I know as I sit here writing this I won't get any comments. Oh that's not a negative statement. It's just the plain truth. No one wants to say, "Hay, I'm not successful." One of the first things you learn in sales is to lie. Sorry about that, but it is true. We are taught never to say that we aren't successful. And, there are times it's just a plain out lie. But we are also told, and very soon it becomes evident, clients don't want to do business with someone they don't consider successful. So even though you don't want to lie, and you have been taught lying is wrong, you do it anyway to survive. Now you might say, "I don't lie, I just evade the truth." Oh so you lie by omission? That's a lie just the same. It may be the only lie you tell your clients, but it is a lie if you are not making a living that will support you and your family and pay all of your bills. When I say pay your bills I mean your business up keep as well as family. But what is an agent to do when the clients want the best most experienced and that may not be you at this time. You may not have many sales under you belt. You may be new, but you know your business and you know you can do a good job for them. What do you do in this market?
Depending on what kind of Brokerage you work for, you will have some of the following business bill to pay.
•1. National dues
•2. Association dues
•3. MLS dues
•4. Continuing education
•5. Marketing (this depends on how you market yourself)
•6. Advertising
•7. Some of you have to pay a desk and or phone fee
•8. Seminars
All of that before you can take any money home if you want to stay in business.
And then you have a family to feed, bills to pay and you have to survive. You know you are a good agent, but the clients just aren't there right now. And that's certainly true.
We all know the Real Estate market is cyclic. We have just come out of one of the best markets in the history of Real Estate; at least here in California and now hard times are at the door for many agents. Why? What happened to make the market turn around so drastically? There is enough blame to go around to all of the professions in the building industry, but that is not what this post is about. Placing blame will not amend the downward spiral of the market. It will level out in time. That is what this post is about. Time and what you will do during that time? If you find a client, telling them that you are successful when you know you are not isn't the remedy. For the agents that were successful, I'm not talking about you. You have a client base you can draw from. You may feel the crunch and have to tighten your belt, but you will probably be able to hang in there. It is the agent that has been in the business 4 years and less I am talking about right now.
There are Real Estate offices closing right and left, big ones, not just the ones that have a broker and several agents. In fact they might be the ones that survive; due less overhead. In my neighborhood a huge office with a nationally known corporation just closed after being open only two years. All those agents, where will they go? Were they prepared for that closing? Did they plan for that event? Most of them probably didn't know until the very end. I was searching to find some statistics on the failure rate of Real Estate agents at this time but couldn't find any, but I did find this on Wikipedia.
According to Wikipedia:
"Contrary to the erroneous belief of the industry in the United States that the business would bring in easy money (because it is relatively easy to enter and often does not require a college degree), the real estate industry is highly competitive and requires a lot of dedication. Compensation is based on a percentage of sales, split between the buying and selling agent, and between the agent and his/her real estate agency. Agents may be required to pay a "desk fee" monthly for office costs, though other arrangements may be a split in percentage rather than a monthly fee.
According to various trade journals such as Realty Times, the first year failure rate is over 86%, and for those brokers or agents who have survived, over 70% have an income less than $30,000. A National Association of Realtors survey found a median income in 2004 of $37,600 for agents, and $52,800 for brokers, though many top agents pull in six-figures. Even for those who have survived for years, most earn a modest income comparable to that of the American middle class. However, many agents work only on a part-time basis."
Working as a part time agent is hard at best. It takes a very organized individual to accomplish success in either profession. There is the scheduling of the clients, being available to them on their time table and not yours. You have to consider how you are going to market yourself, how do you get out and farm? When do you have time for two jobs and family and stay well and healthy so you can work at all. All of these things have to be considered and worked out. It isn't easy. Something will have to give because you can't give 100% to both jobs and family.
This is not the time for be caviler about your time or your commitment. Now is the time for you to sit down and plot out your time and what you can and cannot do. How will you make ends meet if you cannot work as a Real Estate agent full time? What kind of part time job will allow you the flexibility to do both? How much money do you need to bring in from both jobs to make ends meet? How will your broker react to your working only part time?
This post is not meant to be a negative, it is not meant to scare those that are new to the profession, it is a reality that we all must face as we ride out this market. It will level out again, it always does, but in the mean time you must be prepared and take the steps that are needed before you find it is to late.
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