Increase The Value Of Your Services!

What are some ways that you can increase the value of your Services as a Real Estate Agent? Well, most people are going to say advertise more, do more image ads, get more credentials after your name, etc. That is all well intended but it is not going to create more value in your services as a Real Estate Agent in and of itself.

You must begin with yourself! If you are not spending one hour per day on your own self development it will not matter what you do on the outside. You must take time for yourself. If you are burning the candle at both ends juggling your business, family and social life you will burn out quickly. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing that you can do for your family, business and those you serve. As a Real Estate Agent you are being called upon to go above and beyond what is expected and what is expected is increasing each year. Your clients will respect you if you respect yourself. You can not give when you have nothing left to give!

Here are some ways that you can spend your one hour per day:

• Meditate through Transcendental Meditation.
• Meditate visually creating your perfect day.
• Read books on self development. (see my profile of favorite books)
• Listen to audios of Self development ( not Real Estate Trainings)
• Watch the movie ‘The Secret’.
• Read Scriptures and spend time in prayer
• Read your affirmations
• Write in your journal
• Meditate on what you are Thankful for
• Write down your dreams and goals
• Take the Passion Test
• Write down your Gratitudes daily
• Make your vision board

There are many more ways; this is just a good start. If you are interested in finding out more please email me. If you feel you need someone to coach you and keep you inline to reach your potential and your greatness; email me at Katerinag@bellsouth.net and we can set up a coaching interview. I do coaching and consulting for Real Estate Agents. I am a Realtor and a Business, Career, Health and Personal Coach, Real Estate Business Consultant, trainer and speaker. I love referrals! Yours In Real Estate, Katerina

What are You Worth?

As a Real Estate Agent you wear many hats from being a chauffer to being a counselor.
You might not even realize how much time you spend in certain tasks that are part of being a Real Estate Agent.
What are you doing on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis in your business?
The best way to find out is to keep a log for about 3 to 4 weeks of all your activities and the time that you spend in each one of the activities. After that go through your list of activities, add the totals of time you spent in each area. Now you can see in which areas you are spending your time and what you are doing on a consistent basis in your business. You may also notice activities that you did not consider part of your work day. I know Real Estate Agents who network a few times a week around happy hour. That is self promotion and is a real work activity. I know Real Estate Agents who are not counting the time they take to work on their websites, checking emails and reading online industry materials. There are Agents who do not count their ongoing education, seminars, and self development as part of their work day. These all are very important activities to make sure you will be successful and they need to be factored in so that you can get a gauge of how much you are worth and what you can do to improve your worth.

Now add up the total time you spent on your business activities for one month. Take your total net income for the month divided by the hours you worked to get an idea of how much you are being 'paid' per hour. If you do not like what you see and want to be paid more than there are many things you can do to improve your worth as a Real Estate Agent.

I tell all my coaching clients to work more on yourself than you do on your business. Your business can only grow to the extent that you grow. This is the fastest and best way to increase your worth as a Real Estate Agent.

What is the Media printing about commissions in your Area?

Palm Beach Post 3/23/07 printed an article on the front page titled,
" Realtors' 6% cut continues dip, but big prices lift pay."
I sent a letter to the editor and posted comments on their blog,"The Real Deal".
We must be careful not to violate anti trust laws regarding commissions.
We can speak out against untruths about our industry and commissions.

I have not had a problem with negotiating my real estate fee. I know what I am worth, I know what I offer as service to my clients and I also know that if I accept a lower fee than what I am worth there has not been a fair exchange and that leads to ill feelings and disrespect. If I can not stick to my terms negotiating with my seller how am I going to be able to be a strong negotiator for him/her once an offer comes in?

The point in the Palm Beach Florida Post was totally one sided. Not once was it noted that Real Estate Agents expenses go up so they are not really making more money when they lower their fee even if the prices of the houses are higher as stated in the article. Not once did it state how low the average Real Estate Agents yearly income really is.

Most Real Estate Agents that I know work more than 60 hours per week and almost always work on weekends. They go above and beyond the call of duty providing service to their customers. Being a Real Estate Agent is an honorable profession and agents need to stand up and really tell the community what all is entailed in their day to day business. If you average out your gross income minus your expenses and then divided by the hours you work you will see what your average hourly wage is. Then go tell what that is to the Palm Beach Post.

There is this negative stigma attached to being paid a commission. Like 'commission' is a dirty word! Well, let's see; we pay all the advertising on behalf of our customers upfront irregardless of whether the property is sold or not, we drive prospective buyers around whether or not they buy a property and much more. Do we get reimbursed if the property does not sell? NO!
We get paid a commission because we worked for it just like those who get a salary work for it.

Real Estate Agents also pump alot of money back into the economy directly and indirectly through buying and driving cars, advertising, placing ads in all mediums, through recommending mortgage brokers, painters, plumbers, builders, repairmen, lawn services, cleaning services, title companies, attorneys, appraisers, Air conditioning companies, Staging consultants, Insurance agents, surveyors and the list goes on!

Please post your comments on my blog regarding this post. I would love to hear from you.
You can also email me at Katerinag@bellsouth.net for coaching and consulting information for Real Estate Agents. I am a Realtor and a Business, Career, Health and Personal Coach, Real Estate Business Consultant, trainer and speaker. Yours In Real Estate, Katerina