CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE UPDATE #5

INTRODUCTION

CALIFORNIA LICENSE UPDATE

Get Your License Now

Acquiring a Real Estate Salespersons License in California is a simple process. It has two steps:

1. You must complete a College-Level Course in Real Estate Principles. Your transcript for this course is sent to the Department of Real Estate when you request a test date for the 150-question Sales Exam.

2. You must pass the State test with a grade of 70% or better.

For more information on this subject including prices and tips on how to pass the exam, please visit our Web site at www.DuaneGomer.com and start at the Frequently Asked Questions For Getting A License. If you have any other questions concerning your personal situation, call our staff at 800-439-4909.

Is it a good time to get a license? Yes, it is not as good as yesterday but much better than tomorrow. DRE recently appointed a task force to consider changes to licensing. A couple items under consideration are requiring three courses instead of one to schedule a test and changing the test again. The last time they changed the exams passing rates dropped to about 10%. You don't want to wait and take any new exam. It is not costly to get a license and hold for the future when you will want to use it.

Did you know that as of February 2002:

1. There are 316,898 licensees in the State and 208,855 are salespersons
2. 53% of the applicants passed the sales exam this fiscal year, therefore 47% failed. (We can increase your chances of passing to at least 90%.)
3. 15,671 new salesperson licensees were issued since the start of the fiscal year 7/1/01.
4. 78% of the licensees are renewing their licenses which is an extremely high rate.
5. two good sources of information about licensing are www.dre.ca.gov and www.DuaneGomer.com.

TECHNICAL TIPS FROM A NON-TECHIE (Duane Gomer)

Our company receives e-mails from hundreds of licensees on a daily basis. There is one item missing in over 90% of the messages. There are no "signature files".

A signature file is information automatically appended to your e-mail message, providing your name, phone number, fax number, address, e-mail address, a link to your Web site, and perhaps a motto, a logo, or a statement of purpose. This can be designated to be on all your messages or you can decide to add the signature only to those you want to have this information.

Many times I would like to quickly call someone and I don't have their name and number. Sometimes, I would like to know where they are located so I can answer their e-mail with more specific information and I have only a "hotmail" address. Many techies think "everyone" sits at a computer and answers e-mails immediately. Test this theory and send am e-mail to different real estate agents. You might be surprised in the amount of time it takes to get a reply.

In my experience, some students want only e-mail, some want faxes, some want a phone call and some want a letter. Using e-mail for every reply is like using a hammer for every household repair when a screwdriver would do much better sometimes. When you are a client, you can insist on e-mail. When you are a "seller", you conform to the client.

Professionals have more than one signature file. For example, we are developing appraisal courses so our signature file for those prospects will be different than for students, friends, prospects, etc.

This same method can be used to automatically respond in different situations. You might want to send out thank you e-mails to everyone who visited one of your listings. This can be done using the signature file procedure. We use this method to send passwords to students who want to test on the Internet.

If you have never heard of this and are not technically blessed, find yourself a 10 year old child. They can handle this quickly and inexpensively.

If you have some of the "free" e-mail services, procedures like this might not be available. Incidentally, if you want to become efficient in today's sales world, you will have to upgrade "free" e-mail services. When you use "free" services, you are getting what you pay for.

A couple examples on how to start:

• America Online and CompuServe: Click on "Mail Center" in the toolbar; Click on "Setup Mail Signature"; Click on "Create" and be creative; Set default to "On" and you're done.
• Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express: Click on "Help" and enter "signature" and click on the word "search". Follow these instructions for creating a Signature File.

Some other thoughts:

1. Update regularly.
2. Use no more than 70 characters per line as you don't know what type of e-mail service provider your recipient may use.
3. Most sources don't recommend graphics, icons or sketches.
4. Check the signature files of professionals you admire. (I use Allen F. Hainge" at www.cyberstars.net).
5. KISS - "Keep It Simple Stupid", no more than 4 to 8 lines.
6. You can use signature files to announce an offer, something for free, an event, contest or award, etc.
7. For Web sites on this subject, go to www.coolsig.com or www.123promote.com or www.webnovice.com.

Next issue -- An exam on 1031 Exchange you can give to your prospects and clients.

COMPLETE INFORMATION ON REAL ESTATE LICENSING

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