By Toby Welch
Like performance wristbands and 3D printers, having a coach seems to be all the rage these days. And for good reason – having the right coach can give your real estate career a major boost.
Ryan Hodge, broker of record and owner of The Realty Firm in London, Ont., says, “I’ve literally spent tens of thousands of dollars on real estate and life coaching. The best part about this type of coaching is that it doesn’t apply to a ‘brand’. It applies to an individual looking to reach their ultimate goal of success in quality of life and business.”
Hodge says he learned from coaches such as Dan Plowman, Chris Leader, Tom Ferry and Craig Proctor that real estate is a “personal relationship business” and that anyone can implement measurable, turnkey business systems if they have the right mindset and the will to succeed. “Coaches like these are what drove my success rather than the traditional real estate broker model,” he says.
Ryan Hodge
The right real estate coach can assist with the following aspects of your career:
* Help you define your goals and develop a business plan. This often encompasses not just real estate goals but personal and family goals as well.
* Keep you on track as you work to achieve your goals.
* Help improve areas where you may be weak, such as time management, stress management, organization, sticking to a budget, procrastination and record keeping.
* Increase your entrepreneurial skill set.
* Inspire and motivate you when you need a swift kick to get going.
* Keep you accountable to your goals and other priorities.
* Offer support in the areas where you need it most.
* Help you look beyond the myriad of daily tasks that sales reps often get swallowed up by and see the bigger picture.
Michele Skawski
Michele Skawski, a sales rep with RRSI Realty in Caledon, Ont. and surrounding areas, has found the greatest benefit of coaching to be the other agents she has met through the various programs. They are people willing to invest in themselves and look at real estate as a long-term career. As well, they tend to be positive thinkers and are willing to share ideas, wins and losses.
Skawski explains how to get the most out of coaching: “There are unlimited ways in which a person can be successful in selling real estate. The key is to find a coaching system that suits your personality so that you will be more likely to stick to it and develop the discipline required to be successful. I don’t think any system is better that the other, it is a matter of committing to doing what the coach tells you to do on a daily basis.”
When looking for a coach, ask top producers in your area if they have a coach they recommend. Or check with the International Coach Federation, a non-profit professional association of almost 9,000 coaches in 34 countries; look into their Coach Referral Service or scan through their member directory. The right coach is out there for you – you just have to find him or her.
Before committing to a coach, contemplate two things in order to get the most out of the experience: will you be able to dedicate yourself 100 per cent and can you afford a coach? If you aren’t willing or able to make the changes in your life a priority, you’ll be wasting your time. The cost can be prohibitive for some people; the rates coaches charge vary widely depending on their experience, their time commitment to you and the services they provide. Questions to ask potential coaches when you interview them include:
* What are your qualifications to help me reach my goals?
* Will I work with you or your staff?
* What do you charge?
* What is your availability?
* Do you have references?
Take the time to ensure your coach has the expertise you require. While there are thousands of legitimate, knowledgeable coaches out there, the industry is also flush with wanna-bes who have no experience in the real estate industry.
If face-to-face coaching isn’t feasible for you, there are other options. Some sales reps use the services of a coach via phone, often a weekly or biweekly 30- to 60-minute call. Another option is virtual coaches or online coaching through programs such as the self-help method at iSucceed.
Mike Cartwright
Mike Cartwright, the broker of record for Main Street Realty in Newmarket, Ont., has been using coaches since 1996. “I use a coach to keep me focused and accountable to my goals. It is not so much that they teach me – which they do – but the constant reminders and talks have always helped me attain more in life and business.”
Cartwright shares how a coach helped him recently: “This year in January I was slow so I told my coach nothing was happening. He asked how many listings I had and I replied one. He said that was the problem and to go out and get 10. That was enough to do it for me. Three weeks later, I had seven listings and my year took off. I currently talk to my coach every week. The coach cannot create business for you but they can give you some advice on what to do to get going.”
Not sold on the idea of a coach? Skawski has a suggestion. “Go to a few seminars put on by the various coaching companies. Some of them are free, others cost money, but I have always walked away feeling rejuvenated from these types of sessions. The important thing to remember about coaching is that it is one thing to sign up and pay for it and another to actually follow the path they set for you.”
If you opt to give coaching a try, it can be the key to breaking through your own self-imposed barriers and achieving more than you ever dreamed possible.
