All of our lives, we’ve been told procrastination is a bad thing, something to avoid — even a sign of laziness. Yet, obviously, procrastination is human nature. Most of us don’t jump out of bed every morning saying, “I’m going to accomplish a bunch of stuff today that’s due three weeks from now!”

Whether a client is buying or selling — everyone wants to work with an expert who knows a neighborhood inside and out. No one wants a know-nothing-newbie. So, what do you do if you’re new to the business and want to build clientele in a neighborhood that you might not know well? It’s time to dig in. Here are three tips to help you become a neighborhood expert in a new area.

Dry spells — they happen to the best of us. But just because your business might slow down a bit, it doesn’t mean you can afford to sit around and wallow in sadness or let it get you down.

You have to keep moving and hustle twice as hard to make it through tough times, especially in an industry like real estate. Here are three ways to get your groove back during a dry spell in real estate:

I have a confession to make; my friends and clients already know, but I’m ready to tell the world now. When it comes to the real estate game — I’m a straight-up, old-school stalker.

Ah, the glamorous life of a “Million Dollar Listing” agent: flashy cars, expensive jewelry, gourmet meals, hair and makeup, negotiating deals and making sales. Life in the fast lane. Well, sort of. No doubt, real estate is a dream career for me. I am a firm believer it’s the best job in the world. It offers freedom, flexibility and opportunities to create wealth and stability for clients, friends and loved ones. It’s also — a lot of work. And not easy.

When I sat down to write an article on part 1 of this series titled “Sam DeBianchi on launching your luxury real estate career,” I realized pretty quickly that the three topics I shared barely scratched the surface. So, here are three more areas of focus that helped me go from a shiny new real estate to a multi-million dollar producer in less than five years and in the midst of a major recession.

As “the first lady” of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing” franchise — the first and only woman to appear on the show — I’m fortunate to have reached a point in my career where I sell million dollar homes with regularity.