I have had the privilege from learning the real estate business around some agents and brokers who have spent their lives in the profession. I have watched them work their prospects and their clients and deals. I have seen them handle telephone calls and emails and I have learned so much. To be honest I have learned so much of what not to do. What they are doing may have worked in the 60′s, 70′s, 80′s or 90′s but does not work now and never will again. The business is different, the agent does not hold all the cards because information is available about homes and property everywhere.
I was first hired down in Texas and watched that agency slowly crumble and disappear in a year even though the agents had been around for a long time and had some skills. Sadly the skills they had and have no longer relate to the business in this internet age. They would ignore their phone calls, they wouldn’t jump on leads for days when they are no longer leads. They refused to have any on line options for clients. They were sure of their skills and did nothing to change with the changing market. The Texas friends went on to open and close a second agency this year. They are doomed.
Here in Boston I have been on the other sides of deals where the seasoned agent tried to bludgeon herself through a sticky wicket by telling me that she had 26 years of experience and had never experienced a seller like mine. 
REALLY?? Wow. She instantly lost credibility with me because while my client may be difficult and demanding, I have never lost site that this is their home I am selling and they need to be comfortable with the way in which the house is sold. Experience in this industry seems to be an anchor on many agents.
I am not suggesting that all experienced agents are no longer viable, I am stating that so many of the agents I encounter with years of experience and no on-line presence or strategy will soon be out of the business. I am stating unequivocally that an agent who thinks all for me and none for you is a dinosaur and will be extinct soon. Today it is all about collaboration and openness. Face it, there are no secrets, there is no loyalty for the most part. To be successful for your clients today and in the future open up your knowledge base and share. Answer your phone, return emails and stop thinking you know it all because while you are stating that with great bravado the next wave of buyers is talking to someone else who shares valuable information that makes their home buying experience their own. Good luck out there.
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