It's not every day that a brand will allow its best agents to give away their trade secrets, but Number1Expert is doing exactly that with its new available-to-anyone website feature called "Profiles."

In one-to-one interviews with top performing customers, Number1Expert finds pearls of wisdom that all agents can use.

Take the interview with multi-million dollar producer Connie Erickson.

Last year Connie Erickson did $27.6 million in the second-home market of Door County, Wisconsin. She is an instructor for the Graduate Realtor Institute, and has attained the following designations: ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES, RRS. She is a Realtor, a Star Power Star, and a Number1Expert.

She knows what she's talking about. This is good stuff, especially for new agents, to whom she advises, "Work on getting listings, because if you don't list, you won't last."

On the importance of goal setting, good organization, consistency and patience, Erickson has this to say:

"Goal setting is so unbelievably powerful. Goals must be (1) specific, (2) written down, and (3) have a time frame. Just making the commitment to put it in writing helps you get there. In my company, we review the goals on a weekly basis."

On getting organized, she says:

"Good organization is a hard thing to do in this business because we are constantly interrupted. You have to be able to multi-task. You want to get to where all your business is repeat and referral but it is fragile, because if you aren't paying attention to the details you can jeopardize it all in a really short amount of time.

On success, Erickson muses:

"With any top producer, you'll always find they are extremely consistent. In this world where everything moves really fast, and people are always trying to get you to short cut, you have to have a level of service from which you don't deviate. You have to stick with it, because that's what makes the difference between a top producer and an average producer."

"You have to have a lot of patience in this business, because everybody wants it right now, and you have to rely on lots of people to help do your job. I have a team of 7 full time people who work just for me, and one of the things I have to teach them is patience. Everything is not going to move at the speed you want."

"Most of the people in this business just sit back and wait for business to fall in their lap. It isn't going to work that way. You can't just show up. It's a really hard business. It gets easier as time goes on but you don't work less hard, you just work smarter."

"Initially you have to work long, long hours. You also have to be able to take a lot of rejection. You have to be able to just go on to the next one. It's just a game of numbers, where you keep going till you hit something. And goal setting really helps you get there."

Are there any shortcuts? Shortcut the learning curve, suggests Erickson.

"Find somebody who is successful and copy them. Go up to someone who is successful in your office, and say, 'You've got the answers for everything. I've got a listing appointment, would you have any hints for me?' Sometimes you can find someone who will let you shadow them, follow them around, and that's the best thing you can do."

"I paid a top agent to follow her around for 2 and a half days. I got on a plane and flew across the country to do it. It's the best money I every spent. At the time, she was doing 150 units a year. I came out of there knowing I have to spend all my time listing, selling, prospecting and negotiating. If you are going to be a big producer, you have to find somebody else to do the rest."

"The agent I shadowed really walked the talk. She would have 5 listings appointment in a day, come back to the office and drop the file on her listing specialists' desk. That's the last time she touched it -- until she negotiated the offer to purchase. She had a team that did everything else, so she could spend all her time listing, selling, prospecting and negotiating."

What about marketing? She says to spend 20 to 22 percent on marketing when you start out.

Erickson spends $60,000 annually on both postal and Internet mailings. "If you do not keep your name in front of people, they will not remember who you are." She uses "memory pegs" to get people to remember her, and uses Howard Brinton and his stars who "made my career." She also credits Number1Expert with helping her generate "18 percent of my business from the Internet."

"You have to be on the Internet. 83 percent of the people use the internet now when looking for real estate. And it's more important to have your own site than rely on the company you work for."

"Allocate a portion of what you are bringing in towards building your business. When you are starting out it's probably around 20 to 22 percent. When you get to my level it should be around 10 to 11 percent. Allocate a certain portion for the Internet."

What about giving back to the community? Give your time, she says.

"It's really, really important to give back to the community. I was in the business 13 months before I made a dime. My first commission was $350. After 18-20 months I still had made just $8000. So when you start out you don't have any money to give back. But you do have time. So I gave a lot of my time to the local board and to the non-profits, including a retirement community."

"I just listed a $499,000 home, and the reason the seller chose me was because she happened to have worked with me at this retirement community, and she felt I was very kind to the residents there. So when you start out there's a lot of things you can do to give of your time. It works for you in more ways than you can know."

"After two years of coming to this community, knowing no one, my community gave me Realtor of the year award. People want to work with people who they know and like. And who give their time."

"As you become more successful, you have less time and more money. We donate $40,000 per year to different organizations in our community. Over the last 20 years we have given over $800,000."

Her parting shot? Erickson says you need a current picture of yourself. "Don't surprise them when you show up!"

What's most striking about Erickson's advice is her common sense. She's not sharing secrets. She does the things every day that any trainer, broker or seasoned vet would tell any new or struggling agent to do. The difference is -- she does them.

Are you willing to do what it takes?

Published: March 28, 2007

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.