There are four phases for most Realtors in their career: The beginning, the learning, the figuring it out and the rewarding.
Understanding each phase is critical in discovering your path in real estate, why quite a few do not thrive and ensuring that you will. I started initially, but I still see agents acting like beginners after ten years in the business, but I digress!
Most real estate salespeople at first believe what their clients are saying. Betty is sweet, Mark looks after me, Sharon is fantastic, and Philip is good.
And then?
Things start changing; you get busy, there is more work to do, you are falling behind, your clients are relentless, they’re bugging you, instead of working 10 hours a day, you now are working 14, you cancel the times with your children, the date with your partner, the missed phone call or emails not returned.
No matter how hard you try, you are getting behind. So what do most do? Stop your marketing and networking because you need more time.
And Then?
You are not busy anymore! So you start the frantic race again, but this time, because you had no systematic follow-up and tasks, your recent past clients feel that your service and skills were lacking! They may not refer you and most likely will never! Another vicious cycle starts!
(When someone tells me their real estate business is slow, I know what they did not do 3-6 months ago!).
As Michael Gerber wrote in The E-Myth Revisited, a business that depends on you, your style, personality, presence, talent, and willingness to do the work and you are not there, are sick, injured, on holiday, then, of course, your customers will go someplace else!
If your real estate business depends on you, welcome to long nights, weekends worked, missed family engagements, stress and burnout. Ask yourself, your partner, and your children, is this the best way to spend the rest of your life? Is that really why you got into real estate in the first place?
And then?
What kind of help does the underpaid, overworked, frustrated REALTOR go & do? You hire an assistant, team up with someone, or move to another real estate brokerage because the grass is greener!
Now, they are excited again; things will get better; they say, I can work half the time, I don’t have to do this, do that, and I will make more money!
Well, the opposite happens time and time again. You’ve seen it; I’ve seen it. Your so-called freedom is now weighing you down with a chain and anchor! A client calls about the less than courteous call from your partner or assistant, or you did not follow up as promised, or those feature sheets were wrong, you forgot to call someone back, you’re late for appointments, the name on offer is incorrect, you missed a clause and on and on. So what do you think you could do? You say no one can do it as well as I can; I’ll do it!
And Then?
Oops! Guess where you are again?
It’s not your clients who drive you crazy (or lack of clients!) It’s not your buyers, your brokerage, the other agent, the home inspector, the appraiser, the mortgage lender, the home stager or for that matter; the world’s a problem!
The problem is you because you do not know any other way. You are now at your limit; your capacity to create a lavish lifestyle is burdensome, and so what you do is put your head down and work, work or as over 80% of you do, keep doing the same thing over and over and over, and then leave the business.
Again, a real tragedy.
How Do I Know?
I’ve been there all four stages; sometimes, it felt like six stages, but I kept getting up every time I fell, pushed down or kicked; I just got up. I have also seen the ‘superstars’ fade away, broke or broken!
I have made all of these mistakes many times over. After banging my head on that proverbial brick wall, I developed, designed and in a constant work-in-progress system, a way to change the frustration, the fear that provides an income that a real estate salesperson deserves and a lifestyle that you decide on, not the real estate business.
If you are in any of the stages above or don’t want to be, let’s chat and see if I can help your real estate career in London Ontario. 519-435-1600
Has your career stalled? Are you dissatisfied with your current income level?
Sometimes, committed agents with a high potential need a proven system to break through to the next highest level. On their own, it’s challenging to figure out exactly how to ‘power up a career.
Unfortunately, managers often don’t have the time to help, or if so, it is old to spend money on this, spend money on that, go door knocking, pick up the phone book, etc. All stuff no genuine absolute realtor does because they are busy with their clients and buyers and sellers contacting them!
Would you like to get from ‘ok’ to ‘awesome’? Our systems work for you, the Realtor who cares about their clients.
If you feel you should make more money, now’s the time to find out how. You owe the 30-45 minutes to you and your family.
Please feel free to contact me today at 519-435-1600.