UP AND RUNNING IN 30 DAYS: Real Estate Training and Coaching

What Your Title on your Business Card Says about You

September 20th, 2019

You probably never thought about it, but your title on your business card tells a lot about you. It tells us what you think of your business.

If you’re a newer agent, you’ve probably struggled about what to put on those business cards. Maybe you have shied away from putting ‘salesperson’. I know.

To some, the word ‘salesperson’ has a negative meaning.

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It did to me as a new agent. I came from the world of music, where there was no ‘sales resistance’ and everyone respected me because I was a college music teacher.

The Value of Being a Salesperson

I learned the value of becoming a salesperson–a really, really good salesperson, because I learned I could help people do what they wanted to do–and just needed someone to facilitate that.

If There Were No Salespeople

Where would we be without sales skills and salespeople? Here are some of the notable people today that you don’t think are in sales–but who have really, really good sales skills (and have to have, to get us to embrace their ideas):

Madonna (she may not be the best singer, but, boy, does she know how to sell herself)

President Obama (he must be able to sell himself and his programs)

Warren Buffet (help people embrace his investment ideas)

Bill Gates (Sell Microsoft and its products)

What Salespeople Do–and Why You Should Be Proud to Call Yourself a ‘Salesperson

As my first ‘boss’ in real estate said, ” If there were no salespeople, few/no goods would be bought” (except those that are absolutely needed). In fact, as my manager pointed out, the economy would come to a grinding halt. When the economy is going great in real estate, salespeople aren’t considered as important. But, wait–when the market slows, salespeople will become fewer–and more valuable to the public.

Sales Skills are Artistic and Not So Easy to Master

Now, there is a movement against using anything with the connotation of ‘sales’. Yet, there is nothing wrong–and everything right–about the art of sales. Using properly, sales helps people see the benefits of buying whatever they are considering.

Poor Sales Hurts the Consumer–Really Hurts!

As a long-time real estate salesperson, I saw buyers and sellers actually stopped from purchasing or selling because their salesperson was so inept. That meant the customer lost hundreds of thousands of dollars down the road! In fact, 99% of the mistakes agents I observed salespeople make were not in forcing, manipulating, or lying their way into getting someone to do something not in their best interest but rather

stopping a buyer or seller from doing what’s best for him/her because the salesperson had such lousy skills

Become a Blazingly Good Salesperson

If you have some reticence at the word ‘salesperson’, tackle that reticence right now. You aren’t just a licensee; you aren’t just an agent; you are a sales professional. You discover prospects (lead generation). You uncover prospects’ needs; you help prospects investigate new possibilities; you help prospects prioritize information and properties; you negotiate on their behalf. Those are all sales not agent skills. Agency is just a license. Sales is a skill and an art. Become an artist of what you do!

Question: What do you see agents putting on their business cards? What does it tell you?

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, Branding, Buyers, Coaching, Marketing, New Real Estate Agents, Personal promotion, pre-license, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Up and Running in 30 Days
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New Agents Speak Out: What Works–What to Avoid

by Carla Cross

September 12th, 2019

Want the ‘real skinny’ on succeeding in real estate? Read what successful newer agents say to do–and what to avoid.

In the latest edition of Up and Running in 30 Days, the new agent’s business start-up plan, I’ve put lots of updates including advice from successful newer agents. Rather than my trying to convince you of these principles myself, here’s what they’ve said:

On Training

Here’s a quote from Kyle Kovats, who was chosen as one of the finalists for the “30 under 30” honors from the National Association of Realtors. These select nominations are agents chosen because they are under 30 and very successful in the business.

Kyle advises: “Find a broker who has a comprehensive training program. Ask if you can speak with agents who have gone through it to get the agents’ perspective on whether it was helpful.”

{Note: Up and Running in 30 Days has tips for you new agents in choosing the right training program—a training program that actually assures you launch a great career).

The Importance of Coaches and Mentors

There’s a lot more to success than just attending even a great training program. Read this from Merrilee Prochaska, “I wish I had understood the importance of a mentor/coach before I began.”

{Up and Running in 30 Days discusses the trend toward coaches, and provides guidance in choosing the right coach for you.}

On What They Wish They’d Done Differently

It’s not all a smooth ride to success! Here are some comments successful agents on what they wish they had done differently

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. From Cerise Paton: “Followed up more and more consistently; understood the time and discipline and numbers needed for lead generation and lead conversion; recognizing the time it took to build trust; going on more appointments, failing more often, and getting better, practicing presentations with friends”.

Gary Richter’s comment on what he would do differently could apply to most new agents: “Contact all of my sphere and ask for business.” Gary admits he was reticent to ask them all for business.

On Prioritizing Your Activities and Lead Generation Sources

Don’t take my word for it that clearly prioritizing your activities as business-producing or business-supporting is key to success. Hear it from Gary Richter, who used Up and Running in 30 Days to start his career. He says his priorities are big reasons he’s succeeding now: “I am cognizant of my daily activities and recognized them as either business producing or business supporting. I spend the majority of my time on business-producing activities.”

And, Diane Honeycutt states, “Take the advice in this plan and be sure you’re not a ‘secret agent’! Develop a work plan and stick to it”.

Here’s what Kyle Kovats, that great ’30 under 30’ nominee, said: “Get out there and just do it. Try different forms of prospecting and see what works. An ounce of action is more powerful than a ton of planning.”

Gary Richter advises: “Get off your computer and go out into the areas. Focus on business-producing activities.”

More great advice from Kyle Kovats: “Be relentless. Follow up with handwritten letters rather than the generic form letters/cards most agents send people. Be unique.”

On the Importance of Client Relationship Management Technology

When I asked those agent and manager contributors the technology new agents should incorporate, here’s what they said:

“CRM and lead management tools”—Diane Honeycutt

“A really good and easy-to-use CRM”—Cerise Paton

“A good CRM”—Chris Cross

So, don’t be like the majority of new agents (and even seasoned agents who put off capturing all those leads in a database and then, even better a CRM!) Start using a database, or better yet, a CRM your first week in the business.

On Spending Money for Leads

Here’s some advice from one of those Top 30 Under 30 finalists, James Pierce: “Don’t pay a dime to sites like Zillow, etc.”

From Cerise Paton: “You will get a lot of calls to sell you leads, google placement, banner ads, shopping carts, you name it. Don’t do it. It either has no value, or you’re not ready for it, or you can’t afford it”

Tip for managers: As you read these comments, ask yourself, “How is my training, coaching, and business start-up plan keeping my new agents on track?” What needs to be changed or refined so I get better results?”

How about YOU?

Are you following these principles? How many have you rejected or violated in your first few months in the business? Why? Success isn’t always easy, but it always has patterns and leaves clues! Don’t try and re-invent the wheel. Follow a proven plan with assured results and you will be wildly successful!

Take a look at what’s in Up and Running in 30 Days: updates in 5th edition. If you’re not reaching your goals as a newer agent (or want to re-start your career), you NEED this detailed start-up plan–chock full of advice that’s up-to-date. only $32.95 plus shipping–and invaluable to your career success. Click here for more information and to order.

I’ve got a bonus, too, for you this month: You’ll also receive my ‘little book of Big Ideas--inspiration and motivation to keep going to success!

The Five Big Reasons New Agents Fail

by Carla Cross

September 6th, 2019

Do you know the 5 biggest reasons new agents fail? Here they are.

New agents come into the business, excited because they are ‘in business now for themselves’. They don’t have a “boss”. They can organize their time. They look forward to lots of ‘free time’. They’ve also heard one can make lots of money working 20 hours a week. What a dream world! Worse yet, they don’t know how to start the business! (Who would?) So, they fill the time with what comes easily. Most of us are afraid of rejection, and fear what will happen if we talk to human beings and ask them to buy real estate from us. So, we stay away from those activities that invite rejection. We gravitate toward ‘safe’ activities, such as:

get organized–all day
attend classes–all day
preview properties–all week
observe others–all week
do research and follow-up
Play computer and social media

A friend of mine observes that they seem to be “getting ready to get ready”.

The very dangerous thing about agents creating a daily plan without good business-start-up principles, is that they create habits of failure. In effect, they created their own start-up plan—one that assures low production.

Those 5 Big Reasons

1. Wait too long to lead generate–this is the biggest reason of all. They end up with very few leads–and those few leads are poor ones who won’t buy or sell!

2. Copy other losers–go preview pretty properties, drink coffee, gossip, etc.

3. Look for someone to provide them ‘leads‘ (no good producer expects leads to be given to them!)

4. Don’t lead generate at all! (They’re waiting for ‘a better way’)

5. Just hate people (these are those who say ‘I like houses; I just hate people’). These are people who shouldn’t be in sales. I surely don’t blame them. I blame whoever hired them for not screening properly. (I know we can’t be right all the time, but we should be using all the tools available to us, like behavioral profiles, to check our interview conclusions).

So, those are my 5 big reasons. What did I miss?

Up and Running in Real State Starts You Right to an Exceptional Career

If you’ve been in the business less than 2 years and you’re not getting the success you deserve, you need to give yourself the gift of this program. All the training, coaching, and supporting documents are online, so you can go at your own speed and go back as many times as you want.

How this program is different: It is foundationed with a business start-up plan, so you learn how to self-manage a successful business, not just do non-prioritized activities. And, there’s nothing else to buy–no extra cards that stay in your trunk! (And, there’s a coaching component for your manager so support you every step of the way!).

Check it out and see how you can reach your potential–and beyond!

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, action plan, Buyers, Coaching, expectations, goals, income, Internet leads, lead generation, new agent business plan, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Up and Running in Real Estate
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The 10 Dumbest Things New Agents Do (Last 5 Here)

by Carla Cross

August 29th, 2019

What is your list of 10 dumbest mistakes new agents make?

In my last blog, I listed what I thought were 5 of the dumbest mistakes new agents make. Here’s the rest of the list of 10:

6. Starting the business part-time, with no ‘drop dead’ exit plan from your other work. I know. I started part-time, but, within three months, I realized that I could not serve my consumer honestly when I had to run to another job. The truth is that you just can’t care much about the consumer if you’re not committed and working in real estate at least 50 hours a week. If you have to start part-time, give yourself a deadline to become full-time. Managers, don’t hire without that deadline in writing. You’ll be wasting your time training and coaching expertise.

7. Not getting a commitment from your manager that he/she will consistently and frequently coach you to a game plan. If your manager can’t rise to that level of commitment, how successful to you think your manager intends you to be? (Side note to managers: I believe you need to be 100% committed to your agents, or else the likelihood they will fail is 100%. Use a precise, consistent, proven game plan like the 5th edition of Up and Running in Real Estate to put your agent to work, and coach your agent. (I’ve included a coaching plan with Up and Running in Real Estate–Coaches’ Corner).

8. Thinking that the best commission plan is the best place to work. As the old song says, “Nothin’ from nothin’ is nothin’.” You need to sell lots of real estate—lots and lots of real estate. Choose the place where you think that will happen. Why? Because happy clients beget happy clients which beget more commissions and a solid career. New agents who figure out they only have to sell three homes a year to pay those fees are thinking like losers.

9. Not investing in the business until they ‘get successful’. When would that be? Why do you get to be successful without an investment? With that attitude, how are you going to compete with those great agents—and how are you going to meet those amazingly high consumer expectations?

10. Going into the business to see if they like it. I’ll bet 50% of new agents don’t really go into the business to make it a career. They go into the business to ‘try it out’. If that’s your attitude, how do you expect your manager and your company to be 100% committed to you, when you’re 25% committed?

A Great Manager Plus a Great Plan Plus Accountability = Success

Harsh words above, but true. If you want to succeed, find a great manager who will coach you and hold you to a start-up plan. Find a manager who will tell you the truth—even when you don’t want to hear it! Find a manager who is 100% committed to you, and you will be one of those 50% who survive their first years, and go on to great careers.

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, accountability, action plan, Business Plan, expectations, income, manager, new agent business plan, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Up and Running Coaching Companion for Manager, Up and Running in 30 Days, Up and Running in Real Estate
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How Fast Do You Get Into Action?

by Carla Cross

August 29th, 2019

Do you think these kids stayed in the classroom, studying how to play baseball–or were on the field, practicing baseball? Are you on the field of real estate, or are you studying it until you run out of money?

How fast do you get into action? Do you know why getting into action quickly is a ‘good thing’? In a wonderful book, The Conative Connection, author Kathy Kolbe explores the ways different personalities get into action. That’s a bit different approach than how we learn, or behavioral profiles. That’s really valuable to know if you are trying something new, or, as a manager, you’re coaching someone who’s new or wants to take his career to the next level.

Are you the Greyhound or the Turtle?

Some people barge ahead and worry about the details later (that’s me). We start badly, but, because we’re tenacious, we surprise people by how good we finally get. (And, as a musician, I know that the first time I do something isn’t the best it’s going to be). Other people observe the action for a long time. Finally, when they feel ready to perform well, they get into action. They start slowly but well. (The problem with this is that, as a real estate salesperson, these people can run out of money before they see success!!!)

Not only that, the only thing that really motivates us to keep trying is some success. Without any indicator of success, most people give up–and my surveys show they give up within 30 days of starting the real estate business!

The ‘Get Into Action’ Style that’s Problematic

Other people just wait to start until it’s proven that whatever the coach has told them will work for them—because it actually worked for them. Unfortunately, though, it can’t happen that way. You can’t know that you absolutely, positively, undeniably can do something before you’ve done it it! You must start with some faith that you can do it, and that what you’re being told to do will work, because it has worked for others before.

You can’t get better until you get into action.

The Fallacy about Motivation

Have you tried to motivate someone into action? Did you pump them up when they were in your office, only to find them deflated later? I call this the ‘immediate fizzle effect.’ Yes, a motivational pep talk can make us feel better, but, the truth is that talk does not provide us the sustaining motivation we need to take the risk and try new things. What does? Action. Read what psychologist Jerome Bruner says:

You’re more likely to act yourself into feeling, than feel yourself into action.

If you’re still not convinced, it’s because you have a ‘get into action’ profile that author Kolbe says wants all the proof it worked—before you do it! Not too logical, is it? So, you’ll have to trick yourself into action faster if you want to succeed in real estate.

Question: Which style are you? Is it helping or hindering you in your successful real estate career? Who could help you barge past those barriers?

Why Not Try Out our Unique Coaching Program?

Have you considered a coach to help you bash those barriers that are in your way to success? Why not check out our ***Career Achievement Coaching***. ***Email us*** for a complimentary consultation, and see if it’s a ‘fit’.

Categories Coaching, communication, expectations, goals, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Up and Running in Real Estate
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Do You Know the 10 Dumbest Things New Agents Do? Here’s My List….

by Carla Cross

August 22nd, 2019

Do you know the 10 dumbest things new agents do? Here’s my first five. What are yours?

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 More than Others

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. Finally, the consumer loses, because the agent is out of the business before serving the consumer (or in the midst of trying to serve 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:

1. 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.
2. The market is softening, so agents can’t get those ‘dumb luck’ first easy sales.
3. 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:

The First Five ‘Dumbest’

1. 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).
2. Thinking they don’t have to lead generate, because they’ll “do it differently.” Rejecting proactive lead generation (talking 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”.)
3. Thinking that their manager or office or the Internet will supply them leads. If that were the case, your commissions would be much smaller.
4. Thinking that this business is about tasks and technology. It’s not. It’s about people relationships. Technology is there to support relationships.
5. 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 created Up and Running in Real Estate to cut your ‘mistake time’!

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, action plan, attitude, Business Plan, Coaching, CRM, database, new agent business plan, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Sales Strategies, Up and Running in 30 Days, Up and Running in Real Estate
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What If Your Coaching Isn’t Working for You?

by Carla Cross

August 9th, 2019

You had high hopes when you hired that coach. But, for some reason, it’s not working for you. Read what may be the matter and what to do about it.

If you’re being coached: You may feel like you just aren’t getting anywhere. Here’s why, and what to do about it.

Coaching is a ‘buzzword’ in the world of business today, and especially in the world of real estate. Why? We have more committed people coming into real estate to make it a real business, not just to sell a few houses. And, it costs much more money to enter and run a real estate sales career than it did years ago. So, committed agents are looking for methods to assure their successes.

Increasing Production Doesn’t Work with a ‘Mass Management’ Approach

Years ago, I discovered that changing an office’s production for the better, and thus, increasing the bottom line, didn’t have anything to do with ‘managing an office’. Instead, it had everything to do with training small groups and coaching individuals to greater successes. However, I found I was one of the few managers that took that approach. Even though my office became number one in productivity per agent and profitability in the company, it didn’t seem that the other managers thought coaching individuals was ‘key’ to that accomplishment.

Getting Lots of Production in an Office Doesn’t Mean YOU will be Successful

From what agents tell me today, I’m sorry to say that it still seems the case. I’m afraid many managers try to increase their salespeople’s performances with the ‘group’ approach. I know that doesn’t work very well. In my ‘other life’, I was a performing pianist and teacher. I taught piano classes and individual piano lessons. I found that students didn’t learn to play very well in a piano class. They needed individual attention, so they could build on their individual strengths, and learn the skills of perfect practice. I believe the same principles of increasing performance are true of sales. After all, sales success is measured by our performance of it, not our knowledge of it, isn’t it? Mastering the skills of sales and business management seems to me foundationed on the same principles as mastering any skill.

The Coaching Feedback Loop

One of the biggest mistakes coaches make is in the feedback (evaluation) part of coaching. Why do you need to know that? So you can seek out a coach who is coaching you correctly.

What is the ‘coaching feedback contour’? It’s the framework for performance feedback in a coaching session. The ‘contour’ shows you how to coach performance so that you encourage good performance, and motivate your ‘client’ (the person you are coaching) to better performance.

Coaching Performance Feedback

Step One Step Two Step Three
Positives First Re-Direct/Questions Positive Reinforcement

What I (you) liked Next time, how could I know you can…
What I (you) attempted you…….. (what Encouragement
What I (you) did ‘new’ resources are available

Is your coach using this contour? What are you learning from taking part in it? Has it changed the way you think about your performance ‘wins’?

Give this feedback loop to your coach and go through it together. It will help you get blazingly good at client communication!

Give Yourself Some Positive Results!

If you’re looking for a more personal and professional coaching experience, why not do a complimentary consultation with one of our real estate coaches? You’ll get to see if it’s a ‘fit’, and learn about how we are uniquely different in our approach. We KNOW one size doesn’t fit all! ***Click here*** to order a complimentary coaching consultation.

Categories accountability, action plan, Coaching, communication, mentor, Motivation, New Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Up and Running in 30 Days, Up and Running in Real Estate
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Do You Believe You Would Benefit from a Coach?

by Carla Cross

August 1st, 2019

Do you believe you would benefit from a coach? You’ve made your goals for the year. You’re excited. But, you feel somewhat unfocused. You may need a coach to get your priorities right, and to stay on track. If not, what’s going to be different this year from last year? So, this month, I’m spotlighting coaching. Thanks to all you awesome coaches who help raise the standards of the industry.

Have you considered a coach? Here are ways to find out if you’d benefit.

Skills Come from Practice and Coaching Assistance

The difference between one person’s success in any field and another lies, in part, in their comparable skills.

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All experienced pianists can put their hands on the keys. They can play the notes. But, most pianists haven’t mastered playing the notes. They haven’t mastered the interpretation. That takes practice and coaching. Interestingly, real estate professionals seem to discount the ‘mastery’ truism……They must believe they can’t get better! (not true!)

Do you need a Coach?

If you’re:
• Not optimizing your talents
• Not attaining your goals
• Spending too much time spinning your wheels
• Spending too much money for little return
• Hitting ceilings of achievement
You will benefit from a professional business coach.

What Your Coach Can Do For You

• Help you focus on our goals so we get there faster.
• Motivate you to get into meaningful action.
• Encourage you to keep on keeping on.
• Offer resources for new ideas so we can take a different look.
• Appreciate your efforts when no one else seems to!

Real Estate Salespeople and Managers—a Special Breed

Approximately ninety percent of all real estate salespeople and managers have behavioral styles that are highly aggressive and/or promotional. That’s not like the normal population! In other words, we like people and we charge ahead (my motto is, when all else fails, read the directions……). Only fifty percent of the normal population exhibits those behavioral styles. Other styles are more task focused and embrace procedure.

Yes, we salespeople-types have special talents—and special challenges. Our biggest challenge is focus. We’re great with people. We get into action fast. Our problem is that people and actions pull us in various directions, and we lose the one thing that drives us toward our goals—focus. The first and biggest benefit a coach can give us is to keep us focused.

Coaches Provide Much-Needed Models and Systems

Models and systems are woefully lacking in our real estate industry. After all, we’re the people who’ve always said, “Fake it until you make it.” What if your surgeon said that? Or your accountant? Historically, we real estate professionals have had an aversion to following procedures. Yet, in the world of business, systems are the basis of all business growth. For us too, systematizing is the best way we can build big, profitable businesses. A competent coach uses and teaches proven models and systems and processes that do more than stop our crisis management. They teach us how to think about our business.

A Coach Helps You move Faster and With More Confidence

Armed with great models and systems, you and your coach have a common language from which to work. You will benefit from gaining focus. You will accomplish more faster, gain greater confidence, and be able to set higher goals as a result of your coaching experience and relationship.

Why Not Check out our Exclusive, Custom Coaching Program?

This IS NOT for NEWBIES! And, it’s not a ‘cookie-cutter’ program (a training program hiding out as coaching….). This program is a fully customized, true coaching program for seasoned agents. Also, we only have real estate professional coaches–coaches who have been successful selling real estate! Why not check out our unique Career Achievement Coaching, and schedule a Complimentary Consultation?

Categories Coaching, Experienced agent, goals, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Real estate systems, Training
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Can You Afford NOT to Hire a Coach?

by Carla Cross

July 23rd, 2019

Waiting until you’re successful to hire a coach may not be your best strategy. Read why hiring a coach–before you’re ready–can be the best decision you can make!

Money is tight. You are experiencing more challenges than you thought possible in real estate sales. Who can afford a coach? Well, maybe now is the time you CAN”T afford NOT to hire one.

Ask yourself: How are you going to get better? How are you going to break through those ceilings of achievement? Have you been ‘trying harder’? Doesn’t work, does it?

“I’ll Get Coaching and Training from My Company”

How’s that working out for you? The real estate industry is cyclical. You’ve heard people say that. There are ‘buyers’ markets, and ‘sellers’ markets. There’s another way the real estate industry is cyclical, too. It’s cyclical in its approach to supporting its agents. When I started in real estate, (almost three decades ago!), there was no training. Then, companies started training programs. When I went into management in the early 1980’s, we were also taught to coach agents to higher productivity. But, as money got tight, and real estate companies became less profitable, they dumped their training programs. They asked managers to also sell. Just ask any selling manager today whether they have time to train and coach……….you know the answer. It’s ‘no’.

Coaching is Big in the World of Business Today

However, in the world of business generally, coaching has become a big thing. It’s even swept into the realm of real estate again in the form of paid, independent coaching programs. But, you may be one of those who says, “I don’t need a coach. I’m a self-starter. I can reach my goals on my own.” Having been in real estate for three decades, I’ve heard that comment a lot. But, my experience has shown me that almost everyone benefits from coaching.

Skills Come from Practice and Coaching Assistance

As a pianist since I was four years old, I know that peak performance comes only with practice—perfect practice. And, therein lies the rub. When you attempt to learn to play the piano by yourself, without a teacher, you can’t hear yourself play. You can’t make adjustments fast enough alone. You need a great piano teacher who is helping you assess your performance, make adjustments, and challenges you to stretch to higher goals. The difference between one person’s success in any field and another lies, in part, in their comparable skills. All experienced pianists can put their hands on the keys. They can play the notes. But, most pianists haven’t mastered playing the notes. They haven’t mastered the interpretation. That takes practice and coaching.

Could You Benefit from Coaching?

If you’re:

Not optimizing your talents
Not attaining your goals
Spending too much time spinning your wheels
Spending too much money for little return
Hitting ceilings of achievement

You will benefit from a professional business coach.

What Your Coach Can Do For You

Help you focus on our goals so we get there faster.
Motivate you to get into meaningful action.
Encourage you to keep on keeping on.
Offer resources for new ideas so we can take a different look.
Appreciate your efforts when no one else seems to!

Real Estate Salespeople and Managers—a Special Breed

Approximately ninety percent of all real estate salespeople and managers have behavioral styles that are highly aggressive and/or promotional. That’s not like the normal population! In other words, we like people and we charge ahead (my motto is, when all else fails, read the directions……). Only fifty percent of the normal population exhibits those behavioral styles. Other behavioral styles are more task focused and embrace procedure. Yes, we salespeople-types have special talents—and special challenges.

We Real Estate People’s Biggest Challenge

Our biggest challenge is focus. We’re great with people. We get into action fast. Our problem is that people and actions pull us in various directions, and we lose the one thing that drives us toward our goals—focus. The first and biggest benefit a coach can give us is to keep us focused.

Coaches Provide Much-Needed Models and Systems

Models and systems are woefully lacking in our real estate industry. After all, we’re the people who’ve always said, “Fake it until you make it.” What if your surgeon said that? Or your accountant? Historically, we real estate professionals have had an aversion to following procedures. Yet, in the world of business, systems are the basis of all business growth. For us too, systematizing is the best way we can build big, profitable businesses. A competent coach uses proven models and systems and processes that do more than stop our crisis management. They teach us how to think about our business.

A Coach Helps You move Faster and With More Confidence

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Categories accountability, action plan, Business Plan, Coaching, Experienced agent, goals, mentor, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Real estate systems, Training
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Has Your Manager Shared His/Her Expectations with You?

by Carla Cross

July 3rd, 2019

Has your manager shared his/her expectations with you?

A survey I did a few years ago of 155 new agents revealed some compelling facts. For example, most agents coming into the business today as ‘full-time’ careerists have high expectations. 92% of the new agents surveyed expected to make more than the median income of all Realtors. The most stunning statistic, though, from these new agents, was that 65% expected incomes in the $31,000 to 75,000 range–their first year in the business! This survey of new agents was done to gather research for Carla Cross’s book, What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School.

New agents need to be focused on business development—not training

Another stunning finding from the research was that 62% of the new agents expected to get a check in their first sixty days in the business! They expect to hit the ground running.

To do this, the new agent’s focus needs to be on business development, not on training. Normally, companies put the new agent into a ‘curriculum based’ program to tell them everything they’ll ever need to know about real estate. Unfortunately, the new agent thinks that all that knowledge equals success in real estate. That’s wrong.

Creating Success, not Useless Knowledge

New agents create early success when they focus on a business start-up plan that contained heavy business-producing activities. If you’re a new agent, you have to develop the mental toughness to ignore information that’s not critical to your business production. If you don’t, your money will run out before you learn everything! (Give it up; you’ll never know everything!)

Your expectations may vary from your manager’s expectations of you.

If the new agent expects high earnings fast, what did his manager expect from him? Most of the new agent respondents from the survey didn’t know. They hadn’t asked, and the manager, in the interview, had not volunteered to share any management expectations.

No News is Good News?

71% of the respondents didn’t know even the minimum expectations of their managers–the minimum production standards they would have to meet to have their contracts renewed the second year (or to be retained during any start-up period). To assure that the new agent and manager see ‘eye to eye’, both parties need to agree on mutual expectations in writing prior to hiring on.

Not only getting the ‘what’ in writing, but the ‘how’. Even agreeing on minimum activity and production standards doesn’t assure that the new agent will meet his goals with the full support of his/her manager. The new agent needs to see the ‘how’—exactly how that manager will coach the new agent to quick success. If you’re a new agent, you need to see the exact business activity plan* that you will be coached to. You also need proof that the plan has worked with others in the past to deliver the results you expect of yourself your first month, quarter, and year in the business.

Matching expectations assures no surprises and gets planned results. Take the wishing out of business expectations. Both new agent and manager need to get expectations in writing, agree on a business start-up plan, and start working together with mutual accountability to partner in great results. Your manager must be accountable to coaching you on a regular basis with a proven business start-up plan. You, the new agent, must be accountable to do the activities in the plan. Together, you will achieve your mutual goals.