I'm a big believer in exercise. I don't do it enough, but I make every effort to get in as much as possible. I keep a Bow Flex in my office, a stationary bike, medicine balls, body bars, a Swiss ball and a dumbbell tier from 10 lbs - 50 lbs. No excuses. I keep elastic bands in my travel bags, but cycling is my all time favorite exercise.
I have cycled most of my life, but when I started mountain biking I felt like I had never ridden a bike before. High end mountain biking is all about two things; 1. Equipment, and 2. Technique. If you have great equipment and you're weak in technical skills your equipment will be a waste of money.
If you have great technical skills, but your equipment can't keep up it's the same dilemma. To be good, you need to have good equipment and good technical skills. A number of years ago when I was racing, our team invited a girl to join our team. The twenty-four hour races were made up of teams of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
A five rider team needed to have at least one girl at all times. So, we invited Margaret. She brought her bike out for a training ride with some of the team members, and when we got back to the staging area we threw Margaret's broken bike in the dumpster, and we took her to the hospital to have her broken wrist taken care of. Margaret had violated the requirements of good equipment and good technical skills. We got her a new bike designed for racing and she became an asset to the team, but that first time out was a real eye-opener.
Mountain biking today is different than it was 20 years ago, and real estate is different than it was 20 years ago. If you're going to be a great Realtor today you've got to master the same two characteristics of modern realty sales, 1. Equipment, and 2. Technique.
The great thing about real estate that is less true of mountain biking is that all Realtors can become good. Some will be great, but most can become really good. Some bikers have natural abilities that would be hard to duplicate through training, but a determined rider can get better.
A Realtor may have natural abilities as a communicator and the temperament to be a salesperson, but good communication can be learned and sales training can make even the most nervous Nelly a decent salesperson.
Like mountain biking, it's not one or the other. You need good equipment, such as, a good Internet source, a good phone, adequate office equipment (printer/fax/copier/scanner), a dependable car and a GPS (which can be incorporated into your phone). You also need good technique, such as, sales training, good books, mentors (can be your broker), online resources and colleagues who are willing to help you perfect your craft. Then, practice, practice, practice. The nice thing about being a Realtor is that a lot of your practice pays in cash.
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