More and more we as an industry have distilled ourselves into the lowest common denominator. You see it on the plethora of real estate agent’s websites – “we work with buyers and sellers, investors, renters, those thinking about any of the above now or might be thinking about any of them in the future”, in one or more cities, counties and God forbid, states. In fact, truth be known, most of the agents you know would work with almost anyone who would fog a mirror.
I understand why people do this, they come from a place of scarcity and fear. I mean, what if I lost the opportunity to close one sale, another opportunity may never come along again. Most of the industry has never figured out the lead generation and rainmaking piece of their real estate business so every prospect is treated like it is gold. Trust me, your attitude changes when you go from getting the random one new lead a week to having a steady flow of 100 a week.
The problem is this – if we never focus, we never really get good at anything. We become a jack of all trades and a master of none. Being an expert is much more than declaring yourself one on your latest postcard. It is really knowing the community you live and work in. Not only where the schools are, but who the teachers are. Who local business owners are, where the best places are for a romantic dinner out. When are the best community activities and what are the future plans at city hall. Much less how much Mr. Steven’s house down the street sold for.
Establishing value and creating a business that is worth having demands we get to the point where we can outshine every other agent in our area in something and the only way to get good at one thing is to give up holding on to the many things.
Carpe diem,
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There’s an old sales adage that says “People buy from people they know, like and trust,” and public relations (PR) is one of the most cost-effective ways to build the awareness, goodwill and credibility that help influence buying decisions. Not that we would suggest that REALTORS® use PR to the exclusion of all other marketing tactics, but a healthy dose of PR, combined with a little advertising, direct mail, or other tactics, can provide a big sales boost for many small businesses.
We just did a composite of our Mastery Coaching clients through our proprietary business analysis tool which we do annually to track our client’s business (and our success or failure as coaches). We found that the average client that had a “prospecting focus” (they spend 10 hours a week or more actively prospecting) closed an average of 16 transactions with an average volume of $7.8 million. Their average GCI (gross commission income) was $180k. Not bad given the market conditions the last 12 months.
It’s boiled down to their focus. What they focused on allowed them to develop into their magnificent obsession. While the first group got really good at scripts dialogs and overcoming objections, the second group developed great ads and mailers that made the phone ring, the SOI group became obsessed with being thoughtful and providing delightful surprises to their people. 
I’ve asked this question countless times to agents across the country and I am constantly astonished with the answers I get. Some reply that they give great service, some always wear a hat, some do coloring contests in their geographic farm. But most, just look like a deer in headlights, shrug their shoulders and stare at their shoes and mumble “I don’t know.” 
Those that make it in this industry in today’s world are those that approach it with an amount of business prowess. Unfortunately, that isn’t taught in the “learn everything you need to know to become successful in real estate in two weeks” class. So, we throw the newbies to the vultures (vendors who sell BS products that do nothing but line the pockets of the vendors and serve as filler our nation’s dumps). We let them sling mud on a wall and see what sticks and hope against hope that they will be one of the very few fortunate ones who will survive the first three years.
I don’t look at someone’s resume when I hire people. It’s not that it doesn’t matter, nor do I appreciate the effort and time that went into stretching the truth for my benefit or the quality of the paper to dress up the little propaganda piece. But in reality, I don’t really think it’s all that important. Yes, I guess it would matter a little more if I were coaching hospital administrators and we were hiring doctors, but, I work with real estate people. Let’s face it – the technical side of this business can be taught fairly quickly. There are only so many forms, rules, procedures and such. It’s the intangibles that aren’t reflected in the resume that are tough to teach. Character issues like being a self-starter, the entrepreneurial spirit, and overcoming adversity. My experience has been that the more education someone has the harder it is for them to make it in this crazy business. 
