If you have entered the industry full of hopes and ambitions and then find yourself struggling, you are not alone; this industry can be tough. Peak performance coach Tanja M Jones outlines four simple ways you can change your mindset and move from mere survival towards real estate success.
I believe most agents enter the real estate industry because it is relatively easy to get into, you can access your qualifications fairly swiftly and you can earn as much money as you are willing to work for.
It is an exciting industry that enables you to be your own boss, build your own business, create your own team and carve your own culture. You have access to a plethora of world-class coaches and mentors; there is an abundance of national and international training and development opportunities, as well as daily podcasts, webinars and live Facebook videos to learn and grow from.
Best of all, every day you get to change people’s lives by partnering in the sale of their greatest asset and reducing the stress of getting on with living the next chapter.
All of this can be deeply rewarding and highly fulfilling, because as you consistently make a difference in other people’s lives you improve your own and that of your family. I truly believe that real estate can be a pathway to financial freedom for all involved and a beautiful way to build a community of friends forever.
However, the reality can be challenging, to say the least. If you do not enter the industry with both eyes wide open and a firm understanding of the game at play, you may swiftly fall into the chasm of ‘survival’ that lies between your desired future and current reality.
The truth is that real estate is a highly competitive industry where you are actively putting yourself into a world of rejection. Every day you will get knocked back, knocked down and told ‘no’. You’ll work for commission and, when you do get to make a sale, you have to wait anywhere up to three months to get paid.
If that’s not enough, the current perception of agents is unfavourable; they are ranked 28 out of 30 when looking at how trusted certain professions are in Australia, next to advertising staff (29) and car salespeople (30). Nurses, pharmacists and doctors ranked as the top three (Image of Trusted Professions – Roy Morgan Research 2016).
The reality of this environment is completely counterintuitive to our innate desire for certainty, security, validation and instant gratification. You can very easily fall into a pit of scarcity and chronic self-analysis, which is where agents become self-focused rather than service focused.
The game then becomes about listing, selling and making commission rather than serving, supporting and making a difference. Whilst this way of being is not intentional, vendors and buyers can feel it a mile off; it’s here they don’t feel safe and begin to look for alternatives.
As a peak performance coach, time and time again I see agents floundering in the emotional quicksand of survival, doing everything they believe they need to do to realise their full potential and achieve their desired results but often getting bogged down in worry or sinking in paralysing fear. They are stuck, suffering and going nowhere fast.
The journey to success can be an arduous one that can swiftly arouse your insecurities. With million-dollar agent videos being posted every day, it’s easy to begin to compare your behind-the-scenes showreel with others’ award-winning blockbusters. This will keep you small and stuck, with no way to keep going and growing.
The important thing here is to know what you’re dealing with and build a bridge from your current reality to your desired future. Here are four steps to shift from surviving to thriving as a real estate agent.
1. Serve, don’t sell. The most successful people begin with the end in mind. They are clear about where they want to go from a financial standpoint and reverse-engineer a strategy to get there. This is vital in any business: you must know where you are going. However, don’t make it about the numbers; focus on delivering great service and the numbers will take care of themselves.
2. Have a client-centric why. Why is the new black; everyone is talking about ‘know your why’. Whilst I completely agree, I always invite my clients to create a ‘client-centric’ why. Why real estate? Why do you do what you do? Why you? Consider that people buy people, not products; they buy you. They are not going to buy into the lifestyle you want for yourself; they will buy into the value you are going to bring to their life. When you actively articulate this, magic happens.
I always encourage agents to take a moment to share their why at a listing consultation. As international leadership expert Simon Sinek says, “People buy why you do what you do, not what you do.” Imagine saying something like ‘I believe that real estate is an opportunity to achieve financial freedom, and I love nothing more than negotiating the highest value for your home so you can get on with enjoying the next chapter in your life.’
3. Separate the facts from the feelings. As human beings we are meaning-making machines. Things happen all the time, but we pepper it with a whole lot of murky meaning that sets up negative belief systems which sabotage our success. You must learn to separate ‘what happened’ from ‘what you make it mean’ and deal with the facts.
4. Elevate your state. You must have daily, weekly and monthly rituals to keep your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state high. Listen to music that uplifts you, spend time in nature, create a clear vision board to keep you inspired to move forward, surround yourself with people that billow your dreams to life – and be careful what you say, because you are listening. Speak words of possibility and progress, rather than seeking perfection.
