Top 3 Reasons you ARE NOT a Successful Real Estate Agent
Reason 1: Consistency
The biggest mistake I see most real estate agents make is their lack of consistency. One day they’ll work 8 hours and the next day they won’t show up,and by show up I don’t mean it in the literal sense-I mean it in the figurative sense. Showing up encompasses any of the following activities : prospecting, following up, and closing (for appointments or escrows).
I’d rather coach someone who dedicates 2-4 hours a day to their business consistently versus someone who shows up all day one day but then disappears for 4 days.
At any job if you didn’t come into work unexcused for one day let alone two-you’d be fired, but for some reason it’s acceptable in our industry for people to go AWOL.
Not in my world. Nothing captures my attention more than someone who shows up everyday. Those are the people who get my immediate help when they need it because those are the ones I know who are committed.
This by the way, is true for almost anything, which is even more perplexing because I think, subconsciously we all know when we aren’t contributing enough effort into our business to warrant the success we believe we deserve or are entitled to.
The Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 Hour Rule Applies here too.
Reason 2 : Dedication to Improvement
90% of the agents in my profession think that because they’ve heard a training once, they don’t have to hear it again. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Why is it easier to accept that a prestigious profession such as a Doctor, Lawyer, CPA requires years, perhaps decades, of education, but that our profession only requires 16 weeks? I call this real estate porn. There is no way on God’s green earth that you’re going to learn everything you need to learn in 16 months let alone 16 weeks.
It’s going to take time. Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule applies here too. I am still learning and more importantly, I am open and eager to learn new material that I can incorporate into my businesses to make me better. You can’t go to one 3 Day Seminar per year and think that’s enough. If you aren’t participating in one conference per quarter, you are doing an injustice to yourself, your family, and your clients. If you aren’t reading books, articles, blogs or listening to audiobooks DAILY, you are doing an injustice to yourself, your family, and your clients.
Reason 3: It Takes Money to Make Money
Ah yes-more real estate porn: The belief (I like to call it fantasy) that you don’t have to invest and re-invest funds back into your business.
You are a business. Let that sink in as it bears repeating. YOU ARE A BUSINESS. You are the CEO and the Janitor. Many agents simply think of themselves as just that – a one (wo)man shop with no set hours and no set budget and no set receivables which is why you have no set income.
Treat your profession like a bonafide business and it will compensate you back the same way. If you had a restaurant you’d invest in signage, furniture, appliances, printing, and inventory. This only makes sense, but when marketing your most valuable asset, yourself, I’ve seen some people who don’t even want to invest in a new business suit until they generate income.
If you are just getting started-you WILL need to invest in your business in the form of tools, licenses, & education. This is no different than you purchasing a McDonalds which can require investments of up to $2,000,000. For less than one half of 1% you can get your real estate business started. That’s the beauty of our industry, the startup cost is relatively inexpensive. That’s also a detriment to our industry as more people are inclined to just dip their foot in the water instead of diving into the profession. When the barriers of entry are greater, and the investment cost higher, you are statistically more likely to follow it through.
You must be willing to reinvest a portion of your profits back into your business on a regular basis. A good margin is 10-15% of your profits should be re-invested. I’ve seen some heavy hitting successful real estate business models consisting of a two-person team that re-invest up to 30% of their profits back into the business.
There is obviously more involved just these 3 simple steps, but my experience has been that when you master these 3 core skills, everything else becomes a little easier.
I look forward to hearing about your success!
Want to hear me rant some more?
If you are interested in completing the courses required to get your California State Real Estate Salesperson’s License in under 16 weeks, and for less than the cost of your cell phone, visit The College of Real Estate or call them directly (888) 512-CORE.
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Our internal real estate coaching programs help our agents achieve a higher rate of production. Additional outside coaching programs are available (at the agent’s own expense) and encouraged. Many of our agents have utilized Mike Ferry and Tom Ferry as their coaches.
