I was wondering if it's normal to have other agents in the office want to know what you're doing for business and do you tell them?

I'm new to the office and each time I'm printing or working on something, some agent in the office will always ask if I'm showing a property or working on a listing.

I'm a reserved, private person. I think they think I have an ego or something because I'm vague on what I'm working on and they keep telling me all the agents there arent stuck up like the other offices.

I am in my first year but have been reading on the forums for awhile. I am not going to just give away my business plan or information to everybody. I just act like I am totally new and they usually leave me alone but I don't want make enemies or burn bridges.

Inquiring minds want to know, but business is business...just another reason to get out of the office, in the field and work from home whenever possible.

Be glad that they are asking you...shows they want to know how you are being successful.

Real estate can be a very collaborative profession - if you are open to learning from and sharing with others. I can't tell you how many deals I got in my early days by being open to people, showing them how hard I was working, and giving them glimpses of how savvy I just might be.

Of course there are some people who I wouldn't spit on if they were on fire, but for the most part you should try to get along with everyone and they will reciprocate and begin to share their secrets of success with you.

Another thing you will learn very quickly is that even if you tell some agents your tricks, they are too lazy or negative to put them into action. The best thing you can do is identify the true workers and align yourselves with them. They are asking cursory questions, but if you play your cards right, they might answer some in-depth ones that you have later on.

do you pee instead?

I was really trying to avoid that one. I wouldn't do that either for aforementioned individuals.

on a serious note.

i have gotten more from people from giving in this business than i could ever imagine!

Jim Rohn said sometime to the effect of

if you teach, you might be learning for the 10th time waht you are teaching to somoene for the first.


basicall means that you will become more of a master of your craft.




very tru about most people being to lazy. i make a very comfortable 6 figues and i will tell anyone EXACTLY what i do to make my money. funny thing is that htere are very few who will do it. and for those taht do, good one them! for those taht done, they often go out of business and give me any lead that comes their way because they remembered that i helped them along the way! win, win situation every single time!

dont be scared to have someone else "figure out" your business. take that as a compliment and realize there is more business out there than you can handle if you truly are a master of your craft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm pumped.


this week so far!

i took 2 new listings (this week)

wrote an offer for a buyer tonight (only showed him 1 home and wrote a few hours later)

got multiple offers (2 offers) on 1 of my listings (this week) should ratify the strong one tomorrow

this is a perfect week in real estate, gotta duplicate this more often! i just gotta keep on keepin on.

this business rocks!

no, really, this business rocks!

It's fine, other agents always ask me and I tell them.

I never provide actual salary, tax information, clients I am working with or deals I will get etc.

But overall, it's good to talk and share success because it's motivational if you ask me.

I agree with Realtor514 - I am fairly new to the business and whenever another agent ask me what I am doing I have no problem telling them....

If they want to use the methods I am using that's great..It provides a challenge for me to become better....

Although I do share information about clients and deals I may get...

But I guess it all depends on the office...because in my office most of the agents usually go out to lunch together and even sports games etc... It's more of a friendly endowment rather than a competitive one.

We have a great "team" atmosphere in our office and we all share horror stories and the easy ones. When I was the new agent I learned from every other agent that would answer my questions. Now I am passing that on to the new agents. I am careful with what I share but I am energized by the conversations.

Bigshot,
You don't even have a year under your belt and you think these agents are trying to steal your success? Do you have any success for them to steal?

Maybe they are trying to help you but you will never know if you keep shunning them.

I'm puzzled as to why you seem paranoid that the other agents are after your secrets - it sounds to me as if they're just being polite and showing an interest in the new guy. Wouldn't it be weird if they just ignored you which is what happens in many offices? Because you're all real estate agents, it only seems natural that your conversations would center around how your real estate business is going.

Besides - truthfully - we real estate agents are an ego-centric bunch, so I doubt that anyone thinks your plan might be better than their plan. And if I were trying to make a new agent feel welcome and was rebuffed, I'd certainly think he was a snob and would not be inclined to help him in the future when issues arise that he needs help with. Which will happen.

Lighten up. They're just being friendly, and if not - as TB says above - most agents are too lazy and set in their ways to try anything new.

I've always been free with helpful advice or teaching procedures...I learned a long time ago not to give specifics about live leads I was working with. That from another industry, where if you told too much, you might find another salesperson magically in contact with the hot lead.

I think sales is a lot like playing poker. I don't want anyone else to know the cards I'm holding.

Its one thing to ask how am I doing, if I'm getting settled in, what was a I planning on doing to get my business started etc. That's something someone would ask someone new to the office.

It's another when they are looking over your shoulder while you are working, looking up properties or working on the computer and ask what you're working on. I think its rude and I'm sure they wouldn't like it if I went into their office and started poking around.

Also, if and when I get some of the same success as some of you on here then I would have no problem giving away tips/secrets.

But everybody is chasing the same nut around here and I am not going to give away anything before I can get the results I want.

I am glad to hear more moderate repsonses to Bigshot's OP. It is comforting to know that comradery and companionship and teamwork are in place and working for some of you.

And I have some nice contacts and friendships in my office too; I still only visit there once a week if I have to.

BUT

During the peaking of the residential boon times of '04 and '05 many of those people tried to drum me off of office computers if I wanted to do input for a BPO. I was taking up space, using resources for a scrub task. It was not nice looking to have their clients seeing me with all of my papers, etc.

Today they are the same ones who want to chum up and talk about getting started doing BPOs and listing REO. They smile and tell me they are ready, and ask what is a good first step. I am polite. But I will not be sharing my secrets. And when people are sniffing over my faxes and peeking in my mailbox, I'd just soon be elsewhere. I requested to have my broker put my checks in envelops and I only fax when I know the admin is there to catch it.

I guess the REO side is less of a people business than retail. I just do not see the value in helping others share my business. If they earn a spot at the table like I did, I will greet them happily, but until then, it's about business, not relationships.

Bigshot Bob - IF someone ask about a property your looking up etc... Tell them the property adn then ask them questions such as have they seen it, what do they think of it etc... Take control of the conversation

It kind of sounds like they are just asking what you are working on to start a conversation. Either way though, even if you told the agent your secrets, they would likely be to lazy to do anything with it because it would require work and time.

The way I avoid the situation is I have never worked in a Brokerage, I work from home. I generally scan and email my docs to the office manager, drop off checks when the office is closed and even provide a stamped envelope to send me my check.

The office I started in the agents were all friendly and helpful. We would all discuss listings that we had coming up, showings that we were doing, types of homes we were looking for for our clients etc. Sometimes I would hear of a certain type of house that an agent was looking for and it would cause me to think of someone I knew who had a property that might work and we were able to put some deals together. Also, learning what is going to be coming on the market before it hits the system is always nice too. Being in a rural area there were of course times when you might be working on something with a buyer/seller and you knew that another agent(s) would also know that client. In that case you would just say that you prefer not to discuss it and that was the end of it. We discussed strategies and what was and wasn't working....got help on pricing a potential listing....asked if anyone knew what a particular house in town was like, etc. I learned alot from these conversations and made some money as well (always a nice thing to do).

The beauty of real estate: almost any personality type can thrive, if properly motivated and driven.

Sometimes I like being at the office, sometimes I prefer being home. Sometimes the office drives me crazy, sometimes it motivates me completely.

I agree! When I need a break, can't/won't do more, I'll go to the office and hang out for a while. Make the rounds, talk to agents, hang out for a bit. I could be one of the agents the OP spoke of? Overall its a rather friendly office.

Thanks for all the advice. I got views on both sides. I am friendly too and I always say hello or if someone in the office has something to say I always listen.

There's this lady in the office who is extremely new and didn't know if she should take this listing because the seller wants to list it at his price just to test out the market.

I gave her advice from what I've read on here about being able to walk away from a listing if the owner is unreasonable about price and unmotivated about moving. So I like to contribute and help out when I can.

I just don't like when I'm working and someone is looking over my shoulder while I am filling out paperwork or working on my marketing material and ask what am I'm doing. Think it's kind of rude considering I barely know them.

They might just be being friendly but I don't know. I'll try to be more understanding that all people are different. Still learning here too. Thanks

In real estate you should be able to read people pretty well, and I think it depends on who asks and what they ask!
If it's the agents who are asking specifically about REO work and how THEY can get into it, it's a totally different story, I think.Though I've come right out and helped many agents start doing bpos and whatnot, there are some who I know right off I'm not going to waste my time answering.
If it's related to overall real estate, I always answer questions the first time, even the second time, but the third time I get the same question, you're no longer worth my time because you're just looking for someone to give you all the answers and get things done for you:)
I dont miss working in a big office AT ALL!!!
-Lor

Shooting the breeze and asking specifics questions about REO's (which would take business away from you) are different things. Sure, BS all you want but don't give away your systems.

You don't have to go to their kids' christening or anything, but they will have your fate in their hand one day. Either they will have a buyer for your listing, or they will have a listing that your buyer wants. If you are known as a nice guy, you might score extra points for your clients. But if you are a hermit and they find you defensive or offensive, they just might not show your listing or tell their sellers that you are difficult and recommend another agent's offer over yours.

Yes, there are politics in real estate, but that's just life. Just another thing to consider.

And no one likes anyone reading over their shoulder, so the next time it happens, turn around in your chair with your back to the monitor and carry on a conversation with the person. If you only give them the back of your head to address, they get bored with that and wonder what has you so enthralled that you can't give them the time of day.

And if you are working on something, they might just have valuable input. Last week, my office partner told someone she was writing an offer on a house in XYZ subdivision. The other agent said, "Oh, every house over there has foundation issues." We dismissed it at the time, but guess what - the inspector noted foundation issues. Turns out they were not active but she could have delved into the conversation with the other agent a bit more and probably would have scheduled the foundation company at the same time as the property inspection. It would have saved her at least 3 hours of work.

Be open to other people - better to learn from them than to make the same mistakes yourself. Just be open to it, that's all.

TB that's true. I guess I'll play my own devil's advocate and point out that many of the people in my office were supportive last year when my little baby girl was in the hospital. Everything is perfectly fine now, but about a month before I joined the forum our family was struggling with some uncertain and oftly scary medical issues. A few of the agents, office staff and my broker reached out to us in a small way and it really did make a difference. And that type of connection I always try to return. I guess that is the human connection we all need.

There are really both sides to this issue. I remember when a newer agent in my office was working on a market analysis and someone in our office caught wind of it and called the homeowner and pitched himself, pointing out that the agent was new and he wasn't and he got the listing. (a real a-hole move, but he got the listing).

Another time the owner of the 1st company I worked for, looked over an agent's shoulder and saw him writing an offer on a building (he didn't know it was for sale) and he ran out and made an offer himself and bought it. That stuff happens, so I don't want people to know which house I am trying to list or which house my client is offering on. I will help them in any way I can and like to shoot the breeze etc. but not everyone is motivated purely by good intentions.

When I first started doing BPOs, I readily admitted that I was working on a BPO whenever anyone asked. I soon learned that everyone had an opinion about that and decided that I did not need those opinions, so I came up with a few standard responses that gave no real information. In the back of my mind, I started to fear that they might also try to get into doing BPOs, but those were the real estate haydays and most agents sneered at the thought of REO/BPO. I started answering such questions with "market research," "just looking at the hotsheet," "getting ready to take a few photos."

A generic response is recognized as such and it is polite. You can then switch up the conversation: "What's new in your world?"

I completely agree with TB. You can learn a lot from other agents and share enthusiasm from those around you, so learn to participate and encourage camaraderie. How much information you actually give out is up to you. Work on ways to deflect noseyness without being overly cool or defensive.

Bigshot Bob

A little late to the dance here but the others have given you good answers. The agents you have to look out for are ones I label the leach and parasite agent. Thank god they only account for 1 out of a 1000.

When I first started in the business I was part time so I didn't get to the office until after it closed. The broker had the receptionist take our ad or sign calls when we weren't in and leave the information on our desks and I would make my calls when I got to the office.

I noticed my signs and ads were not doing very well compared to the other agents and was wondering what to do when one of our agents brought in a couple one Saturday to write up an offer. She received a call she had to respond to and I made the couple comfortable in a closing room and got them a drink.

I asked which home they were interested in and they said one of my listings. I asked how they found out about it and they said they drove by the sign yesterday and then called to see it today if they could. That call should have been on my desk Friday at closing time.

That made me angry and I pulled every file she was involved in and contacted the client/prospects and found she was taking my leads. So I had several friends call in on my ads and signs over a three week period and guess who was making the follow-up calls on the "leads". I promptly called the broker with a me or her speech and reminded him I wasn't her only victim, that other staff was helping her make a living at their expense too. She was soon gone, but then her new office started having a problem with lead disputes, duh!

When I became a broker I had to let a few of these parasites go over the years (there is more then one kind) but thank god they're rare. So embrace the other agents in your office and you will find even the worst one can help you succeed, but that's another topic.

Theres this guy in the office who is REALLY annoying. He continually asks what I'm doing for business. I tell him I am settling in, learning everything. Each and every time I see the guy, he keeps asking what I've been doing like he's my mother.

Then he starts asking me how old am I, if I own property or RENT in a very sarcastic way. I told him it's none of his business and of course he plays the victim of "I'm only asking".

Then while we are on caravan, he starts making racist jokes and inappropriate comments towards women that we come across on the street. I can't wait to get away from this guy.

I remember several office disputes over leads in an office I worked at anout 10 years ago. One involved a guy going through waste baskets after-hours looking for people to call. Another involved 2 guys with the same first name. Another involved two agents who both spoke Tagalog (Filipino).
My personal experience is that hanging out at the office is generally a waste of time, unless you're into gossip, long lunches and frustration.

Good luck to anyone trying to find leads on my desk...half the time *I* can't even find what I am looking for. LOL

Perky-that's funny- organized chaos!

I tend to be reserved and to myself as well sometimes. Mostly when I don't feel that person and I are going to "vibe" well or if we don't have much in common. It's a bit different with me and work since I LOVE real estate and love meeting new colleagues, and even then, once I get a feel for how they are as a person, I may or may not want to talk much.

In my office, I have learned to keep alot of things to myself due to the fact that a few of the agents do what I call "poor mouthing"...they talk down things whether based on their experinece or not, that they don't think are beneficial or helpful. So when I am excited about something, I know where and with whom NOT to talk about it with. Other than that, there are one or two that are there to help and they're also some of the busiest, it's hard to catch them when your schedule doesn't line anywhere close to theirs...

But at some point, as a new agent, there will be something you will need some help or guidance with, so be careful not to come off so standoffish that you get a reputation and burn your bridges there!

I say share with new people some tips and info but you don't have to tell them everything about what you are doing. I find that I end up doing alot of training and talking if I am around the office to much so it's best not to be unless its your time at the up desk.

I actually had a guy come up to me the other day and and mentioned how quiet I am and always over in the corner doing my work then out the door. He said "I never would have guessed you were one of the top agents last year".

My friend in the office said it's because I come in and get my work done and don't stand around chatting and wasting time all day that I WAS one of the top agents last year. :)

Still didn't make any money :crazy:

Well, there will always be agents in your office with whom you'd rather not be associated. Hence, the added incentive to either form your own brokerage (and be selective as to who you bring on) or go to a small boutique-type broker who only brings top-notch agents. I am currently contemplating whether to stay with my current big-name broker or go with an ambitious, hard-working younger broker who just opened up his brokerage.

I don't have a problem helping new, or old, agents if they ask me for help. What really bothers me is when a couple of the agents hover when i am printing out promotional material and sometimes look at it before I can get there. "How did you do that?" "What program do you use?" "Do you use a Mac?" "What kind of Mac do you have?" "Are you farming?" Those kinds of questions annoy me. I have a back ground in advertising and can do some pretty good flyers or postcards, or brochures, and no, I'm not going to teach them how. The other day I was having lunch with my partner and the manager came in while I was showing her something on Facebook and asked me if I thought Facebook had helped me. I said yes, I had used it to stay in touch with an acquaintance and listed their house, and a high school friend in Florida had given me a referral on a mutual graduate who was still in my area. She asked me if I would give a talk to the agents about the benefits of using Facebook. Well, this is a very small town, and no, I'm not going to tell the other agents they should "friend" everyone and stay in touch! They probably know the same people I know! When I worked in advertising I was told never to talk about our accounts or anything when I was riding the train, because you never know who you're talking to, and I have to admit I've carried that over. You don't tell the other fishermen where the fish are biting!

I actually had one "hoverer" grab a public record I'd printed out and look at it. Turned out she knew the people from church and loudly asked me, in the middle of the office, "are you going to list the Martin's house?" (Except it was an unusual name that anyone who heard her could have also looked up). She proceeded to talk to the martins, asking them if they were going to sell their house. Turned out the Martins don't like her and wanted to know if I had discussed their house with her! They were a little annoyed!

I was printing out my pre-listing packet the other day and this agent who ALWAYS hangs out around the printer told me "Wow, that looks good. Are you using that for your presentation?"

I told him no that it was something I downloaded online and I wanted to make a copy.

Glad I'm not the only one on here who is "paranoid" lol

I agree with the poster who said, "inquiring minds want to know". Basically, this is a tough business and people are always going to be interested in anything that might help them succeed. Knowing what works for someone else is valuable information. If you feel that giving them insight into what works for you might give them a competitive advantage then my advice would be to politely deflect the conversation. Exactly 'how' would depend on the context. But if the secret to your success is nothing revolutionary or secret then maybe shouldn't worry about sharing.

That is certainly understandable. You have every right to guard your business methods and activities, especially when, as you said, everybody's "chasing the same nut around". Of course, giving away information that can be helpful, while at the same time not proprietary to your business dealings, is also possible. Making people feel like you've given them something useful can engender good will.