The Top Ten Reasons Real Estate Agents Fail

I recently came across an article called The Top Ten Reasons Why Real Estate Agents Fail. In it, the author quoted a recent survey that had been done of real estate agents nationwide, asking them the simple question: “What do you think is the biggest reason real estate agents fail?”

Here is a sampling of their answers:

1. “I think they fail because even if I hand leads to agents, give them the tools to convert them to clients and train them on what to do after they become clients, the majority of those that are in their first 3 years do not want to do the work to make the money that is available. Maybe it’s not because they were lazy, they just didn’t like the types of things they needed to do to be successful. The agents on housing sites that simply sell the client that walks in the door, for instance are usually terrible when taken off site and are expected to convert the leads on their own. Therefore, it’s not the practice of real estate transaction.”
2. “Very simply, Agents do not treat their business as a business. They themselves are the business.”
3. “Real estate agents wait for clients to come to them, instead of being proactive.”
4. “Lack of discipline to prospect!”
5. “No real way to market themselves and what they have to offer a client.”
6. “They don’t follow-up.”
7. “Not having a good business plan.”
8. “They come into the industry without a large Sphere of Influence. It is very hard to get going without contacts”.
9. “They don’t follow a proven system.”
10. “No action and FEAR. We fail to market ourselves and we fail to get and use proper resources to market ourselves. At least that’s my problem.”

While these reasons can seem overwhelming if you are a new agent, or one looking to step up to a new level in your business, I think they all boil down to one thing:

Having a consistent, executable marketing plan.

Hopefully you’ve set goals for your business (if you’ve been reading past posts). You should have a clear picture of your ideal client - this will help you decide what marketing tasks will work best.

1. Are they technologically-savvy?

2. Does traditional marketing reach them better?

3. Who do they know that can help you with referrals?

4. Why are they moving?