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You can lead a Realtor to training but you can't give him character!

There have been quite a few posts lately, about what can be done about unprofessional and untrained Realtors, including this one from me. Clueless Realtors, whether new to the game or seasoned “pros”, can really make our jobs a lot more difficult than they need be and give the consumer valid reasons to distrust Realtors. I think we can all agree that something needs to be done about it. The solutions, however, vary from more stringent licensing requirements, required training, mentoring, apprenticeships and shadowing to name a few.

My opinion has always been that the consumer should be able to rely on a Realtor knowing what they are doing. But let's face it, some things can be learned and some can’t. The following list are things I believe can be learned and in fact, should be learned, before conducting the services of Real Estate. These things can be taught in a classroom environment.

How to prepare a valid contract (purchase, listing, lease).
How to enter a listing into the MLS.
How to arrange showing instructions.
How to prepare an accurate market analysis.
How to prepare a Seller’s Net sheet.

There are other things, that will take time to learn, that can only be learned in the field and by trial and error (experience). Examples are:

Then, you have the things, that I personally, do not think can be taught. These things you either have or you don’t. I also believe these are the most important.

Honesty.
Ethics. (Sorry, I never needed a class to teach me ethics)
Genuine care and concern for your customers/clients’ needs.
Likeability.
Motivation.
Respect for peers and the public.

Here’s the quandary, if you can find people to hire, that fall under the 3^rd category, who are willing to learn, they will be successful. If you hire people that DO NOT fall into the 3^rd category, they will never be able to learn these things, they will fail. That means that stricter licensing requirements and mandatory training programs will probably have no affect on our business. Maybe we should just implement character testing. What say you?

Posted by Bryant Tutas Broker/REALTOR(R) Tutas Towne Realty, Inc on 10/28/2006 05:17 PM

Comments (36)

training, ethics, opinion

36 Comments on You can lead a Realtor to training but you can't give him character!

OCT

2006

"The Lovely Wife Here"

Hey you swiped my to do lists! LOL SEE :>

BLW Great photo, teach=learn awesome.

TLW "The Lovely Wife"...Boom Sha Ka Lakka...ROAR!

Bryant...... this is so true in life and in business. And I agree, I look for the 3rd category in people that I hire.

Overall, there is just so much to making a business work and function.,...and to be successful, that number 3 is important to me and the people around me. Unfotunately, not all individuals and companies believe in this.

This is so true. Perhaps the ethics part can be taught. I think we all know whata is basically right or wrong but there are some instances where people may not know about the ramifications of "pushing the edge of the envelope". Two things I most comminly see with Realtors are:

1- stated income loans- suggesting those as financinh aletrnatives

2- owner occupancy affadavits.

I see Realtors and originators "fudge" them both a bit and play things to the letter of the law; ewthics training would be helpful to ecplain those.

Put down the bottle Brian...are you over at the Halloween Party ???!!!

Just kidding w/ ya

Bryant,

Right on Sir! In my opinion, as a manager/employer number three is a preresiquite. Without this I would not afford a prospective employee the opportunity at the others. There are ways to determine the indicators of these desired characteristics, although they will never be full proof.

With a few minor changes this would easlily apply to loan officers/mortgage brokers!

Great thoughts! I would add "common sense" to the list of things that cannot be taught. Aloha!

Thanks David, That's actually a REAL BIG one.

I absolutely agree with you, once again! Business ethics and personal ethics should be the same, these are things that cannot be taught or learned --- either you've got em or you're SOL. Unfortunately you hear more about the people that are "problems" than you hear about those that "do the right thing" --- for some reason, they get more attention than the rest of us. Guess that's human nature.

Sidenote: When I was buying my first home, I remember my older brother telling me that debt builds character --- if that's true then I have a lot of character and have had it for a long time!

New people learn from their leaders. If their leaders do not have the attrributes you mentioned at the end of your Blog, there is not much hope for a new person to become a quality Agent. California just passed legislation to no longer allow a person with a four year college degree to become a Broker just by passing the broker exam. Now they have to have two years experience as an Agent before they can take the broker exam. We had a situation here of a person getting their Brokers license with absolutely no experience and then hiring new Agents. Talk about a train wreck.

The new State Law does not go far enough. As we all know, an Agent can be involved in anywhere from 1-500 deals the first two years. If the Agent does two deals in two years, is he ready to be a Broker? I don't think so. Good Agents and eventually good Brokers are determined by how much care and feeding they get at the start of their careers.

Maybe that is why there is the REALTOR® Code of Ethics...for those who do NOT have ethics, it shows what ethics are.....

hmmmmmm...something to think about???

Very good point Bryant. I've always thought if a person possesses self-motivation and a good attitude that I could teach them just about anything... except, as you point out, honesty and ethics. I've long been a proponent of stricter licensing regulations, but you bring up a good point about not being able to test for "category 3". Sadly, if we could test for that, most people could pass because they know the answers they just don't necessarily live (or work) by the principles.

That's one reason why KW is so big on DISC profiling. It gives us a quick snapshot of a candidate during their first interview to help us match their strengths and weaknesses to the appropriate role within the office.

I disagree that category 3 cannot be learned. After all, we 'learn' many of those traits from our parents or from those we associate with early in life. It's a matter of being in the right environment. I would accept the premise that it is much more difficult to learn these things as we get older, because other conflicting behaviors and beliefs may be deeply ingrained.

Character Testing..........hmmmmmmm.......interesting theory and conceptually strong. But can it be done? Anyone without those traits would know how to test positive to them. It would be great to invent a Character Machine that would shock values into people, but we would not have all of the great stories to share here in AR.

ines

Good points Bryant, I agree somethings can't be taught no matter how many hours you spend in the classroom. But I do think that they aquired sometimes in the classroom of life.

Having said that, I think that it is pretty hard to have the qualities listed in the third catagory, if you don't have "Respect for Yourself". If you "Respect Yourself", a lot of things fall in place.

OCT

2006

Yea Bryant.... I agre with David,.. common sense. Something I complain about very often in this business. So many people seem to lack this. hhhmmmm

OCT

2006

I've always chosen members of my team by Group Three - I can teach them the real estate they need to know. And yes, these are acquired and "learned" through life, but once they're an adult, it's too late for me to start trying to teach them Group 3.

On that note, when asked how I get such great team members, my response is "I give birth to them" and raise them. Yes, my son and daughter over 30-40 years have learned/acquired Group 3 skills, but the point is, they have them, and they had them when I hired them for the team.

Great post Bryant!

I never ceased to be surprised at the number of agents who fail miserably under the 3rd category. It's like, if the channces are good that we won't get caught (like falsely checking the "Owner Occupant" block), then let's go for it!

My personal and company policy is - Mistakes are expected and can usually be remedied; dishonesty and unethical behavior results in your license being sent to the Board, immediately - one strike and your out.

Fortunately, I have only had to send one license back.

"The Lovely Wife Here"

CAN I LEAD ANY OF YOU FOLKS OVER TO A GOOD CAUSE?

TLW "The Lovely Wife"...Kum La Ka Lakka...ROAR!

Isn't that the truth! Seems like character is something that is missing in many professionals today. By simply having it you will set yourself apart from the masses. We built all of our businesses on Christian principles and ethics and they have not failed us yet.

Bryant-

Wow... if I just changed every place you used "Realtor" to "Stager" I could just about cut and paste this WHOLE blog and it would apply to the Staging Industry.

It just goes to show... basic universal principals of professionalism apply regardless of industry.

I think if more people fell into category 3 in our market, our office would be much larger. Instead, we choose to be smaller and have a higher quality associate.

Just another example of everything depends on the person. I have met Harvard grads that I would never want to work with and have also met high school dropouts that were great people.

Hey Ray, Thanks for the kudos! I did not finish High School.

Craig, You got that right. Charcater is the most important thing in any business and in life. Character will overcome everrything. Character is the one thing I have that nobody can take from me. I will guard it with my life!

Bryant

You are so right and if that is not the way you would like to be treated do not do it to others. But for some reason others do not care if they are being treated badly and those do not need to be real estate agents.

Psychological testing for all REALTORS! We'll give them a full battery. The MMPI, the TAT, the RORSHACH, and then....the Broker Bryant Battery!

Just to clarify-motivation doesn't mean ability to get out of bed in the morning...it means intent?

One of the many reasons we chose to move to Keller Williams is the focus on DISC and it's successor "DISC on steroids" to help identify the "right" candidates.

I think that we should look at the training of our agents. I think and have said it many times that there should be some kind of internship to be a realtor.

Hey Lisa, I'm not to sure I would want my Psyche tested. It's very scary up there.:) Realtors are a very unusual breed. Some of us more than others.

It all begins with Attitude, that determines your Altitude

I think you need to be President of the Realtors! Great Post. I am bookmarking this one!

President of the Realtors! Nope, no politics for me. Just keep doing my thing and living my simple life. I'm too much of a recluse. If I had my way I would never leave my house. Is that sad or what?

NOV

2006

I haven't seen it broken down into the 3 categories, as you have, before. Very nice way to look at it.

NOV

2006

My broker has an unspoken rule which shows the depth of his character (in my opinion). He will never become a business associate of someone who cheats on his/her spouse. The reason? If you would betray the closest person in your life, you will certainly betray your business partner. It makes sense when you think about it. The values run deep. And my fruit is "can't a-lope"!

Excellent Bonnie...If I understand correctly from what I know you will bo be loping anytime in the future. You have "deep value"...

NOV

2006

Great topic. I teach Ehtics and it always amazes me as to how much new agents don't know or don't SEEM to care about ethics.

NOV

2006

Excellent post!

I would have to mildly disagree with the statement that category 2 cannot be trained in a classroom environment.

The things you have listed in category 2 ARE trained in the classroom in KW's CAMP 4:4:3. Of course, you have to practice them to be effective, but they can be taught in a classroom environment.

My worry about character testing is: if the candidate doesn't possess those qualities, what's to keep them from lying on the test?!

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