Customer Reviews

How to Master the Art of Listing & Selling Real Estate

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whether you are new to the business or are a seasoned pro, this book will give you all the techniques, strategies, scripts, ideas and more to build a great and lasting real estate business.

Probably the best feature about this book is that Mr. Hopkins doesn't just tell you what to do, he tells you EXACTLY how to go about doing it -- step by step, including the exact language to use. (My only issue with the book is that, even though it was written in 1991, it is a bit dated. But this is a minor point at best.)

This book covers essential real estate business development activities such as:

* Canvassing
* For Sale By Owner
* Expired listings
* Listing banks (farming)
* Listing Tools
* Listing Presentations
* Closing

Chock full of scripts to handle each situation, necessary charts and graphs for presentations, letters and notes, plus essential descriptions of how to be and what it means to be a real estate professional versus a run-of-the-mill real estate person, this book is worth its weight in diamonds for anyone willing to study it and put its ideas into action.

For the SERIOUS real estate professional ONLY, this book will kick your business into high gear!!

From someone who recently passed the Real Estate exam, this book gets you motivated, eager to get started and the confidence to do it right! Mr. Hopkins shares his success right down to the small details. He practically provides a road map to success. This book is all the training in Real Estate you'll ever need.

As a new real estate agent, I bought a number of books on the subject, hoping to get a few different points of view. Mr. Hopkins has been in real estate for many years, and because this book was written in the early '90s when the market was VERY different, some of the commentary is dated. The concepts for generating business and how to build a clientele are timeless however. As with any book on "how to" I have taken some of the suggestions as gospel and others with a grain of salt, to best fit my style and my marketplace.
Overall it is a very worthwhile book, which discusses everything from why it is important to dress a certain way to why it is so critical to maintain a certain attitude.
There are agents with 20 years of experience in my RE/MAX office, and there are copies of this book on their shelves. Hmmmm. Makes you think it might be worth your money doesn't it?

Its an okay book. My only problem is the author provides a lot of scripts and selling techniques that use lies to manipulate people. For example he recommends pretending you may want to buy a home as a personal investment when calling of FSBOs who advertise "no brokers". Its also a very old book and some of the stuff that worked in the 80s doesnt work any more.

For someone just getting started in the Real Estate business, this one is sure to be the benchmark for success. And for the seasoned pro, every angle and avenue has been thoroughly researched.

I really was not sure if I was going to stay in real estate. So, was looking for a new job. But this man turned my career around in a short time. So many thanks to him.
Ahmet

This is my second read of this book, three years and some 300 sales & marketing books down stream. My goodness, but the advice is inappropriate for Realtors, at least those on either coast.

The "techniques" advocated were, and perhaps still are, used in selling paring knives, potato peelers and perhaps larger items like vacuum cleaners. Those techniques, if used more than very sparingly, tend to put off potential clients.

The "How to List" routine is to knock on doors. This may have been a great approach in the 1950s when 95% (or more) of the houses were inhabited by stay-at-home moms, but now that a huge fraction of the homes (80% maybe??) are inhabited by two earner families, the cost/benefit ratio of walking your neighborhood is poor, to say the least. More gimickery is offered, especially where FSBOs are concerned, rather than looking for a way to give value to the client.

Hopkins does offer some reasonable advice on tracking your personal business statistics. Maybe I should up my rating to two stars. However, if you carefully (or not so carefully) keep track of the hours spent following his other advice, I think you'll find your return per hour below a living wage.

Hopkins may be a great motivator -- I wouldn't know. But you definitely want to look at marketing books to learn about marketing yourself, which is what listing is about. This book will waste your time and your money, and, worst of all, teach habits that you will later need to unlearn.

The book itself is slightly outdated with verbiage and action plans that are better suited to the 80s. However, it is still a good read. There are numerous ideas, scripts, and sample documents that can help any agent add a little something different to their business.
The author is reknown in our business and offers another point of view in handling difficult customer situations - I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it very informative.

A must read for any new Real Estate Agents. The material is older, but there are timeless techniques that any Realtor can benefit from. There is an abundance of information and inspiration. Highly recommended.

This was a great book, right away the author starts telling you how to start your "Realtor," network! I was very pleased with this book. Although not totally related, I also recommend, "How to Make Fast Cash in Real Estate with No Money Down Deals!" by: Rod L. Griffin