Repeat After Me, Real Estate Is Not a Game
I suppose I could subtitle this post "Today's Real Estate Industry Rant". Call it whatever you like, but this post is about some of the nonsense and doublespeak that permeates the real estate industry. And we should be aware that no amount of doublespeak will elevate standards of practice in the course of our business.
The person who teaches a continuing education course or an elective course or a webinar on industry best practices is not your "coach". There are no whistles, no striped jerseys, no baseball caps. They are teaching you something. The term "lifelong learner" applies to today's real estate professional. In any rapidly-changing industry, you either keep up with change or you become a dinosaur. If you can't stand the thought of being taught something new, call it mentoring or training or whatever. Maybe it's time to do away with all the patronizing, childish athletic metaphors and apply some reality to what we do for a living.
[A couple of years ago, I attended an education session in Chicago where the instructor showed up in a black & white striped jersey and cargo pants, with a whistle around his neck and a baseball cap on his head. The class consisted of mostly agents over the age of 55. Why did a room full of grown adults need the course material delivered in such a condescending manner? The instructor could just as easily have shown up in a clown suit, with a squirting flower, big flappy shoes and an oversized red nose.]
Real estate is not a game, it's your career. You're not professional athletes and you're certainly not high school or college athletes either. You might be part of a "team" at your company office, but your state licensing folks look at you as an individual licensee. You're responsible for your actions, and all the team-concept marketing in the world does not exempt you from being responsible in your dealings with the public.
The real estate classroom isn't a "boot camp". It's a place to brush up on law changes and industry trends which affect what you do in the course of your business. It's okay to take notes like you did back in high school or college. You're there to learn something.
New technology and tools which help you do your job are not always"game-changers". Again, real estate is not a game. It's your career, your job.
If you screw up on the job, there aren't any five-yard penalties. You receive your sanctions from your state Realtor association, or from the state licensing bureau. Things can get a lot more serious than what you see on football Sunday. The penalties involve your license and the fines are in real money.
Who thinks all this stuff up? The athletic metaphors come from "trainers", mostly with big national franchises. They know that some adults bristle at the thought of being taught anything. So the jargon is sprinked and sugar-coated with a whole lot of "rah-rah" athletic crap added.
Please excuse any "unnecessary roughness" in my post. You may now resume watching your favorite NFL football broadcast.
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