The uncomfortable truth hit home before most agents had finished their morning coffee.
Robin Banks, international motivational speaker and peak performance coach, delivered a stark reality check to hundreds of real estate professionals at AREC: being “good” at your job will now get you “poor” results.
“In 1995, if you did a poor job, you got poor rewards. 2025? You do a poor job, you get fired,” Robin told the packed auditorium.
“Good’s not gonna get you good anymore. Good’s gonna get you poor.”
The South African speaker’s central thesis challenged conventional wisdom about professional standards in real estate.
He argued that agents operating at merely “good” levels—doing the bare minimum, showing up on time, being pleasant to clients—will struggle to survive in today’s competitive market.
Robin illustrated his point with sporting analogies that resonated throughout the room.
The person who finishes fourth in an Olympic 100-metre sprint receives nothing, despite being the fourth-fastest human on the planet.
Meanwhile, the gold medallist enjoys global recognition, endorsement deals, and financial abundance.
“When you are outstanding, ladies and gentlemen, you don’t just get gold—you get all of the rewards, you get the fame, the recognition, the endorsements,” he said.
The performance gap between third and first place often measures mere hundredths of a second, yet the rewards differ exponentially.
Robin cited Michael Jordan’s Nike deal as the ultimate example of outstanding performance creating generational wealth.
Jordan’s insistence on receiving a percentage of every Air Jordan sale has earned him approximately $400 million annually—decades after his retirement.
“He’s not outstanding as a basketballer anymore, but when you are outstanding, you get all the rewards.”
The speaker’s prescription for agents involves what he calls “sharpening your focus” rather than simply working harder.
Robin advocates training the mind daily, comparing mental preparation to Olympic athletic training.
He shared his personal daily affirmations: “I am a top international speaker, successful throughout this planet. I am brilliant. I am bright. I’m a radiant being of light.”
Robin insisted mental conditioning creates measurable results.
“Can you train your brain to be more powerful? Yes. So that’s what I want you to do. Learn the power of concentration,” he said.
He also challenged agents to examine two hypothetical colleagues with identical experience, training, and market conditions—yet one consistently outsells the other eight-to-one.
The difference, he argued, lies entirely in psychology rather than mechanics.
“Success is 80% psychology, 20% mechanics,” he said.
“Success doesn’t happen to you. Success comes through you. You create success. It’s an inside job.”
