With the holidays and the new year behind us, new agents all seem to be asking the same thing: What can they do to build their business in 2007? New agent sales coach Brian Hilliard weighs in with some helpful tips.

If you're tired of doing the same old, same old, why not take a fresh new approach with your business.

Ask the "right" questions.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen new agents make this mistake. A good sales-related question is a genuine effort to gather more information, while at the same time uncovering some of the prospect's buying motivations.

Why are they interested in buying a new house? What events led up to this decision? Where were they living before (e.g., apartment), and have they looked at any other neighborhoods before contacting you?

A "good question" should always do at least one of the following:

• Uncover some of the challenges impeding the sale. For buyers this could be something as serious as less than perfect credit, or as easy as a desire to limit their commute. If you know what the obstacles are, you can start working around them.

• Identify the timeline as to when they're looking to move. Is this something they want to do as soon as possible (e.g. work relocation), or are they thinking about doing it six months from now? This will help you prioritize this person in the context of your other prospects.

• Facilitate the discussion in the context of your service, without directly talking about the solution you provide. This is very important, and warrants further discussion.

First, notice the language: "Facilitate the discussion in the context of your service without directly talking about the solution you provide."

In other words, your questions should be about uncovering challenges and positioning yourself as a solution, rather than a series of thinly veiled attempts to have them work with you right now.

People hate that.

Example. Let's say you're buying a car, and as you walk around the showroom the salesman asks, "So, do you go on a lot of day trips -- hiking, traveling, things like that with the family -- or would you primarily use the vehicle in and around town?"

Good question, since this helps determine which vehicle you're most likely to buy based on what you like to do. Which of course enables the salesman to position the cars he shows you in that context.

Perfect.

If on the other hand that same salesman had said, "We've got some SUVs, minivans, sports cars; anything in particular you'd like to test drive?" That's a bad question since he knows absolutely nothing about your situation, and is looking to sell you on whatever vehicle you choose from the moment you step into the car.

Recommendation: Jot down a few good questions to use at every prospect meeting from now on.

That way you can work these questions into the conversation and start hearing your prospects buying (or selling) motivations right up front.

And as a matter of fact, if you'd like a free list of five more good sales questions to help you close more deals, just email with the subject heading, "5 Killer Sales Questions" and we'll send it right over.

Stand out from the crowd in a highly competitive industry.

Let's face it: Real estate agents are everywhere. With most of them having been in the business a lot longer than you.

And one of the challenges I see holding new agents back in this highly competitive field is not having a clear idea as to who their prospects are. Ask any agent what their typical prospect looks like and most will give an answer ranging from "everyone," to a vague elevator speech that might sound good while networking, but has little in the way of specifics.

And that's a real problem too. Because if you don't know who your prospects are and what specific challenges they face, how can you effectively build your business in the shortest time possible?

The answer: You can't.

So rather than floundering around, printing up a bunch of flyers that may or may not work, let's take the first step in developing an action plan for building your business right away.

One of the first things I advise my clients to do is develop a "sphere of influence" or target market, for whom their service is best suited.

By that I mean take into account your strengths, and the specific characteristics you as a Realtor® bring to the table. Things like:

• How long have you lived in the area?

• What did you do before you got into real estate,

• How do you like to spend your free time, and even

• Have you raised a family in this particular city?

What we're doing is figuring out which audiences are more likely to work with you based on the specific attributes you bring to the table.

Example.

If you're a new agent who's just finished raising a family in that area, but doesn't have much experience in the "business world," then a natural sphere of influence would be relocation homebuyers. These families are new to the area (and ideally new to the state), and would certainly value your years of experience in the city, especially when it comes to raising a family.

Conversely, if you've been in Corporate America for the past 20 years and then decided to move to real estate, then residential investors might be a good sphere for you. These folks would probably value your previous business experience and potential investment savvy.

Either way, we've matched your experience with their needs, and developed a target market that's an ideal match for you.

So now instead of fielding questions about how long you've been in the business, and what's your previous real estate experience, you're able to leverage your inherent strengths to what's important to them.

And believe me, once you discover a prospect's "hot buttons," and talk in a language they understand, your business will literally take off.