Why are there more losers than winners in our business? We mostly take the same basic courses and additional courses to maintain our licenses. We mostly put our clothes on the same way each day, other than when we’re on vacation! Most of us have nice offices to go to and regular training available. Our brokers and the management teams they have assembled are there for us to avail ourselves of to enlist their knowledge.
So, I turned to the dictionary to examine the root of the words winners and losers.
A winner is one that wins, “especially in sports or a notably successful person or achiever.” Conversely, a loser by definition is “one who fails, or a non-achiever.” The late Earl Nightingale, one of the foremost writers of how to be successful, stated that “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy destination.” (see his book or DVD, The Strangest Secret)
You cannot be an overnight sensation in our business.
Most agents, I find, come into our industry treating it like a job, rather than a business – a business that must be organized and maintained with zeal and vigour.
I find further, as most mentors, broker/owners or trainers find, that successful agents take a lot of skill enhancing courses, such as Brian Buffini’s 100 Days to Greatness or Richard Robbins Masters’ Edge, thereby improving on their chances of winning at the opportunities presented to us every day: the opportunity to prospect, to follow up, to gain more buyers and to obtain more referrals to sustain their business.
Most agents who fall into the category of the 90 per cent who do less than three or four deals a year ignore the basic premises of what it takes to be in the 10 per cent who do 90 per cent of the business in North America today. These are not my stats; they are from CREA and NAR.
This business of ours is not simply going from one transaction to the next. Not at all. It is the planning and the follow ups that are necessary to receive the benefits of such business models of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
So, if you are in the “loser column” at present, how can your business improve? For starters, make plans and stick to them. Reviewing them with your spouse or significant other is a good idea. And, of course, with your management team – they’re interested in your success because your success begets their success in the overall picture.
If you don’t have a passion for meeting people and servicing their housing/investment needs, maybe you chose the wrong profession. However, you can always throw your career into a 360-degree turn around. When do you want to do it? Sooner is better than later. The fall season is upon us shortly. Are you going to be ready? Start now by “sharpening your axe.”
If you don’t change, you’ll be out of the business in less than 18 months. If you do change, your future is assured and you will be a success in our great business.
Stan Albert, broker/manager, ABR, ASA at Re/Max Premier in Vaughan, Ont. can be reached for consultation at stanalb@rogers.com. Stan is now celebrating 40 years as an active real estate professional.
Stan Albert, ABR, ASA is a consultant with Re/Max Premier in Vaughan, Ont. He can be reached for consultation by email. Stan is now celebrating his 45th year as an active real estate professional.
