Written by NAEA | Jun 24, 2016 9:00:00 PM
Every agent wants to succeed, but not everyone does. So, how do you make sure that you are among the ones who make their dreams come true? The answer is simple: You just need to take the right steps during your personal quest for success. This article will provide you with an effective strategy for doing this and growing your real estate business exponentially.
Determine Your Personal Dream
The first, and in some ways most important, step you’ll have to make is developing your own definition of ‘success’. This should be your starting point because without it, you won’t be able to design an efficient plan that will lead you to this goal.
What’s your ultimate dream?
Your goal must be crystal clear in your mind at all times. You need this ‘image’ so that you can determine what exactly you need to do in order to achieve it. Be sure to develop several plans, both long and short-term. Start with your dream and work your way down, breaking up the work you need to do in order to achieve it into small parts. For example, you can write a 10-year plan first, then write down the goals you need to achieve each year to get to your ultimate goal. Next, write quarterly plans, then monthly and weekly. Finally, write down your daily plans to be sure that you don’t miss anything important. You need to know exactly what you need to do today every time you wake up. This way, you would be able to achieve the highest levels of productivity and efficiency. Working like this is a sure way to become successful.
Develop the Right Attitude
Knowing what to do is essential, but it’s not the only important thing you need to make your dream come true. A good agent is efficient, and having a detailed plan makes you this way. However, a great agent requires passion and drive, which give him or her the power to achieve and even overachieve. Every day you wake up you need to have:
Tackle every project as if your life depends on it, because it really does. When selling houses is your living, every sale brings food to your table and pays your bills.
Aim to sell a house every day!
Don’t let yourself make any excuses or procrastinate. Do everything you can today. Give your business your all and it can’t fail to bring returns. The road to a successful career in real estate starts inside you, because your attitude determines whether people want to buy a home from you.
Never Stop Learning
Coaching, seminars, and a variety of other events like NAEA's Exponential Growth Summit are invaluable tools that you must use all the time. They teach you the art of being a realtor and allow you to grow professionally. Here is how attending these events helps you:
- You get new ideas. You can hear dozens of ideas on property marketing, open houses, dealing with buyers, and many other topics during a single event. Take notes so that you don’t forget any of them. Implement everything you learn and assess the results. Not all of the ideas will work out in the end. However, even if only one succeeds, you will be able to boost your profits.
- You meet new people. Realtors’ events provide you with an amazing opportunity to learn from your colleagues and establish new contacts. Don’t be afraid to meet new people and ask them about their methods. Learn how real estate agents in different states operate. Ask about their markets and challenges they face. Think about how you can implement these methods in your own business.
The purpose of learning is to give you three essential elements necessary for succeeding in real estate:
- Tools
- Models
- Systems to emulate
Always try different approaches, as you can’t afford to be stagnant. Using a single method over and over won’t help you reach your dream, no matter how effective it seems at first. The world is changing all the time and we must evolve along with it in order to stay on top.
Be open to change!
Did you know that Rolex used to make 99% of watches during the early years of the company’s existence? Everyone wanted a top-quality watch and they went for the best available option. Nowadays, the company produces less than 2% of world’s watches. The reason for this is that they didn’t adjust to the change that came about with the development of digital chronometers. Of course, the Rolex watches are still some of the best, and they are highly expensive. However, was it worth such a drastic drop in sales? Real estate is a dynamic business. Therefore, constant growth is vital for every agent who wants to be successful. Forget about excuses like "it’s just the way I am". You have to change, and embrace new things.
Try new methods. Fail. Learn from your experiences.
The most important thing you need to understand about learning is that not every strategy works. However, even a negative experience can be good for you, because you get to learn from it. Use your failure to adjust your business plan so that next time, you will achieve your goals.
Set Huge Goals for Yourself
For example, start with aiming to sell 30 homes a month. Does this seem impossible? Wrong! Thoughts like this will make you fail. You need to be 100% determined to sell a house every single day. Set out to work with a resolution to absolutely do everything you can, and a little bit extra, to get a home in escrow. Now, let’s imagine you failed to achieve your monthly goal of 30 sales and only managed to complete 15 deals. Does selling a house every other day look good to you? That’s why you should set huge goals. They make you work harder than ever, and even if you fail, you still succeed. Most importantly, you learn valuable lessons that will help you be a better realtor in the future.
Be Desperate to Succeed
Passion is one of the key elements that turns a good professional into a great one. Be desperate to sell a house, enlist wonderful buyer’s agents, get the best listings, etc. Show that you are willing to go above and beyond to achieve what you need. A person with this kind of determination can’t fail, as they are obviously willing to move mountains for their objective. People trust this attitude, so they will want to work with you. Impress them once and they will seek you out in the future and give you glowing references that will bring you more business. Remember the 211 rule. At 211 degrees water is extremely hot, but at 212 it turns to steam, and a good steam-powered machine can crush a mountain. That single degree makes all the difference, and that’s what you need to aim for. Don’t just go through the motions of making an excellent presentation. Be intense and memorable. People should enjoy simply being around you as well as see that you can give them exactly what they need.
Expect to Succeed
Your success as a realtor starts inside your head. If you see yourself as a loser or think that your dreams are impossible, you will fail! Any enterprise that starts with such negative thoughts is doomed. See yourself succeed. Visualize it from the beginning and keep this image in your mind. Don’t hope for success or wish for it. Expect it!
Build a Great Team
No realtor works entirely alone. Your mortgage agents, home inspectors, the home insurance person, office manager, etc. are your team and making all these people work together can bring you to success. However, to achieve truly great results, your real estate crew also needs two vital elements:
- Your personal assistant. Hiring this specialist can double your productivity as they will make sure all the necessary things get done on time, and you’ll be able to focus on other projects.
- Buyer’s agents. You don’t have to provide them with leads, but you can make them work for you and bring great commissions.
How to Manage Your Buyer’s Agents Right
Usually, people don’t hire buyer’s agents because they:
- Don’t have enough leads to share
- Don’t have the money to invest into growth
Neither of these reasons should prevent you from making use of this great business tool. The approach offered here will allow you to get zero cost per agent. Note that it isn’t a strict guide, just a suggestion you might try in your business. Hiring agents on the premises of providing leads can create animosity and jealousy. On the other hand, you can invite them to your team offering to teach them how to be the best realtor by sharing your experience and knowledge. To succeed with this approach you’ll need to:
- Hire the best people. You need to like them personally, trust them and see that they are capable. Hire people who are driven and outgoing as this is the perfect profile for working with buyers.
- Make them excited about their future. Tell your prospective agents what they can achieve. Offer solid numbers and examples so they can see that it’s not just talk.
- Get their commitment upfront and in writing. You have to get people totally committed to learning from and working with you. Explain what exactly you expect from them and get their signature on the agreement.
- Discuss the commission splits upfront. Include this part in the agreement so that you have it in writing.
- Care for them. Create a ‘family’ atmosphere in your team and your agents will work better than ever. They need to know that you truly care and that thy can rely on you in any situation. This commitment will establish the best business relationships that will bring amazing results.
Be the Best Agent
Remember that you are you and you have all the tools you need to make your ultimate dream come true. Believe in yourself and your team and tackle every task with passion and purpose. This way, you are 100% sure to succeed.