By being so involved in Chicago Agent’s Who’s Who issue – writing and editing everyone’s bios takes a lot of work! – I get a firsthand look at why the people in this issue deserve to be featured. This

Negotiation is about mastering a few skills: patience, focusing on the other side’s pressure, and offering something the other party wants in return for what you want – whether it’s a house for your client, or, a pair of

When changes happen, it can really throw things off kilter. We get used to a routine, a pace or a way of doing things, and while change can be good, changes forced on us can be completely different. People

In a business like real estate, it’s evident that how agents’ customers feel during and after transactions dictate how successful agents will be. A job well done is always essential for a business to be successful, but when a

by Stephanie Sims Despite what you may hear people say, there is still a luxury market, and there are still are homes on the market with listing prices of more than $5 million – case in point: Coldwell Banker

 Agents today are well aware that using the Internet is crucial to their business. But establishing an effective online presence – the key word being “effective” – is easier said than done. Anyone can create a personal website or

If you’ve never had an assistant before, you’ll just have to trust me when I say that hiring one is life-changing. You have someone there to help with everything that needs to get done but that you just don’t

How much do you know about new construction? Do you know if housing starts in Illinois have increased or decreased since last year? What building materials are most popular, or are gaining popularity? In the cover story for this

Just kidding! Please ignore that title – being a Pink Floyd fan, I couldn’t resist the urge to title this note that, given this is Chicago Agent’s education issue. But I think we can all agree that the title

It doesn’t always work with scheduling, but this year, we had our Top Producers issue party the night before we went to press with this issue. Being amongst more than 100 top-producing agents in a single setting (and a

In this issue’s cover story, we wanted to compare “the big three” – Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, – and show agents exactly what they got for their money when it came to advertising on each site. Unfortunately, this was

This year is an election year, meaning several changes to government programs – and laws – are being proposed. Democrats have their views, and Republicans’ views differ, but one thing is certain: we’re all watching with anticipation to see

As agents, most of your business is dependent on yourself. You’re the one who has to market your skills and listings. You’re the one who has to get out there and make sure everyone sees your face and accomplishments.

The end of the year is already here. Is that hard for anyone else to believe, too? My first year with Chicago Agent seemed to go by quickly, but it was, without a doubt, a busy and fun year,

What’s on your radar, and what are you paying attention to? Maybe you’re watching indicators of the market to see what might change, or maybe you’re staying up to date on the latest new tech tools, from the newest

If you’ve got a ghostbuster in your little black book of preferred vendors, kudos to you, because that’s pretty spectacular. You never know when a client will need a good ghostbuster – more often than not, though, they’ll need