Hey there again Folks, I have another thinker for ya. If you could give a new agent one heart felt warning, what would it be?


Thanks again,
Blaine Wimberly

Don't buy stuff that claims to make you money. EVERYBODY and their aunt has their hand out to you when you start up in this business, and none of the crap works.

Learn from books, learn from others, learn by DOING!!
Don't waste toooo much time plotting the course - start the journey!
(And keep track of where your money goes. It's easy to overspend on ineffective marketing)

Dont cut your commission. Instead, sharpen your sales technique and learn how to overcome objections.

Yepper - do not spend money unnecessarily. That's the easiest thing to do -spend, spend, spend!

Don't sit around waiting for you phone to ring. People are not magically going to come to you for your business. Be out talking to as many people as possible, don't turn down any floor duty that comes your way, make it your goal to give a business card to everybody you make eye contact with. Hustle!

Avoid childish, self-absorbed brokers that are argumentative and weak on management skills. You'll leave their office in short order. Also, don't waste money on advertising.

That you need to be prepared for at least 10 or 20 more heart felt warnings.

Take every opportunity to get in front of warm bodies instead of worrying about "wasting your time" Every time you meet with or talk to someone about real estate, you will learn something valuable, whether or not the encounter results in a sale. The more you know, the more confident you will be. Confidence = Enthusiasm = Sales = Dollars.

That is great advice, every exchange becomes an experience you can draw on.

I have another one, ask your fellow experienced agents if you can shadow them as they conduct business. If you can watch them at an open house, when they show a property, when they write a contract, when they go on a listing appointment, etc. Do this with as many people as will let you so you can experience the different styles and see which ones you want to incorporate into your business. You'll find MANY different styles, some agents are very analytical, some are funny, some are serious, some use different closes than others. Its a GREAT way to learn.

And number one, stay POSITIVE. Its a challenging market out there but this market has opportunities the market I started in 4 years ago didn't have. When I started properties flew off the shelves, there were little to no opportunities to do open houses, no time to work on a client about a specific property because they sold immediately with 15 offers, listings were impossible to get, and once you had a buyer they had to loose 5 houses before they finally won! Now you have opportunities to get in front of people, to take clients back to a property a couple times, you're more likely to get a sale once you have a buyer thats interested in a house. I think its a lot easier...

Stay focused and keep working, it will take time before your prospecting efforts result in business. Like all other sales jobs though, once you think its been so long that what you're doing won't possibly work, it starts to work.

Steve,

Just a side-note - that's an interesting observation about how listings used to fly off the shelves... during the boom in Denver, working with buyers was SUCH A DRAG! Agents constantly complained about how the lack of decent inventory was making their jobs so much harder. It was "impossible" to make a living selling real estate because buyers had nothing to buy - the listings sold too quickly and there weren't enough of them!

the gentleman abouve from MD...love that last paragraph....just when you think its time to give up because its not working...thats just when things start kicking in.....good stuff

Its hard to fly like an eagle when you are surrounded by turkeys.



Associate yourself with the successful persons in your office. You will learn from their experience and success. Don't hang out with the doom & gloom persons.

You guys are giving up some great advice, please keep them coming.. I am printing Quotes out of them that are being framed and put into my office for constant reminders.

You guys are great

Thank you for your time,
Blaine Wimberly

Ah, if you are doing that, here are 3 that I keep by my desk:

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." -- Calvin Coolidge

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -- Albert Einstein

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford



Take those to heart - and it will greatly impact your success.

Thats precisely how it was here.

Another thing, I might think about doing some rental listings if you can find some. I've always pooh-poohed rentals but I have a colleague who started about the same time I did. He always did a lot of rentals and now about 3 years later its starting to pay off. He's getting leads off the rentals he's converting to buyers and some of his investors have been selling and buying. He's also started up a small property management company that keeps him busy.

Thanks for those inspiring quotes...really deep. Sheer Tenacity does not cost a thing but you cannot buy it at any price.

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work…the more I have of it.
Thomas Jefferson

If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it.
Jonathan Winters

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
Carl Bard

Be ready when opportunity comes. Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet.
Roy D. Chapin

Tact is the ability to see others as they see themselves.
Abraham Lincoln

Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.
Henry Ford

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
-Winston Churchill

Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all.
- Sam Ewing

Ok this string has jumped far off course.

I wish it had kept going like it was before. These quotes are nice and all, but if I wanted things like this I would go eat at "Grand China Buffet".

Hmmm if I could give a new agent a warning..... How about don't bite the hand that feeds you? (LOL)

Its all in the numbers... No matter how good things appear to be going, some are going to crash and burn. The more balls you have in the air, the more positive things will happen.

My biggest red flags

When you first meet someone they keep using the phrases "i'm a christian person" or "I'm a good person, you don't have to worry about me"

RUN!!!!

awesome....LOL

<snip>My biggest red flags

When you first meet someone they keep using the phrases "i'm a christian person" or "I'm a good person, you don't have to worry about me" <snip>

I always want to respond, "So am I but I don't have to advertise it to convince you!"

Good ones.

I have been burned or deceived by EVERY person who uses this tactic! If you truly are a Christian and/or good person, then you don't need to use it to buy or sell real estate! Convince me what a good person you are, by doing as you said that you would and being honest and forthright.

I view it as them feeling like they might be revealing their true nature and are trying to cover it with comments like that.

We have a broker in my area who professes (in all advertising) to be a Christian and has deceived dozens of people in scammy deals. They are currently at the center of a class action lawsuit by those that have been wronged.

Not every person who professes to be good or a Christian is bad though. I still offer assistance and trust to everyone until I sense otherwise.

There is a local "we buy houses" guy where I am - that puts in every ad "Christian Investors who offer fair prices"

I've saw there offers - they are the type of investors who end up in the newspapers

gulf

sorry didn't mean to lump them all in the same group - Most of the time the really good christians and good people are the ones that don't have to tell you. you useually know it by thier actions

I agree - but there's no reason to single out Christians. Just about anyone who TELLS you they are a good person or trustworthy or reliable is probably NOT. It wouldn't occur to someone who actually IS those things to mention it.

Yeah I see the slime at church other agents using church or quoting God about selling real estate.

I believe there is a special place in hell for these people.

I don't bring religion into real estate there is just no sense in it.

8 out of 10 new agents will fail. Of those 8, many will dig themselves into a hole far deeper than they should just trying to stay afloat. I would say that a new agent needs to set some black and white goals and timelines, and if they are not closing deals, they should get out of the business sooner rather than later.

I was wondering if I would see one on here that I would disagree with, and here we are.

Chris I totally disagree with that. You know why 8 out of 10 fail? Because 8 people lose the confidence, and quit trying.

All new agents start out thinking they will be in the "2" group. But many new agents (those who end up in the "8" group) keep trying longer than they should before they realize they are not a good fit for this business. Many confidently believe that just more effort will turn things around, and that's not the case for everyone. Many are in denial about their lack of sales skills. Some continue to do things that are not achieving any good results.

Recently, a tax accountant told me 97% of the agents he prepared taxes for had lost money the year before and were dependent on other sources of income. I know two agents who borrowed against their home to pay their agent business bills, and a year later their homes were foreclosed. Should they have gotten out of the business sooner? It's all too easy to say that they just needed more confidence and should have tried harder.

For some, a dose of reality is helpful. Maybe their calling is in another field.

AMEN TO THAT BPO Guru!!!

Amen to THAT!

(oops)

LOL, I've lost the most money to buyer's or companies that start talking religion in the beginning, and yet I keep falling into the same hole thinking they may be sincere. My down fall, I trust people and their word.

My biggest loss in a new home I built was to a preacher who shafted me. Guess I owed him all the changes he asked for at no cost.

Very good, Chris. The common thought around here is that good training could turn that frog into a prince -- I disagree.

I feel that the agent must bring special skills or extreme determination ... or a large sphere of influence, which is the biggest key.

To all the brokers/agents that are struggling......

It's easy to be mediocre in this world but really HARD to strive and push yourself everyday to be the BEST.

I would mirror a really succesfull top agent in your chosen field commercial,land,residential,foreclosures,etc.

See what they have to do everyday to achieve success;you will then be able to make a decision on whether you have what it take to do what they are doing.

If you have still have delusions about you will be mediocre and achieve massive success you need to leave the business now.

Analyze the reasons WHY you got into this business.You might find you entered into it for all the wrong reasons.

You have to have a "thick skin"
You will be knocked down, slammed and at times feel like giving up.
If you let something get you down in the dumps one day - that is the day you will miss something.
Pick yourself up, brush your self off, hold your head high, and keep going!!! The next person you talk to may be the one that is going to work out!

Another thing - Real Estate deals seems to come in all at one time, everyone will want you now, now, now and you can burn out fast and work LONG hours - and then all of a sudden you will wonder why the phone is no longer ringing. Don't worry it does come back - learn to enjoy your down time and rest a little because the long hours will be here soon enough!

I'd like to elaborate on this comment. When you say "push yourself to be the BEST", do you mean to sell the most houses or to be the best real estate agent? Lots of agents say they are the BEST or strive to be THE BEST, but what does that mean to you?

To me, it means being a heck of a good real estate agent - one who goes way out of her way to serve the client, to truly put the client's interests first and to do things that aren't necessary, but will make a terrific impression on someone who could end up being your biggest fan.

If you shadow Top Producers, you probably won't see them doing these things. Does this mean that if you do a bang-up job for your clients you won't be a Top Producer? Heck, no!!! But you'll be a different kind of TP - one who gets most of her business from past clients and referrals, and one who KNOWS she's a fantastic real estate agent who is worthy of the commissions she charges. When you feel that way about your career, you're a customer magnet and people will be beating down your doors. Confidence is magnetic.

I did a series on Active Rain about Jake - a brand new agent who was on the verge of failure... and turned it around. You might find it useful. http://activerain.com/blogsview/211928/Jake-s-New-Real

I would encourage you to actively prospect. Education is essential to success. However, it must be implemented.