It's been said that "timing is everything" but do you ever get the feeling that you are in the wrong place … doing the wrong thing … at the wrong time? When the reality finally hits us that our magic is no longer working it is like waking from a bad dream. We don't want to get out of bed and face the truth before us.

Veterans in real estate know this all too well. The only certainty in life is change. Survivors have found that by successfully recognizing the changing trends and adapting their marketing efforts and budgets was the key to continued success. Nothing is new in real estate and real estate is always dominated by market fluctuations and change. High interest rates, low rates, too few buyers and too few sellers make some interesting scenarios for those of us that work real estate as full time professionals. In today's frantic real estate market it is not "Who moved the cheese," but rather "Who stole it?"

Even in good times real estate is a career that is built on morphing ourselves to adapt to changes in the economy its demands. In real estate there will always be factors outside our control that we have to wrestle with to earn a good living. The basic laws of supply and demand and the health of the economy both local and national impact us daily in our livelihoods. In our own corner of the world it always seems to boil down to that we are dealing with too many competing agents vying for the same sales that we are interested in. Discounting and doing work for free is not the solution and only ensures an even quicker demise.

In the past to insulate ourselves from these wild fluctuations of personal income and production many of us have carved out niches in our markets and that worked very well. We became specialists in the obscure and overlooked corners of real estate. We defined niches where there was less competition for us and we did well, and prospered. We sold lake homes, second homes, equestrian estates, golf course homes, condos, lofts, luxury homes, lots and land, did assemblages, specialized in historic properties, sold new homes, and worked investors. We were successful. Working those niches proved to be an excellent choice provided a very lucrative income.

However, it was so rewarding and so easy that many of us cannot give up the ghost that times have changed dramatically. Many in our industry are still working those niches twice as hard and making almost nothing. The real estate careers of many once successful real estate agents is like that of the disillusioned gold miner that keeps hanging around the depleted abandoned gold mine hoping that there will be one more hit of a mother lode while everyone else has already moved on.

Think about it… buyers of a lakefront chalet or a golf course homes may be in short supply if they are more concerned with putting food on the table if their income is cut or they are laid off. The buyers' of luxury upscale mansions may be cutting back on their dream homes if their personal fortunes are at risk, and we cannot blame them. These are responsible individuals that are savvy enough to anticipate possible life changes in their lives and they're accommodating realistic scenarios.

They should be commended for their way of thinking. We must recognize our clients today and their needs are not those of our recent past. They are very practical. Individuals that can buy are looking for the basics of affordability, quality, substance, and the soundness of the investment. Buyers that are out there are "Pioneers" so to speak because they know there are tremendous opportunities and great deals that may never present themselves again but in the eyes of others are taking on great risks. Be patient with them. They're cautious but they'll buy homes. We must realize where they are coming from.

As real estate professionals we must be able to adapt when economy changes this radically in a short time. It must sink into our innermost being that there are fundamental and structural changes that are occurring in our economies that may forever change the way we do business, but that real estate will survive. It does not mean that we need to give up on real estate. We must also realize that we are makers of our own destiny and that we have the power to change the direction of the path we are on. We can start by making rational choices on our discretionary use of income, how we spend our time and budgeting our business dollars. Personal survival is based on making the right choices.

The failure of many real estate agents and their brokers lies in the fact that they will not resurrect a new vision and goal for future success. They are paralyzed in fear and remain frozen in place to act or move foreword. They are in denial and confuse keeping a positive attitude with being well informed. Clinging to the past is not a solution, learning from it is. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is insane.

We must embrace the term "NEXT!" The secret to survival in real estate it comprehend the real trends that are occurring and form a new strategy or niche from it. To do so, it takes an objective mindset that is not swayed by emotion but rather one that embraces and comprehends facts and statistics. If we can understand what is going on we can see the emerging trends. If we can identify the trends we can determine where the sales lie.

Agents and brokers need to embrace a new fact driven mindset and create a new business model that both acknowledges the current market conditions and yet provides a realistic approach to capturing and growing future business despite a not so friendly business environment.

Some Tips:

• Examine Your Financial Books and Make Budget Changes

• Keep and Open Mind Talk to Currently Successful Agents

• Form a Small Mastermind Group for Ideas and Networking

• Get a Successful Mentor

• Form a Team of Like Minded Professionals

• Explore Areas of Real Estate You Once Shunned

• Brainstorming Sessions

• Read, and Research Your Market Statistics - Look for Trends

• Understand What is Selling and Why it is Selling in Your Market

• When All Fails - Go back to Basics

Published: January 31, 2011

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Jim Crawford, ABR, e-PRO 500 is currently licensed as a Broker Associate with RE/MAX Paramount Properties in Atlanta Georgia, and as a Broker Associate with Prudential PenFed Realty Fairfax Virginia. Jim and his wife Ellen work as a husband and wife team in the northern Atlanta suburbs, and have recently expanded their web business to Northern Virginia and Maryland. As the team's rainmaker, Jim is a self-taught webmaster and designer, and he relies exclusively on the Internet for marketing. He is considered an expert on marketing, nationwide relocation, cutting edge technology, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for real estate, and Internet marketing. Jim's seminars, online contributions, and technology ideas assist real estate agents to maximize their business results, and raise the industry's professional service level skills. His common sense marketing ideas have been published and quoted regularly in trade publications. He has also consulted and advised NAR offices regarding Internet issues, and Internet ethics for Realtors. In between sales, Jim is a popular speaker at national and regional real estate seminars, REBAR Camps, Blogging seminars and retreats. Jim is a major proponent and advocate of online ethics and the development of social media policies. He is also an online real estate coach, with a self-tutorial coaching site for real estate professionals for webs and Blogging. Jim was a featured speaker at the November 2004 National Association of REALTORS® convention in Orlando, and has spoken at the several REALTORS® conventions both in the United States and Canada. Visit his website at RealEstateTechCoach.com, or e-mail him at .