Each morning I receive a daily group text message from an agent/coach in Michigan, who gives messages on a wide range of subjects from discipline, tips on marketing, mindset and more. When I stop to read them they always hit me in different ways. Sometimes I’m wearing my “Administrator” hat, others I’m waiting for a client to show a house or about to walk into a Listing appointment – at that time my “Realtor hat” is on. After more than 20 years of selling homes in Knoxville and East Tennessee – I become more and more aware of all the different “hats” we wear. Often – if I see a lot of things that might be challenges for a potential buyer during a showing I’ll tell them I’m taking my realtor hat off and putting on the “amateur home inspector” hat – pointing out why this might be the maintenance-free home they think they’re seeing.
A big attraction of real estate to new and potential agents is “freedom” – yes, you set your own hours, but those hours aren’t always the ones you’d think. I remember my first few transactions were all done after hours. I sat in a UT apartment on Sutherland Ave. at 1 a.m. with my friend Mariusz as we went through every aspect of the deal – discussing pros and cons of buying a “pig in a poke” that the HUD foreclosure he’d chosen to offer on represented. I had to reiterate “Nobody knows – but from all I can see it’s a good deal!” The relationship that we forged in that late-night conversation eventually resulted in the purchase and sale of several more homes over the years ranging from less than $50,000 to more than $400,000. The hours you put in always pay off – not always in commission income, but in expertise – which is much more valuable than the effort you put in to gain them.
What does that freedom cost? Jeff Glover – the Michigan agent – rightly said that in the beginning Freedom is expensive. If you want to exceed what you’d make at that 9-5 job, you’ll probably have to CHOOSE to invest 60 -80 hours per week in THE BEGINNING.
What you don’t know is: 1) what is going to work? 2) what should I focus on? 3) who is a real buyer/seller and who is using me for information and will never sign a contact? 4) who is going to help me get where I want to be? These and myriad other questions are either swirling in your brain or you don’t even know to ask them yet. The great thing is that it’s a people business and people will help you know the questions to ask and where to find the answers!
My first year – aside from a couple of family transactions – all the people who ended up as clients were people who already knew and trusted me. They were friends from college who saw that I was working hard in my job, was talking about it (a little of the successes and more of what I’d discovered that might benefit them). This is still true – my Sphere of Influence – people who know me – still make up more than 80% of my client base. Figuring out that my Sphere was larger than I first thought and giving myself permission to talk with them about real estate were the giant leap from 60+ hours of work to real Freedom in my work, growing my database and enjoying financial as well as more personal time freedom. “Being out amongst ‘em” is the secret to that real freedom.
I always had call-resistance, always had fears of coming off Salesy to people I knew or met, but was finally empowered one night at a bar in Market Square where I’d chatted with a random fellow about the band that was about to play and the ins and outs of downtown Knoxville. When I innocently mentioned that I had just left from showing houses the whole conversation turned, the random guy peppered me with questions, talking about the house where he rented and how he’d like to be a landlord someday. Instantly, I wasn’t afraid to talk about real estate, realized that I’d put in enough time to know that I could confidently answer the basic questions and felt released from a lot of self-doubt. Of course, it comes back – even now -when I talk to someone who is interested in an aspect outside of my comfort zone. Some things that they taught in my first real estate classes (after the “Pass The Test” classes at real estate school) once I joined Keller Williams (we’re offering full scholarships to real estate school – call with questions 865-385-9070) answered all of my early questions – I wish I’d started with them, since my first company was wonderful, but it was small and didn’t have any set-up for training other than being self-taught.
Basically – being a real estate agent is metaphorically like being a student athlete – you have to learn, you have to practice and you have to perform consistently to keep up your scholarship. That scholarship is a wonderful reward though! Being able to switch hats from student to professor to salesman to therapist – depending on who you’re talking with – that sums up the job.