In my 14 year career of home inspecting, I have seen real estate agents come and go. Some are ‘Fair Weather’ agents. They throw their hat in the ring when the going is good and put their license in retirement when the going is rough. Like any business, real estate is not for the faint of heart. My advice is:
1. Treat your business as a business - a full time business. Have a business plan and follow that plan. Be willing to make adjustments to that plan when or if you need to. Napoleon Hill has some very good insights on personal and professional development in his books, ’Think & Grow Rich’ and ‘Outwitting the Devil’. Gerber’s book, ’The E-Myth’ also has good business ideas. Keep asking yourself, “What does my business look like?”
2. Taking a line from KW BOLD and Gary Keller, “Nothing stands in the way of lead generation.” I understand that the hardest thing for folks to do is pick up the 500# brick and start calling. In one of my conversations with Mark Kunz, former VP of Century 21, he said, “Real estate is nothing more than a numbers game. Make the calls, work the numbers and the numbers will work for you.”
3. Accept defeat as temporary. There will be times when you will be tested to see how serious you are about your career. Life seems to throw these obstacles in our way. When you see them for what they are, “temporary defeats”, push on. Every defeat will bring with it an even better opportunity for success.
4. Push on. In the book, “Three Feet from Gold”, the authors talk about the power of perseverance. Success is not easy. We stumble and fall forward. Many of the country’s top executives talk about their trials and tribulation while climbing to the top. Interesting read.
5. Live with passion and have fun. Life is way too short. Be passionate about your life and career. Folks will pick up on your passion and will engage you. Far too many folks are stuck in a career they dislike. If you do not like what you are doing, then get out! No sense being miserable.
These are just a few things that I have learned about the real estate business. IMHO, it does not matter whether you are a real estate agent or an ancillary service provider. The bottom line is, business is business. We are all engaged in ways to earn a living and we all need to understand both the demographics and psychographics of our clientele. The more we learn, the better the industry will be.
;-)
It is a GREAT day at Complete Home Inspections!
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