Obviously, you want your clients to like you. Having a positive relationship makes interactions with clients much more enjoyable and productive. Furthermore, having a friendly relationship makes it easier to address and resolve any issues that pop up along the way in a mutually agreeable manner.

There are a few behavioral tricks you can practice that will help you become the agent that everyone likes, remembers and recommends to others.

Time and money are interchangeable - so at some point in your real estate career, you have probably seriously debated pulling the trigger on hiring a real estate virtual assistant. And why not? If time is money, then you can just pay someone to do all your busy work so you can spend more time with clients, right? Well, sort of. Along with the benefits of having a virtual right hand guy or gal helping you out - there are also some pitfalls you should consider.

A very wise man (my dad) taught me that when you're trying to make a tough decision, it's best to make a list of all the pros and cons, then use that list to guide your choice. While this is a sage advice, I realize that many of you are too busy to sit around making lists. Since its my job to create and share helpful content that makes your life easier, I've made one for you.

Writer’s block stinks! Make it go away with this great topic list, relevant to any agent or broker who wants to grow their real estate blogging efforts. This is a long list, so let’s get right to it! 

125 Real Estate Blog Topic Ideas for Agents & Brokers:

Real estate staging is a multi-million dollar business. There are literally thousands of tips on the best way to stage a home and there are thousands of certified stagers available to help you do it - if your sellers have the budget to hire someone.

However, in many cases staging fees won't be a top priority for your sellers, so it'll be up to you as the listing agent to help your clients get their home "show ready". There are lots of different considerations you can make, but many of them involve additional costs and can be rather time consuming. So how can you help your sellers manage their home staging duties without breaking the bank? Use these three guidelines.

3 Simple Real Estate Staging Tips for Busy Agents:

Are you making the most of your MLS listing photos?

I've recently been looking at homes for sale and am sad to report that many of the MLS listings are severely lacking when it comes to quality photos. Most of the listings aren't as bad as some of the photo fails we shared a while back - but agents often neglect to focus on the most important areas of their listing, provide only one photo or provide dark, out of focus or warped images.

But the question is, if you are to provide the best possible photos to intrigue buyers without giving away the farm, which photos should you consistently include on the MLS? 

Trulia did a survey to find out what the most important listing photos are. Surprisingly, men and women both agreed that the following five photos are the most critical when it comes to deciding whether or not a property is worth taking a look at. 

Here are the Top 5 MLS Listing Photos You Must Include: