The Plan
“If you fail to plan-plan to fail”. To often people join a company without asking how the office and company helps guide careers. It is not enough to write down how much money you want to make and what you are going to use that money for once you earn it. It is much more important to lay out a plan based on a proven strategy complete with activity goals and time commitments. This business demands “knowledge of product”. What is it you will do to learn the marketplace, prices, areas, builders, tax nuances, contracts, and your company’s marketing proposition? How specific can you be? Your plan needs to be detailed enough to address the need to acquire this knowledge, while not being so overwhelming that you avoid learning the required knowledge…”Lack of confidence destroys more real estate careers than anything else.”
Practice
Imagine having an opportunity to make thousands of dollars to do a single presentation for live audience. Would you take the time to master the information you would be conveying…or would you wing it? As hard as it is to believe, many companies do not have a weekly training session where new licensees are taught the basics of presenting.
Imagine sitting in front of a home seller or home purchaser that asks you a few basic questions about the purchase agreement they are being asked to sign. Does it make any sense for you to not have gone through that contract, with a seasoned, broker beforehand? Hopefully, you answered no. Many companies have online webinars that introduce new agents to the contract. There are still a few companies and teams that do “in office” training on the contract. You would be surprised by the number of questions that come up in live training.
What we found…the new licensees that took to the time to plan and practice within the first four weeks of their association, had the best chance of having immediate success. And that immediate success created an opportunity for them to continue having success in the business. Most of the agents that fail in real estate simply lose confidence and hope.
Preparation
“Success in 90% perspiration, 10% inspiration”- Thomas Edison. The real estate business is a great example of spending the time in the trenches to create the opportunity to succeed. Fortunately, there are several places that a new agent can get the proper training on MLS search, technology tools and understanding the nuances of contractual conformity. We learned that the new agent that attended those training sessions, and practiced the dialogs associated with the sales profession, found success in a much shorter period.
Presentation
“The Whole World is a Stage”-William Shakespeare. It’s possible for an new licensee to know the purchase agreement front to back, know every model in every development in their service area and have a better understanding of the current market conditions than just about any other Realtor in the area…but, without the ability to present that information in a logical, informative way to a potential buyer or seller, it will do little good.
The real estate business is a sales business. To many people confuse activity for results. The fact is, as an independent contractor, you only get paid for results.
When we were creating our training program, we noticed that to often new licensees would do all the planning, prep and practicing that we recommended, only to fall short in front of the prospective client. For that reason, our program emphasized an abundant amount of one on one work between the office manager and the new agent. We found that it was a very productive use of time to have our new people run through a “mock” presentation with the manager/broker prior to “practicing” on actual prospects.
Be sure that the team or office you join has a program that will do this for you. There is no reason to go on a listing presentation unprepared and unconfident.
For more detail on the “4 P’s of Real Estate” feel free to contact,
Jeff Culbertson (916) 996-3900, California Licensed Real Estate Broker #00715870
