I personally love reading about "ideas and insights that others have learned. Our market has changed, and I'm open to discovering anything that can help me along the way. That's why I'm reblogging Melissa's post.
For those of you who do not know me personally, I'm a reader. I have a college degree in English, an advanced degree in English, and I was even an English teacher (I know; you're rolling your eyes). I've read quite a few books. In fact, one of my biggest pleasures vices is buying books over the Internet. It's a lucky thing for the Realtors® who work in our office because I have the largest local lending library of real estate related books. And, believe it or not, the book that is borrowed more than any other is SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, by Gary Keller with Dave Jenks and Jay Papasan.
There's no doubt that real estate agent readers gravitate towards this book because of the title. After all, these are tough times in real estate! But Keller (who also authored The Millionaire Real Estate Agent among other titles) does a wonderful job in outlining the twelve steps and strategies required to make a SHIFT and improve upon the agent's approach to his or her own real estate career.
In the text, Keller reviews such topics as lead generation, lead conversion, and creative financing. But, I'm fairly confident that right now the most finely combed tactic reviewed in this book is "Master the Market of the Moment."
There are many veteran and novice agents for whom this new market has been a challenge. After all, there were no questions about our unique and challenging market on the real estate exam and there were no chapters about getting a lender to approve a short sale in the Real Estate Principles class. Keller reviews what he calls the Market of the Moment and provides tips and tools that can help agents develop mastery.
Personally, I'm always up for a challenge. That's why the market of the moment has been so much fun for me and that's why I have embraced so many of the practices reviewed in this book. With 2010 just around the corner, there is no better time than right now to lay out a business plan and move forward-perhaps even making changes (shifts) in previous sales techniques and tactics.
Author and Philosopher Joseph Campbell said, "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come." This means that you must shed the dead skin (or unsuccessful business tactics) in your business plan and move forward to try new things. If you use the tactics outlined in Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, I'm confident that you will see some new and pleasing results in your real estate career.
(By the way, if you have not read SHIFT, you can purchase the book by going to http://giftofshift.com/activerain)
Broker, Realtor®
DRE #01324959
Broadpoint Properties, Inc
San Diego County Short Sale Specialists
Short Sale Expeditor®If you enjoyed this post, why not connect with me in these other communities?
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice; Phoenix and Mesa Real Estate Blog; Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog
Teri,
Yes, it's time to "shift" gears: anything we do now in our business will bear fruit in 2010.
Merry Christmas.
We are just planning on leaving for a Christmas vacation . It might be a good book to take along Thanks for the suggestion.
This book is getting publicity - I wrote a post about it myself