It’s already been a month since we’ve made our New Year’s resolutions – making them is easy but keeping them can prove a little harder.  The early gym rush is slowing, diets are being forgotten and foiled by Superbowl junk food, and it can feel easy to lose a little steam in your goals as a real estate agent.

Current trends show a resurgence of organizational methods, such as the popular KonMari method. This encourages parting with items that no longer serve a purpose or provide you with positive emotions. It goes beyond minimalism – it’s a movement towards simplifying your life and focusing on what makes you happy. More importantly, this method can be applied to your real estate business with a few simple steps. Cutting through the clutter can help you focus on the passion and drive that pulled you into the real estate industry in the first place. 

Home buying can be a very emotional process for everyone involved. As a real estate agent, your job is more than just sales – you are now a built-in mediator, therapist, confidante, and more. With all those hats comes the complexity of managing your buyer’s expectations. In an already emotional environment, you don’t want to cause more stress to your clients – this means you’ll have to be proactive in managing your buyers (often unrealistic) expectations throughout the process.

On this edition of Agent Insights we feature guest blogger Bob "RealMan" Timm, a real estate agent from Minot, North Dakota. For more from Bob be sure to check out his Active Rain profile!

Imagine the scenario: A couple decides to buy their first home together. They decided to go unrepresented, since the seller was also unrepresented listing the home as For Sale by Owner (FSBO).