Secrets of Top Selling Agents-The keys to real estate success revealed-by Joe Sesso

This book is a quick and easy read and contains some useful information.

The book is geared entirely to residential real estate…and there is nothing wrong with that if that is your core business. I learned many years ago never to “poo-poo." information even it is derived from a completely unrelated field.

This book is full of good common-sense material that applies equally well to commercial real estate as well as for a residential practitioner. The book is series of “abstracts." from a series of webinars and interviews conducted by the author over a period of years.

Some of the stories are inspirational like Dave Liniger’s recovery from a near death experience to Barbara Corcoran surviving a messy break-up. Others are vignettes and real life tips that you can implement in your business right now.

I found Jimmy Mackin’s “Inbox Zero." strategies useful (I get about 400 emails a day). In his article he suggests that you treat all your emails to the following screening process;

1. Delete it (my personal favorite)
2. Delegate it
3. Respond to it
4. Defer it
5. Complete the task required

I’ll admit that some days I get into the office and get on a “delete-fest." and delete hundreds of emails at a time. I figure that the important ones will inevitably reappear while all the junk is gone. Mackin also makes suggestions about software and apps that will help tame your inbox. He suggests using Unroll.me to get rid of computer-generated broadcasts. Mackin also talks about Yesware to track your opens and to time a “targeted." prospecting call. He also suggested Boomerang to have emails returned to sender if it is not opened for additional follow up.

Tom Ferry’s section was a case study in what makes a real estate agent successful. In my opinion this section alone was worth picking up the book. Ferry begins by talking about the percentages of real estate agents who succeed and their respective income levels. He then examines the habits or best practices of those top selling agents. He goes on to reveals that they are creatures of habit.

Ferry tells us those habits include having an organized database, they contact those people on a regular basis, they practice in a specific area (geography) and a specific niche (product) they stay current on trends. Ferry goes on to say they systematize their work, hire competent staff, and have a success mindset.

Mr. Ferry goes into marketing campaigns and talks about Direct Mail, Door Knocking, Mega Open houses, Google ads, Expired listings, Community Functions, and Notices of Default. In my office we start each new agent with the “Secret Weapon Letter." and then graduate to postcards and warn calls with great success. His implication is that if an agent is not succeeding, it’s a pretty good guess they are not prospecting.

Bob Corcoran’s section was particularly informative as well. My favorite piece of wisdom was his “Big Rocks’ theory. Prioritizing your work based on the “Big Rocks." the tasks that have the most impact or importance and then work from the biggest rocks to the smallest.
Corcoran also goes on to say to prioritize…." Ruthlessly.". I know in my experience that if I am not ruthless in prioritizing and scheduling my day gets “blown." and I get nothing done. By scheduling, compartmentalizing, and sticking to “it." I manage to get business done and help my agents.

Another favorite is Corcoran’s “tranching." of clients into A, B, and C clients based on their proposed time to market. He goes into how to contact them and when. By separating the clients based on their likely transaction windows, an agent can concentrate more effort on the most likely buyers and sellers…in other words the “low hanging fruit.".

There are ton of good suggestions in this book and I would suggest that it would make a good read for new agents to suggest some best practices. For more experienced agents it will remind you of things you might already be doing but need the occasional reminder. Or as is my case…suggested tools to help me clean out my inbox.