Coming soon to the VAR Update Magazine!

We have approached our business in a more business - like manner this year. Each contact we make with clients is less casual and more intentional. We encourage our agents to be more informed about the market through trainings, blogs and in mastermind groups so they can give their clients the right information to make informed decisions whether buying, selling or deciding to enter the market as an investor. We also have encouraged our agents to increase activity and touch points with clients to have more impact and hopefully this will result in more referrals and sales.

As far as gas prices go, we are more efficient with our daily efforts. When looking for one client, stop by and see a past one who is nearby. It encourages contacts as well as promotes better time management.

If approached with the your eyes and ears open, looking for opportunities, giving good solid advice and increasing your sphere on a daily basis, you will propel yourself into the next boom market. There are always opportunities in every market. Agents who find and help clients take advantage of the right opportunites will succeed, especially in the market we are experiencing. It is any easy market to say things aren't going well when, in fact, many agents are thriving in today's environment. We continually remind our agents to keep an open mind and listen to what the market is telling them. You can't keep doing business the way we did it in the past. If you do, you are more than likely setting yourself up for failure.

For a long time we avoided short sales in our market. Agents and banks alike didn't know how to approach them and as a result, they were extremely frustrating. Our agents and buyers were at their wits end when trying to deal with the situation they put themselves in by trying to work with homes in short sale situations. But, as I mentioned earlier, there are opportunities in every market. We are now educating our agents on how to work with sellers and banks to get better and quicker responses to get more sales through as listing agents. We have learned which companies are facilitators and which ones don't get results. When working as buyer agents, we look at the history of other listing agent and the success they have had in getting sort sales closed. No results, no contracts from our agents. Education is the key.

Three things are: Increase your education and knowledge of our market. Knowledge and use of knowledge is power. Become an expert.
Get out there - don't just sit there and wait for it to happen because it won't. Make yourself visible to those you know and more importantly, those you don't. Your sphere of influence is your best bet for referrals and business. Let them know what you know.
Get involved. Its not all about business. Give back to your community by being part of your hoa, coaching kids, becoming part of a charitable endeavor, or PTA. The more you give, the more you get!

Who knows? You can only make an educated guess. If we continue to "flush" out the foreclosures and short sales as we have recently in our market and jobs continue to come to northern Virginia. We will see prices begin to turn around. The pace of sales are good but prices in some areas continue to fall. Until the leverage situation turns around, prices will remain low and our move up market will be affected. Until we see more owner to owner sales, we will stay in the market we are in for some time. It could be another 18 months of what we see is what we get. Therefore you, as an agent, need to get busy.