In this mortgage climate, no one is going to contact you. In fact, I don't think any broker will contact you at any time. Agents are always available! Good agents and great agents are in demand! How do you become a good or great agent? You develop a following. You have to get out there and do your very best networking! Take a ride through the areas where you would like to work or concentrate your efforts. You should notice the same signs over and over. Make note of the agents' names and numbers. Do the same with your Sunday paper. Contact those folks. Make an appointment for breakfast or lunch. "Pick their brains!". There are 4 ways to contact those offices: 1] E-mail 2] Telephone 3] "Snail mail", which I prefer. 4] As a walk-in - unannounced. This is probably the least desirable. Listings are “the name of the game” and “the bread and butter” of the business! The listing office and agent should have control of the property. The agent who has the knack and people skills for getting listings has to work - but not as hard as the agent who does strictly sales. You have to PROPERLY AND EFFICIENTLY promote and market yourself. I would like to inform you what, possibly, NOT to do. THEN what you should do. THEN you should be able to make your decisions and proceed from there. UNLESS you are instructed to do so, DON'T fax, e-mail or text message every agent in every person you know about rates and services. DON'T use direct mail to promote your office and services. Some time ago, I read a statistic which may or may not be true today: FOR EVERY piece of direct mail a company or an individual sends, ONLY 1 in 100 will respond to that direct-mail promotion. At today's postal rates - 1st class - that's $41 you could use for other purposes. THAT'S the cost JUST for the response! This DOES NOT include the cost of buying the stationery and envelopes, toner etc. JUST to get the appointment is 1 in about 250-500. Your costs are accelerating, aren't they? AND you STILL DON'T have a lead! It takes ABOUT 1 piece of direct mail to generate 1 appointment. It takes about 1,500 to 2,000 direct mail pieces to get JUST one appointment ALL the way to the closing/settlement/escrow. That's about $600 to $800+ before you see one dollar - not to mention your time - "spinning your wheels", wasting your time. ((((You don't have a lead - yet.))))) DON'T lease or spend [notice I didn't say "invest"] your hard-earned money for a piece of equipment with automatic phone dialing and recording/speaking features, telling folks about your office and services. Do you like getting those telemarketing calls? Do you like or mind getting any telemarketing calls? If I haven't discouraged you, we'll move on to the "grey area": "cold canvassing". Its a terrific way to meet people face-to-face, one-on-one! It requires going to the same areas about once every two weeks to one month. To save yourself some time, you MAY have to make a presentation in front of a group of neighbors/residents - JUST for them to see you're a real, live, breathing, cooperative, "knowledgeable" individual. You know your product. You know how to solve various situations ["problems"] which arise on a regular basis. When you DON'T know how to solve those problems, you KNOW what hoops and hurdles you have jump over, under, around and through; who to speak with the right person to get the answers and solutions to get your deals to the settlement table/to closing/to escrow. The above are the DON'Ts, and the “gray area”. Here are a couple DOs: What about the cost of your business cards? Do you think you can "cut corners" and make a good impression with those thin, flat, lifeless, computer-generated cards? PLEASE DO yourself a HUGE favor: Invest your time, sit down and properly design your business cards. If you aren't sure, please go to a professional printer or graphic arts store and ask for help and guidance. Those folks should amaze you with ideas and concepts. In the long run, good, professionally printed business cards with raised lettering and features, go a long way to show others you care - about yourself, about your business and about your clients. When you leave, all your contacts and clients have left are two things: 1] Good, bad or indifferent - the impression you left. 2] Your business card. Don't you think it makes good sense to invest your money in a good, quality business card? Have your cards professionally printed. Find an investment group - or two - or more with professional real estate investors - &&&&&&&&&&&&& BE ACTIVE!!!! Get on committees, get to be known as a "can do" type of person. You should have fun [and Yes, some aggravation, too]. You should make some friends and begin building your client base. You should get leads! AND look how much time, money and aggravation you should save! LOTS! Do the same with your church, temple or mosque! If you have a hobby, join an organized group with interests in that hobby. Another suggestion: If you like politics, get involved with your local government, county government and school district. As the saying goes, "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." What the saying doesn't tell anyone or even mention is: YOU MUST get out there and let "the world" know about that better mousetrap! Thanks for asking your Q! I enjoyed answering it! VTY, Ron Berue Yes, that is my real last name! Sources: My wonderful family! My terrific mentors and coaches! In the real estate business over 34 years in Pennsylvania. THE ABSOLUTE BEST, MOST WONDERFUL real estate investment group in the world, which I was very proud to be a member of! “The University of Hard Knocks”