In August, I wrote a post, "You can become the Brock Lesnar of real estate" in which I talked about a real estate agent who shifted his business from selling regular resales to REO's and Foreclosures.  The shift resulted in his survival as a real estate agent in his local market.

Today I wanna talk about becoming the heavyweight Champion of real estate in light of discussions I have read about:

• New agents vs. seasoned agents.
• Web 1.0 real estate agents vs. Web 2.0 real estate agents.
• The dance of the DOW
• The employment factor

There's a lot to be learned from the recent UFC 91 fight.  Brock Lesnar came into the fight with less than a handful of UFC fights under his belt.  His opponent, the fan beloved UFC fighter Randy Couture had years of experience under his belt, was the current heavyweight champion and past light heavyweight champion, and at 45 years old was blazing full steam ahead.

The fight started out with Couture and Lesnar working at an even pace.  Couture seemed to be very comfortable with a strategic plan to tire out Lesnar, who came into the fight a good 60 plus pounds heavier than Randy, and then go in for the finish.  It seemed to be going well and then BAM, Lesnar landed one right-hand punch behind Couture's ear that sent Couture like a chopped tree down to the mat.  Lesnar finished Couture with a series of hammerfists and it was over in less than a minute.

This time, Lesnar became the new Champion of the UFC.

Is it the end of an era? UFC spectators and announcers question.  Will Couture retire and cash in on his career? No one knows, they can only speculate for now.  Will Lesnar rule the UFC playground and pick opponents apart at the seams?  Though he has the drive to continue success critics warn than Lesnar still needs to master old school MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) techniques before he rules the domain.

Does this all sound familiar? It should.

The real estate arena is no different.  Newcomers enter the field with skills from a similar industry they hope to parlay into their new real estate career.  Some are extremely successful.  They train their real estate cardio daily.  They get deep into training themselves on the market.  They populate their brand across social media and local market venues.

Soon you begin to see these new real estate agents everywhere and they gain market share.

The seasoned real estate agents still control a generous market share.  They have their SOI and their book of business they have tended with care.  They control their brand and their brand still remains in real estate printed trade publications, vanity plates, and signs around the neighborhood.  They talk to other real estate agents and they begin to invest in some technology which makes them a huge contendor against a challenging newcomer.

The seasoned agents who step up and step into the ring cannot be discounted.

It takes continued training to remain a contendor.  It takes a laser focused mindset to train consistently and effectively.  Training means:

• Knowing your current market conditions and inventory- Listings, sales, pendings day in and day out.
• Developing and selling your brand- EVERYWHERE.
• Becoming a generalist with a speciality in a niche market that fits a current local market need.
• Learning old tried and true real estate skillz.
• Developing new real estate skillz.
• Outsourcing when it save you time/money.
• Asking your clients and prospects questions.  Listening to their answers.
• Training yourself in the complimentary fields of sales and marketing.
• Investing in the improvement of your local community by donation of time or money.

The two real estate contendors step into the ring.  The match for heavyweight real estate champion is even when neither gives their back up to the other.   These are the most exciting bouts for a spectator to watch.  The winner will usually get as much fanfare as the loser because both are respected for their earnest efforts.  The winner takes the belt because his opponent, for one brief moment, was taken off guard.  The winner takes advantage of that moment to gain the lead and step into the forefront.

New agent, seasoned agent, web 1.0, web 2.0, dance of the DOW or the employment factor.  These are all just excuses.  In the end the ONLY thing that matters is the will to become the champion.  The will makes you train to become and remain a contendor.

Then in the final match You Can Become The Heavyweight Champion of Real Estate.