HOW TO FAIL IN REAL ESTATE
A “How to” Guide for REALTORS
This Blog is meant to be an eye opener for Real Estate Professionals.
Let’s face it. There are millions of critics out there. There are millions of things wrong with ….well….everything.
If you look for it you will find it. It is where you focus your attention is where it all begins. FACT.
If this Blog post pisses you off then perfect. That is exactly what I am trying to accomplish. Kind of. Let me explain. Life is made up of choices. The difference is in the choices that you make. A reaction to something is a choice. How will you react? Will you make the choice to be pissed off or will you choose to take a look at yourself and make some positive changes or adjustments? Its up to you. Luke warm does not do anything. But having said that if you are luke warm and comfortable being there then that is awesome. But this BLOG is not for you. BUT if want more than that….if you want to be more than average or like I prefer to say…”EXTRA-ordinary then READ ON!!! If I get your blood boiling then at least something will happen.
How to Fail …Here’s the first 6….let me know if you want to know more and I will write another one….cause I have more…believe me.
1) Sit around the office with your cohorts and tell war stories about failed deals and talk about how “Buyers are Liars”. This will re-enforce that fact. You have now created that fact to be true. Yet each time you run into a situation that again re-enforces that fact you will actually be surprised. Wake up!! You create your own reality. Why don’t you just follow that up with...”There is no business out there right now…” and mix in a little….”Boy it sure is tough right now”…..splash in a little ….”My listings just don’t sell” and you perfect FAILURE cocktail.
2) Tell your listing clients that “open houses don’t work…the only reason to do an open house is for the REALTOR to get buyer leads so it is really just a waste of time Mr.and Mrs. Seller” – Ding dong!! Do you currently have too many buyers right now? If you have never sold a home off of an open house then you are doing it wrong and you have the wrong attitude and expectations set up in your mind. That is an excuse for laziness. Not that open houses are the only answer but that reasoning is the worst possible reasoning that anyone can come up with. Stop it. FAIL.
3)When the market is slow for you – complain about the market being slow so that you can perfectly justify your laziness to get up off of you ass and cause something to happen. Once you make that claim, you have sealed the deal. IT now becomes true and solidified into your reality. It is great to have a reason that you are failing. Isn’t it. It helps justify things better for you. Don’t take a second to evaluate your activities. Don’t take time to reset your mind and your goals and Why you want to achieve those goals. No that may be too painful for you. Whatever you have done in the last 60 -90 days has got your here. Guess what……it is YOUR own fault. Nobody else’s. Turn the NEWS off.
What do you have to change? Now! What can you do to develop more business? These are the thoughts that need to be in your mind. Not where could I go to make it easier for me? There is no silver bullet in any office. Real Estate office owners are not here to rescue your already crappy business and your crappy attitude. We are here to support people who work and cause a stir. To make you greater than you already are. That is what the Real Estate office is here for. We are here to compliment your business not pull you out of the ditch. Which is a nice segue into my next point….
4) Blame the office that you are part of for your failure. The best time to make a move to another office is when you are experiencing success and at that point is where you can identify the needs that you can add to your business. What more value can I add to my awesome clients? What can the office do to support my busy business? What systems are in place? Do they have more ways to expose the listings for my clients? Do they have good management? Do they have good front end staff to make me look good? Do they have an active owner who cares about the business? Do they have a nice office? When my clients come into the office, what is their experience? Is there more Wow factors here?
5) Get advice from REALTORs that don’t do any business. This is a good one. I see it all the time. The REALTOR that has all the time in the world to work with the newby is usually someone who is not doing any business anyway. Or was doing a lot of business 10 years ago and is now in retirement mode. Great they are right tapped into today’s way of marketing and lead generation. There is some value there but watch out for those types of mentor programs. If the manager or trainer teaches one element of the business only….like tech stuff because it is new and sexy but has no other experience succeeding in the business then watch out for that. The shiny new thing will only be shiny for a short period of time. There are right ways and wrong ways to build this business and the basics will always be there. Tech stuff is good and there are a lot of great tools out there but that is all that they are – tools. They are not going to make or break your success. This is a PEOPLE BUSINESS and it always will be. People helping people. We need to work on the people part. This is our focus here. The people. Check out their training programs and attend a few before taking the plunge.
6) Don’t ever spend any time on your database of clients. No that is not fun at all. Do you know who your A+ clients are? Do you know how to qualify a client to be A+? Do you know who your A’s are? Do you have their phone numbers in your phone? How many B’s can become A’s…..how do you do that? Do you know? If you have been in the business more than 3 years and do not know the answers to these questions….shame on you….EPIC FAIL! And if you have performed any of the above fails and then failed here……well……heavy sigh. Time to get your poop in a group. I am not joking. This is the most basic of basic to building a great business. If you do this right then you are never looking for clients. If your office hasn’t taken the time to teach you this then shame on them. But if your office has offered to teach you this and you chose not to show up then you have no right to complain about anything. I am sorry but that is ridiculous. This is your business man.
I might make this a series because this particular BLOG is getting to long….
Club 100 starting in the new year….Once per month effective tools of the trade and insights on how to build a great business…..Let me know if you would like to attend.
Make a great day!!
Kelly Johnston – Sutton Group Showplace Realty Ltd.
