Kathie, Thank you so much for making your strategies so simple and clear. I'm appreciate your sound advice. Looking forward to your next posting.

Anthony

Roy,

Again, you've hit it on the nose. Great list of questions. Thanks so much.

Cheers!

Roy,

Thanks so much for your article.

Cheers!

Judith,

Thanks for your article!

Cheers!

Don,

Thank you for your article. You are spot on!

Cheers!

Sherri,

Thanks so much for this great article! The only thing I would add to your list is to have fun!

Cheers!

Evan, thanks for the nice list of ideas. I've been practicing several of your ideas in my own business plan and will work on a couple more to expand my network. What I'd love to know is how to find the time to implement everything your suggesting. At what point does a small business owner need to higher someone to implement all of these ideas? Are there services available and affordable to the financially challenged small business owner? Is there such a thing as a marketing coach?

Fiona,

Thank you so much for starting this discussion! It was very brave of you to ask for help while you were feeling down, and I love the advice that has come out of it.

I am also in the mortgage industry, I have been for 17 years and know what your going through! I've seen 70% of my friends leave the real estate and lending world this year due to the current market conditions. My best advice to you is to decide if this business is your passion. Ask yourself: " Self, do you really love what you do? Are you in this business because you love helping people? Could you keep doing this work if you didn't make any money?"

If your answer is "yes, yes, yes!", then embrace your passion for this business and don't give up! Go out into the world and share your passion with everyone you meet. Stop selling! Start Sharing.

If you need to make money at this time, get another job until you build your business back up. The first two down-cycles that I went through, I worked night jobs while I built my business during the day.

Don't fear rejection, embrace it! Every person that says no to you, is one less person that needs your help. Thats a good thing! Keep looking for the ones who do need it. Keep embracing the "nos" eventually they will lead you to a "yes"

I have a ton of things to share with you, but I can't write them all down here. It would take too long! Please feel free to contact me if you would like to receive more support from a fellow mortgage person.

Best of luck,

Anthony www.anthonyebright.com

Hi Suzanne,

I've been in the business for 17 years and am also looking to make solid connections with real estate professionals. I've seen many people come and go in this business! My agents are starting to call me an old-timer! :-)

I've had plenty of success doing business over the phone and across the U.S. My clients stay with me because they like knowing someone they can count on to get the job done and to give them an honest deal. Please feel free to review my profile or contact me if you would like to have a national lender on your team.

Best Regards,

Anthony

P.S. Alain, kudos to you for staying in the business!

Viv,

I use both Linkedin and Facebook. I've found new and old friends through both networks. I use both sites as a online reference of my experience and work history. When I meet a new client, I always invite them to visit my profile page on either site. That way, they can get to know more about me at their own time.

Since I signed up with biznik, I've been sending clients here as well. I really like the visual design of this site! I also tried Myspace but didn't really enjoy working with it because the graphics are so distracting. I would recommend that you experiment with a few to see which sites appeal to you. Good Luck!

http://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyebright http://profile.to/anthonyebright/