Disclosure – I’ve been engaged to two men in my life. One I married…the other is Jim.

I see you’ve gotten lots of good feedback on your blog from many parts of the country. It would seem that the So Cal market and the Seattle market are very different, as you are aware. My impression is that the So Cal market is very competitive — there seems to be a plethora of agents out there trying to get some business — just short of going out and knocking on doors and trying to persuade people that they want to sell their houses. And, you made me aware that there are unscrupulous agents out there who bend the rules to get listings and keep them exclusively for themselves.

Since the market still seems to be reasonably hot, I would imagine the competition factor/question isn’t such an issue at present. Lots of buyers and sellers to spread around among X number of agents. But what happens when the market cools and there are only a handful of buyers and sellers for the same X number of agents? That’s when the true professionals with a good business plan rise to the surface. The mediocre agents, who were riding the wave, have to get smart or starve.

As a consumer, I would have to agree with someone in your blog who said that a lot of of the decision making in choosing an agent has to do with chemistry. Obviously, the presenting agent has to have his/her ducks in a row –present an excellent knowledge of the industry and the market, a positive plan on how to market my house (or a realistic game plan and an interest in my wants and needs if I’m a buyer), and confidence in the end result. All that professionalism is essential, but there also has to be that chemistry. If either of those factors is missing or weak, I think the customer will move on.

So….someone who naturally has both of those factors going for her is likely to feel that there isn’t much competition out there……

I’m late to this thread… too busy beating up the competition
I think a lot of people above missed the point. Your point was… do your thing, stick to it, have a plan or system, “do the right thing” and the business will stick…. and soon come out of everywhere (the woods, the fields, the sky, under rocks!).

By learning sales skills from my mentors and showing up at open houses every weekend (with a good/professional attitude about what I’m doing there), I’ve made a career already. By creatively keeping up with leads (Internet, open house, craigslist, referal, sign calls etc) the business keeps coming… and you have those “poof! A client fell out of the sky!” moments.

People… by monitoring your own business for preformance, finding some “magic”, making adjustments and “keep on, keepin’ on”,… there ain’t no competition from the time the consumer meets me to the time they are my client in the car.

I have trouble with colored lettering on black. Geno’s and Eric’s seem to work…but most black background blogs hurt my eyes after awhile.

What do others think of “on black blogs”?

Hi Ardell,

It doesn’t, because it is not about introducing the competition to your client or referral base. It is not even about competition. It is about educating the general public on having a hiring system, and helping them to become well-informed real estate consumers. This is especially important, when they have not established an agency relationship yet. I firmly believe that it is in the public’s best interest to be informed about real estate matters, including having a hiring process.