It's absolutely critical for Realtors to maintain a positive attitude throughout the entire sales process.

One of the biggest mistakes I see Realtors make, is coming across as being too pushy or too aggressive in an effort to win the deal. They call the prospect every other day, send emails when they don't hear back, and sometimes even stop by because they "happened to be in the neighborhood."

The catch is that we all know the early bird really does get the worm, especially in the highly competitive world of real estate. And if you're not following up on a consistent basis, you're going to lose a lot of deals simply because someone else was more persistent.

So the question becomes, how can a smart, enterprising Realtor strike the balance between being Suzy-on-the-Spot (close relation to Johnny) -- making calls, hustling along and moving the buying process forward, and Joe Isuzu -- the used car salesman who would do anything to close a deal?

Because make no mistake about it, whether you're an experienced Realtor or a new agent, how you deal with those situations will ultimately determine your success in this business.

So let's take a look at a couple of common situations in the real estate world and see how the more successful agent (we'll call her Suzy-on-the-Spot) is able to better handle it and get more business, when compared to her less successful counterpart (Joe Isuzu).

Qualifying the Prospect:

Joe Isuzu (the used car salesman recently turned Realtor) goes to networking events thinking that everyone is a prospect, and he just needs to meet the right ones who are ready to buy right now.

He's busy "working the room", passing out cards, and if you're not actively engaged in the home buying (or selling) process, then Joe doesn't have time to talk.

Joe has begun to notice most of the people he does meet don't fall into that "ready right now" category, but figures he's just probably not networking at the right spots. In the unlikely event he does runs across someone who's ready to start buying or selling a home, he calls that person every other day to follow up and "see how things are going."

Sometimes that works, but most of the time it just turns the prospect off.

Joe often complains about not having enough business and stays up at night thinking that if he could just meet more prospects, he'd be good to go.

Suzy-on-the-Spot however doesn't have those issues.

Suzy doesn't step foot into a networking event without knowing how it fits into her overall Networking Strategy. She has a target market in mind (first time home buyers, condos, new developments) and puts herself in places where those prospects are most likely to be.

While networking, Suzy is comfortable in "only" making three to five new contacts, since she knows people aren't going to trust their largest personal asset to someone who just whisks in and out, dropping off a business card in between. Suzy also isn't concerned with whether or not someone is ready to buy or sell their home right now, since she takes comfort in the fact that according to a published report by the National Association of Realtors , most people move every five to six years.

So if she does her job by creating trust with the prospect and demonstrating her expertise in the industry, then she knows it's simply a matter of time until that person needs to buy or sell a home.

Suzy sleeps like a baby knowing her pipeline is always full.

Following up with a Qualified Prospect:

Joe Isuzu can't believe he ran into someone who's ready to buy right now!

As a matter of fact, as soon as he gets home he starts pulling together all the listings he can get his hands on. He calls the prospect the very next day and wants to meet "as soon as possible" to start talking about the process.

During the conversation, Joe talks about his years of experience and how he's the #1 agent in town.

Sometimes he gets the client, other times he doesn't. But rarely does he get his full commission, since he often has to "outbid" another agent who was previously on the scene.

Suzy-on-the-Spot almost always gets her full commission.

When she runs across a qualified prospect, she's not overly surprised, since her network strategy puts her in front of those folks all the time. And while it's certainly nice to have someone who is "ready to buy" within the next few weeks, she's not going to overdo it by insisting on a meeting or sending off a bunch of stuff they might not need.

Instead, Suzy contacts the prospect a couple of days later (allowing the deal to "breathe" a little bit), makes some small talk and asks a few good questions to learn more about their situation. What made them decide to move? What areas are they looking in, and what's an absolute "must have" in their new home?

Suzy winds down the conversation with the following phrase:

"Boy that sounds like some good stuff. I'll tell you what. Why don't I send you some information... different listings that hit some of the points you just mentioned? That way you can take a look, see what you think, and depending on how quickly you want to get started, you might even find something we can look at this weekend."

The prospect says that sounds like a tremendous idea, and Suzy is well on her way towards closing another deal.

In the rare cases where the prospect says they want to "think it over," Suzy offers to send over some more information about herself and her company, and asks if she can call back the following week.

Suzy always speaks in terms of benefits, and clearly articulates her value proposition in the context of how it could help the prospect buy or sell their home.

Suzy doesn't win all the deals, but certainly gets her fair share. Enough so she can comfortably earn a living doing what she loves to do.