Are you being held to standards and expectations that are 10 years old? 20 years old?
Real estate and sales seminars provided by real estate companies for their agents serve their purpose and there is valuable information to be gained. However, listen closely to what you're being taught and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Case in point: I just got off the phone with a North Carolina agent who is attending an educational series provided by his real estate company. The requirement in the class is to make 20 new contacts (leaving a voice mail doesn't count) per day. The class costs several hundred dollars and you can be kicked out of the class if you're not doing the work. The person teaching the class says for every 18 new contacts you make, you should get one new listing or at least a listing appointment. The teacher went on about how they sold over 200 houses in a year using this method.
My first question to this agent was "When did this person accomplish this?"
His answer: "1986"
1986.
Are you kidding me?
Those expectations are 24 years old...and they're being taught. Maybe I'm missing something here, and please tell me if I am, but I'm not personally aware of any agent who is getting 1 listing for every 18 new contacts in today's market. To take it a step further, nothing has been mentioned about CRM's and long-term follow-up at this point. I believe in being diligent in building your marqeting microqosm (i.e. database), but expectations must be current and must be realistic.
I coach an agent in Ohio who recently knocked on all 350 doors in a particular neighborhood over a 2 week period and came up with 4 listing appointments. That is more concurrent with what I have seen in my coaching consistently, and I thought it was great, but it would not be considered successful by the above standard. By the above standard, she should have gotten 19 listings.
Does that sound realistic to you? Real estate has changed a lot in the past 24 years.
I write this because I've had my share of successes and failures in this life. Some of those failures are my own. Some of them, however, came from me following outdated instruction by my manager (who, of course, was a great salesperson back in the day) and being too naive to understand that all I was doing was spinning my wheels.
Again, my intent is not to downplay the the importance of classes such as this. There is valuable information to be obtained in them. Just make sure you don't take everything at face value. When expectations are laid out for you, thinq and ask questions.
It's important to determine your own goals and expectations. How many transactions per month/per year do you need to satisfy your financial needs and facilitate your necessary life balance? Make sure you know the answer so you're satisfying your own needs...not just your company's:)
For creative marqeting solutions and vocabularian witicisms, visit me anytime at www.marqeteer.com.
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