Coach Dan Foster | Purpose Driven Broker

It seems like everywhere I turn there is an article or blog post written for professionals that are struggling in this challenging market. As in every business cycle there is another group of professionals that are consistently “hitting it out of the park” and having a great year. If you find yourself in the latter category, this post is for you. I want to encourage you with these five steps to keep you engaged and continuing on the road to a productive and successful year.

My team and I recently had the opportunity to plan a large event that benefited our chamber of commerce and local artists. It was an event that took eight months to plan and required a lot of hard work from my volunteers. The day after the event I was asked why I thought the event was successful and what I learned from the experience. I was not able to give a complete answer at the time but now that I’ve had a few days to reflect on the question I can. Below is a list of seven tips that I believe will help you plan a great client party, benefit event, retreat, or fundraiser in your local community.

This morning I had the opportunity to interview Lee Dunn, Vice President/Principal Broker and Risk Reduction Manager for Prudential Northwest Properties. The interview was a part of my monthly webinar series where I interview leaders and sales professionals in the real estate industry. This month Lee and I discussed how to run a low risk and profitable business in today’s real estate market. Lee provides us with his Top 10 Risk Reduction Tips and answers to audience questions.

Let’s be honest, holding an open house is more for the benefit of a real estate broker than it is for a home owner. The 2009 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reports that only 46% of home buyers used open houses as a means of searching for homes. Most articles that I have read tell me that only 1-2% of home buyers actually purchase a home they visited during an open house. I encourage you to share these stats with your seller and be completely honest with them about the probability of an open house leading to a sale of their home. If they still request an open house or allow you to hold one for your own benefit, than consider these eight tips for holding a successful open house.