Seasonal party-time is upon us! And you, as Realtor®, are likely to be greeted by "How's Business?" or "I hear the real estate market has really tanked..." Both your attitude and your response in these social situations are critical to your business and family relations. Unprepared, you will blame the 2006 market and hurt your real estate career.

However, "armed" with a little forethought, up-to-date market knowledge, and creativity, you may greet everyone in your "sphere-of-influence" with confidence and improve your business in 2007.

Remember to be "proactive" in getting helpful information to your prospects, whether they are looking to buy or sell right now or sometime in the future. The market is readjusting and you need to let your prospects know that there are good opportunities for real estate investments. Be prepared to cite some concrete examples in your general market area, especially in new construction projects and conversions that are aggressively retooling to find the buyer demand.

Developers have inventory to sell right now and they cannot afford to let their homes and condos sit empty. In recent weeks, they have become far more realistic in their pricing incentives to help you, the agent, bring buyers to the closing table. They have done this in a number of ways including sizable price reductions, generous cash benefits at closing, adding upgrades, lowering down payments, and raising agent commissions.

And for your sluggish listing inventory, why not employ the strategies of successful developers? Have you looked at comparable new properties and included them in your Competitive Market Analysis? The New Year is a great time to sit down with your sellers and readdress marketing plans.

Perhaps the best way to avoid the negative real estate greeting is to put some "fun" real estate images into the minds of your friends before you see them. Let them "live a dream" with a weekly email greeting that contains some new project that you just discovered, such as a new Trump Tower, a mountain retreat, or a home site in Belize resort that backs up to the world’s only Jaguar Preserve. This makes for interesting cocktail conversation and is likely to result in you, as the “perceived expert” on hand, being remembered as the helpful professional for their next real estate transaction.