If I Could Turn Back Time on my Real Estate Career
There is an expression as relates to post action reviews of being a Monday Morning quarterback. This is meant to attempt anticipate what might have happened had a particular event been approached in a different manner.
The ActiveRain Challenge for May, hosted by Carol Williams, and Margaret Rome is to be that Monday Morning Quarterback and give thoughts as to how your real estate career may have been different had one known more after the fact.
Or, If I could have turned back time!
Agency Commitment
My first broker was a broker/owner of a balloon franchise that offered a lot of education. As I was doing a complete change of careers, the education was a reason to join the brand.
When starting an unknown occupation, I do believe getting as much knowledge as possible is necessary. A smaller boutique agency has its limitations, and they are more interested in results so questions may well be answered but knowing the why is more important as that is what a client may want as well.
Mentorship is important, especially with the changes that have taken place over the past 2 years. Being party to a law suit as an independent contractor could ruin a person and their family.
Having resources to learn the business and also offer additional opportunities should be considered as part of the pre-licensing explorations.
It was good for me as I was offered a deep discount to take a short sales class education that gave me a very productive niche.
Learn and Understand Marketing
Real estate is a business with no personal products or inventory to sell. It requires self-promotion, dedication and commitment.
Having the advantage of learning about the business on the ActiveRain platform gave me tutelage in a lot of subjects, merely by taking the time to read.
Recognizing what one wants to achieve aside from a paycheck means learning how to create a business model that will offer a pipeline of opportunities and if done properly a saleable product when one chooses to pass along the business.
Print marketing and mailings do work but are not a one hit design. Repetition over a cycle of at least 2-3 exposures will bring in the calls but and this needs to be sustained.
Over time, one will recognize this is far more productive than paying for a bunch of contacts generated by someone else's marketing expertise.
Extend Yourself
Get into the community and let people know something about yourself aside from you have a license to sell real estate. People like to work with people they know and if you are among them either through church or other local events and activities, you are a reminder to them when they are considering something real estate related.
My business has come from family members and friends; church contacts, and my friends from the golf courses at which I have played.
Social Media
Interaction on the social media platforms is important but one needs to stand out from the rest. Set up and moderate community site that also serves the areas from which you hope to get business. Don't promote yourself so much as let people know how much you know about the area.
If someone wants to market a home for sale allow it, but don't allow their self-promotion to be a constant, after all, it's your site and if you aren't selling yourself, why would you allow someone else.
After 22 years in the business one does learn a few things and it's been a great ride.
Some things I would have done differently but not excessively and at the end of the day, I am ready to leave the business with very few regrets.
If I Could Turn Back Time on my Real Estate Career
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