Life Is Like a Box Of Chocolates...

Don't tell me that you don't have enough money and time to get the training, marketing, and coaching you need to get your business running again. You don't have the luxury to NOT do it.

Are You Taking The Ostrich Approach?
I keep talking to brokers and agents who feel like the solution to the current market challenges is to hide their heads in the sands, conserve their resources, cut their expenses and wait for it to pass.  And, if you've got enough put aside to last you a few more years, this approach might work, but you may also find that when you take your head out of the sandbar you've had it stuck in, that the world around you has left you behind.

Hunkering Down & Doing Nothing In This Market is Like Running Downhill Backwards: you're falling further behind and you're in serious danger of tumbling into bankruptcy. 

I've Got To Pay The Rent!
I've got news for you.  If you can't pay the rent, then you're already out of the business - you just don't know it yet.  If you're attached to staying in, then I suggest a part-time job to make ends meet until you get your act together again.  You're not going to make a sale anyway when you're in this headset - the clients will smell the fear and desperation on you and they will go elsewhere.  

Going Back To Basics
If you're like me and you've been in the business for a while, then you know that the mantra of the industry when times get tough is to go "back to the basics".  And, yes, the basics of prospecting, talking to people, doing regular marketing, etc. are still valid ways to get business.  But in today's market, they are just not enough. 

Get Onto The Web
If you haven't figured out how to use social media and internet marketing techniques for your business yet, then get on it!  This is THE WAY that buyers find houses today.  If you're not fluent in the jargon of the web, then you're a dinosaur waiting for extinction.  You need training in good web design, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SEM (Search Engine Marketing), and Social Media.  You probably could also use a refresher course in writing good marketing copy for the web (it's not the same as print).  If you're looking for a good book on the subject, check out Web Copy That Sells - The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every Time by Maria Veloso

Get Specialized Knowledge and Be Timely
Get out and learn more about the market today.  Read everything you can get your hands on.  Then write about it to your clients, prospects, on your blog, etc.  The more it seems clear to the people who are watching you that you are an expert on the current market conditions, the more likely it will be that people will choose to work with you.

You've Got To Spend Money To Make Money
You're going to have to learn new skills and that means training.  You're going to have to enter new markets and that means marketing.  You're going to have to get onto the web and that means paying for some tools.  If you turn off the dollars going out, your turn off the dollars coming in too.  Don't make this common mistake!