Victoria Del Frate's (vdelfrate) Blog

How many times in 2008 did you mutter under your breath, ‘I really should clean up my database,' ‘I've got to create a system for staying in touch with my past customers,' or ‘I need to get out of my office and meet some new Realtors'? Perhaps these weren't just frustrated or wishful utterances i...

Have YOU shifted into "planning mode" yet? Are you writing down your spectacular goals for 2009? Did you take a look back over 2008 and determine the R.O.I. for the various strategies, systems and services you employed? Yes? Congratulations, you are indeed a member of a very elite and small group...

Regardless of the market, how long it takes to close a deal or the aggravation of ever-tightening loan guidelines, a Realtor's focus must remain on one thing, building their pipeline! Just think of the market and all of its distractions like a magician's act...While the magician is waving his ar...

Does hearing "at the end of the day" make your eye twitch uncontrollably? How ‘bout when your business partner looks at you after three hours of supposed strategic planning, and wraps up the meeting with, "It is what it is"? Did a grin just emerge or have your knuckles paled? A cliché can be desc...

We've all heard the saying, "The truth hurts." Generally, these words have been relayed to us in a harsh and sobering tone with the accusatory question, "Doesn't it?" added on as a bit of salt in the wound.  Most of us are also familiar with the inspiring words of Jesus Christ when he said, "The ...

As entrepreneurs it can become very easy to slip into, what I call, the Work Schedule Twilight Zone. This is the zone that seems to suck the consistency of showing up to work at the same time every day right out of our core being. It's the zone that confuses us into thinking that by becoming entr...

My client looked across his desk at me during our first day of my on-site visit and proclaimed, "It's just like Texas Hold ‘em, Coach...I'm ALL in." It struck me that the fierceness in which he drew out the vowel sound in Aaaall, prescribed his future.  I experienced a moment of pure reverence fo...

The road you were on yesterday, the road you find yourself on today, and the road you will travel tomorrow are all  the "right" road. This has become a mantra that I've been sharing with my clients and friends lately. I generally reserve it for those times when someone makes statements like, "I s...

Huh? Yes, you heard me right. I said, "Fail!" You might be wondering, ‘Why would a Coach demand that I do the very thing that I've been focused on avoiding all of my life?' The reason is steeped in the following three words, "focused on avoiding." The fact is that the vast majority of the populat...

Should you call your mother? Should you write down your goals? Should you develop a marketing plan for the year? Should you get a house cleaner, hire an assistant, open an IRA account, create a budget, live by your values and respect your elders? No, you should not! However, if you choose to, the...