he not only was the top lister, but also had a prosthetic leg.

I decided to emulate his success by adopting door knocking as the main component of my marketing mix. Thanks for providing me with a model, Ray. :-)

These are discussion theads I found very helpful for new Agents.

http://www.agentsonline.net/forum/ultimatebb.php/topic/1/2233.html#000001

http://www.agentsonline.net/forum/ultimatebb.php/topic/5/1926.html#000003

http://www.agentsonline.net/forum/ultimatebb.php/topic/1/2177.html#000007

http://www.agentsonline.net/forum/ultimatebb.php/topic/1/2069.html#000002

http://www.agentsonline.net/forum/ultimatebb.php/topic/1/2067.html#000002

Here is good site to download listing presentation and other email marketing letters.

http://remax-cahi.com/esource/training/recordedtraining.asp

Ongoing Training/Success Tools
http://isucceed.com/
http://www.recyber.com/
http://realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf?OpenDatabase
http://www.davidknox.com/store/
http://byreferralonly.com/
http://www.millionairesystems.com/pages/
http://patzaby.com/

Where to buy real estate "stuff"
http://crsstore.com/
http://reals.com/
http://www.4realestateagent.com/products.php
http://www.agenttools.net/

Real Estate News
http://realtytimes.com/
http://www.inman.com/
http://www.ired.com/
http://recenter.tamu.edu/
http://www.realtor.org/rocms.nsf


Transaction/Client Management
http://srv11.efrogg.com/
http://www.settlementroom.com/index.html
http://topproducer.com/
http://homefeedback.com/

Prospecting/Lead Tools
http://www.constantcontact.com/
http://www.quantummail.com/
http://www.customhousepublishers.com/
http://www.tpmco.com/
http://homefollowup.com/

Good Template Websites
http://www.advancedaccess.com/
http://z57.com/exec/z57.z57com.wwd.main
http://www.realmarketingpros.com/

These links are full of information, so use them for your benefit. These links were posted by one of our members on this forum but I do not remember in which post.

-------------------------------------------

LEADING THE WAY IN ONLINE LEAD GENERATION
The neighborhood Web site and newsletter allow residents to do everything from posting free classified ads to learning of events to finding out new recipes.
http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/9019/1/1/

Jumpstart your Engine -- The Success Series: Improving Personal Productivity
Commentary by Stefan Swanepoel.
http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/9015/1/1/

The Right Steps to a Great Listing Presentation
Six top-producing real estate agents, all iSucceed mentors, give tips.
http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/9014/1/1/

RealtyU Roll Outs CourseDates.com
A single resource for finding scheduled real estate courses.
http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/9013/1/1/

As well as:

http://www.inman.com/

http://realtytimes.com/

http://www.epowernews.com/

Great sources of information for old and new Realtors alike and best of all, they're favorite price, FREE!

For books I found "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" by Gary Keller, one of the founders of Keller-Williams to be excellent.

I also enjoyed and found helpful:

Terri Murphy's "e-listing and e-selling secrets"

"How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate by Darryl Davis

"Power Real Estate Listing" by William Pivar

"Negotiate This" by Herb Cohen

"Real Estate Technology Guide" by Saul Klein & Co.

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu

"The E Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber

and "Evolution The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women" by Faith Popcorn

Prospecting, Farming Your Market by Joyce Caughman

I also used www.licensetutor.com I loved it. I did not have any pressure taking my state exam, PA. I knew that if I failed, the best thing was I was going to get money back. I do not think I could of been as prepared for my state exam if it wasn't for www.licensetutor.com I highly recommend this site.

i do not recommend www.licensetutor.com none of the questions were remotely similar to the real test. i took the NV exam.

Hello All,
Anybody has any one of these books/guides? Non of the libraries here carry them...Any idea where I could get them? Are they worth buying-the titles are too tempting..

-New Agent QuickStart Guide
-Your Guide to the California Residential Purchase Agreement
-Residential Real Estate Transaction Guide
-Minimizing Legal Problems While Completing a Successful Real Estate Transaction
-CONSUMERS GUIDE TO DISCLOSURES FOR BUYERS

Tx!

Most REALTOR Associations have frequent training sessions on various topics. Most are free. They are really good for the new agents because of the interaction with other agents. Let's not forget that spending some time in any convention or trade show is MONEY IN THE BANK!

Here's a "DO" for you: DO something different to advertise yourself. I have the newest real estate marketing technology to help you generate new clients and better serve your existing ones.
We can build you your own 30 second online commercial that is guaranteed to be seen!! We have a number of other business solutions to help build your client pipeline and we guarantee to, at minimum, double your advertising dollar!
Here's a "DON'T": DON'T hesitate, this is brand new and can only work for six realtors in a given area. Contact us at: 1 800 882 7226 extension 250 for Jared Rodgers, or 260 for David Mazurkiewicz.

Great information for rookies:

http://www.realtor.org/rmotoolkits.nsf/pages/rookiesmain_new

Lots of marketing articles:
http://realtytimes.com/rtapages/MarketingAdvice.htm

Some more marketing articles:
www.armingyourfarming.com/articles

"How to" articles about direct mail:
http://quantummail.com/html/wc.wc?QM~GoTo~qm_resources

"The Modern Guide to Real Estate Marketing"
www.armingyourfarming.com/book

I have some more good ones. I have to find the URLs first, then I'll post them.

http://www.realtywords.com/forums/

http://www.realestatetalks.com/index.php

James...this one's not a forum, but full of news & info:

http://www.realestateheadlines.net

Try this site as well.

http://www.realestate-agentsinfo.com/

Hey there is a free club for realtors in the LA Counties and San Fernando Valley - It would really help you out whether you are starting out or well seasoned- Tons of free information and tips to increase your monthly business, check it out:

PINNACLE CLUB

I'm no purveyor of Houseflash, but they DO have some good advice w. respect to driving qualified traffic to your website. The rest is up to you!

Although they try to debunk Search Engine Optimization, I read an article showing some company spends $100,000 for paid SEO marketing. WHOAH, thought the web was supposed to be enabling, and a low cost way to market yourself. As it turns out (at least for them) better to be proactively getting yourself listed well on the search engines. If they truly are paying that much, they MUST be getting an ROI that makes the bottom line happy, eh?


8 Easy ways to drive quality traffic to your Real Estate Website.

Having a website is by far one of the most cost-effective ways to promote yourself because you're not paying by the word.

Having said that, how do I get the qualified visitors to start coming to my site?

Is it through Search Engines? For a typical real estate site the answer is - not likely

Why Not?

Let me give you an example.

A search on Google for the words "Ottawa Real Estate" showed me the first 10 of 224,000 websites.

If you think there are 224,000 websites showing Ottawa Real Estate, think again. There are only around 1300 agents in Ottawa, most without their own website. If you think that anyone will look past the first few pages of these websites - they won't. The typical web surfer doesn't have the patience or time to do that. Many of these websites won't be Ottawa Real Estate sites, and many won't even be Real Estate sites, but they might have some combination of those words somewhere in their site, or they might have had at some time in the past.

The issue is that there are just too many finds on the words "Real Estate" on the web today. Just try searching for "Real Estate" on Google and you'll find close to 6 million sites.

To hope that your website will be in the first few pages of that list on a consistent basis is stretching the imagination. Even if it were to be there, a large proportion of visitors will likely be from around the world who are not looking for property in your locale, or perhaps not even looking for property at all.

Remember it's quality traffic you want, not the quantity, that's most important

So how do we get the proper traffic to our site?

It's easier than you might think. Try to do as many of the following as you can and you're guaranteed to get people coming to your site - and the people that count.

List at least your website address and if possible your email address on all your stationary, including business cards, letterhead, envelopes, handouts, flyers, feature sheets, mailers etc.

Include a signature block in every email that you send out including any automated response emails. A signature block contains your contact info, including phone number, email and website address listed at the bottom of your email message. This even includes your emails to friends and relatives.

List your web address in every voice mail or pager message.

Increase the value of every advertising dollar that you spend by directing people to your website in every ad. You can also save money on the individual ads as you won't need to put in as many words because they will see so much more info at your site. The plus is that you get them temporarily away from the newspaper and focused on you and all your available properties. This includes not only newsprint or flyer ads but even bench ads etc. Never place an ad anywhere without promoting your website!

List your website address in each and any of your listings in the Real Estate board multiple listing services. Get them off the main site and focused on you.

List your website address in each and every one of your listings that might show up in your agency's or office's property listings. Get them off the main site and focused on you.

List your website address, contact phone number and email address on every page of your website including on every listing page. That ensures that anytime anyone prints a listing from your site, your contact info is always included and immediately handy to the person holding the page. Note: That means your email address needs to be printed in full and not just a button or image to click on so clients will be able to read it on the paper.

Get listed on as many local news, community, or related businesses sites (such as mortgage brokers, home inspectors, lawyers, etc. or even friends' sites, as you can. Often this is free, although they might ask for a reciprical link. If they do, make sure to put any such links on a special links page, not on your home page.

Following each of the above will start to drive people to your website far faster than you might think.

Getting people to your own website puts the focus on you and that's exactly where it has to be for you to be successful.

Original Post: http://www.houseflash.com/news/more.php?id=31_0_1_0_M

I offer Certified Continuing Education Courses in the state of Ohio. These are 2 hour seminars and they are free. They are certified by the State of Ohio and you do get 2 hours of CE. Some of my topics include "No Money Down Purchases", "Understanding a HUD-1 Settlement Statement" and "Understanding Credit". I am a lender in the state of Florida and a mortgage broker in the state of Ohio. I give REAL LIFE examples which truly helps the real estate agent when they are in the field. Please call me to register for my seminars. Please all me at 1-866-414-3021.

Khash Saghafi
President
Cardinal Banc&Mtg Corp.
Ohio MB4348
Florida CL0400266

Educational site for Real Estate Agents:

http://www.realestate-agentsinfo.com/


If others can succeed you can too.:-)

Good Luck!


PS
Any new ideas for the sites content improvement are welcome. Please [moderator edited] private message them to me [end edit] if you have any. Thank you!

Several months ago there was a topic listing the "do's and don'ts" for new real estate agents. It was a great list, so I consolidated all the ideas into one article for simplicity's sake. Hopefully, this can be of use to some of you who are just starting out:

http://www.realestateheadlines.net/2005/06/the_dos_and_don.html

Here's the info I would have loved to know when I started 4 months ago:

A) This is a business - it's not a job. If you have no business experience, you'd better get some quick. Very few people are going to help you. Heck, most will try to stop or misdirect you.

B) You're going to have to pay and pay and pay for licensing fees, designation fees, office fees, advertising, signs, office products, computers, gas, etc.

C) You will have no income for 6 months.

D) Getting prospective buyers and sellers is very difficult for a newbie.

E) You have to do the marketing of your listings and yourself differently than everyone else to get noticed.

If you can hold out that long with those roadbumps, this is a great business to be in. It's fun matching buyers up with their first house. Most newbies approach this as a job - that is their downfall.

F)Read through every lne of every thread in this forum - you'll catch up quickly.

Hello All,

I saw CaliforniaLicense.com on the list of online schools for California. I used their materials for my exam prep and could not have been more appalled by the quality they presented. The texts were very poorly written, often contradictory from page to page. I took the online exams, only because I had paid nearly 300 dollars for a set of classes.

I passed the California DRE exam on my first try last September but I had purchased two additional texts at Barnes and Nobles because I was so confused by the CaliforniaLicense.com books. What a relief it was to read something that made sense and was consistent.

Just an FYI for anyone thinking of using CaliforniaLicense.com.

Overland

The best class I went to was RealEstateTestPrep

just look at www.RealEstateTestPrep.com

check that out and let me know what you think.

Good tools for Real Estate Direct Mail

http://www.one2onemail.com
http://www.quantummail.com
http://www.realestatepostcardsonline.com

Nice Information for the new ones.

Check out theses links it might be useful for you:
http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com/buyer_seller_info.htm
http://www.cactuscountryproperty.com/real_estate.htm

Becoming a real estate agent does not necessarily involve buying a great deal of equipment, but there are some necessities that will be an advantage when trying to sell a property. A professional wardrobe is a must. Buyers are naturally skeptical of real estate agents anyway due to the large amounts of money involved in buying a home. Showing up in blue jeans and a sweater will do nothing but hurt your chances of making a sale. Plus, you will need a respectable car for the same reasons. Other essential equipment includes a cell phone and perhaps, though not necessary, a laptop. What has become near essential to the successful realtor is a pda to keep track of contacts and business appointments.

regards Monika

--------
Free Real Estate Guides

My best words of advice would be advertise, advertise,and did I mention advertise. Use small classified ads for free lists of properties. When I started using these my salary blue past six figures and I never worked more than 15 hours a week. Also focus on investors they buy more property, more often.

Oops - posted to wrong thread...deleted by moderator

I am not so certain I agree with this any more. I have been a salesman of some sort for a long time. I have always dressed very professionally. Lately, I have started to dress to match my clientele. I do not think dress slacks and a tie are right for everybody. I think it is very necessary for some. I also think nice jeans and a polo shirt will work for others. It wasn't until receltny that I started feeling this way. But, there are some people that I will dress casually with and it does not seem to hurt business...

I am curious what you mean by this. Are you saying you run a classified ad saying something like the following:

"For a free list of properties you may be interested in, please call XXX-XXX-XXXX"

Or something completely different?

Thank you!

-jeff

Jeff Olsen, broker
Jaeger Real Estate

For Rookie or anyone without a website..get a free website at www.point2agent.com

For By invitation only email me your name, broker name and city at Info@eNOVAHomes.com

-Ritu

Copies of posts from other threads:


*****************************************
Though the site is only about 90 days old, there is a group of forums at http://realestate.about.com The forums have very light participation so far, but hopefully some on this one will join here and participate.

Content about the business of real estate is being added daily to this site also. I would appreciate any visits and participation.
*****************************************
I read brokeragentnews.com
*****************************************
Brokeragentsnews.com
Realtytimes.com
Local Real Estate section in Washington Post
Agentsonline.net
Inman
************************************

This was posted in another forum, and I think that there is a good amount of valuable information that new and old agents can take from it:

Posted By: fiveostang

Message:
If agents were all the same, we'd all have an equal market share. There is an unlimited supply of ways to become a better, more effective agent for your clients. Frankly, if you don't believe that you have a competitive advantage, then you probably shouldn't charge a higher rate.

However, for those with an open mind, here's a brief list of simple/effective things that agents can do to differentiate themselves from their competitors:

1) Use only EXCEPTIONAL pictures in MLS listings. Most agents have VERY poor pictures.

2) Study how language in your MLS remarks affects buyer psychology. Buyers see and form impressions about a property beginning when they see it online.

3) Study and implement sales skills that will help you persuade other agents to work harder to convince THEIR clients, that your offer (or counter) is fair.

4) Build/Advertise your business to attract other agents to WANT to sell YOUR properties. A great way to do this is to CONSISTENTLY offer a higher co-op than others.

5) Study buying psychology so that you can help sellers learn the priorty of how to prepare their home for showings.

6) Use buyer psychology to help you lead your own buyers to a favorable decision.

7) Use only those services that will ACTUALLY help the seller get buyers INTO the home. For example, in my area, less than 1% of homes are bought through an Open House. I can find just as many prospects in an hour as I can through an open house and avoid dissappointing my sellers when no one buys the house that day.

8) Exude positive attitude. It's infectious, and it will increase the chances that others will want to do business with you.

9) Quit focusing on how much the seller has to pay for services. Make the focus on WHAT you WILL do to help them solve their problems. If you minimize the commission issue to just a cost of doing business, it will help them to accept your fee.

10) Quit giving in to ever seller demand. If you stand up for yourself, your business, and your worth, you will command more respect. More respect/trust = bigger paychecks and better referrals.

11) Study how you react to other salespeople. What do they do to cause you to put up a "wall?" What do good salespeople do to make you want to buy? Eliminate the bad ideas. Implement the good ones.

12) Study personality types to help you learn how to work with others in the most productive way. For example, if you're receiving an offer from a dominant personality agent, understand how to treat them in order to get them on good terms with you and less likely to negotiate hard.

13) Make long-term positive contacts so that you can call all kinds of people that might know someone that wants your newest listing.

14) Network with movers and shakers in your community.

15) ALWAYS be pleasant in public.

16) Focus on generating listings. It helps you find more buyers for your sellers.

17) Track your advertising results, so that you can maximize your dollars for generating buyers for your sellers.

18) Believe that you have an advantage. Your sellers will have more confidence in you, thus improving their overall experience.

19) Study the art of sales questions. How you ask for information and business affects how prospects FEEL about you. Make their experience pleasant by being pleasant and professional.

20) Don't judge prospects over trivial matters.

21) Don't "educate" your prospects. They don't want to be told what to do/say. What they want are solutions to their problems. Just show them how to solve them and they'll go right along with it.

22. Don't be rude.

23. Network with other agents like crazy. Encourage them to look at and show your listings.

24. Offer to guarantee your work. Nothing outrageous, just something to build confidence.

25. Do what you say you'll do exactly when you said you'd do it.

26. Underpromise your services, then overdeliver.

27. Never stop learning.

28. Believe that if a prospect chooses to work with someone else, they missed the opportunity to work with the best agent in the area, you!


The list is endless. If all you do is put listings in the MLS and write contracts, you have nothing of value to offer and shouldn't receive a higher commission. There are to many agents that are willing to do all of the LITTLE things that add up to one huge competitive advantage.

People BUY based on their emotions (either to remove pain or to receive pleasure). Price is a logic based topic. If you can sell your services based on the clients emotion, they will find a way to logically validate your fee on their own with statements like, "Well, Ya get what you pay for."

The bottom line is that sellers will buy (your listing services) from you because you can help remove their pain (sell the house) so that they can receive pleasure (get into the new house). Price is secondary to effective solutions. That's is a sales 101 fact.

Become a better salesperson and you will be able to offer a better experience to your clients and THAT is the most competitive advantage you can have.

Just picked up two books today, "The Millionaire Real estate agent" by Gary Keller and "your 1st year in real estate" by Dirk Zeller.

I'm about half way through "your 1st year..." and I only just put it down... about half way through. Excellent book, thanks for the suggestions all. This has been a VERY beneficial thread.

Matt M.

I'm just about to finish successful RE agent for dummies, by Zeller. It's really good. I hear that if you've read this is about the same as your first year. I've read MREA and really liked it and Gary Keller. I also happen to have just signed with Keller Williams.

Such a great thread! I'm a a mortgage broker myself and I admire you guys! Continue doing this great job.

Well, here's something from me to help you get you started:
If you want to sell someone the most expensive asset they will acquire, you need to know your stuff. Being a newbie, means building up your confidence. Read on.

*Learn the market - The first thing you can do for yourself and is learn your market. You need to work hard by learning about every property that is currently for sale, and every property that had sold in the last year in your marketplace. It sounds overwhelming; but break the project down to a manageable size.

*Practice Writing Contracts - During your first month you need to practice writing sales contracts. You should go through your area's or your company's contract and know every word in it. It is so important that you understand the contract and can impart the information in a concise manner to a prospective buyer. You will have many questions, write them down and get the answers from your broker/manager. Practice different scenarios. The buyer who has a 10% down payment, the buyer who has a 20% down payment, the buyer paying all cash, the buyer who wants the seller to carry-back paper, the buyer who wants to use a VA loan; the buyer who wants to purchase using FHA. Practice. Practice. Practice. If you could practice with another person who does not know real estate, such as a spouse or good friend, it would be even better. They will have honest questions and you will know what to expect from your own buyer. After you have written and practiced the contract many, many times you will be confident to write one for a client.

*Have More Information than the Public - You need to know more about the marketplace than the general public. You do this by attending all the office sales meetings, attending education conferences at your association office, reading all the real estate bulletins, attending industry seminars, and reading books or listening to education tapes. You need to constantly keep up with all the changes going on in the industry. The public is aware and has more information than ever before to make a buying or selling decision-so should you!

*Act the Part - Carry yourself with confidence. Stand stall, walk quickly, have a firm handshake, look prospective clients in the eye. You may be quaking inside, but the outside should be unruffled. Wear nice clothes that are clean and pressed. Have a clean, polished car that is running good. Use a nice pen, leather portfolio, and your laptop. When someone sees you for the first time, make sure his/her impression of you is one of professionalism. It helps so much with your confidence.

You will not have all the answers and never will. You will know where to get the answers and you do have a great deal of knowledge on the marketplace now. You're in control. Your prospective clients will enjoy working with someone who is so diligent about learning their craft. Your clients will feel trust from your confidence!

Francoise
Colorado Mortgage Specialist
http://www.colorado-loans.net
http://www.boulderfinancial.com

Team

Here is an even more comprehensive list of real estate designations that I found on http://www.realestatewiki.com/wiki_content/Real_Estate_Designations.htm

Accredited Agricultural Consultant (AAC)
Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR)
Accredited Buyer Representative Manager (ABRM)
Accredited Farm Manager (AFM)
Accredited Home Staging Specialist (AHS)
Accredited Land Consultant (ALC)
Accredited Luxury Home Specialist (ALHS)
Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP)
Accredited Real Estate Professional (AREP)
Accredited Residential Manager (ARM)
Accredited Rural Appraiser (ARA)
Accredited Seller Representative (ASR)
Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA)
Accredited Staging Professional (ASP)
At Home With Diversity (AHWD)
Certified Apartment Manager (CAM)
Certified Buyer Representative (CBR)
Certified Buyer Specialist (CBS)
Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM)
Certified Exclusive Buyers Agent (CEBA)
Certified Finance Specialist (CFS)
Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS)
Certified Leasing Professional (CLP)
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS)
Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB)
Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (CMPS)
Certified Mortgage Servicer (CMS)
Certified Mortgage Technologist (CMT)
Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE)
Certified Neighborhood Specialist (CNS)
Certified New Home Marketing Professional (CMP)
Certified New Home Sales Professional (CSP)
Certified New Home Specialist (CNHS)
Certified Property Manager (SPM)
Certified Real Estate Appraiser (CREA)
Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB)
Certified Realty Investment Associate (CRIA)
Certified Relocation And Transition Specialist (CRTS)
Certified Relocation Professional (CRP)
Certified Residential Specialist (CRS)
Certified Residential Underwriter (CRU)
Certified Short Sale Professional (CSP)
Certified Staging Specialist (CSS)
Commercial Real Estate Professionals Society (CREP)
Consumer Certified Real Estate Consultant (C-CREC)
Council Of Real Estate Brokerage Managers
Counselor of Real Estate
Counselor Of Real Estate (CRE)
E-PRO®
Ecobroker Certified
General Accredited Appraiser (GAA)
Generational Housing Specialist (GHS)
Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI)
Home Staging Resource (HSR)
International Real Estate Specialist (IRES)
Internet Marketing Certified (IMC)
Master Farm And Land Appraiser (MFLA)
Master Of Real Estate (MRE)
Master Sales Professional (MSP)
Member Appraisal Institute (MAI)
Member, Institute Of Residential Marketing (MIRM)
Mortgage Real Estate Professional (MREP)
Performance Management Network (PMN)
Property Marketing Expert (PME)
Quality Service Certification (QSC)
Real Estate Cyberspace Specialist (RECS)
Real Estate Professional Assistant (REPA)
Real Estate Webographer (REW)
Real Property Review Appraiser (RPRA)
Registered In Apartment Management (RAM)
Residential Accredited Appraiser (RAA)
Residential Construction Certified (RCC)
Resort & Second-home Markets Certification (RSPS)
Seller Representative Specialist (SRS)
Senior Housing Specialist (SHS)
Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES)
Society Of Industrial And Office Realtors (SIOR)
Transnational Referral Certification (TRC)

I highly suggest you DO NOT use licenseexamtutor.com The answers to some of the questions were wrong for my state and it dosent cover everything you need to know. Of corse it guarentees your money back if you fail, I wonder how much money they actually end up getting back!!

I took the practice exam for my state on my states exam site and got a 67% after getting well inthe 90's on all the license exam tutor tests! I went and picked up some books and found alot of the answers on exam tutor to be wrong! At least the state questions!

Just my 2 cents!

Door knocking is one of the thinks I do. I have some success but a lot of times is time wasting because people are not at home or do not open the door even they are inside.

Great information Thank you to everyone who supplied the links I will be able to do some research now

One of the best sources of business of a real estate agent, is getting referrals from present and past clients. The below link is to a great script for when you should ask your clients for a referral. Also includes links to scripts for: FSBO's, Selling A Home at Market Value, Prequalifying A Listing Appointment, Handling Pricing Objections and a great listing presentation. Hope it's helpful.

Current Client Referral Script

This is a link to a great video of a top producing agent at KW making calls for Power Hour. There are also some very helpful scripts for cold calling. Hope it's helpful and inspiring. Good luck!

KW Power Hour Video Of Top Producing KW Agent Art Fernandez

This is a great resource for people interested in becoming a real estate agent. My contribution would be to suggest that you also check out the Real Estate Licensing Information real estate licensing information section of realestatelicensedirect.com which has a bunch of articles on the process of obtaining a license and so forth.

This is the perfect thread to