Photos DO attract clients......

Go look at the photos on agent web sites. Why are most so "home made" looking, or just plain bad? Here's how you can avoid the common mistakes and gain much credibility besides.

Many agents spend lavishly on Web marketing including Pay-Per-Click, (PPC) banner ads, SEO, (Search Engine Optimization), and then use a cheap-looking portrait on their web site. Often one that was taken by their spouse or child? What is wrong with this picture!!!!?

You look at the beautifully crafted Web site home page of, say, Rosie, your office's top producer. That home page has terrific art and design...she must have spent a fortune on it, either having it custom made or buying a special template site that costs a fortune.

It looks beautiful, except for one thing, Rosie's picture. Frankly, it sucks, as they say!

Egad! Her head is misshapen. Her head and face are ultra-wide, as though someone had grabbed her ears and pulled outwards. What was Rosie thinking when she personally uploaded the picture to her otherwise magnificently designed site? I bet she wouldn't send that same photo to an online dating service.

Well, Rosie forgot the number one rule about Realtor web sites which solicit a professional service instead of sell a product. The rule is: YOU ARE the product!

And just as Mercedes shows only magnificently stunning, shiny cars in its magazine ads, you need to show yourself in your best light, too. Why? Because when homebuyers or sellers are hunting for a Realtor on the web, they want to know as much about you as possible before they contact you. And, let's face it; if your photo looks sub-standard, they subconsciously think that you must be sub-standard, too.

See, a photographic portrait should not only capture what you look like, but also show something of your character. Moreover, a good one shows something about your manner or way of being that is attractive and flatters you. Ideally, you radiate a persona that most people find appealing.

Anyone can have great web site photos. Here are the main things to consider about your web site photos, starting with your all-important portrait:

1. Have a professional take it. Don't think that just because a recent digital picture that your spouse took of you in front of the backyard hedge looks good, you should use it. IT LOOKS HOMEMADE!!!! Get it? Don't look cheap. Get a real photographer. And don't try to fool your site visitors with ten-year-old photos of yourself, either. Five years is long enough to let the same portrait remain in place as you age. (Yes, age. I said it!)

2. Dress yourself properly. Darker clothes and long sleeves are best. Avoid bright colors and bold patterns such as plaids, checks, stripes, and polka dots. Also, avoid "fad" colors or styles; they'll be gone soon enough. If you sell to low-end buyers, then your blue denim, Roy Rogers shirt with rhinestones is fine. But if you'd like to sell upscale homes, too, then dress like THOSE homebuyers dress. For men, coat and ties, but get some casual pics without, for use on interior web pages. Bring several complete changes of outfits along with you, because you may change your mind once you're at the photographer's studio. Or even at Glamour Shots in the mall, which will provide results far better than your backyard attempts.

3. Hair and Makeup are Important. Women, keep jewelry to a minimum. It's best to have a professional do your hair and makeup before your shoot. Makeup should only be slightly heavier than normal to avoid looking "painted." No fad hairdos. Dress first, then wear a plastic cape or shield so loose powder, etc. doesn't get on your clothes. Try fixing your hair differently for different poses. The photographer may apply a light powder to get rid of shine on your cheeks, chin, forehead, and, for men, balding head, but be safe - bring your own powder anyway.

4. Use Natural Poses. Do you like those poses where the agent's chin rests on his fist as he stares dreamily out at you? We don't either...they look pretentious. So be natural . It should be a picture of you smiling warmly at the viewer. If you just do that, I don't need to tell you the 30 other things that you should do. Just be natural and listen to the professional photographer's directions. Listen, he knows how you will look better than you do. And REALLY smile, most people hold back. Don't. It'll look restrained.

5. Don't Get Soused The Night Before. Ever notice how you can tell when someone has a hangover? The cameras will, too, and preserve those subtle, but telling, signals for everyone who sees your picture for years. Schedule your shoot for a time when you are sure you will be both physically and mentally great.

6. Using Informal Photos. You often see home page photos showing the agent posing with his nuclear family, or with the pets. These may be okay for interior pages, say on the "About" page, but unless you market in a rural area where most people know one another, such "folksy," "down home" photos may be unappealing to many consumers who dislike pets or children. The photo, itself, may disqualify you. Remember, with many metro area boomers retiring and moving to the hinterlands, if you are in a country area, you might want to appear more professional to them, too, and let your home page photo show it. The rest of you...don't be smug about rural agents. Straighten up!

7. Captions are Terrific; Use Them. Go to a hundred agent sites and under their first photo, invariably located in the upper left hand corner of the home page, you will find...zero captions.

What is a caption? According to online encyclopedia, Wickipedia, it is a concise and descriptive bit of text that labels a picture, chart, or table. But what makes captions important on typical agent sites is that they are the first thing to command the viewer's eye immedialy after he sees the agent's photo. Which means that on most web sites, they are the very SECOND thing that gets looked at. Are you having An Epiphany about that piece of news? See the possibilities?

So here's what you do with that important chunk of home page space. You place in that space the most important thing that you want the visitor to know about you...and you can even do it in tiny type, too. They will still read it. Even several lines. After all, it's what they'll read second, right?

Here are examples:

Jane CutiePie, Your luxury home specialist.
Jane CutiePie, Your buyer's agent for Denver.
Jane CutiePie, Your Portland 1031 expert.
Jane CutiePie, your "first time home buyer" agent.
Jane CutiePie holds a free "sell your home" course every Tuesday, 10AM , at the Old Church bank.
Jane CuitiePie lets you use her moving van when you need to transport your goods.
A final caution about captions: Many "team" or group pictures on sites fail to have a caption identifying each person shown. Why? Aren't those people important, too? Name each person starting from left to right, in the order of where each person's head appears. If you have rows of people, do the I.D. by row 1, row 2, etc. But be sure that even people who do not personally know your team can match the names to the right people by using what you have written in the caption. For a good example of captioning, see how your local newspaper identifies people in groups.

8. Photos as Powerful Testimonials. Testimonial photos that show you and your happy buyers or sellers posing for the camera CAN be informal and taken by a non-professional,but only because they ought to look spur of the (exciting) moment, and homemade.

Here's how you do testimonials. Put a link on your home page, somewhere close under your portrait of course, and call it "Testimonials" or "See what my happy clients say" or similar. Make the link go to a new page of pictures of your clients WITH you, ideally hugging you, or obviously pleased as punch with you...make sure that THAT EMOTION comes across. Don't just have you and them staring dumbly (doe-in-headlights) at the camera. Smile! Engage yourself with them. Be Alive! Be looking at each other in the picture. Connect. Show it!

Be sure the photo has a caption, naming you and the clients. And then, below that, have text, approved by the client - a paragraph or two - that quotes the client, saying good stuff about how you did.

9. Photos Showing You As Well Connected in the Community. People moving to a new area want to get settled early. They'd prefer an agent who's already connected in the community, perhaps through local good works or services. They'd like an agent who can introduce them to key local programs, and civic and social leaders. Here's the deal. If you never perform community service in your area, forget this #9 and move on to #10. (However, shame on you if you don't. Start giving a little back, will ya?)

But if you do support civic projects or non-profit groups, then, on interior web site pages use photos showing you at work, as does San Clemente, CA's Internet Realtor, Broker Debbie Ferrari. Her newly created community service page, with examples added every few months, proves that she is heavily involved with the community and with its principals. (Her doing this subtly tells the prospect, "Therefore, powerful person that she is, she should have little trouble, locally, handling my transaction").

10. Show Yourself with Area Landmarks. Okay, so you don't golf with the mayor or duck hunt with the police chief. You can still gain more credibility as a local "community expert" in the eyes of your web site visitors when they see you in photos alongside known community landmarks.

Don't feel bad after reading this if you think that you are now "photographically challenged" with your current web site photos. Most agents are, and likely your nearest local online competitor-agent is no better off. But there's your chance, isn't it? You can make your site appear superior to his, just by enhancing it with better photos.

What can you do? You can give yourself more credibility with your visitors by switching to "eHarmony-quality" portraits of yourself, plus photos of you with community leaders, and photos showing you engaged in community service. Or, you can show yourself with your clients as they slobber all over you with their passionate thanks for your priceless help.

Or, you can just be shown leaning on the huge granite "Welcome to BigMansion Estates" sign leading to the ritziest neighborhood in town, and grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Hey, don't knock it...it works!

Most agents just don't get it about using pictures to help them attract more clients and thereby, get more sales. But as you now can see, good quality portraits, and clever usage of local area photos... really ARE worth a thousand words!

Ask the question and make the sale!!!!

There is no doubt that properly structured, well-delivered and correctly articulated questions are the most essential tools for successful selling. Let's take a quick look at 10 reasons why questions are so essential to your sales success:

Questions put you in control of the interaction.
Questions indicate you're interested in learning more about the prospect and their business.
Questions allow you to learn more.
Questions serve as a means to allow prospects to do most of the talking.
Questions allow you to learn when, how, what and why a prospect will buy your product or service.
Questions prove you are interested in learning more about the prospect than in talking about yourself.
Questions give you time to think.
Questions display an image of professionalism and depth of interest.
Questions position you as a problem solver.
Questions prepare you to present your product or service in the precise way your prospect wants to see it.

Do those 10 reasons help to convince you? If these ten don't do the trick, then let me ask you a few questions?

What do you like most about living where you live?
If you could change anything about living there, what would it be?
What would you like your local government officials to do more of? Less of?
What is the one thing that could make your community the best in the county?

If I were in a position to solve your problems or help you with issues as related to these four questions you'd be thrilled to have me ask you those questions, wouldn't you? Especially if you believed I could do something immediately?and if the things that were bothering you were of significant importance to you.

The bottom line? Asking the right questions and then being in a position to prescribe exactly the right set of solutions to solve them is what professional selling is all about! Let me give you 10 questions that I guarantee (yes, guarantee!) will work for you no matter what it is you sell or to whom you sell it. Here we go:

What is it that you'd like someone like me to help you solve or achieve?
What, if anything, are you looking for that you haven't found?
What is it in your current situation that you absolutely do not want to see changed?
If you could change anything about your current situation (product, service, supplier, vendor, etc.) what would it be?
What have you seen in the marketplace that has particularly appealed to you?
Who else, other than you, of course, is involved in this decision?
What kind of a time frame, if any, are you working with on this project?
How do you normally handle this type of decision?
How would you define an effective solution for your situation?
What kind of budget range do you have for this project?

Let me give you a tip: Use these questions EXACTLY as they are written! Write them down and refer to them. As your prospect tells you the answers, record their response and then be prepared to solve their problems?don't recommend things they don't need. Present your product or service the way they want to see it?you get the picture. You see, there is no way to solve a problem, fill a need, satisfy a difficulty, create value or present a product without knowing precisely how to do it.

There is little doubt that effective questioning is the essence of effective selling. There is also little doubt that it could be the size most elusive skill related to the face-to-face portion of any sale.

Let's take a look at a great way to learn how to ask the right questions in the right ways. Invest your time in watching more television. But here's the secret ? don't watch situation comedies, sports or MTV. Instead, start watching shows like Meet The Press, Face The Nation or The Today Show. Study the ways that expert interviewers ask questions. Study their phrasing, sentence structure, ability to ask follow-up questions and the tough questions. Notice how they don't interrupt the person being interviewed?how they ask for clarification and clearer explanations of key points.

Turning Cold Calls to Warm Ones

Cold calling secrets to make cold calling successful.

Let's face it, when it comes to cold calling many of us fear being rejected. What if I was to tell you I have come up with 7 keys to turning your cold calls into warm calls? Would you believe me?

Try these 7 cold calling ideas for yourself and see just how easy making a cold call can really be.

1. Change Your Mental Objective Before You Make Your Call

When making a cold call the traditional way, your main objective is usually to try and get the appointment or make the sale. The main problem with that, is when you do make the call it is quite clear to the person on the other end of the phone that this is your goal and they usually think of an excuse to get you off the phone before they have a chance to hear what you have to say.

To turn your cold calls into warm calls you need to change your objective to creating a feeling of trust with the person you are calling. It is important to remember that the person you are calling needs to feel that you are calling to help them rather than just trying to make the sale.

2. Understand The Mindset of The Person Your Calling

This is an extremely important tip and one that can help you greatly with your cold calling success. By putting yourself in the mindset of the person you are about to call, you can move beyond making a sales pitch.

Imagine that you are that person receiving the call and you hear "Hello, my name is Clare and I'm with a company called Financial Solutions International, do you have a few minutes?" What would be your immediate reaction?

You'd probably think "Salesperson! How can I get them off the phone." Instead, try beginning your conversation with "Hi, my name is Clare, maybe you can help me out for a moment?" Something as simple as that puts you smack in the middle of your prospect's world of welcoming phone calls.

3. Identify A Problem That Your Company Can Solve

Knowing a specific problem that your prospect is having is how you can immediately create a natural conversation on the phone.

If your prospect feels that you really do understand their particular issues, then they are more open to hearing your solutions giving you the opportunity to see if you both are a good match.

Identifying the problem before you make your cold call really can make a major difference in the success of your cold call.

4. Start A Conversation, Don't Give A Presentation

Giving a presentation is the old traditional way of cold calling which has the negative affect of creating sales pressure and viewing people as "prospects."

Engaging people in a natural conversation is the only way to avoid rejection because you are relaxed as if you are talking to a friend. A genuine approach will always put your potential customer at ease from the start.

Never assume beforehand that your prospective customer should buy what you have to offer. Your prospect will pick up on this right away and you will be on your way to losing the sale.

5. Start By Asking A Question

After your opening cold calling statement, always begin by asking a question about how you can help them solve issues that you believe your solution can solve.

Think about it, how would you respond if someone genuinely knew what you were struggling with and had ideas to solve it?

By basing your cold call on honesty and truthfulness and knowing how to engage your prospect based on their issues, then all of a sudden your call becomes a
two-way dialogue rather than a one-way pitch.

You will be able to open up a conversation and be able to build up trust at the same time.

6. Recognizing and Diffusing Hidden Pressures

By being able to recognize hidden sales pressure you can turn your calls into pleasant conversations. And be aware, that enthusiasm can make your prospects feel pressure from you.

Learning to engage in a natural conversation can alleviate this pressure and leave your client open to the idea of hearing what you have to say.

Try to avoid controlling your calls in a way where your prospect feels you are taking them down a sales process. Give them a chance to share their concerns with you without having to worry about you trying to "close" them.

7. Determining A Fit

Let's say your call is going great and the dialogue is flowing well but the conversation is reaching its natural end. What do you do next?

Most people who sell assume they should try and close the person to an appointment. But there is a risk in that if the person's problem isn't a priority to solve. So it's important that you first ask "Is this issue a priority to solve or is it something that's on the back burner?"

Not only have you determined a need but you will also determine a time frame. This could save you months of wasted "follow-up" calls.

Now it's time to start putting these tips into practice. From personal experience, I can tell you that you if use these ideas on your cold calls, you'll know how to turn cold calls into warm calls.

Source ; Ari Galper

Montreal Condos are good value....it's official!!!!

Well heres a report which will come as no surpirse to professionals in the Montreal market. We have known for so long that Montreal gives the best real estate value in North America. Now it seems we give almost the best value globaly. Where else can you buy property in a world-class city at these levels?
Now it seems that the global community might wake up a little to the exceptional value that Montreal offers. We, as real estate professionals have to take advantage of this to maintain our market and bring the world to our doorstep.

The source of this report is Caldwell Banker.

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- City living brings to mind a
fast-paced lifestyle, culture, fine dining and, of course, high-rise buildings
that make for gorgeous skylines. But how much money does it take to live in
the big city?
To provide some context for residential real estate prices using a
sampling of major cities worldwide, the Coldwell Banker(R) organization has
issued its first Global Metropolitan Condominium Home Price Comparison Study
(HPCS)(1). Conducted between July and October 2005, the study found that New
York City tops the list, ranking as the most expensive metropolitan city
surveyed, with an average condominium apartment price of $1,448,000. The most
affordable of the markets surveyed was Warsaw, Poland, where the average price
was USD$123,257.
The Global Metropolitan Condominium HPCS snapshot study evaluated average
prices in 34 metropolitan markets worldwide for condominium apartments 1,400
square feet in size, featuring two bedrooms and two and one-half bathrooms, in
buildings with at least 10 stories and a doorman(2).
"Increased recreational travel and career opportunities abroad have made
the world a smaller place," says Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive
officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. "There is an ongoing
exchange of Americans moving overseas and vice versa. This study, which
provides an 'apples-to-apples' comparison of metropolitan condominium
apartments globally, revealed that ownership in 15 of the markets evaluated
would cost less than USD$350,000, and that includes such major cities as
Montreal, Shanghai and Valencia, Spain."

The top five most expensive cities in the study include:

(Currency exchange rate as of 11/30/05, 12:43 p.m. EST)

Market
2005 Price in 2005 Price in
U.S. Dollars Local Currency
New York, New York $1,448,000
Boston, Massachusetts $ 981,250
San Francisco, California $ 975,500
Paris, France $ 966,089 820,000 euros
Seattle, Washington $ 712,000

The five most affordable cities in the study include:

Market
2005 Price in 2005 Price in
U.S. Dollars Local Currency
Warsaw, Poland $ 123,257 409,256 Polish zlotych
Jakarta, Indonesia $ 130,537 1.26 billion Indonesian rupiahs
Caracas, Venezuela $ 133,656 287 million Venezuelan bolivares
Mexico City, Mexico $ 175,122 1.85 million Mexican pesos
Montreal, Canada $ 176,306 205,890 Canadian dollars


Key International Markets (currency exchange rate as of 11/30/05, 12:43
p.m. EST)

Market
2005 Price in 2005 Price in
U.S. Dollars Local Currency
New York, New York $1,448,000
Boston, Massachusetts $ 981,250
San Francisco, California $ 975,500
Paris, France $ 966,089 820,000 euros
Seattle, Washington $ 712,000
Los Angeles, California $ 674,000
Atlanta, Georgia $ 589,750
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania $ 582,500
Madrid, Spain $ 582,219 493,908 euros
Washington, D.C. $ 569,475
Singapore $ 569,418 963,000 Singapore dollars
Sydney, Australia $ 512,326 693,000 Australian dollars
Amsterdam, The Netherlands $ 470,226 399,000 euros
Chicago, Illinois $ 467,375
Seville, Spain $ 459,548 389,969 euros
Miami, Florida $ 443,750
The Hague, The Netherlands $ 419,907 356,330 euros
Rotterdam, The Netherlands $ 385,733 327,330 euros
Brisbane, Australia $ 364,607 493,125 Australian dollars
Toronto, Canada $ 339,189 396,125 Canadian dollars
Shanghai, China $ 321,862 2.6 million RMB
(China yuan Renminbi)
Houston, Texas $ 321,092
Valencia, Spain $ 320,328 271,822 euro
Dallas, Texas $ 302,333
Gdansk, Poland $ 228,633 758,333 Polish zlotych
Krakow, Poland $ 228,633 758,333 Polish zlotych
Mumbai, India $ 207,152 9.5 million Indian rupees
Beijing, China $ 185,690 1.5 million RMB
(China yuan Renminbi)
Cairo, Egypt $ 178,587 1.03 million Egyptian pounds
Montreal, Canada $ 176,306 205,890 Canadian dollars
Mexico City, Mexico $ 175,122 1.85 million Mexican pesos
Caracas, Venezuela $ 133,656 287 million Venezuelan bolivares
Jakarta, Indonesia $ 130,537 1.26 billion Indonesian rupiahs
Warsaw, Poland $ 123,257 409,256 Polish zlotych


Methodology - 2005 Coldwell Banker(R) Global Metropolitan Condominium Home
Price Comparison Study:
Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation conducted its Global Metropolitan
Condominium Home Price Comparison Study by compiling survey data from Coldwell
Banker(R) offices throughout the world. Companies within the Coldwell Banker
system submitted data based on the average sales price of sold listings from
July through October 2005. Cairo and Paris were recorded from Coldwell Banker
office Web site listings on Nov. 11, 2005. The criteria for the Global
Metropolitan Condominium HPCS subject home is: condominium apartments 1,400
square feet in size, featuring two bedrooms and two and one-half bathrooms, in
buildings with at least 10 stories and a doorman.

Realise your potential

Here's an exercise for you; imagine that it's possible for you to earn ten times your current annual wage. If you're earning $25,000, imagine for a moment that it's possible for you to earn $250,000, a 1000% increase.

Don't Sell Yourself Short
The first reaction of most people to that exercise is to smile briefly and then to begin thinking about why it isn't possible. One man said to me, "If you knew how many years it's taken for me to get to what I'm earning today you wouldn't be suggesting that I could earn ten times as much."

Never A Good Excuse
Mark Twain once wrote that there are a thousand excuses for every failure but never a good reason. The tragedy of the average Canadian is that whereas his or her main preoccupation seems to be money, or the lack thereof, the average person has the inherent potential to earn far more than he or she is doing currently.

Is the manager earning $250,000 per year ten times as smart as the manager earning $25,000? 10 times as experienced? Does he or she work 10 times harder? Of course not. None of these are physically or mentally possible, but there are people in every business earning many times more than others with the same average age, experience and intelligence.

The Results Are In
In fact, a few years ago in New York, a thousand men and women were selected at random and tested for I.Q. Between the one having the highest I.Q. in this sample and the one with the lowest, there was a difference of only 2 1/2 times. But between the person earning the most, who by the way, was not the one with the highest I.Q. and the one earning the least, who was not the one with the lowest I.Q., there was a difference of 100X in income.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to start increasing your income.

First, identify the highest earning, most successful people in your field and find out what it is that they are doing differently from others who aren't doing as well. Copy them every day.

Second, set a goal to double your income over the next two or three years and then figure out what you'll have to do to achieve it. Get started!

Bonne Année

We are embarking on a new year. The slate is clean for the first time in over a year. What a great oppõrtunity lies before us right now.

My questíon for you is: what are YOU aiming for? All great performers in life have a specific aim or objective. The archer is shooting for the bull's eye. The ship's captain is aiming for a specific port. What are you aiming for?

"Create The Outcome That You Desire"

This time of year holds the most promise for you over all other times of the year. You have a whole new year to create the outcome you desire. Your sales board for this year has a big zero on it. All the challenges, victories, and hard work you did last year are gone.

Many Agents go through a real panic at this time of year. They wonder if they can do it again. Will they be able to grow their business the way they have outlined it? What if the economy and the market change for the worst?

"Protect Yourself When The Market Changes"

It's very easy to get upset, become highly emotional, or even be depressed at the beginning of a new year. I have a few clients whom I go through this drill with every year. These clients are doing huge numbers annually but always are concerned if they can do it again. My guidance to them is: every year we have a January 1st, and every year we start over. All the concern, dread, and depression truly do not make things turn out better. Usually, it zaps a whole lot of energy that could be ínvested in more productive activities. Especially this time of year, we need the control of our emotions.

In life we have two tanks of energy that we need to protect. The two tanks contain our emotional energy and our physical energy. The physical energy tank can be filled easily through rest and recreation. You can often refill your physical energy tank in a long weekend. Your emotional energy tank takes longer and refills slower. It is paramount that you protect it. You are the one who controls the drain valve. At this time of year, control the drain valve well. If you control your emotions you can control the drain.

"Control Your Drain Valve"

Through coaching Agents for years, I realize we also let other people control our emotional tank drain valve. People such as that difficult seller that makes their lack of equity in their home somehow your problem or your fault, or that buyer who doesn't trust any Agent they work with. All these types of people are trying to get their hands on your emotional drain valve.

Resolve this year to take better control of your emotions. Resolve to control your clients better to not allow them access to your emotional energy tank.

Have a successful year!

www.jfd.ca

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www.jfd.ca

Pour tout vos besoins de papeterie. Cartes d'affaires, publipostage, aimants,
Jim Dolan est notre fournisseur official. Recement Jim a commencé son site web¨où on peut s'enregistrer et faire nos commandes. Faites le aujourd'hui.

www.jfd.ca

Maximising your time allocation

One of the biggest misconceptions in the real estate industry is that you are in a 24/7 industry. Many agents, new and veteran alike, feel they must commit every hour of every day to their jobs.

While commitment and dedication are cornerstones in reaching success, there also must be balance between career and personal life. It's time to get a plan in place to better control your time in 2006.

Everyone is given 24 hours each day. How we ration these hours into seven days over 52 weeks varies from person to person. Some people have learned the art of getting more ROI (return on investment) from time spent. Using simple time management techniques, they are able to be more effective than those scrambling to fit everything into a daily schedule. Until you get a grip on how you spend your time, this will always be a major problem.

The first lesson in taking control of your time is to define what your want to achieve. Start by identifying specifically what you want to accomplish. Your target can not be generic - it must be clearly written as your specific goal. You will probably wind up with several goals: farming, listings, sales, networking, advertising, etc. These various category goals form your business plan.

Now, each category goal must have objectives. Again, objectives must be specific (i.e. exact number of listings, closings, marketing expenditures, etc.) Set SMART targets:

S = Specific target (exactly where you're aiming)

M = Measurement (weekly)

A = Action plan (a step-by-step course to reach the target

R = Resources (allocation of time and money)

T = Time deadline (limit each target to 30 days)

Your overall target might exceed 30 days. Break it into 30-day segments. Any SMART target beyond 30 days loses momentum and is less likely to be achieved.

Once you have your targets established, focus on how much time will be needed and allocated daily, weekly or monthly for a particular target. Not all of your objectives will be of equal importance. It will be necessary to prioritize. Here's a proven time management system I use in training classes:

Top Priority (Most Urgent/Most Important)

The one task you place as No. 1 priority must be the most urgent and most important item on your ?to-do? list at that precise moment. The vital rule to keep in mind is: You can only work on ONE top priority at ONE time. The tendency to rotate your ?hot? tasks and do a little work on each one is like a juggler attempting to keep six balls in the air at one time. You never seem to get any one task completed. Choose the most urgent and most important job and concentrate on it.

Second Priority (Important/Not Urgent)

Here's where you have a prioritized list of other tasks that are not considered most urgent/most important at this time. These tasks are moved into the Top Priority slot once the previous No. 1 has been completed. Take care to not overload the Second Priority list. Keep in mind, these tasks are important and need your attention but they are not critical at the moment.

Third Priority (?Urgent?/Not Important)

Notice the quote marks on ?Urgent.? Many tasks are labeled urgent by people who do not have a true, clear perspective of the job to be done but they shout the critical alarm call to seek immediate action. This category contains tasks that need to be done eventually but not urgently in your estimation. By scheduling bits of time throughout the day, these projects can be nibbled on and perhaps completed before they reach the top two priority rungs.

Fourth Priority (Not Urgent/Not Important)

There has to be a place for ?stuff? and here it is—filing, clearing your desk, reading, follow-up calls and all the other things that must be included in your daily, weekly or monthly activities. Beware: This category often jams your time management program because it gets overloaded with small ?stuff.? Don't minimize the importance of getting these tasks done. They are just not as urgent and important as your other prioritized jobs at the moment but they do need to be placed on your ?to-do? list and time set aside to complete them.

To get a handle on your time in the New Year, start now setting goals and SMART targets to begin the process of prioritizing your tasks to get the best ROI from each day.

7 steps to new clients

In my work as a business coach for real estate agents, I meet with people every day who have dreams of creating success in their business. Sadly, most of them are saying the same thing, “I hate marketing, I just want to do what I’m good at without having to market myself. “ The truth about getting more clients is that it’s not that difficult, it just requires following some simple steps.

• Focus: How do you get to where you want to be unless you know where you are going? I always teach my clients a visualization in which they imagine where they want to be professionally in 1 year from today. How much money do you want to be earning? How many hours a week do you want to work? What kind of clients do you want to work with in your real estate business?

• Strategies: Once you’re clear about where you want to be, you need to create strategies to get there. I tell people, “if you already knew what strategies to use, you’d probably already be there.” Strategies help you to chunk big visions into tangible, bite size action steps. What strategies do you already know? Which do you need help on?

• Accountability: How accountable are you to yourself? Most people I coach as real estate agents find it far too easy to slide in keeping their agreements with themselves. The magical thing about coaching is that when you have a witness to your accountability, you are much more likely to do what you said you’d do. Just knowing that someone cares and will ask you every week, “How did that action step go?”, is huge incentive to staying on track.

• Discovery: As a former psychologist, one of my passions is helping people discover how they block them themselves and get in their own way of success. What I find is that everyone needs to reprogram some self-limiting beliefs, like “I don’t have what it takes to succeed” or “I don’t deserve to have a lot of money”. Another block is that most people suffer from subconscious sabotaging strategies, like procrastination

• Perspective: We all spin our wheels and get caught up in our narrow perspective. The best investment we can make in getting more clients is to have a mentor or a coach around us that give us the option of another perspective

• Support: If you are in business for yourself , you need all the support you can get. As you put yourself out there to get more clients, you are assuming the responsibility of helping these clients. Who helps you? Who do you lean on? It is invaluable to have a support team or a committed ally in your corner.

• Celebration: How often do you celebrate yourself? As a coach who teaches people how to get more clients I find that learning to celebrate not only your successes but also your efforts is the way to a long a healthy career. By learning to stop, pause and validate yourself for what you’ve done keeps this process light , fun and exciting.