I’m hardly in the office. I have no brand. My website is neglected. I’m on track for my best year ever. Sound Familiar?

One of my friends commented about her year in Real Estate and I thought this would be appropriate for others who are new to Real Estate or those who attend every RE junket fest, thinking an App can solve all your issues:

Here are 10 things that did NOT contribute to my Realtor friend's success this year:

1. Working in a real estate office. Spent a total of four hours working in a real estate office in the last 12 months. Wish had time to go to an office everyday but I don’t.
2. A brand.
3. Open houses. The last time did an open house was in 2008.
4. Website - neglected it terribly.
5. Drip email - can drip, but don’t.
6. Premium accounts on the popular third-party websites.
7. Newspaper advertising.
8. Postcard mailings. Have not sent out any kind of a mailing since 2009.
9. Attending “Young Professionals Network” (YPN) social events for real estate agents.
10. Have not produced any business-related videos this year.

Here are five things I did that I know helped me succeed this year: 

• Familiarity with my market and knowing the numbers. 
• Having a real estate blog and actually publishing articles almost everyday that are mostly about real estate, housing or related local stuff. 
• Prospecting everyday. 
• Attending local business and social events, and being a volunteer in my community.
• Keeping my overhead low, and using technology that helps me accomplish more in less time while spending less. 

Further my friend states that she does not go to open houses, she would rather spend the time taking pictures of prospective homes or write a blog to attract new customers. People still read content and blogs (such as this one) are a form of communication. 

Success comes in many different ways, you need to make sure that when find success, that you realize it and embrace it and repeat it, over and over and over again. Keep doing the things that bring you business and forget the shiny new object syndrome. Work on doing the things that brought you your first sale, then repeat!

#LizBobeck