If you're a new agent, you might not be sure what to do to get more sales during this distracting Holiday Season? Say no more as new agent Sales Coach Brian Hilliard takes this troubling issue head on, with some specific business building advice you can use this Holiday Season.

I was talking to an agent the other day and she asked me a great question:

"As a new agent breaking into the industry, how can I continue to build my business during the traditionally slow Holiday Season?"

Great question. I remember when I first started out on the speaking circuit I was calling on prospects all the time, seeing if I could come in and do a workshop.

Well, as the year got further along and I hit the Holiday Season (let's call it mid-November through December), people kept telling me the same thing: "This sounds really good, and we'll make a move on it by January 1." Needless to say I was excited, because everyone liked my work and said to just wait until the first of the year.

So January rolls around, and I pick up the phone to start excitedly making my calls.

Well, after talking with those folks again, "January 1" turned into "by the end of the month." And when I called back it was "we're shooting for the end of the first quarter."

I couldn't believe it!

But let's face it: With the Holidays officially upon us (and only 12 more shopping days towards Christmas), the last thing most prospects want to talk about is buying or selling a home. They've just got too many other things on their plate.

But as a new agent, you know you need to do something to keep your business moving. So what can you do? Here are a couple of my favorites:

Reconnect with "old" contacts. These are all the people you've met while networking over the past few months, but haven't had a chance to sit down with and get to know better. (You are meeting new people while breaking into the industry, right?) The thing with networking is when you meet a person for the first time at your local Chamber of Commerce, that simply represents the first step when it comes to getting new business.

The next step is physically meeting with that person at Starbucks or someplace like that to learn more about what they do. (I call that meeting a "Coffee Connection"). Then, and only then, will you be in a position to ask for a referral. So why not use all of this "extra" time to meet more potential Referral Partners?

Not sure what to say to get those folks to meet with you? No worries. Just email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject, "I Want More Networking Leads" for a free report on three easy steps towards increased networking success.

Update your website or other sales collateral. And no, I'm not just talking about a redesign of your materials. Now that you've gotten a few months under your belt, take a look at your sales collateral and see if it's really hitting your prospects' hot buttons.

As an example, one of my clients specializes in working with 1st time homebuyers. And as most agents would attest, that group has some very specific hot buttons you need to deal with. Most notably: Anxiety about buying a new home, a desire to get comfortable with the overall home buying process and even a self esteem issue in thinking that a home might be "beyond" their grasp.

So after reviewing her material, we repositioned it to describe the home buying process in an easy-to-understand manner. The copy is written in a clear and concise fashion, and when a prospect visits her website, they can ask for more information about what to expect when buying their first home.

So do yourself a favor and review your sales materials to make sure you're presenting yourself in a similar manner to all your prospects.

Here's the thing: As a new agent you've got a lot of things working against you. Lack of experience, exposure and who knows what else. But over the next couple of weeks you really can pull ahead of your more seasoned counterparts, since "everyone" is caught up in the Holidays. So break out that Daytimer, start calling possible Referral Partners, and set yourself up for success in 2006.