The 3 Phases of A Real Estate Career
There are 3 phases for most Realtors in their careers: the beginning, the learning, and the rewarding. I did not want to say 4 stages, for we all know what the 4th stage is:
There are 3 phases for most Realtors in their careers. The beginning, the learning and the rewarding. I did not want to say 4 stages, for we all know what the 4th stage is: frustrating, irritating, struggling, hurting and eventually, the big quit!
Understanding each phase is critical in discovering your path in real estate, why quite a few do not thrive and ensuring that you will. Most obviously, start at the beginning, yet I still see agents after ten years in the business again acting like beginners, but I digress!
Most real estate salespeople at first believe what their clients are saying. Betty is sweet, Mark looked after me, Sharon is fantastic, and Philip is good.
And then?
Things start changing; you get busy, there is more work to do, you are falling behind, your clients are relentless, they’re bugging you, you are working 8-10 hours a day, Saturdays and Sundays, you cancel the time with your children, the date with your partner, the missed phone call or emails not returned.
No matter how hard you try, you are getting behind. And get this. You do, do, do, but stop your marketing and networking because you have no time.
And then?
You are not busy anymore! So, you start the frantic race again, but this time, because you had no systematic follow-up and tasks, your recent past clients feel that your service and skills were lacking! They may not refer you and most likely will never! Another vicious cycle starts!
A personal real estate career depends on you, on your style, on your personality, on your presence, on your talent, and on your willingness to do the work. That can be very rewarding if you have systems in place to separate your social and family life and time from your real estate demands.
If not, perhaps a team approach could work, but only if the team has proven systems that work and can help you generate above-average income.
Without systems or the right team, your real estate income depends on you. Welcome to long nights, weekends worked, missed family engagements, stress, and burnout. As well, is that why you got into real estate in the first place? Ask yourself, ask your partner, ask your children: is this the best way to spend the rest of your life?
What kind of help does the underpaid, overworked, frustrated REALTOR go & do? They hire an assistant, team up with someone, or move to another real estate brokerage because the grass is greener!
Now, they are excited again; things will get better, they say. I can work half the time; I don’t have to do this, do that, and I will make more money!
Well, the opposite happens, time and time again. You’ve seen it, I’ve seen it. Your so-called freedom is now weighing you down with a chain and anchor! A client calls about the less-than-courteous call from your partner or assistant, or you did not follow up as promised, or those feature sheets were wrong, you forgot to call someone back, you’re late for appointments, the name on offer is incorrect, you missed a clause and on and on. So, what do you do? You say no one can do it as well as I can; I’ll do it!
Oops! Guess where you are again?
It’s not your clients who are driving you crazy (or lack of clients!)
It’s not your buyers, your brokerage, the other agent, the home inspector, the appraiser, the mortgage lender, the home stager or, for that matter, anyone!
The problem is you because you do not know any other way. You are now at your limit; your capacity to create a great lifestyle is burdensome, and so what you do is put your head down and work, work or, as over 80% of you do, keep doing the same thing over and over and over, and then leave the business.
Again, a real tragedy.
Disclaimer:
I’ve been there, all three stages, but I never quit; sometimes it felt like six stages, but I kept getting up every time I fell, was pushed down or was kicked. I just got up. I have also seen the ‘superstars' fade away, broke or broken!
After banging my head on that proverbial brick wall, thankfully, I am thick-headed. I developed, designed and created a constant work-in-progress system to change the frustration and the fear that provide an income that a real estate salesperson deserves and a lifestyle that you decide on, not the real estate business itself.
Also find me at enveloperealestate.com and Totally Preachless
