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When times are tough and prospects seem to be holding on to every dollar, your job as a sales manager is more important than ever before. Now is the time to roll out a sales contest to generate additional sales and build morale. Offering a contest to your sales team is a smart business decision on many levels. Contests, by their very nature, infuse a competitive spirit within the sales force and provide an excellent opportunity for management to recognize and reward top achievement. In addition, a contest encourages your sales reps to achieve new levels of personal production, taps into peer pressure and generates a positive synergism within the organization.

As America deals with mounting debt and a shaky economic recovery, it’s more important than ever to stand up in your community and the nation’s capital for sustainable, affordable homeownership. That’s why earlier this year, the leadership team at the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) began a multi-city bus tour to promote the benefits of homeownership as part of its Homeownership Matters campaign. As policymakers consider changes to federal government programs and incentives that could dramatically change the nature of homeownership, the bus tour is engaging the American people directly about these important issues.

This column describes a personal experience I feel compelled to share, as it relates to working with homeowners in distress and facing foreclosure. A few months ago while on our wedding anniversary vacation trip, my husband Kurt was taken to the hospital. We had just ordered breakfast and were waiting for our drinks when he said, “I am not feeling so good...” After a few moments, we realized that it was serious and we needed to call 911. The ambulance took him to the hospital, where they ran some basic tests—they did not keep him overnight for observation. The doctor came in and shared the test results and sent us on our way and, honestly, we weren’t sure what steps should have been involved at the time to make sure his heart was healthy.

In today’s challenging real estate market, top brokers continue to succeed and stay ahead by prioritizing and investing where it matters most. Learn the priorities and strategies of top brokers during RISMedia’s 16th Annual Power Broker Forum, taking place on Nov. 11, 2011, from 2:30 - 4 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 201A, Anaheim, CA. Now in its 16th year, the standing-room-only Power Broker Forum brings together leading brokers and industry visionaries for a candid exchange of what it takes to move forward successfully in the real estate business. This year’s Forum, “The One Thing Power Brokers Can’t Live Without,”

We’re all busy, pulled in many directions during our typical day-to-day routine, and more and more our days blur between work-life and home-life. Following are a few good smartphone applications that can help you save time while increasing your productivity: Check It! Professionals like you get the job done because you are organized, and one way to stay organized is with lists. Check it! is simple, easy-to-use and will keep you organized. Buy it for just $0.99 cents at the App Store (open iTunes) where you will find all of the apps mentioned in this column.

In the following session, Charlie Oppler, Special Liaison for Large Firm Relations, NAR interviews Mike Litzner, Broker/Owner, Century 21 American Homes; Jason Waugh, COO, Prudential Northwest Properties; and Sherry Chris, President, CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, about navigating the future of real estate.

Professionals Realty Group USA (ProsUSA), a national real estate franchising company, has launched a new franchise business model in the United States that has been successful overseas for nearly 35 years – a fixed-cost “membership” organization, the company announced. Headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, ProsUSA officially launched with the Federal Trade Commission FDD registration on June 17, 2011.

In the following session, Charlie Oppler, Special Liaison for Large Firm Relations, NAR interviews Rei Mesa, President, CEO, Prudential Florida Realty; Ed Surovell, President, CEO, Edward Surovell REALTORS®; and J. Lennox Scott, Chairman, CEO, John L. Scott REALTORS®. Charlie Oppler: Whoever said, “Hindsight is 20-20” hit the nail on the head. Real estate brokers, like other entrepreneurs today, are looking back at the past few years using the clear light of hindsight. Many of us are asking the hard questions: “what should I have done differently over the past five years to anticipate and mitigate the pain of this languishing market?”

Crimes against real estate and leasing agents are on the rise, experts report. The news headlines are often atrocious and yet job duties require agents to continue to pound the pavement with zeal and rarely shift from the current process. The scenarios that continue to put real estate agents at risk are: 1) hosting open houses; 2) new client meetings; 3) REO market visits; and 4) listing appointments. In general meeting unfamiliar people in unfamiliar places continues to put real estate professionals at risk.

Greg Rand (@gsrand), CEO of OwnAmerica and host of Rand on Real Estate on 770 WABC, discusses the potential of real estate investments in Phoenix, AZ. Rand advises to do your homework when it comes to real estate investments, and not to rush the process, because there is great inventory on the market.

This intriguing question will be answered next month by a panel of industry experts at RISMedia’s 16th Annual Power Broker Forum, being held from 2:30-4 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2011, at the Anaheim Convention Center, Room 201A, Anaheim, CA, during the annual NAR Conference.

Are you feeling confused in today's marketplace? Do you find yourself in any of these patterns? • Procrastinating • Feeling scattered • Avoiding picking up the phone? • Doing just "busy work"? If you answered yes to any of the above, chances are you are feeling "stuck" and your business is suffering. Here are some tips to get your business back on track and double your income:

No customer wants to hear that you have other customers, but the truth is you do. What’s more, no customer wants to hear that you have more important customers, but that’s also true. According to marketing consultant Betsy Kruger, the problem is that many businesses treat all their customers exactly the same way and wind up sacrificing a lot of profit in the process.

Statistics released by the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate (www.usc.edu/lusk) show an increase in job opportunities for young real estate professionals and reflect an improving job market for the industry. According to the USC Real Estate Employment Report, the Lusk Center received 150 industry job openings in 2011 (through August), a 25 percent increase over the same period last year. In addition, most students in the class of 2011 received more than one job offer with better pay. This year’s average total compensation package was approximately $120,000, a 15 percent increase over 2010.

Editor’s Note: Blueprint for 100 Deals or More Than $1 Million Per Year in Income: The Exact Systems and Technology to Sell 100+ Homes, Every Year—No Matter the Market, is a new book by leading real estate industry executives Alan Shafran and Rick Bengson that outlines how to build your business as well as make more money, please more customers and improve your overall quality of life, whether you are a novice or climbing the ladder in the real estate business. For the next 10 weeks, RISMedia will be running portions of each chapter every Wednesday, highlighting the in-depth information and invaluable resources the authors have compiled in this exciting, new publication. Alan Shafran sat down with RISMedia for a Q&A about the book to launch the series.