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The Economy
Okay, so this one is a given, really. With the housing market currently weighing down the entire economy, it only makes sense that your grand days of selling a neighborhood of houses a month are over.

But for those of you who have been in the game for a while, you knew that the all-you-can-sell buffet was not going to last forever. Now that the plates have been cleared and the bus boy has wiped the table clean, it’s time you learn how to cook for yourself. Luckily, you’ve probably been through this before.

And for those who joined in when the getting was good, you’re now seeing how hard it is to be an agent in a down market.

Just think, though: there was a time when interest rates were at 19%. If agents could move houses then, you can move houses now.

Your Approach
Over-the-top selling is so 2006. Nowadays, people are craving honesty, not salesmanship. Gone are the days when you could convince a home buyer that the ticky-tacky two story on the strawberry lot ten miles from the highway would only increase in value. Buying was more about leveraging and less about lasting consequences, since staying in the home for five or more years was not too likely.

Today though, you need to sell a home, not just a building. Buyers today are not looking for a quick turn-around or a beefy boost to their portfolio. They want a haven. And with the old adage that ‘home values can only rise’ having been thrown out the second story window, if they’re buying, it’s to settle down for decades, not years.

Your job now is to perfect the tie between house and human, to make sure that the building you’re selling is a home and not just bricks and mortar. Your approach should be to listen more, talk less and seek out the perfect fit.

Your Tools
You don’t get it—that bus stop bench is in the perfect location. So why hasn’t anyone called?

Maybe it’s because you’re still mailing out postcards to potential clients with nary an e-mail address or website listed. With more than 90% of home buyers using the Internet to search for a home, if you do not have a Web presence, you might as well be using smoke signals to get your name out there.

New home buyers are looking to stay connected with you just like they would with anyone else in their lives. They want online access, so friend your clients on Facebook, use DotLoop’s text-alert system when negotiating a deal, and create an informative and helpful website for yourself.

After all, the only time a client is going to connect with you via a bench ad is when they are texting you while waiting at the bus stop.

Your Passion
Okay, you’re online, you’re genuine and you’re using all the right tools and online channels to communicate with your clients. So, why are you still stuck?

It may just be that you’re no longer interested in real estate. At least, not like you once were. And that’s okay. Before you declare that you’re an agent and always have been and that real estate is in your blood, take a minute to really ask yourself: do you care anymore?

Maybe you don’t, but perhaps you will again in the future. Or maybe it’s time to move onto another career path. With today’s shaky housing market, only the most fervent and passionate will be able to wade through.

The real estate industry is in the midst of a radical transformation. How you leverage technology, your approach and your passion will determine whether you will be an agent five years from now. Change is inevitable, but not always easy. But remember: change always starts with you.

Are you ready to crush it once again?

DotLoop was designed specifically to overcome the challenges of the traditional real estate negotiation process. DotLoop marries the technological with the traditional, creating a collaborative online environment that uses the Internet as a tool agents can use to connect with their clients, saving them time and money. Our system allows the agent and client the ability to interact on their own terms, dissolving distance and sending fax machines further into obsolescence.

For more information, visit www.dotloop.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

Copyright© 2010 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.

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The 4th of July weekend is one of the most important weekends we have for the entire year and I do not want anybody to forget what our troops do for us and give us on a daily basis! They give us Freedom! Freedom to invest in real estate, Freedom to spend time with our families without getting harmed, Freedom to do anything we desire! So with that being said, enjoy the holiday weekend and support our troops! On this week’s Friday Coffee Break we dive into how the fact that, whether you are aware or it or not, our short sale business has drastically changed in the last two years. Banks used to take huge discounts just by picking up the phone and asking! Now they battle for each and every penny. What does that mean for me and you? Simple. Change your business model just like we did so you can now profit off of every real estate lead that comes across your desk! Listen in as I go over how we adapted our real estate business to fit the current changes and how you to need to follow suit or you will be out of business! Also listen in as I cover how long BPO’s are good for when working a short sale deal, whether or not HOA fees can be negotiated on a short sale transaction, where any new investor should start their real estate investing career, whether or not you should submit back up offers to a foreclosing lender, whether a buyer should lose their deposit on a bank owned property if there is an easement issue, whether a Bank of America Loan Officer is any better of a short sale negotiator than you or I, and much much more.

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