I have often been told by wannabe real estate agents that they think they have the stuff to be successful in real estate because they “just love people and love houses.” It sounds like a winning combination and it doesn’t hurt, however, it in no way guarantees success in this business. I worked as a full-time realtor at once and supported a family by selling houses and land. I later became a broker and hired and trained hundreds of real estate agents over the years and gained a clear perspective on two essential elements that made for success and longevity in the business. These two characteristics are your best friends or worst foes, depending on how you view them.
The first key to success lies with the ability of a real estate agent to generate business. A real estate agent is first and foremost a “lead generator.” Most new agents have an identity crisis and view themselves more like employees who must be told what to do rather than business owners who must start and build their product via prospecting. When these new agents find out this business is more about the grind of finding buyers and sellers to work with, via a system that is built around generating leads, rather than just showing up and waiting for something to happen, they sometimes wilt. Inspiration might get you into the business, but determination, focus and perspiration will keep you in the business. A real estate salesperson should quickly realize that it is their job each day to go out and find a job. In real estate, one employs themself by choosing methods that result in attracting buyers and sellers via a chosen path of prospecting. There are many avenues for employment (Open houses, For-Sale-by-Owners, Expired Listings, Center-of-Influence list, etc.) Often goals are set around the income one wants to earn without thinking of the activities that must be done in order to achieve the income goals. The income goal is the end goal and cannot be achieved without the activities goal which facilitates the end. The number of leads one needs to create an actual sale is far greater than most people realize, so, goals should be determined by activities that create many leads, most leads don’t pan out. One of my mentors told me around 20 years ago that the national conversion average for a new real estate is about one in seven leads, that is a lot of work to get one closing. A good broker will help a new hire form a mindset about the prospecting process that is healthy and prepares them for the prospecting grit that must form their mindset if they are to be successful.
The second key to success that can eliminate some new licensees is the strength of mind that one needs to get a file to the closing. Problem solving skills are a must in order to close out a deal because of all that can happen from the time a contract is signed and actually makes it to the closing table. Inspections can present challenges, title work can go awry, appraisals can be an issue, buyers and sellers can become difficult, loans can be denied, etc. Maintaining good body language and a calm demeanor is crucial for a new agent in order to keep everyone on an even keel and move things ahead. The real estate agent is central to any transaction because they are connected to all the players (lenders, inspectors, appraisers, title processors and closers, repair people and many more). Buyers and sellers get their cue for working through the many problems that may arise from their agent. Some agents can’t handle the stress and that is felt by their clients often resulting in bad outcomes. Agents who can’t manage their own anxiety can impact stressful situations in a negative manner. A good agent accepts the fact that obstacles are in the way and works toward solutions that remove obstacles timely and professionally. Like it or not, your clients view the transaction through your interpretation of the challenges and your reaction to those challenges. Your ability to handle the stress of challenges, that are certainly predictable, will be the difference in some files going to the closing and other files going to the trash.
Don’t underestimate the importance of either of the above elements necessary for success. Prospecting successfully means that you can handle the word “no” because you will hear it far more often than you hear the word “yes”. A good agent understands that often the word “no’ doesn’t mean “no forever” it just means “no, for now”. Timing is everything. Problems are imminent, measure yourself by accepting the fact that you are starting a business whereby you must accept these realities: 1 prospecting is a must, 2 prospecting persistently builds a reliable customer base, 3 customers write contracts and contracts create problems that must be solved if you are going to earn a living in this business.
In conclusion, many people have asked me if I thought they had the right personality for real estate to which I have concluded, through many years of experience, that there is no right personality for real estate. I have seen all personality types succeed as real estate agents because they recognized that laziness in prospecting is a foe that must go and passivity in problem solving is a foe that must go. If you are thinking of getting your real estate license, accept the task at hand of becoming a lead generator and prepare yourself for the stresses that come with this business. I hope this blog hasn’t seemed too negative, I have really helped literally hundreds of agents to succeed in this business, just not many who shunned prospecting and shuttered at the thought of problem solving.