If you believe much of what you read, then you believe that a great many real estate agents are sitting around wringing their hands and waiting nervously for the next "shoe" to drop, probably right on their heads…

Frankly, that is not what I observe. Over the past several weeks I had the opportunity to travel quite a bit and spoke to many audiences. Everywhere I went, people were upbeat. In my audiences I felt true excitement and a genuine sense of happiness and gratitude for all that we are blessed to have. I saw real estate professionals eager to work and build their businesses as well as celebrate and reunite with those they love. Regardless of what some spin-doctors may say, there is great hope and faith in the future of real estate.

However, agents are looking for hands-on tips for keeping their enthusiasm going and their energy high. They need their energy to move people off of their hesitancy and into the market. The "We want to wait" excuse is heard more than ever. Here are what the great agents are doing to stay great:

• Focus

  Keep your eyes on the donut and not the hole. Work high-priority activities and let go of the things that make no money for you and drag the energy out of you at the same time.

• Make a commitment

  Do what you say that you will do; never anything less. Some people have no idea what a real commitment is. They commit only subject to this or that. That’s not a commitment. That’s an equivocation. Commitment means failure is not an option. Are you up to taking on that responsibility? If not, work on it immediately.

• Follow the four-part formula

  This is a requirement and not optional. It’s the way to get to the top and stay there:

  1. Bring in a salable listing every week
  2. Separate lookers from buyers
  3. Get buyer listing agreements signed every time!
  4. Show and sell your listings first

• Set realistic and attainable goals

  If you have no goal, you have no motivation. Why you are doing what you are doing is as important to achieving success as the steps you use to achieve the desired result. When there is a clear goal to be achieved at the end of the journey, you are far more likely to head toward it and not veer off in the wrong direction.

• Get back to the basics

  If you are thinking that you are above the basics, then you do not understand the basics. Doing the basics does not mean doing business in an unsophisticated manner; quite the contrary. It means that real estate is a sales profession and the product we sell is real estate. In sales we must prospect, cultivate leads, partner with people and built trust, effectively handle objections and be a super closer. These are the basics in question. How you achieve and master these things is up to you. The point is, master them ASAP and do them again and again.

• Market to make the phone ring

  When the phone rings, opportunity can’t be far away. Getting the phone to ring is crucial to a steady stream of business (and income) and is the best way to hedge difficult times. Here are a few musts:

  1. Phone prospect evenings between 4:00 and 9:00 p.m.and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m. By the way, many states now have telemarketing laws. Remember this: you are not a telemarketer. You are not selling a thing. You are calling to see if the owner has a real estate need. You are eliminating people who are not interested in listing or buying now or in the near future.

  2. Book your prospecting time as though it were a listing appointment. I often ask my students if they have ever missed a really hot listing appointment or "blown off" a real buyer? Of course the answer is "No, why would we do that?" Well, blowing off your prospecting time is as bad as that, and agents do it all the time. That’s because they do not hold it in the same regard as they hold the other appointments. That’s wrong and must stop. Without prospects we are out of sales. Even agents who get 75% of their business from referrals still need to generate new sources of business. That’s just the way sales continue and business grows.

  3. Invest money to have people come to see you. Follow this formula: contact your database(s) 16 times annually, 12 by mail and/or e-mail and phone or see them 4 times. The mail maintains the relationship and the personal contact generates the leads.

  4. Be professional in all of your marketing pieces. Don’t pacify a seller by advertising a house that will only help to sell other houses. That’s a dangerous form of agent/seller suicide. Advertise to generate interest and leads.

  5. Close, close, close…remember, an agent that neglects to close (because of poor skills or perhaps fear) is an agent that walks away from a great deal of business. Closing is the natural progression in a great presentation. Without the close, the seller or buyer is not sure what to do next. Take them there with you, or as they say, lead them and they will follow!