Real Estate Training Articles and Videos

Time, Attention and Care

I recently read an industry article about remuneration for salespeople, discussing which was best: salaries or commission-only.

While I do not intend to argue that point now, a comment from an industry leader caused me concern.

This leader said that commission-only percentages varied widely, but the common rule of thumb was that the higher the commission, the less . . .   more →

Leader and Coach

In this short leadership session, real estate agency profit consultant, Gary Pittard, discusses the dual roles of leader and coach.

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Two Lessons From the Pandemic

There can be no doubt that the pandemic, now in its second year, has disrupted business and the economy.

The real estate industry has been less affected than, say, tourism and entertainment, but the pandemic has still led to periodic restrictions on how we go about our daily business life.

But is it all bad news? For . . .   more →

The Perfect Sprint Technique

In this short real estate sales session, real estate profit consultant, Gary Pittard, looks at a great sprint technique, which gives you a focused burst of productive activity. It’s an idea of author Mark McKeon, who calls this sprint technique ‘Go Zones’.

Nobody can work ‘flat chat’ all the time, but too many people work erratically . . .   more →

How Much Is Your Sales Department Worth?

I am not telling you anything you don’t know when I say that rent rolls sell for big money. But what about your sales department – how much is it worth?

Many, if not most, real estate agency owners place little value on their sales department. They believe their sales department isn’t as valuable as their . . .   more →

The Lonely Leader

In this short leadership session, real estate agency profit consultant, Gary Pittard, looks at the life of the lonely leader.

They say it’s lonely at the top. But many leaders are lonely, not because of the nature of the position, but because they don’t have a team. And the reason they do not have a team . . .   more →

Used to Low Numbers?

Do you remember the days when salespeople used to list large numbers of properties – eight or more every month? We seldom see numbers like these anymore – salespeople have become used to low numbers.

Many years ago we coined the term, “Take care of the numbers and the dollars will take care of themselves“. This . . .   more →

Game On

In this short real estate sales session, real estate agency profit consultant, Gary Pittard, discusses the importance of being at your best during listing presentations.

Like it or not, sales is an emotional game. When we present, we appeal to our clients’ emotions – they make decisions emotionally, not logically.

Our own emotions can also affect our . . .   more →

The Right Help

With so many offices making record profits, everybody is busy. But for leaders, you can be busy making sales, or you can be busy running a business. What type of busy are you?

Leaders who spend much of their working week listing and selling can, if they are not careful, fall into the trap of being . . .   more →

Fun

In this short real estate leadership session, real estate agency profit consultant, Gary Pittard, discusses how to make your business a happy place to work by injecting a little fun.

But you must strike a balance between work and fun. Salespeople occupy their positions for one purpose: to make sales. When there is too much fun . . .   more →

Reputation Matters

Ask any person how important their reputation is to them. Nobody will say their reputation doesn’t matter.

Sure, some say, I don’t care what other people think of me – but that’s usually to justify being rude or insensitive. If these people care that little about their reputation, they probably can’t be trusted.

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Good News, But Not The Right News

In this short real estate sales session, real estate agency profit consultant, Gary Pittard, discusses some ideas from Jeb Blount’s book Fanatical Prospecting.

Sales gurus that claim prospecting is dead, can greatly harm a salesperson’s career. According to Jeb Blount, this is music to the ears of failing salespeople, who would rather look for a silver . . .   more →

The High Price of Business Lost to the Competition

“Mediocrity requires a big cheque book.”

Gary Pittard

The quality of a sales team should be the main priority for all agency leaders. Allow incompetence to fester in your sales team and the losses can be huge.

Many agency leaders express concern over their present teams. Leaders say that they wish their salespeople would prospect more, . . .   more →

Brightness of Future

In this short leadership session, real estate profit consultant, Gary Pittard, looks at Brightness of Future.

Today’s employees want more than money, they want a LIFE. If we are going to keep team members over the long term, we have to help them build a great life using their real estate sales career as a vehicle.

Sales . . .   more →

List More Sell More

In a sellers’ market, where you sell almost every property you list, the last thing you want to do is run low on listings. List more and you will sell more – we all know that – but many agents are low on stock. If you are one of those salespeople, what are you doing . . .   more →

What Else Do We Do

In this short real estate sales session, real estate agency profit consultant, Gary Pittard, discusses time management.

A common theme in real estate salespeople’s conversations is, “I’m too busy”, or “I’ve got a lot on”. Check in with those same salespeople at the end of the month and you will often find that their results . . .   more →

Same Same, But Not Different

No doubt you’ve heard of the saying, ‘Same same, but different’, but sadly this does not often apply in real estate. Most agencies are same, same, but not different.

If you’ve seen one real estate salesperson, you’ve often seen them all – they say similar things to win business. They recommend similar methods of sale. They . . .   more →

An Eye For Profit

Many real estate business owners struggle to make a profit from their sales departments. And for these agents, booming markets do little to help their profits.

In this short leadership session, real estate agency profit consultant, Gary Pittard, discusses profit and explains how to make more of it.

In a market where you sell everything you . . .   more →

Take Fee Off The Table

Agents who discount their fees believe they must do so to win the business, but is this true?

Others reducing their fee is not a legitimate reason to discount your fee. This thinking indicates that your business is being driven by your competitors’ actions and not by yours. It’s a defeatist attitude.

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Incompetence Comes First

In this short real estate sales session, real estate agency profit consultant, Gary Pittard, asks, “What is your attitude to failure?”

Our school days did not equip us with a healthy respect for failure and its role in the pursuit of success.

At school we learned that getting things wrong is bad. We were taught to . . .   more →

Low On Listings?

How is your office going for listings? Would you sell more if you listed more? In Australia and New Zealand, many real estate people are facing the same challenge.

Some offices that complain about a shortage of listings were suffering the same affliction pre-COVID.

If that describes you, it’s time to do something about the problem. If . . .   more →