As a person who tours the country for a living, talking about sales, marketing and different ways to get more business, everyone seems to be asking the same thing.

How can I get more business in today's tough market?

Because let's face it: It's tough out there.

You've got an inventory that's out of control. An economy that's heading in the wrong direction. And on top of that, you practically need a 2nd mortgage just to fill your car up with a tank of gas.

So the question becomes, what can an enterprising Realtor® like yourself do to get more business despite these "challenging" conditions? Well I'm glad you asked. Because I've got a few ideas to help.

But since I like to have a little fun while I'm doing things, I'm going to do this a little different.

As I mentioned earlier, I spend a good bit of time delivering presentations, and as you can imagine, I've run into a lot of "mistakes" that people were making when it came to the growth of their business.

And not because they were stupid or doing the wrong thing per say, it's just that they never had anyone take them to the side and show them some more effective ways to get more business.

So with that in mind, I'm going to share some of the challenges these folks have faced, and help you avoid some of those very same mistakes. We'll tackle the first one today, and have a follow up article with another one later on.

Mistake #1: Hanging around the office … complaining about the situation.

I see this a lot and is something I want to get out of the way right off the bat. Are we in a market that's much different than it was 2yrs ago?

Yes.

Is it making it harder -- perhaps much harder in certain markets -- to earn a living in real estate? No question about it.

But does that mean that no buyers exist and no one is making a living in real estate?

Absolutely not!

As a matter of fact, this market, including the recent upswing we had a couple of years ago, is simply the result of a naturally occurring process that comes along with the private enterprise, capitalist society we live in.

It would be no different than living in places like New Orleans, or Mississippi or even Houston and then complain about all the rain during hurricane season. It's a natural occurrence. It happens every year. And you do the best you can given the situation.

The housing market is no different. (Though thank goodness it doesn't happen every year.)

As a matter of fact, one of the big things to remember when it comes to surviving a tough market like this is to rethink some of the ways you currently get business.

In other words, in few years ago techniques like Direct Mail and "caravanning" might have been perfectly fine for building your business. The housing market was going up, people were all abuzz about it's prospects, and as a Realtor all you had to do was make yourself available to someone who was thinking about buying.

Today, however, the exact opposite is now the case.

Oh don't worry, the media is still talking about the industry. But instead an "up, up, up" type story, it's…well, you know.

So what to do?

Well how about networking? That's right, going out to the Chamber of Commerce, your local business associations, or maybe even a close contact referral group such as BNI, and meeting new people who could potentially give you, or refer you new business.

Now for those of you who've already listened to my resource on "How to Talk So Others Will Listen," you guys know I'm a big fan of networking, which essentially is making new contacts within the community and leveraging that in a future business context.

And during a tough market such as this one, making that effort will go a long way towards building your business.

Now if you're new to the world of networking, or not sure how it works, don't worry. It's actually very simple. As a matter of fact, when I first started talking about this, I wanted to make it easy for Realtors to create what I call, a Visible Identity.

"What's that," you might be asking.

A Visible Identity simply says, "How can I differentiate myself -- from the other 5 people -- that this person just met?"

Because when you do that, you're not only giving yourself an opportunity to get more business, but you're also standing out from the crowd with everyone you meet.

So what's the best way to do that?

Easy.

Ask the right questions.

When meeting people for the first time, most of us have a tendency to want to talk all about ourselves, talk about our business and talk about everything else that has to do with us. The problem is, that's not what most people you meet want to hear.

So rather than fall into that trap right off the bat, why not give them an opportunity to want do what they want do…talk about themselves.

Here are some questions I like to ask people when meeting them for the first time while networking.

• Where else do you normally network? Great lead off question when asking about the event or referencing the number of people in the room.

• What do you like best about what you do? This is in response to the "what do you do" question, which by itself isn't too bad. Except more often than not, after I tell you what I do, and you do the same, the conversation can stall. Go with this question as a follow up.

• Oh, so you're a [blank] … what got you started in that position? I like this one because it takes the relationship a little bit further without seeming overly intrusive with someone you just met. Why did they decide to become a florist or an insurance agent, or whatever the case maybe.

The Bottom Line Hard problems call for hard solutions.

And make no mistake about it, we're up to our elbows in alligators when it comes to the current real estate market.

However, before you start thinking about throwing in the towel and calling it career, consider getting out of the house and networking with new people in your community.

As a matter of fact, if you'd like some more ideas on how to get more business in today's tough market, just email info@agitoconsulting.com (Subject: More Buyers in Today's Tough Market) and we'll shoot you a copy of our free report.

Because even though networking might not be something you've done in the past, it's a great way to develop relationships, build credibility and potentially get more referrals from everyone you meet.

Stay tuned next week, as we tackle Mistake #2 in our series "How to Get More Business in Today's Tough Market".

Published: October 15, 2008

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As a popular speaker and author of the resource How to Get More Business in Today's Tough Market, Brian specializes in helping busy agents get more leads and close more deals - even in a market as "challenging" as this. For a free report on 2 Easy Ways to Get More Business in Today's Tough Market, just email my office and we'll send it right over.