Up and Running in Real Estate

Archive for Up and Running in Real Estate

Call Reluctance: Gone!!!!

April 15th, 2021

None of us could predict the amount of ‘nos’ we would get as new agents. A few of us could tolerate those ‘nos’ and stay engaged in the business. But, many wilt within a month–way before they gain that first check! But, by answering these easy questions, you’ll shore up your ability to take that rejection and get a ‘yes’ from your client.

When you self-esteem and confidence is high, you’ll take risks–make those sales calls. Find out your strengths by taking this free strength finder:

http://www.viacharacter.org

You may be surprised at the qualities that make you unique, and make you invaluable to your future clients.

What did you discover by asking yourself these three questions–and taking the character review?

Categories attitude, lead generation, new agents make money, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Up and Running in Real Estate, value-added
Comments (0)

Four Ways I Got Snookered with Buyers–So You Don’t have To..

by Carla Cross

March 22nd, 2021

When we’re new agents, we my think that all buyers love us. They will be loyal. They will find us invaluable. Not so fast….

Four ways I got snookered with buyers–so you don’t have to…

Recently, I was coaching a group of newer agents in my eight week, business start-up program, Up and Running in Real Estate. We were discussing the section on working with buyers. We explored the Buyer Consultation process. This process creates value to get loyalty.

As we delved into the process to work with buyers, we discussed the many ways we get into pickles with buyers–without knowing we were falling into those situations. Here are four methods to avoid those situations: (I know, since I got into these pickles by not using these solutions….)

1.The multi-agent buyer. You meet a nice buyer, and you start showing her homes. You find out the buyer is working with three agents.

Solution: Instead of jumping in the car or showing homes to anyone, always do a consultation (what does the buyer want, and what you will do for the buyer). In the consultation, show (in writing, of course) at least 20 things you will do for a buyer. Then, ask for only one thing in return: his/her loyalty. Explain you work with people who work exclusively with you. Then, explain the benefits of that loyalty. (Can you think of three benefits?)

2. The ‘I want to see it now’ buyer. You meet a buyer in an open house, and get excited because the buyer wants to see the property down the street. Without finding out more, you show the buyer the home. The buyer disappears on you, never to be seen again.

Solution: You don’t show homes to buyers without a buyer consultation (which allows you to qualify the buyer). Question: Do you have a written, comprehensive consultation questionnaire that allows you to find out the buyer’s needs and secrets? All other professions do…

3. The I assume I know everything about you buyer. You get a referral to a buyer. Without doing an in-depth consultation, you show the buyer what he says he wants to see. He has a fit when you show him the first home. He says that’s not what he meant (instead of buying in that prestigious area he said he wanted, he buys out past the suburbs on an acre).

Solution: You use that in-depth consultation questionnaire, delving much deeper than the features, or even the benefits. The buyers don’t know what their underlying motives are. You must question professionally to find out and help them.

4. The buyer who wears you out. After working with buyers for a year (a year!!!!), you let them know you were taking off a few days for Christmas. They said they wouldn’t need help during the holidays. When you returned, they told you they bought a home. You were excited for them (not…)

Solution: Before you go anywhere, anytime, let buyers know who will be assisting them in your place–even if they say they won’t be looking. You never know when impulse will strike!!!!

Bottom line: Create a professional process with the foundation of a consultation and stick to it. Have a comprehensive, written buyer information form, along with the 20+ things you will do for a buyer. Then, practice your loyalty dialogue. Design your standards for buyers. You will conquer many of your time management problems and enjoy much more loyalty with buyers.

Do you feel like buyers and/or sellers are snookering you? Are you missing the best part of the business–working with clients who love you? Find out how to create a professional, enjoyable business with my online eight-week business start-up (or restart) program, Up and Running in Real Estate. Also, I coach attendees weekly in a fun, informative coaching session via Zoom. Find out more here.

P. S. I’ve put the dozens of the processes and systems I developed to avoid these depressing situations into this program for your use.

Categories Business Plan, buyer presentation, buyer's agent, new agent business plan, new agents make money, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Up and Running in Real Estate, value-added
Comments (0)

What Do You Manage? Surprise…

by Carla Cross

February 9th, 2021

You’re in business for yourself. What do you need to manage?

What do you manage?

You’re in business for yourself. Great. You are in charge of managing how you do your business. But, there’s more. You are also in charge of managing your attitude.

Who Should Motivate You?

According to a recent survey of real estate salespeople, one of the most important services agents want from their manager is to provide positive motivation.

Click To Tweet

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Part of it is. However, it is difficult for managers to find out what motivates each individual (everyone has different motivators). And it is more difficult to design a motivational program to fit each agent’s needs—time in the business, motivators, outside influences, and so on. Moreover, it’s difficult for a manager to manage the constant flux of attitudes to catch agents when they are falling into depression and to pump them up. Agents’ attitudes change hundreds of times a day. When agents get down, they usually talk to themselves—negatively.

Three Steps to Manage your Attitude for Success

Recognize your attitude about the business will change as you do the activities in the business.
Acknowledge each time you draw a conclusion about your activities.
Develop a process for drawing a positive, motivating conclusion.

Make an attitude notebook (either hard copy or online). To evaluate and manage your attitude, try this simple, effective method. Divide each notebook page into the following six columns:

Self-talk
Conclusions of your self-talk
Positive attitude
Negative attitude
Revised conclusion or revised attitude
Belief

As you go about your business day, keep your attitude notebook handy. Write down each time you talk to yourself—positively and negatively. Let’s say you just held an open house. As you are leaving, you say to yourself, “What’s wrong with me? I thought I was a good communicator, but these people coming into my open house won’t tell me anything.” Write down the conclusion you drew: “Maybe I’m not cut out for this business.” Note these thoughts in the proper column—positive or negative. Obviously, the above comment and conclusion would go in the negative column.

Drawing a Positive, Motivating Conclusion

Studies show that most self-talk is negative, which naturally leads to a negative conclusion. People will talk to themselves about this conclusion 10 to 20 times and convince themselves that this conclusion is true.

Stop and note: How many times to YOU beat yourself up when you make a mistake or the outcomes aren’t as good as you wanted?

Thus, when agents conclude that they cannot be successful in open houses, that idea plays again and again in their minds until they change their positive attitude about their success in the business and form a new belief about their ability to communicate.

Challenge: How Many Times Can You Repeat a Positive Reinforcement?

You can stop this insidious—although natural—process by replacing it with a new process. To do this, you must replace your natural inclination of negative self-talk, repeated again and again, with some positive self-talk, repeated again and again. Replacing negative reinforcement with positive will change your career for the better!

So, tell me. How has this been working for you? Are you changing your negative self-talk for the better?

See Up and Running in 30 Days (business start-up plan book) and Up and Running in Real Estate (business start-up planning training online) for more help in managing your attitude to success.

Recognize ®

Acknowledge ®

Develop New Conclusions

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, accountability, attitude, Business Plan, Coaching, expectations, inspiration, manager, Motivation, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Up and Running in 30 Days, Up and Running in Real Estate
Comments (0)

10 Newbie Mistakes: What Did I Miss?

by Carla Cross

January 26th, 2021

Within a couple of months, I’m publishing my new eBook: Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Won’t Teach You in Pre-License School. This book will tell it like it is for all those people thinking about real estate as a career. Different, yes?

So, I’ve been thinking about all the mistakes I made as a new agent–and all the mistakes I’ve seen new agents make. In this and my next blog, I’m going to be giving you those mistakes. Help me out here. What should go into my new book? What are the mistakes new agents make that put up barriers to their success? What should I caution would-be and new agents about?

The Frank Sinatra Syndrome: Doing it ‘My Way’

We all want success easily. We all want to ‘do it our way’. And, if we’re honest, in our quest for easy success, we’ll all done dumb things. That is, we realized they were dumb—after the fact. So, just because I’m picking on new agents here doesn’t mean I haven’t done many more than just ten dumb things! I’m listing these here, though, to help you avoid the mistakes I made as a new agent, and the mistakes I’ve observed thousands of new agents make over the years I’ve managed, trained and coached.

Some Mistakes Cost us All Lots of $$$$

Some dumb actions don’t cost us much, but, when an agent fails, it costs money to everyone—agents, offices, and consumers. It’s estimated that it costs a manager $15,000-30,000 for every agent hired who fails! So, that agent isn’t a profit-center, she’s a cost center! In addition,

an agent who fails spends at least $5000-15,000 just in ‘subsidized living’ and real estate expenses the first three months in the business.

Click To Tweet

Finally, the consumer loses, because the agent is out of the business before serving the consumer.

Heads Up

New agents don’t come into the business to fail. But, they don’t realize the effort and skill it takes to succeed.* In addition, there are increasingly difficult challenges for new agents:

The gap between consumer expectations and agent performance is widening quickly and dramatically. New agents must have better training, coaching, and commitment from their brokers.
The market in most areas is very competitive, so new agents can’t get those ‘easy sales’.
The committed, career-oriented agent is taking much more of the market share.

It’s estimated that 50% of new agents fail and get out of the business in their first year, and 75% are out in two years. That seems to me a huge waste of resources—and a huge contributor to that expectations gap I listed above. We need to stop that attrition now. So, new agents, I’ve created a list of the ten dumbest things I’ve seen thousands do to fail themselves right out of the business. In this blog, we’ll investigate the first five:

Thinking that there are lots of ways to start the business. There aren’t. Real estate sales is sales, and sales is a numbers game. (Up and Running in Real Estate shows you exactly how to work those numbers to your benefit).
Thinking they don’t have to lead generate, because they’ll “do it differently.” Don’t talk to people consistently and in great numbers and you’ll be flipping burgers before you know it! (Not that there is anything wrong in flipping burgers, but you won’t be “selling real estate”.)
Thinking that their manager or office or the Internet will supply them leads. If that were the case, your commissions would be much smaller.
Thinking that this business is about tasks and technology. It’s not. It’s about people relationships.
Treating the business like a ‘next’ business. It’s not about finding and selling a customer. It’s about finding and keeping the customer for long-term referral business.

How many of these dumb things have you done? In truth, we learn from our mistakes. It’s not what we do wrong. It’s what we continue doing wrong. I’m writing Launching Right in Real Estate to prepare people for the career in a straightforward manner.

In my next blog, we’ll investigate the remaining mistakes. What did I miss?

*Launching Right in Real Estate helps would-be agents make best decisions and prepare to sell real estate. It includes:

What it costs to enter real estate
What it costs monthly to run a business
The behavioral profile that will love and thrive in the business–how to tell if you’ll love it
The 5 most important interview questions you need to ask
How to evaluate the office and manager as you interview

Want a complimentary copy when it’s ready? Email me with your advice to would-be agents and/or the mistakes you see would-be agents make as they come into the business: carla@carlacross.com. If your advice is included, I’ll send you the eBook. Thanks!

Categories expectations, Launching Right in Real Estate, new agent business plan, new agent interview, new agents make money, New Real Estate Agents, pre-license, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Budget, Real Estate Success, Training, Up and Running in Real Estate
Comments (0)

Do Buyers Qualify You?

by Carla Cross

October 7th, 2020

You qualify buyers, I hope. But, do you think buyers qualify you?

Do buyers qualify you?

We all talk about qualifying buyers and sellers. I hope you’ve made a goal of better qualifying methods. Great qualifying skills and processes mean better time management and loyal clients. But, in addition, buyers actively qualify agents to figure out who to work with. (Or, if they just take any agent who comes along, they are disappointed because ‘the customer doesn’t know what he’s getting, until he doesn’t’.)

Why meeting buyer qualifying criteria is important: Buyers today have many choices of how to find homes. You need to create competitive reasons to help buyers choose you. It will save you time and money. And, if you’re a newer agent, creating solid reasons to help buyers choose you will increase your self-confidence 200%.

Five Critical Questions Buyers Should Ask Agent ‘Candidates’

Here are five critical questions I believe buyers should ask agents to assure they have a ‘match’ between what they are looking for and what the agent provides. In addition, I’ve added what I believe buyers should look for in the answers (that means that we agents must be able to qualify on these terms):

1. “Is selling residential real estate your full-time career?”

My advice to buyers: Listen to be sure the agent specializes in residential real estate. You want someone selling homes for a living, not apartments. Listen to see if this is the agent’s full-time career. Ask additional questions if the agent’s answers need more clarifying.

2. “How many homes did you sell last year?”

My advice to buyers: You want someone successful; that means, at minimum, the agent sold homes to buyers at least six times in that year. But, new agents, don’t fear. You can prove you will work hard for a buyer if you can show the training you’ve taken, the support you have in your office, and the processes you use to assure the buyer has a great experience.

3. “How long have you specialized in residential real estate in this area?”

My advice to buyers: Be sure the agent has been working in the area where you want to purchase for at least six months, so you know the agent has expertise and interest in that area. Again, if you’re new, show how hard you’ve worked to educate yourself in the areas the buyer wants to see.

4. “Describe the work you do in our price range and area.”

My advice to buyers: Listen to be sure the agent zeros in on the area and price range you need. If the agent says, “I work anywhere with anybody”, that agent may not be for you, for he may be trying to cover too much ground to know very much about specific areas.

Agents: Be ready to prove you restrict yourself to the areas you can be expert in.

5. “Tell us how you will work with us.”

My advice to buyers: Listen as the agent describes the buying process, as he views it. Does it reflect what you’re looking for?

Agents: Show, not tell. Show the buyers the processes, checklists, and systems you use to assure the buyer has a great buying experience.

Agents: Think These Criteria are Too Tough?

Did some of those questions and my advice to buyers make you defensive and argumentative? That’s because we agents tend to look at things ‘inside out’ (from our perspective). Instead, pretend you are a discriminating buyer. You’re going to spend $60,000 on a car. What kind of customer service do you expect? Now, think in terms of the real estate buyer. What kind of service should a real estate buyer expect?

Newer Agents: Panicked Because You Think You Can’t Qualify?

Relax. You don’t need to qualify on all terms. But, you need to have answers and explanations ready so you can provide buyers reasons to work with you.

Advice: Educate yourself so that you are as well-prepared to help a buyer as an agent who has sold 100+ homes in his/her career.

Sound off! What did I miss? Are some of these questions too tough? What do you think?

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, buyer presentation, buyer's agent, Buyers, client trust, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, expectations, New Real Estate Agents, presentations, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Up and Running in Real Estate
Comments (0)

Making It Big: The Three Skills You Need

by Carla Cross

September 11th, 2020

Going into real estate because you love houses? You want to be independent? You can name your own hours? Probably the three worst reasons to become a real state salesperson!

Making it big: The three skills you need.

Perhaps you went into real estate because you wanted to be independent. You wanted to be your own boss–name your own hours–work at your own speed. You had heard real estate agents make lots of money. Maybe you thought this was a business were you just looked at pretty houses. Not so fast! Even though real estate is considered to be a career where ‘you’re in business for yourself”, taking that thought too far can result in failure.

Whether you’re new or in business for decades, read on. You may be deluding yourself about your path to success.

Selling Real Estate: Skills Needed

There are many skills required in this business that people new to it just don’t have. Too often, agents believe all they have to do is to start in this business and go to training. They will be successful. Then, when they start failing, they can’t figure out why. In this blog I’ll name 3 qualities and skills you need to develop fast. My question to you is: How are you going to develop or refine them?

Skill # 1: Time management

Most people go into real estate from a field that required them to show up on time, do specific work, and work for at least eight hours. If they didn’t fulfill the minimum requirements of the job, they were fired. Understandably, many people don’t like to work under those strictures. So, they go into real estate where they can name their own hours, work at their own speed, etc. etc. The problem is they don’t understand that working at their own speed many be working at a failure speed.

My question: How are you developing your time management skills? Did you bring them from your former business? (Most agents don’t). If you don’t have dynamic time management skills, how will you develop them?

Skill # 2; Being accountable to a plan

When I was regional director for a very large international franchise company, I screened people for leadership positions. I was stunned to find most potential owners and managers had never had anyone hold them accountable. In fact, there was a negative feeling about being held accountable. When you have a ‘boss’, you are accountable to that work plan and to your boss. In real estate, we’re so careful not to step over the boundaries of the independent contractor concept, we rarely hold anyone accountable to anything. The result: Most people never know what the job really is, and whether they are on track to attain their goals.

My question to you is: Who is helping you be accountable for your own success? Who is your coach? (And don’t tell me it is YOU…..) If you don’t have someone coaching you, how do you know you’re on the right track?

Skill #3: Implement a plan of action.

It is just amazing to me the kablooey plans of action out there. Most of the time, in fact, an agent isn’t provided a plan of action. He/she is just told suggestions or 50 ways to do something. The result: The agent has no idea how to prioritize activities and proceed. He has no idea whether what he is doing every day actually is leading him toward a goal. That’s like my musician friend who says every piece of music is the same: It all uses the same 88 keys–just in different arrangements. But, if you were to try to play a piece of music without knowing the sequencing of the melody, you couldn’t play it. It’s the same as picking out the best methods from those ” 50 ways to do something”.

My question to you is: Do you have a proven, prioritized plan of action and are you executing it? How do you know it is a plan that will get you exceptional results? (all plans aren’t the same!)

I’ve given you 3 skills agents need to succeed. What do you think? Is real estate an ‘independent’ or dependent business? I believe it needs to be a ‘dependent’ business at the beginning. That is, I coach the new agent as he/she starts his/her business. I am the leader. The new agent is the follower (or the struggling agent). There is the dependence. Once the agent ‘has it’, I step back, and become more of a consultant. Have you been a successful follower, so you can learn the business right? If not, why not? If you went to a piano teacher to learn to play the piano, you wouldn’t start your first lesson by telling the teacher how to play!

If you haven’t read the great book, Outliers, get it and read it now. One of the great lessons in the book is that no one succeeds alone.

Give me your feedback on the ‘independent’ or ‘dependent’ concept. What do you think?

Do you have a training plan that includes a proven plan of action? Why not get started (or re-started) right with my online program, Up and Running in Real Estate. Coaching is included!

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, Coaching, expectations, FREE real estate coaching, lead generation, new agent business plan, new agent online training, New Real Estate Agents, online training, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, time management, Training, Up and Running in 30 Days, Up and Running in Real Estate
Comments (0)

Giving Up is NOT an Option for You!

by Carla Cross

September 2nd, 2020

Boy, have things ever changed! Real estate sales is not for the faint of heart. You’re in it: Keep going!

Giving Up is NOT your option–I hope!

Did you think, when you went into real estate, that you’d sell a house the first month? Well, according to my survey in my eBook, What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School, the majority of real estate agents thought just that! However, you’ve found that’s probably not the case. So, what will you do now? Give up, or persevere?

If Giving Up is Not Your Option….

What if there’s a magic measurement of success? Would you be willing to meet that measurement? You know that the Beatles attained pop music mastery. You know Bill Gates did the same with technology. But, did you know what they have in common-and that you may have, too?

The Simple Answer

Before I tell you that, let me share something that happens to me often. I’m a pianist-and have been a musician since I was four years old. In my speaking, I often tickle the ivories-just a little, of course…..Invariably, someone comes up to me and says, “I’ve always wanted to play the piano.” I tell them, they certainly can. How? here’s the simple answer:

Practice one half hour a day for one year. You’ll be able to play well enough to play pop tunes at parties, lead those sing-alongs, and wow your friends.

You’ve heard the old chestnut, Practice Makes Perfect. I certainly know that as a musician. But, how well do we apply that principle to our business lives? Is this something that is a key to our attaining our goals? I think so. Read on.

The Commonality between the Beatles and Bill Gates

In his fascinating book, Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell studies performers–from Mozart and the Beatles to Bill Gates. The commonality he found was that high achievers spent an average of

Ten thousand hours practicing and honing their craft to get to mastery

In other words, it isn’t just talent, it isn’t just circumstance (although Gladwell points out being at the right place at the right time is important, too)–it is just slogging it out, practicing your craft, logging in ten thousand hours.

The Beatles: Having to Work Seven Days for Eight Hours a Night Was the Best Thing that Could Happen to Them

When I read that the Beatles played in Hamburg 8 hours a night, 7 days a week-for 2 years, I instantly felt tired! I know what it’s like to play piano bar for hours! But, the Beatles said that experience was key in making them the performers they became. In an interview, John Lennon said, “We got better and got more confidence. We couldn’t help it with all the experience playing all night long…..we really had to find a new way of playing.”

Bill Gates: Practically Living at the Computer Lab

Gates describes his early years: “It was my obsession….I skipped athletics. I went up there at night. We were programming on weekends.”

Isn’t There a Shortcut?

For those of you who have never attained high performance, you don’t–and can’t realize the importance of practice. You may think that it’s just a matter of talent or luck. But, haven’t you known extremely talented people who just extinguished themselves like a flaming rocket? Haven’t you known people with all the advantages who just didn’t attain what you thought they could-or should? Of course.

Are You Willing to Put in those Ten Thousand Hours to Excel?

From the many examples in Outliers, and from my own experiences as a pianist (I have a degree in piano performance and a master’s degree in music theory), I know that practicing your craft provides the only true competence and confidence.

You don’t gain mastery by talking about it. You don’t gain mastery by someone trying to motivate you. It’s practice.

Click To Tweet

So, get out there, and practice and perform. Rack up those ten thousand hours, and you will achieve your goals. If the Beatles and Bill Gates didn’t take shortcuts, we shouldn’t try it that way, either. Isn’t devoting enough time to your goals important enough to you to feel the joy of attainment-of mastery?

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Personal note to you: Be sure you’re practicing the right things the right way. You can put in 8-10 hours a day and get nowhere if you’re practicing the wrong way. To be sure you’re practicing right, use the right start-up plan. My online training/coaching program, Up and Running in Real Estate, will work for you!

Ten Traits Needed to Succeed in Real Estate Sales

by Carla Cross

August 27th, 2020

You may have heard ‘you’re a great talker’. You’ll do well in real estate. Think that’s true? Think again!

Here are the ten traits I believe are needed to succeed in real estate sales. If you’re thinking about entering the wide, wonderful world of real estate, you’ll benefit from reading my list.

In my three+ decades managing and owning real estate offices, I’ve interviewed hundreds of potential real estate agents. I’ve watched many thrive–coming into the business quickly and making money fast. And, some I’ve watched fail. From these observations, I know the qualities that assure success.

Here’s the list that I came up with for my eBook, What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School. Some of you reading this list will already have been selling real estate. So, read this list and ask yourself: “Which of these qualities is very strong in my character? Which needs ‘shoring up’?” To succeed fast, or move to the next level in your business, you must exhibit these qualities in your sales and sales management behavior.

1. High Personal Initiative

Your success depends on your being able to create business and implement it on your own, with relatively little monitoring. If the interviewer tells you he/she’ll give you leads, I’d suggest a polite ‘thank you’ with a quick exit. Why? Because no one makes much money waiting for leads from anyone (and someone will be taking part of the commission for the lead, too). Another word for this is “self-starter”. No one is going to call you to force you out of bed!

2. Tenacity

Only those who “stick with it” will win. Plan on dedicating one year to establishing your business. Plan on spending at least three to five years building the kind of business you want to have as a ‘mature’ business. If you’re getting into real estate just to see if it’s for you–don’t bother. Chances are you won’t have the tenacity to do the tough work, and take the rejection needed to build a career.

3. Mental Toughness

A positive mental attitude is essential. Others who give up easily will try to influence the tenacious, mentally tough individual to also give up. It takes courage to keep going in this long-term business. You’ll get much more rejection than you ever expected. Those who keep going in spite of that rejection succeed.

4. Belief in Oneself

We each have to know, inside ourselves, that we are capable, that we have the talent and the tenacity to succeed, and that we can depend on ourselves. How are you motivating yourself today to reach higher levels in your business? Do you have a deep belief in yourself?

5. Willing to Take Direction and Be Accountable to Your Goals

Real estate is a constantly-changing field. Those who win and keep building stronger businesses learn new skills and apply them constantly. They also hold themselves accountable to their goals, and let others hold them accountable, too. They gain a coach early in their career, take skills classes, and keep getting better–not just to make money, but to take pride in how they do business.

6. Enthusiastic

A joy in doing, and a desire to accomplish shows itself in an enthusiastic attitude. Does your enthusiasm show to your clients? To your fellow agents? No one enjoys working with a ‘downer’. No one will help someone who constantly tells the helper, “I tried that once. It didn’t work for me.” Guess what: You won’t get any more help!

7. Creative

In today’s marketing-oriented world, an agent must be truly creative to design marketing where he stands out as valuable and different. How have you demonstrated your creativity?

8. Able to Communicative

Writing skills are a necessity today. Our sophisticated target markets are well-educated. Effective verbal communication is also paramount to success. Do you need to polish your communication skills?

9. Team Player

The preservation of our office spirit and cooperation is very important. We are all more successful together. What are you giving back to your team mates? Are you ready to reciprocate help? Are you ready to grow by contributing? You’ll get much further by contributing, because others will be compelled to help you.

10. Technology-savvy Enough

Notice I said ‘enough’. You don’t have to be a tech genius (in fact, too many of those types stay buried and married to their computers!). You do need to be able to use the basic technology available to fill out forms, market, use social medial, and communicate with your clients.

I’ll bet you can add to this list. Write a comment here and tell me what you think is an important quality in a successful real estate agent.

Don’t try to go it alone. Developing your traits and skills is so much easier when you’re in a proven program. Get the skills, coaching, accountability, and business plan you need to succeed. Check out Up and Running in Real Estate.

Categories accountability, attitude, Business Plan, Coaching, communication, expectations, goals, income, lead generation, new agent business plan, New Real Estate Agents, online training, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, team, Training, Up and Running in Real Estate
Comments (0)

What Your Manager Should Expect from You

by Carla Cross

August 20th, 2020

What should your real estate manager expect from you?

When you interviewed, I’m sure you had a list of what you wanted in a real estate manager. And, I bet you asked your manager what that manager and company were going to do for you. You were probably asked how much money you wanted to make, and had a discussion about that.

At the same time: Did you find out what the expectations were from you to the company? I’ll bet not. So, in these next two blogs, I’ll tell you what I think the agent should do for the company. Why? To get the best from your manager, you must give your best. It starts with expectation sharing, and sets the stage for a successful agent-manager relationship.

Bottom line: Matching expectations mean you’ll make more money because you’ll have the support you need to succeed at the level you desire.

Click To Tweet

Good Managers: Always Working on Getting Better

Managers study how to attract and keep agents. They learn how to do recruiting presentations that they hope are mesmerizing to their candidates–so mesmerizing that they’ll say yes when offered a position in the company. They don’t rest on their laurels; they hone their skills so they’re better managers, trainers, and coaches. In other words, good managers are always working on how to be better resources, coaches, and trainers for their agents.

Here’s my job description of a real estate manager.

How does it compare to what you observe your manager doing? In my opinion, this is what the best real estate manager does to nurture the development of his team and make a profit.

What’s the Company Getting from You?

My eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Taylor, was truly memorable (in all ways….). She had wonderful sayings that she would drop on us at opportune times. These either kept us attentive or scared the you-know-what out of us! They included, “Time passes. Will you?” and “To each his own, as she kissed the cow.” (Well, some were better than others).

The saying I’m remembering now, though, was, “Turnabout’s fair play”. In other words, if you mess with Mrs. Taylor, you will get the appropriate treatment! And, if you cooperate and get your work done, you’ll get appropriate treatment, too. So, let’s apply that idea to the relationship and expectations of agents and managers.

Did You Exchange Mutual Expectations in the Interview?

The real estate industry is the only industry I know that hires with a “trust me” from both the manager and the agent. No mutual expectations here, just promises! It may have worked in the past, but it won’t work in the future. A pivoting market means we’ll have to do things differently. Managers should have a list of what the manager and company will do for the agent–and what is expected from an agent. This is the Mutual Expectations agreement. As a new agent, you should have gone over that agreement in the interview. (There is an example mutual expectations agreement in Up and Running in 30 Days, the new agent’s business start-up plan).

Consequences of the Mutual Expectations Agreement

Managers are constantly concerned about retention. Providing a mutual expectations dialogue and agreement is one of the best retention tools in the world–hiring agents who promise to go to work! Experienced agents love the fact that the manager is not hiring deadwood to just get in their way and pull down the reputation of the company.

What’s In It for the New Agent?

For my eBook What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School, I surveyed hundreds of agents in the business less than three months. I asked them, “What number of transactions do you have to complete in your first year to avoid being terminated?” 71% did not know! Now, would you take any job where you didn’t know the expectations? Yet, most managers avoid telling those expectations–if they have them. And, agents avoid asking because they don’t want to know.

However, if you don’t know what’s expected of you, how will you know if you’re achieving? How will you know if the start-up plan your manager is using with you (your manager is using a start-up plan, I hope….) will get you to your goals?

Lack of Expectations Is a Bad Thing…

If your manager didn’t discuss expectations with you, what does that mean? Probably that anything you do will be okay. That is, you can fail. You can fail to achieve your goals. You can avoid doing the work that needs to be done–and there are no consequences. You know that’s not a good thing. So, if you don’t know those expectations, go to your manager right now and get them. That’s a good thing!

Are you getting the guidance, support, and start-up plan you need to succeed? It takes much more than training and advice to be successful in real estate. Check out the program that’s proven to get results, because it’s a real business plan, supported with training: ***Up and Running in Real Estate.***

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, action plan, Business Plan, creative training methods, expectations, new agent business plan, new agent online training, New Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Up and Running in 30 Days, Up and Running in Real Estate, What They Don't Teach You in PreLicense School
Comments (0)

How to Make More Money in Real Estate in Less Time

by Carla Cross

August 12th, 2020

Here’s how to make more money in real estate in less time. When would-be agents investigate real estate as a career, they ask questions like:

Is a career in real estate worth it?

How much money can I make in real estate?

To answer those questions–and to sell books–you’ll find dozens of books titled ‘how to make a million in real estate’ or ‘how to be a real estate superstar your first year in the business’. You’re lead to believe anyone who goes into real estate is bound to make gazillions–fast. (Have you seen the myriad of TV shows where those beautifully dressed agents show $10,000,000 homes to adoring clients? It looks so glamorous and easy!)

Caveat: There’s one book for the seasoned real estate agent that really does lay out a concrete path to making, and then profiting a million dollars in real estate. By Gary Keller, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent is based on studies of successful agents and systems proven to produce those results. If you read it, you will discover that this means setting long-term goals and working like you owned a business (you do) for years!

The sad truth: Few agents make a million dollars. The really sad secret: Over 50% of new agents fail to make it through their first year in the business. There are a myriad of reasons. From interviewing and hiring hundreds of new agents, and seeing so many start-up plans, I believe the main reason new agents fail–and seasoned agents flounder–is that they are following an activity plan that just won’t work to make them money.

How Most New Agents Launch Their Careers

Most ‘activity plans’ new agents are given are activity plans for failure. (Agents who are floundering are also following these ‘failure-insured’ plans). The proof: According to the last National Association of Realtors’ survey of members, (2019), 54% of agents under two years in the business grossed less than $10,000 (that’s before expenses!). You don’t want to be one of those people.

What One of Those Failure Activity Plans Looks Like

The situation: You’re relatively new at sales. Your sales manager has suggested several activities for you to do:

Inspect listings
Organize your desk, files, books, etc.
Review forms
Attend orientation
Get your multiple keys; go to Realtor orientation; attend your multiple listing service orientation
Attend your office training

Following directions, you dive into all these activities, excited to start your sales career. You’re enjoying looking at pretty homes, and you don’t mind doing the rest of the activities. In fact, you find these activities rather easy to do, and you’re looking forward to the money just pouring in. If this is a successful real estate career, bring it on!

The Problem: Those Aren’t The Activities that Make You Money

But, the money doesn’t pour in. Look back at that list. Do any of these activities have to do with meeting and working with clients? (the only way you’ll ever make money!). Unfortunately, no. It’s all get ready. Now, there’s nothing wrong with organizing and educating yourself–if you only do it for a short period of time! The big mistake new salespeople make is that they keep doing those ‘first week activities’ as a priority for the remainder of their careers. Don’t do that! (Up and Running in Real Estate , my business start-up plan for future successful real estate agents, categories these activities as business support activities).

Why Would Your Manager Give You a Wimpy Activity List?

New agents have shared with me their ‘interview’ questions. They are not really interviews. They’re just sales jobs. The manager’s goal is to say whatever needs to be said to get that license on the wall. Then, the agent receives that wimpy activity list to underscore the thought that real estate is easy, everyone can do it, and you’ll do great without much effort (not all managers, of course, but, failure rates prove this is all too common.)

That List is Pre-Sale Stuff

In real estate, we call new homes that are sold prior to their being finished ‘pre-sales’. I want you to think of that list of six activities as ‘pre-sale’. You aren’t going to start making money until you get, as Up and Running in Real Estate states

on the sales path.

Here’s what that sales path looks like:

*In my Up and Running programs, these activities are called “business producing” activities.

When to Get on That Sales Path

Give yourself one week of ‘pre-sale’ activity. Then, start your Up and Running business start-up plan, so you’ll get a sale in 30 days. That doesn’t mean you will quit doing those six preparation activities. It just means they will take a lower priority to your actually working with and selling clients.

Staying On Track Isn’t Easy without a Great Coach

Assure your success by asking someone (either your manager or a professional coach) to coach you to your plan and hold you accountable. Why? Because it’s human nature for us to slip back into those easy-to-do, low-risk pre-sale or business-supporting activities, because they’re easy and risk-free. Armed with a proven business start-up plan and a coach, you have the right priorities, the right attitude, and the support you need to succeed.

Note to managers: Look at the activities you have the new agent doing in his/her first month. Do these activities include lead generating activities, or are they just keeping the agent busy? Be sure your activity list is a success list, focusing on finding, working with, and selling clients, not a busy-work list.

30 Things to Do While You’re in Pre-License School to Hit the Ground Running

If you’re in a pre-license school now, you know you are getting information to pass the test–not to succeed in real estate. You need an activity plan right now so you can do many of the things that will otherwise slow you down once you’re licensed. Grab my 30 things activity plan here.

Archive for Up and Running in Real Estate

Do you have a training plan that includes a proven plan of action? Why not get started (or re-started) right with my online program, Up and Running in Real Estate. Coaching is included!

Subscribe to Blog

Categories