New Real Estate Agent Success - “I’d Work Hard If I Knew What to Work Hard At”

Making money as a real estate agent boils down to one thing: Hard Work.

“OK, I get it,” say the new agents I coach. “But I don’t want to do a lot of hard work that isn’t going to pay off! What should I be doing?”

Here’s how one experienced agent answered that question for me:

[How do I work hard?] “Well, in addition to managing my own escrows, I knocked on 380 doors last week and 250 the week before. I hold open houses every Sunday. I call every expired in my market every day. I faithfully call at least three people from my database every day to ask for referrals. I attend sales meetings, but don’t have time for caravan. I try to blog daily, but don’t always have something to say. Once a week I try to host or attend a networking event–like dinner or my book sales. Sometimes I won’t see any business at all from my efforts for a month or two. Then all of a sudden I’ll get three calls in one day from people asking me to help them buy or sell. Sometimes they’re not even people I’ve contacted. I think my hard work just attracts business.”

We each have to define hard work based on our own activities.

Newer agents may have to go through a let down when they discover that real estate is not an “instant gratification” business. At first it takes faith to believe your actions today will make a difference tomorrow. After a while you get to know your numbers and have a rough idea of what you have to do to get more business. It’s different for everyone depending on your personality, sales skills, marketplace, prospecting methods, etc.

Many new real estate agents say, “But Linda. Isn’t it about working smart, not working hard?” Sure, but if you don’t work hard, you won’t know what working smart looks like for you. What one person is great at, you might be horrible at. If you’re Mike Ferry, you can make a mint from door knocking. If you’re Joe Stumpf, you can win a referral from a wall flower. If you’re David  Knox you can use comedy to make a sale. But if you’re YOU, you need to figure out what your “one thing” is.

“But how do I figure out my ‘one thing’ without wasting time?” you say. I say, “Stop thinking about wasting time.”

Any time you practice your art consistently over time, it will pay off. If you like door knocking, do it. Some people can get to 100 doors in four hours, some more, some less. In some areas you’d be shot if you door knocked. In others you’re embraced. You might go for months or even longer with no business at all, then suddenly see the flood gates open.

You cannot plan on results until you know what your score is. In the world of door-knocking, if you knock for four hours a day, five days a week for 30 days, what’s your score? 2,000 doors, 10 hot leads, and no business? So be it. That’s your score for the month. Gradually you’ll get a score for the year. Then the next year you’ll be able to predict “If I do this, I’ll get this much business.”

My advice is to mix up your short-term and long-term business-generating activities in a consistent formula rather than sinking all your eggs into one basket. Short-term business results come from holding open houses, asking for referrals, calling expireds, conducting workshops, face-to-face networking, etc. Long-term results come from farming, door knocking, internet and social marketing, networking events, other classes, advertising, etc. There are many more sub-sets of activities you can do, too.

Now, back to the idea of working smart. Whatever you do, do it consistently. But also learn from people who have gone before. If you want to farm, talk to the best farmers in your company. If you want to door-knock, talk to the door warriors. If you want to build a 100% referral-based business, talk to the referral mavens. Say, “I admire what you’ve done in your business, and I’d like to do the same. Would you be willing to talk to me about how to get started at __?” If they’re not flattered and willing to share, talk to someone else.

Linda Schneider
Real Estate Trainer, Speaker, and private Coach
Specializing in “Sales skills for people who hate salespeople.”

Linda’s approach is called The Way of Real Estate Sales. Her methods generate dramatic results for Realtors who don’t see themselves as natural born salespeople, but want to raise their level of real estate sales confidence and competence so that selling comes easily to them.

Visit Linda Schneider at The Way of Real Estate