Training & Business Development: Sharpen Your Focus: Getting Back to Basics

In a changing market, its time to dust off the old building blocks
In a changing market, its time to dust off the old building blocks

RISMEDIA, December 13, 2006?As agents who have entered the real estate industry in the last few years scramble to readjust to a market that is markedly different than when they entered it, veteran agents such as Eva Keagle from Harker Heights, Texas realize that it’s not necessarily a ?down? market we’re experiencing, rather it’s more a previously inflated market beginning to normalize. Referring to the recent buzz about a market crash, Eva comments, ?What I’ve noticed is so much of what we’re seeing has been media driven; it’s very hard to pick up the paper without some article talking terrible about real estate, terrible about mortgage companies, terrible about builders, so while I think that the market across the country has changed, I also think it’s being magnified by the press.

What is undeniable is that in most areas of the country, time on market has increased, prices have flattened, and agents are leaving the industry in droves. While this may be good news for the remaining agents, Eva cautions that now, more than ever, is a time to focus on the essential building blocks of your business, making sure that you pay attention to detail and cover all your bases.

As Keagle warns, ?The competition is going to get stronger as more people are trying to feed themselves?understand that what you’re doing here is not a game, you’re running a business?.

As her home market of Harker Heights is a hub for military personnel based out of Killeen as well as nearby Ft. Hood, one might wonder if Keagle is insulated from the changes occurring around the nation.

When asked if she had a steady stream of clients due to her military niche Keagle replied, ?Well, we do and we don’t. What you have to understand is we are greatly affected by what’s going on in Iraq. We just had 7,000 troops return, but now another group of troops is going to Colorado. So what we have is a lot of volatility.

On this week’s RISMedia/iSucceed Business Development & Training Call, Eva Keagle explains the key areas agents need to focus on in their business to survive the recent market shift, cautions agents to take a hard look at their marketing plans for the coming year, and offers valuable advice on how agents who’ve never experienced a slowing market can analyze their numbers and effectively project a marketing and advertising budget for 2007.

From ERA ?Rookie of the Year? in 1993 for her local board to the ?#1 Top All Around Agent? in the ERA franchise for 2005, Eva Keagle (ABR, GRI, CRS, SHS) has established herself as a true superstar in the industry. She’s been a multi-million dollar producer since her first year in real estate, and is currently ranked in the top 1% of all ERA agents nationally. Serving the Central Texas towns of Killeen and Harker Heights, as well as the military community of Fort Hood, Eva and her ?Keagle Krew? completed 270 transactions and closed over $40 million in 2006. Eva’s no-nonsense style and sense of humor have earned her a loyal customer base, and her commitment to customer service has won her ERA’s ?Jim Jackson Memorial Award? for the highest ranking customer service care two years running.

Hosted by iSucceed?s Kelly Kelley, this week’s interview is available at http://www.isucceed.com/rismedia/interview from Dec.13 to Dec. 19.

For more information, visit iSucceed.com.

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