As a realtor in any transaction you are a part of, by the end of the transaction as everything plays out you can end the deal as one of the following three agents: - The arrogant pain in the ass Agent - The fly under the radar Agent (not memorably good or bad) - The beacon of light to the deal Agent This is mainly a reflection of you that the other agent will have. This may spill over to the buyer or seller on the other side of the table also, depending how the deal plays out. I would hope that even if you are working for your clients for the first time, that they will have been taken care of and think the world of you by the end of the transaction. But in order to POTENTIALLY protect the lasting impression you leave on all the other people in the deal, I would suggest always keeping a small budget on-hand to smooth over any wrinkles that may arise. A nice little thank you gift card to the agent on the other side also goes a long way at the end of any deal, especially when it's not expected. I personally like to keep a cleaning budget on hand just in case the cleanliness of the handed over home is a bone of contention at the end of the deal, and people are butting heads. Remember even a "professional clean" may not meet some peoples standard. And that subjective nature is what a lot of agents lean on, "it was professionally cleaned, here is the receipt" and that is fine. legally all boxes are ticked and you can move on. But if you really want to make lives easier and be the shining start of any deal, you don't HAVE to but suggesting another clean or a small gift to smooth over and friction will always go a long way. Just covering that few hundred dollars can make a WORLD of difference to a potentially frustrated deal. Is it necessarily your responsibility, no. Will you get browny points for taking the lead and making something like this happen, yes. And the next time you work with that agent who's deal you are also smoothing over mind-you, they will make your life a lot easier (in theory), but my anecdotal experience with this is that it has a 99% future success rate!

I just added two new sections to the Starter Course, one pulling together the top 5 questions the internet gets asked most from brand new agents before they've even closed a deal, and another pulling together the top 5 questions that hit agents a year two or three, once the beginners rush wears off and the real doubts start creeping in. Year 1: 1. "How long until I get my first listing and how much will I actually make in year one?" 2. "Where do I actually find clients with no network or experience?" 3. "Why would anyone hire me when I have zero experience?" 4. "Is this job actually going to be flexible, or am I on call 24/7?" 5. "Do I need to specialize, or should I take any client I can get?" Year 2 - 3: 1. Why do I have good months and terrible months, why cant I get consistent leads? 2. AM I actually cut out for this, or should I quit? 3. Why does everyone else seem to be doing better than me? 4. How much should I actually be spending on marketing, and is it working? 5. Should I get a coach, join a team or switch brokerages? These aren't hypothetical, they're the exact things people search for at 11pm when they're wondering if they made the right call. I answer them fast and straight, no fluff, then dive into much more specific details in the course for the full story behind each one. If you've ever laid in bed wondering whether you're actually cut out for this, or why some months feel great and others feel like you're starting from zero, there's a decent chance one of these ten questions is the exact one keeping you up. Get the answers inside the classroom, and if you're not in the course yet, this is a good preview of the kind of straight forward and highly valuable detail you'll get from completing it. Thanks for being here and happy reading! 🫡

I’m excited to be part of this community! Looking forward to connecting with you all, learning new things, and sharing ideas. Thanks for having me here. Looking forward to growing together! 😊

I have just added Chapter 10 to the new Agents Starter Course - A Little Tactical Goes A Long Way! The sections of this chapter will be updated periodically with real-life, used-daily (by me) tactical examples of key aspects used to build my business. The first section in this new chapter is Pricing Strategy for your tough seller. Here is a little tid-bit from that framework: The conversation nobody preps you for: when your seller wants to overprice their home You'll have this conversation early in your career, and it never really gets easier. A seller sits across from you, shows you three "comparable" listings that are nothing like their home, and tells you they want to list $150k + over what the data supports. Say no, and you risk losing the listing to the agent down the street who'll just tell them what they want to hear. Say yes, and you've signed up for months of price reductions, frustrated open houses, and a seller who blames you when it doesn't sell. Most new agents either cave immediately or get defensive with data and lose the room. Neither works. There's a real, specific way to have this conversation that protects the relationship and gets the seller to the right number themselves, and it's one of the most valuable skills you can build in this business. Grab the starter course today to really dig down on this topic of how to get your sellers on your page as you when it comes to listing price points they should truly consider. Thanks for reading and happy selling!🫡

Thinking about adding Door Knocking as a part of your general marketing or farm-building (see marketing tip #1) plan? Door knocking CAN be a great strategy or a tricky one. As soon as that door opens, the goal is not so much how can you get your information across to this owner as quickly as possible, but how can I relax the potential pressure this owner may be feeling as quickly as possible. What you are wanting to do is break the ice as quickly as possible once they open the door. We want to do this so the conversation is a relaxed one, not an uncomfortable one for that owner. They will actually consume the information you are providing a lot better if they don't think they are on the brink of being sold. Most people who actually open the door are doing so with hesitation. My anecdotal determination is that more than half of the home owners that answer the door are thinking one of these thoughts the second they open the door: - This is an agent who wants me to buy or sell something. I don't want this pressure. - This person is going to try and convince me to sell my house and I don't want to. I don't want to have this conversation. - This person wants me to buy something & I feel too nervous to say yes or no. I don't want to commit to anything right now. I don't like this. And this is IF they do open the door, I have had every reaction you can imagine: - No words, just door slammed in my face - "Fuck off" - Only the peep-hole opened and chat through there, like I was a criminal trying to get in - My personal favourite "All realtors are the same, you are all crooks, get off my steps" 😂 Pro Tip: the faster you can build a thick skin in this business, the longer you will stick around in this business. So there are two ways to go about this now. 1) Traditional: " Hi there, my name is Jay McInnes with ABC Realty. I was just curious if you would be interested in selling your home?" For this traditional approach, you have asked a closed-ended question with pressure attached. "No, I'm not interested in selling. Bye." Of course this can be done when ever, where ever. This is a shot in the dark, hoping to catch the right person on the right day who is open to discussing the thought of selling with you.