Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies [Paperback]

Dirk Zeller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2006

Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies shows you how to make your fortune in the real estate business. Whether you are looking to rev up your real estate business, deciding whether to specialize in commercial or residential real estate, or just interested in refining specific skills, this book is for you.

This no-nonsense guide shows you the fun and easy way to become a successful real estate agent. It provides expert advice on acquiring the skills needed to excel and the respect and recognition you’ll gain through making sales and generating profit. Soon you’ll have all the tools you need to:

• Prospect your way to listings and sales
• Build a referral-based clientele
• Work with expired and FSBO listings
• Plan and host a successful open house
• Present and close listing contracts
• Market yourself and your properties online and in print
• Negotiate contracts and avoid derailment
• Stake your competitive position
• Achieve excellent relationships with clients
• Spend less time to earn more money

This guide features tips and tricks for working with buyers, must-haves for a successful real estate agent, and common pitfalls that can be avoided. Also included is a list of Web sites for real estate agents that are valuable resources for success. With Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies, you’ll discover how to acquire key skills and get on track for a successful career!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Features proven, effective strategies for better prospecting and lead generation

Learn key skills and get on track for a successful career

Whether you're new to real estate or an old pro, Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies shows you how to become a top-performing agent. This hands-on guide will teach you all the best tricks of the trade, including tried-and-true tactics and fresh ideas for finding more and better prospects — and closing more sales!

Praise for Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies

"Get ready for real estate training camp. Finish a winner! "
—Blanche Evans, editor, Realty Times

"Solid, practical advice from one of the most dynamic coaches in real estate today."
—Stefan Swanepoel, thirteen-time author and CEO of RealtyU Group, Inc.

Discover how to

• Master the art of prospecting
• Research and understand your market
• Develop the key skills of an agent
• Find the perfect agency for you
• Manage and maximize your time

About the Author

Dirk Zeller, who as an agent rose to the top of the real estate field quickly, has been on a meteoric rise since he began his career in 1990. Throughout his sales career, Dirk was recognized numerous times as one of the leading agents in North America. He has been described by industry insiders as the most successful agent in terms of high production with life balance. His ability to sell more than 150 homes annually, while only working Monday through Thursday and taking Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off weekly, is legendary in the real estate field.
Dirk turned his selling success into coaching significance through founding Real Estate Champions. Real Estate Champions is the premier coaching company in the real estate industry with clients worldwide. Dirk’s clients average more than a $200,000 increase in their income annually. Dirk has created such revolutionary programs as “Protect Your Commission,” “Stewardship Selling,” “The Champion Listing Agent,” and “Positioning Yourself as the Expert.” These programs and others like them have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of real estate agents worldwide.
Dirk is one of the most published authors in the areas of success, life balance, sales training, and business development in the real estate field. He has more than 250 published articles to his credit. His weekly Coaches Corner newsletter is read by over 200,000 subscribers each week. His book Your First Year in Real Estate (Prima Publishing) has sold just shy of 100,000 copies in just a few years.
Dirk is also one of the most sought-after speakers in the real estate arena. He has spoken to agents and managers at the local, regional, national, and international level for most of the large real estate brands, such as Coldwell Banker, RE/MAX, Century 21, ERA, and Prudential. He has shared the stage with such notable speakers as Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, and Les Brown.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (July 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471799556
• ISBN-13: 978-0471799559
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Business & Investing > Real Estate

More About the Author

Dirk Zeller has been a Real Estate Agent, Investor, Coach and Speaker for more than 20 years. He is one of the most published Authors with over 500 articles published to his credit, along with six books; all of which have hit industry best seller lists. Three of his books are for the famous Dummies® series.

Time Management for Dummies®
The Champion Real Estate Agent
Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®
The Champion Real Estate Team
Telephone Sales for Dummies®
Your 1st Year in Real Estate

In 2009, Dirk and his company Real Estate Champions, had 41 of their current, past and mentor coaching clients on the Wall Street Journal's Top 100 Agents and Top 100 Teams list.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for new and seasoned agents, July 13, 2006

By 

Peter Bartholomew (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies (Paperback)

The title says it all,"...For Dummies." Dirk Zeller puts it into perspective. When we receive our license, walk into the office of our choice, pay to create an image, what next?
Many agents and REALTORs have made the same mistakes as our collegues. This book teaches not to make those mistakes, and is a comprehensive guide as to what to do.
If one wants to make a career with real estate, I strongly recommend this book.

Also suggest "The Little Red Book of Selling"

43 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! this book is the best, July 13, 2006

By 

David (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies (Paperback)

From the opening cheat sheet to the last top ten list in this book on ten best web sites for real estate agents. This booked is packed with quality information and value. From the first chaper on Discovering the Skills of a Successful Agent to the last chaper Maximizing Your Time you will not be able to put this book down like I couldn't.
It was obvious through every page of this book that the author not only was an expert in selling real estate successfully himself as confirmed by his bio of selling 150 homes annually while only working on Monday - Thursday to do it. I was also clear that he has coached and trained a large number of agents to become Successful agents.
I loved the chapter on researching and understanding the marketplace. He teaches a couple of techniques to really track and understand the marketplace and how to use them to attract and secure new buyers and sellers. Before this book I had no idea of the power a few of these tracking and simple research techniques he demonstrates and neither did my broker when I asked him.
In the chapter on prospecing it lays out the how's, where's and why's of prospecting for new business and lead generation. He also shares how to list For Sale by Owner and expired listings complete with tracking systems, scripts, things to send them via marketing.
Chapter 6 Mining Your Databse for Referrals is priceless. I learned so much about how to ask for referrals. The scripts to use in the asking for business. He also shares how to take a referral to what he calls a higher level getting the person giving the referral to help you "improve" the referral by asking them questions about the person they are referring, approval of using there name, and even calling the referral on your behalf. This chapter alone was worth the money for the book.
The author, Mr Zeller takes you through open houses from selecting the right home criteria, to marketing, to set up the day of the open house to conducting and securing the names of the vistiors. The chapter on doing a quality listing presenation is outstanding. I learned the questions to ask before hand. He gives you a structure or agenda he calls it for the presentation. Along with how to separate youself from the other agents through your services. In addition I learned home pricing strategy to insure that my listing will sell. How to talk with the seller since most want more for the home than it is worth.
The book goes through staging the listing with checklists, marketing myself online and my properties, negotiating contracts and closing them, postioning yourself in the marketplace and against other agents, keeping clients for life with check lists on how to service your clients.
The chapter on maximizing your time was awesome! I know the value of my time and how best to get paid well for the time I invest in my business.
This book is really the turning point for my real estate career. I only wish that it had been available earlier in my career. It is a must read for any agent not just a new agent. It is the best money that I have spent in my career thus far!!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Starter Book PLUS Reference for Brokers, February 13, 2007

By 

C. Ward (Kalamazoo Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Success as a Real Estate Agent For Dummies (Paperback)

As a broker/owner, I bought this book for my new agents. We love it! It's a fast-read with easy-to-implement ideas. I keep it as a reference in my office! Dirk Zeller is an excellent author/coach and the 'Dummies' format puts his ideas into yet another presentation form.