Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance))

386 Pages·2006·3.36 MB·English

by  Dirk Zeller

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Success as a
Real Estate Agent
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Dirk Zeller
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01_799556 ffirs.qxp 5/31/06 7:23 PM Page i
Success as a
Real Estate Agent
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Dirk Zeller
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Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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About the Author
Dirk Zeller,who as an agent rose to the top of the real estate field quickly,
has been on a meteoric rise since he began his career in 1990.
Throughout his sales career, Dirk was recognized numerous times as one of
the leading agents in North America. He has been described by industry
insiders as the most successful agent in terms of high production with life
balance. His ability to sell more than 150 homes annually, while only working
Monday through Thursday and taking Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off
weekly, is legendary in the real estate field.
Dirk turned his selling success into coaching significance through founding
Real Estate Champions. Real Estate Champions is the premier coaching com-
pany in the real estate industry with clients worldwide. Dirk’s clients average
more than a $200,000 increase in their income annually. Dirk has created such
revolutionary programs as “Protect Your Commission,” “Stewardship Selling,”
“The Champion Listing Agent,” and “Positioning Yourself as the Expert.”
These programs and others like them have changed the lives of hundreds of
thousands of real estate agents worldwide.
Dirk is one of the most published authors in the areas of success, life balance,
sales training, and business development in the real estate field. He has more
than 250 published articles to his credit. His weekly Coaches Cornernewslet-
ter is read by over 200,000 subscribers each week. His book Your First Year
in Real Estate(Prima Publishing) has sold just shy of 100,000 copies in just a
few years.
Dirk is also one of the most sought-after speakers in the real estate arena.
He has spoken to agents and managers at the local, regional, national, and
international level for most of the large real estate brands, such as Coldwell
Banker, RE/MAX, Century 21, ERA, and Prudential. He has shared the stage
with such notable speakers as Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, and Les Brown.
Besides contributing to the real estate agent community, Dirk and his wife of
16 years, Joan, are very active in their church. They live with their 4-year-old
son, Wesley, and 8-month-old daughter, Annabelle, in Bend, Oregon.
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Dedication
So many people have contributed to my success in life, from my parents to
my two brothers, my mentors and coaches, and now my two children, Wesley
and Annabelle. No one, however, has contributed to my success in the real
estate field more than my wife, Joan. I dedicate this book to her: my supporter,
encourager, coach, role play partner, accountability partner, and best friend.
The success that has been achieved in real estate sales, writing, speaking,
training, and coaching was achieved only through our partnership. We did it
together! Some 16 years later, I’m still amazed at God’s grace in giving me a
wife without compare.
Author’s Acknowledgments
Just as a successful business is always a collaborative effort, so is a book.
While I receive the unfair lion’s share of the credit, countless others are
behind the scenes making me look good.
To Barbara Schenck, who took my experiences, strategies, thoughts, and
techniques and put them into the Dummies format you enjoy, thank you. This
book would not exist without your enduring effort and patience.
To the team at Real Estate Champions, an incredible group of people who
change people’s lives each day, you are the best. Thank you to our support
staff of Judy Cox and Julie Porfirio whose loyalty all these years means so
much to me and to Luci Hamilton and Mary Stewart whose passion to serve
others is unparalleled. A special thanks to Rachelle Cotton who arduously
read every unreadable handwritten word and typed, corrected, and revised
the whole manuscript while enduring every last-minute induced deadline . . .
Thanks.
To our coaches and salespeople who really change the lives of everyone they
touch; to our marketing staff of Dan Matejsek and Shaylor Murray; everyone
at Real Estate Champions had a hand in this book.
I also need to thank the team at Wiley. Tracy Boggier, acquisition editor,
Chrissy Guthrie, project editor, Jessica Smith, copy editor, and the Composi-
tion Department. You are truly pros at what you do. I also want to thank Ken
Edwards, technical reviewer, as well as my literary agent, Barry Neville, of
The Neville Agency.
Lastly, I must thank my personal clients and our Real Estate Champions
clients. With you constantly challenging us and wanting passionately to
improve, you drive us to work so hard to stay ahead. It would be easy to
become complacent, but you don’t let us. Thanks!
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration
form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services
Media Development
Project Coordinator: Jennifer Theriot
Project Editor: Christina Guthrie
Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell, Karl Brandt,
Acquisitions Editor: Tracy Boggier Carl Byers, Stephanie D. Jumper,
Barbara Moore, Barry Offringa,
Copy Editors: Sarah Faulkner,Jessica Smith
Alicia B. South
Editorial Program Coordinator: Hanna K. Scott
Proofreaders: John Greenough,
Technical Editor: Dr. Kenneth W. Edwards Jessica Kramer, Christy Pingleton,
Editorial Manager:Christine Meloy Beck Techbooks
Editorial Assistant: Erin Calligan, Nadine Bell, Indexer: Techbooks
David Lutton Special Help
Cover Photos: © Jeff Cadge/Getty Images Elizabeth Rea
Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan,Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction.................................................................1
Part I: Acquiring the Keys to Real Estate Success...........7
Chapter 1: Discovering the Skills of a Successful Agent................................................9
Chapter 2: Residential versus Commercial: Deciding Which Type
of Real Estate Is Right for You......................................................................................21
Chapter 3: Pairing with the Right Agency.....................................................................41
Chapter 4: Researching and Understanding Your Marketplace.................................61
Part II: Prospecting for Buyers and Sellers ...................73
Chapter 5: Prospecting Your Way to Listings and Sales..............................................75
Chapter 6: Mining Gold from Referrals..........................................................................95
Chapter 7: Winning Business from Expired and FSBO Listings................................115
Chapter 8: A Time-Tested Prospecting Tool: Planning and Hosting
a Successful Open House............................................................................................139
Chapter 9: Presenting and Closing Listing Contracts................................................157
Part III: Developing a Winning Sales Strategy............183
Chapter 10: Determining a Home’s Ideal List Price....................................................185
Chapter 11: Getting the House Ready for Showing....................................................203
Chapter 12: Marketing Yourself and Your Properties Online and in Print..............221
Chapter 13: Negotiating the Contract and Closing the Deal.....................................245
Part IV: Running a Successful Real Estate Business....261
Chapter 14: Staking Your Competitive Position.........................................................263
Chapter 15: Keeping Clients for Life............................................................................281
Chapter 16: Maximizing Your Time..............................................................................305
Part V: The Part of Tens ............................................327
Chapter 17: Ten Must-Haves for a Successful Real Estate Agent.............................329
Chapter 18: Ten Tips for Working with Buyers...........................................................335
Chapter 19: Ten Biggest Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.....................................341
Chapter 20: Ten Web Sites for Real Estate Agents.....................................................347
Index.......................................................................351
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