All you really want is to sell your house successfully. Should you FSBO? Should you hire a real estate agent? What makes an agent stand out and the mediocre drop out later in the game?

A positive attitude tops the list of characteristics that real estate professionals live by. When the world comes crumbling down, as in a depressed housing market cycle, agents look at downturns as an opportunity and maximize on that opportunity.

Real estate agents have an organized and efficient follow-up system. Their success at closing deals depends on returning calls, prioritizing appointments, punctuality and integrity. This is the only way people will entrust the sale of their homes to them. The client's comfort level is important to a professional - an element he never takes for granted.

A real estate professional stays in tune. She reads the classified ads religiously, and makes it her business to know what is going on. Her networking skills are above average, she attends the latest seminars, nurtures close relationships with people who are directly or indirectly connected to the housing market industry.

Some individuals have doubts about a real estate professionals' competence when they are just starting out. Experience is, after all, the old reliable in any profession, not just in this market. But the true, beginning professionals do not let this long-held belief discourage them. They are usually able to demonstrate, quite skilfully, that they are the hungriest and the most willing to do whatever it takes to sell a house.

Do not treat your real estate agent as Mr. or Ms. Know it All. They are not flawless! They do not know everything there is to know. They make mistakes, just like everyone. When an agent tells you to wait because your property will probably not sell quickly these days, take her word with a grain of salt.

Check out the Help Sell House Guide which includes more than 30 questions to ask when interviewing a real estate agent before you hire one to help get your house sold.