Let me start by saying I am not a writer, so please forgive me if my grammar is not top notch. However I feel that many people can relate to the story you will read below. I am grateful to be in such an amazing industry and figured I would share some of the speed bumps I have hit along the way and how I got started and over came them. I hope you enjoy, let me know if you have had a similar path and what you are doing to ensure success!
Getting started in the business I took a job as a front desk mananger at a personal training studio. Here I was only making $9 dollars per hour. Yes, you heard that right $9 dollars. However, it allowed for me to work from 5:00am until 12:00pm, grab a quick lunch and then work on my new real estate business from 1:00 pm until often midnight. This schedule was very hard on me, but it was a key component to my success. The little bit of income I was earning at the gym allowed me to not stress as much about deals. It was a godsend because it was enough to put food on the table while I chased down this new dream of becoming a successful real estate agent.
In my first month I told everyone and anyone who would listen that I was a Realtor and a damn good one. I did not have the experience of other agents but I had a true desire to help people and create a long-standing business I could be proud of. I was fortunate to put 4 deals in that first month. I was blessed with friends and family that trusted me with huge decisions even though I was green. I stepped up to the challenge and gave everyone great service and successfully completed those first deals. It was amazing. Never in my life did I think I could make $17,000 dollars in a month.
After those first deals closed, I was finally able to step away from the gym and focus on my business full time. That is when I had my first experience with one of the biggest pit falls Realtors face, THE ROLLER COASTER! If you have ever done sales, you know what I am talking about. Just because you make $17,000 dollars one month, does not mean you make $17,000 dollars every month! I thought more and more business would pour in from referrals and that the engine would just keep running. That was not the case. I managed to finish those first 7 months with 12 deals and 2.2 million in volume. Not bad for a newbie, but the manner in which the money came is what was stressful. It was truly feast or famine and I had to learn to budget and project ahead for lean months. I am thankful I reached a point that I am off the coaster, but it has taken tons of diligence and time.
Year two came around and I was reinvigorated by the New Year as most are. I had planned for huge goals and was ready to crush them. I wanted to sell 50 homes. Jumping from 12 to 50 would be quite a leap. I was up for the task, or so I thought. Long story short, I made just enough money to be comfortable and lazy. Not lazy in the sense of taking care of my clients, if you are my client you will be treated like gold. But when it came to bringing in new business I was all bark and no bite. I would write business plan after business plan, and new goals weekly. But I soon realized I was in an endless cycle of preparing to get ready for the big plan that I would set into motion that next Monday. Week after week would pass, I would close my 2 deals a month and make decent money, and talk about becoming a big player in the game, but never follow through. I finished year two with around 20 closings and made just north of $100,000 dollars. That is great, but again, it came in roller coaster fashion and we had some really hard months. My poor wife even served at a sports bar to help make ends meet one month. The money management was not there yet and I lacked the discipline it takes to take the leap from an OK agent to a top producer.
Year three comes and I am ready to stop getting ready to be prepared. I become intentional in my business, create a daily schedule that I actually follow, and finally become consistent. It is so easy to hit the snooze on a Monday morning when you are the boss. But I was finally able to see beyond the moment and know that the work and consistency I put in now will serve my family and me for years to come. By simply MAKING LEAD GENERATION A DAILY HABIT and following up my business took off. I am on pace to close almost 40 homes this year for around 9 million in volume. I wish so badly, someone could have shook me when I started and showed me what consistency could do.
I am not exactly sure why I am writing this; to be honest I am sitting at an open house killing time. But I hope this can help paint the picture of what it takes to become successful as a Realtor, because I see so many people struggle to make it. At the end of the day for me I was fed up talking about being a bad ass and needed to put the action behind it. I feel that is the same problem for most of the people who fizzle out. I am excited to keep pushing and reach my next goals. I am aware I am still a very small fish in a huge pond. But the good news is I am growing everyday and know if I stay consistent I will soon rival the biggest names and achieve my goals.
- Templeton
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