| PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
I’d like to begin my term as your president by
wishing everyone a Happy New Year. And I really do mean happy, and hopefully
busy, and profitable as well. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for things to
pick up again.
If you look at the big picture, things don’t have to be so slow. Yes, there’s a glut of inventory
in the housing market, and there are not nearly enough buyers to off set the sellers. In
fact, the housing inventory has been up close to 50% compared to two years ago. But the
actual home sales are not down by much at all. So why do things seem so slow?
Maybe it’s because we need to work smarter to find the deals that are being made. So
many of us got so used to the ease with which business came to us during the glory years
of the “refi boom”, that we may have forgotten what it was like to really work to find the
business. Not only were we overwhelmed with all the refinances, but the new and used
home sales were setting records every month as well.
Today, it’s a different story. The business is still there, it’s just not as easily accessible. We
have to be more creative in obtaining our goals. They are obtainable, and they don’t have
to be lowered to be within our reach.
It’s not the number that needs to be adjusted as we set our goals; it’s the business plan
we put together to help us achieve them. Don’t forget the basics. Start with your own
customer base. There’s no easier way to get a business referral than from somebody that
already knows you, and has had a good experience with you. ASK FOR THE BUSINESS.
It’s amazing how many people make sales calls in person or on the phone but never
actually ask for the deal. Stay ahead of the learning curve. Anticipate what products will be“hot” in the market and try to beat the competition in promoting those products.
If we work smart, 2007 will surely be a happy, busy and profitable year for us all. |
