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As a real estate author and life-long student of the industry I try to make a point to read as many real estate books as I can. The last I counted we’re up to over 56 real estate books in our team’s little library, some might be missing in action.
Each year, I’ve compiled a list of the top new real estate book releases (here are lists for 2017, 2018). To qualify, the book must have been published this year, available in print and have made Amazon’s top 100 at some point. This list isn’t the best real estate books of all time, and it does not include broader business or marketing focused books.
Here is the list of releases sorted by publishing date along with description and my thoughts:
1. How to be a Great Real Estate Agent: The Principles of Client-Oriented Real Estate (CORE)
Joe Rand, Jan. 29
Joe Rand’s second book, How to be a Great Real Estate Agent, Rand shows you how to take a client-oriented approach to every aspect of your business. It will change the way you think about the industry, making you a better real estate agent — and a better person.
2. Commission Impossible: Rogue Agent
Eric Simon and Eric Lee, March 4
The guys over at Broke Agent created a very relatable and highly entertaining comic book. It’s perfect for your coffee table or as a gift for someone in your office. This one is good for a laugh.
3. Blueprint: The Agent’s Guide to Building a Thriving Real Estate Business
Garry Creath and Chris Scott, March 19
It’s easy to forget that you’re not just selling real estate — you’re running a business. Chances are, the training you’ve received has been focused on regulations and legal issues but did nothing to increase your sales, marketing and financial savvy. This book will change all that. It’s time to start thinking like an entrepreneur. In Blueprint, Garry Creath and Chris Scott show you how to develop a solid business plan, set long- and short-term goals, research a potential market, structure and track your finances.
4. The Altman Close: Million-Dollar Negotiating Tactics from America’s Top-Selling Real Estate Agent
Josh Altman, April 9
If you’re a fan of Million Dollar Listing and are thinking about picking up Josh Altman’s new book, I would probably recommend buying his first book, It’s Your Move: My Million Dollar Method for Taking Risks with Confidence and Succeeding at Work and Life instead.
Also consider Sell it Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine or The Sell: The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone. Sorry Altman, but this one didn’t do it for me, and judging by the reviews, other readers were disappointed as well.
5. World Class Buyer Agent
Michael Hellickson, with contributions from Club Wealth coaches, April 9
Written by five top coaches with Club Wealth, this book breaks down the role of buyer’s agent.
Whether you’re on a team currently, considering joining one or have decided to be a solo practitioner, this book breaks down the economics and systems using real world numbers.
You’ll learn proven strategizes to get to the next level from authors who’ve actually done it. As a team leader this should be a required reading for new team members.
6. Rehumanize Your Business: How Personal Videos Accelerate Sales and Improve Customer Experience
Ethan Beute and Stephen Pacinelli, April 16
Beute and Pacinelli from BombBomb share everything they’ve learned about communication. Rehumanize Your Business explains how to dramatically improve relationships and results with your customers, prospects, employees and recruits by adding personal videos to emails, text messages and social messages. If you want to get better at building relationships and connecting via video, read this book.
7. Success Habits for Dummies
Dirk Zeller, May 7
Written by long-time industry expert Dirk Zeller, Success Habits For Dummies is a gold mine of startling insights and practical pointers on achieving success.
No matter what your station in life, it can quickly put you on the road to the success you want and deserve, with wit, warmth and loads of practical wisdom.
8. Success Is in Your Sphere: Leverage the Power of Relationships to Achieve Your Business Goals
Zvi Band, May 15
Learn to leverage the power of your existing relationships to achieve your business goals by staying top-of-mind through what Zvi Band has dubbed the CAPITAL strategy, which stands for consistency, aggregate, prioritize, investigate, timely engagement, adding value and leverage.
As the co-founder of Contactually, which was recently acquired by Compass, Band knows a thing or two about effective relationship building. Success is in Your Sphere is filled with real-world examples and best practices regardless of what CRM you’re using, or if you have one at all.
9. Dominate Real Estate: A Master Plan to Build a Thriving Real Estate Business with Actionable Sales and Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Professionals
James Tyler, Aug. 20
The Dominate Real Estate book is a practical step-by-step guide to help real estate professionals nationwide find wealth and happiness. The author focuses on overcoming the challenges of business development, marketing and sales to help build a profitable and scalable real estate business and eventually, an enjoyable lifestyle.
10. The Half Millionaire Real Estate Agent: The 52 Secrets to Making a Half Million Dollars a Year While Working a 20-Hour Work Week
Brian Ernst, Sept. 24
The title is clearly a play on the Millionaire Real Estate Agent and promises financial success and freedom while only working 20 hours a week.
The author shares how to utilize the best tools for saving time and increasing profit, how to create exponential growth through effective lead generation, and how to identify the right market and the right clients. I found the concepts presented to be straight forward and realistic for anyone who is willing to focus.
11. Exactly What to Say: For Real Estate Agents
Phil M. Jones, Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin, Sept. 30
In Exactly What To Say for Real Estate Agents, Phil M. Jones, Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin provide 30 Magic Words to help with the most common, critical and difficult conversations real estate agents have today. This is the perfect addition to Smith’s second book, Conversion Code, which I also highly recommend.
12. The Making of a Dream Girl!: How I Sold and Made Millions in Real Estate
Claudine L. Ellis, Oct. 5
This is a great book for anyone considering getting into the real estate business, especially if they’ve been watching way too much HGTV and Million Dollar Listing. The author examines why the failure rate of new agents in the industry is so high, her style is straight to the point and the delivery is entertaining at times.
13. Success Rate Marketing: How Small Businesses Can Leverage KPIs and Stop Losing Money
Brandon Doyle, Oct. 11
As an agent, you’re constantly bombarded by vendors claiming to have the best new marketing program. The amount of options where to spend your precious marketing dollars can be overwhelming.
If you go in any real estate Facebook group, there are agents who swear by some new strategy or company and plenty others who say they’re a rip-off.
So how do you know what works? I wrote Success Rate Marketing to teach you how to identify and measure your own key performance indicators, so you can determine where your marketing dollars are best spent.
14. Rise, Shine & Sell: A Blueprint to New Home Sales Success
Mar’Sue Mangelsdorf Haffner (with various contributors), Oct. 18
Mar’Sue Mangelsdorf Haffner shares her insights on the sales process, personalities and corresponding negotiation strategies. Although this book was written for new-construction sales reps, I found the information to be applicable to all real estate agents.
15. The Modern Real Estate Professionals Guide to Success: Building a Sustainable and Successful Real Estate Business in Today’s World
Marki Lemons Ryhal, Oct. 20
Marki Lemons-Ryhal is a phenomenal speaker who has been featured at NAR annual conferences and Inman Connect events, this actionable business journal features 140 messages with space for you to reflect and write your thoughts.
What did I miss? If you’re planning on publishing a real estate book in 2020, please let me know in the comments section below, and I’ll be sure to check it out.
Brandon Doyle is a Realtor at Doyle Real Estate Team — Re/Max Results in Minneapolis and co-author of Mindset, Methods & Metrics – Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent. You can follow him on Twitter.
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