Selling Soulfully with Jennifer Allan

That's the response my first-month real estate agent friend got from her Big Name broker when she emailed to say she had a $1.5M buyer lead.  "Good for you, let me know if you need anything."

Are you kidding me?

My friend, smart as she is ;-] can barely spell MLS. She doesn't know what radon is, she doesn't know any inspectors, she doesn't yet have a relationship with a lender. She doesn't know how to select the best homes to show her new buyer.

But of course, she's been thoroughly trained on scripts, farming and other prospecting strategies as part of her Big Name training package.

We've all been there, and it's a scary place. An exciting place to be, for sure, especially when a $1.5M buyer comes to call (hmmmmm... yeah, I can do that math). And yes, being new implies a level of scariness when presented with one's first customers. But Puh-leeeeaze! To tell a brand spanking new agent to "let me know if you need anything" is criminal, in my opinion. Okay, that's melodramatic, so if not criminal, let's say irresponsible. Heck, how about downright STUPID? My friend is on a 60/40% split, so the broker's take on this deal is... how much? A LOT. And the chances of my friend closing this deal without help are slim-to-none. Oh, and the guy is qualified up to $3.5M but claims that he's "cheap," so he asked my friend to try to stay around $1.5M.

My friend calls me for help. Of course, I don't know her market or her contracts or her MLS or her local customs, but so far, I've been a hell of a lot more help to her than her on-site, stands-to-make-$20k-on-the-deal broker.

I won't name names, but this is a national company that recruits rookie agents and promises them world-class training. I'm underwhelmed, to say the least.

Thanks for listening.

The new agent asks: "Will it damage my credibility to have my broker involved in my first listing?"

Yes, it might. Do it anyway.

There are variations on this theme - such as when a new agent objects to sharing his first few commissions with a mentor, or an experienced agent refuses to get help on his first short sale listing or commercial deal. After all, in today's market especially, we NEED every last penny of that commission!

But that's not really the point, is it?

We real estate agents charge a lot of money for what we do. Part of our fee includes a level of expertise that our clients have every right to expect from us. It's not their job to teach us our craft; no, that's OUR job - to learn it so we can be the experts our clients need us to be. Even if "learning it" takes money out of our pockets.

So, if you aren't yet the expert, it's simply the right thing to do to bring on someone who is. Yes, whether you've been selling real estate for weeks or decades. We owe it to our future adoring fans to take great care of them!

p.s. back to the original question posted here - DOES it hurt an agent's credibility to have his broker involved? If so, any thoughts on how to mitigate the damage?

We all talk about how tough a new agent's rookie year is, but once they've survived those 12 months, they're good to go. And in the old days, I would agree. I sold 25 houses in 1997, 35 in 1998 and close to 50 in 1999. So, by the end of my third year, I'd sold over 100 homes and most of my surviving rookie friends (the ones who started the same time as me and were still in the game) had similar track records. I think it's safe to say that once you've sold 100 houses, you probably have a pretty good idea what you're doing (although every day almost always STILL gives me a learning experience or two!)

But the rookies and first-year agents I've been talking to lately have a much different experience. Most sell fewer than 5 houses their first year and maybe double that in their second.

I met with a 3-year agent the other day who has only sold 19 houses in his career and seems moderately happy with that. What struck me about this 3-year agent was how inexperienced he came across - I was trying to help him negotiate multiple offers on his listing and was stunned at his level of, (how else can I say it?) incompetence. He'd never heard of a back-up offer or understood the issues that might arise with an FHA loan on a fix-up property. He thought he was supposed to take down his For Sale sign and lockbox as soon as his listing went under contract.  He hadn't yet selected a preferred title company to work with. He didn't know that he had to change the status from "Active" to "Under Contract" in the MLS within 24 hours of accepting a contract.

I can see how a brand new agent wouldn't know any of these things and you don't call that incompetence - you call it inexperience (and hope she has good broker guidance). But all of these things were issues I learned about in my first year - and by my third year - heavens - this was kindergarten-level stuff! But it all seemed new to him.

First and second year agents - how comfy do you feel in your REALTOR skin and at what point did you start to feel that you could handle pretty much anything tossed your way? Or DO you feel that way yet? Old Fogies - is my experience unique? Or did our "generation" have a better opportunity to get up speed faster?

The Rookie Boot Camp for Agents Who Want to Sell with Soul!

Every day, every hour, someone posts a blog on AR or a question on a forum asking "how to" do something.  How to... approach a FSBO? How to... better market a listing? How to... target first time buyers? How to... persuade a seller to reduce his price? Etc. etc. etc.

Good questions, all. Deserving of answers.

However, I believe that in most cases, the answers are within ourselves. Not that I mind being asked (I love sharing my - ahem - brilliance), but a big part of my SWS philosophy is to learn to Trust Your Gut. To know that you CAN (and should) listen to your own instincts and intuitions!

So, that said...

If you were a FSBO, how would you like to be approached by a real estate agent? What would catch your attention? What would turn you on (or more importantly, off)? What would inspire you to want to work with one particular agent over another?

If you were a FTHB, how would you go looking for an agent? Where would you be likely to stumble upon one? What sort of marketing would catch your eye?

If you're wondering how to sell your difficult listing.... Ask yourself... If I were a buyer, or a buyer's agent, what would inspire ME to give this listing a chance? Conversely, why might I be avoiding this particular listing? Of all the listings available to show my buyer, what could the listing agent do to convince me I should show THIS one (because remember, as a buyer agent, I only get paid when my buyer buys, so I only wanna show the BEST)?

If you were an upside-down seller, what might your agent do to convince you of the need for a price reduction? How would you like him or her to approach you? What sort of information might be helpful and what attitude would be effective?

When faced with a dilemma that involves another warm body, put yourself in the other fella's shoes. And act accordingly....

www.SellwithSoul.com

Whether or not a new agent can succeed in this business starting out part time is a topic of much debate all over the world of real estate online forums. Rookies ask... Old Fogies answer... and the discussion usually deteriorates into a p*ssing contest between the two camps. I've written extensively on the topic and I have no problem declaring which side I fall on... I believe that this biz is tough enough to get started in without making it even harder by hitting it with only half (or less) of your time, energy and focus. So, in case that wasn't clear, I think a new agent oughta do it full-time, or not at all.

Oh, yes, I know the arguments... the main one is "But I can't AFFORD to give up my regular paycheck yet; I NEED to keep my job to pay my bills!" Others claim to know someone who managed to survive working only nights and weekends, or fitting in real estate around their "real" job.

Fair enough. My goal here is not to open that tired old can of worms yet again. You have your opinion; I have mine, she has hers and he has his.

But the fact remains that most rookies fail in their real estate venture. MOST. Even the ones who think they'll be the exception. Obviously, MOST won't be.

I hope it's a fair statement to say that if you want to succeed in a business, you'll have a better chance of doing so if you give it MORE effort than LESS effort - can we agree on that? Therefore, the ideal situation for new agents is to be able to go full-time, right from the start, right?

If we can agree on that, then how about this? If you're cool with the idea of working your backside off on two jobs (your "real" job + your new real estate career), why not keep your day job and go get a second job that actually PAYS your money instead of COSTS you money? For six months, a year, whatever it takes to save up a nice nest-egg that will enable you to pursue your dream of being a wildly successful (full-time) real estate agent. Tend bar, deliver pizza, clean houses, tutor, mow lawns... whatever you can do in your spare time to generate some spare cash to sock away.

I promise you, this business is a whole lot more fun when you're not freaked out about your next mortgage payment or exhausted from trying to start a new business after a long day's work.  Those six months will fly by, and if you're lucky, maybe the real estate market will improve by then!

"Can a new agent make it in today's real estate market?"

This question has been asked and answered hundreds of times throughout Cyberland... both here at Active Rain and on other real estate forums.

Here are my thoughts...

I tend to be a Positive Attitude kinda gal - but not in the sense that all you need is one of those (a positive attitude) in order to succeed. I believe that it's simply one of the requirements to succeed, ‘specially in our business where the vast majority fail. If you don't have a Positive Attitude, you will fail. So, while having a positive attitude is not a guarantee of success, a negative one is most certainly a guarantee of failure. IMO.

Neither am I believer that daily meditations or repetitive mantras will give you this positive attitude. No, I think that you earn your positive attitude by being PREPARED for whatever life throws at you; thus you have the confidence and assurance that you CAN DO IT - whatever that "IT" may be.

For rookie agent wannabe's... I suggest that you do not waste your time and your money and your emotions on this career if you are not prepared AHEAD OF TIME. To me, this means:

•         You have bought or sold a house before and somewhat understand the process from a consumer's perspective

•         You have the full support of your family (financial and emotional)

•         You know your way around your town

•         You know people in your town (100 or more)

•         You have the financial means to attack your career with all your heart (and time)

Am I saying that you can't succeed if you don't meet the above criteria? Of course not, but I won't pussy-foot around the fact that the odds are stacked against you already, so the more pluses you have in the preparation column, the better chance you'll make it to your second year. Today, qualified buyers and motivated sellers are not lined up around the block waiting for you to hang your license on the door. Heck, there aren't even that many UNqualified buyers or UNqualified sellers! The ones that are out there are tougher to deal with than in years past (when plenty of newbies failed by the truckload, too).

So... don't jeopardize your family's future by pursuing a dream you aren't yet prepared to pursue. If you're new to town, spend the next year learning your way around and making lots of friends. If you don't have any money in the bank, take a second job and build up a nest-egg. Prove to your family that you ARE prepared to do this so that they'll have 100% faith in you.

Yes, you CAN DO IT!!! But not just ‘cause you want to. Make like a Boy Scout and... y'know...

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Confidence Builders for Rookie Real Estate Agents

I recently wrote a blog called "Hang in There, Rookies! It Gets Easier, I promise! which was about how once you get a few SPC's (satisfied past clients) under your belt, this job really does get easier - the bringing-in-business part of it anyway. SPC's are by far the best source of business in our business and if you have enough of them... who know where to find you... you can pretty much be set for life. It's a beautiful thing.

However, in the meantime, while you're searching for those soon-to-to-be SPC's, you need to come across as a Reasonably Competent Human Being (RCHB) to everyone you know and everyone you meet. An RCHB is someone who is reliable, intelligent, organized, ethical and knowledgeable and can be trusted to show up and work hard. Whether they sell real estate or take your order at the Village Inn - you can just TELL if someone is an RCHB, can't you?

If you're new, but are perceived as an RCHB in your social circles, it will go a long way toward generating business and referrals from the people you know. Perhaps even more than being friendly, although being friendly will help a lot, too.

So, how can you demonstrate to the world that you're an RCHB?

1. Be on time
2. Return phone calls promptly
3. Strive for 100% error-free written material
4. Watch your language
5. Be emotionally mature
6. Do what you say you're going to do

Be on Time is self-explanatory. Don't be late. Not for business appointments, social engagements or your massage. Every single person you come in contact with has the potential to be your biggest fan. Don't blow it by disrespecting their precious time or looking too unorganized or flustered to show up when promised.

Return phone calls promptly. Ditto. Return all calls as soon as you can, not just business ones. Call even if you don't have an answer yet. Call even if you don't want to.

Strive for 100% error-free written material. Obviously, this includes any promotional material you create (personal brochures, newsletters, website, etc.) but also any personal communication between you and your SOI. Your announcement or reconnection letter, and even your emails should be pretty darn clean. Not everyone is a terrific speller or grammar-phile, but please make the effort. I'd hate to see you run off even one referral because you can't find the spell-check button or figure out how to capitalize the first word in a sentence.

Watch your language.  I hope the following doesn't offend you. If you want to demonstrate your professionalism to the people you know, you need to cut down on the four-letter words. It's a habit many of us have, but unfortunately is a habit that can cost you business. I have a friend who is an insurance agent, but her language is so rough I wouldn't dream of referring anyone to her. I'm sure she wonders why. Does she behave that way with her clients? I don't know, but I'm not willing to take the chance with my precious referral business. 

Be emotionally mature? Huh? This is another potentially touchy subject. And, females, it's mostly directed at us. Some of our friends have seen us at our most pathetic, haven't they? And we've seen them at theirs. But, as someone who is hoping to project a professional persona to her friends, you might have to tone that down, or at least be very particular to whom you... um... "talk" to. It may be difficult for your sob-sister to see you as a competent professional. I've had a few girlfriends in my life whose personal lives were such a mess I truly couldn't imagine they could perform professionally in a work environment. I'm sure they did, but, as much as I loved them, I simply wasn't confident in their professional abilities.

Do what say you're going to do.  Strive to never let anyone down. Don't cancel at the last minute or simply not show up. Learn to love a to-do list if you don't already. If you tell someone you'll call, call. If you RSVP to a party, go. If you promise to put a check in the mail, do it NOW!  If you owe someone money, pay it promptly. If you borrow a book, return it in a reasonable amount of time

Notice that none of these items are specifically about being a good real estate agent. That's because if a friend or acquaintance has never used you as a real estate agent, there's no way to prove to them that you're a good one until they do. And, of course, it's not effective to simply tell someone how great you are - you have to show them, which you can't do until they hire you. But if you come across as a generally reliable, responsive, intelligent, competent person, most people will assume that you're a good real estate agent, too.

And then... you're on your way to having some SPC's!!!

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Confidence Builders for Rookie Real Estate Agents

www.sellwithsoul.com

I know it's tough. You sit in your office and see all the activity and chaos and excitement around you and wonder when you'll have some of that. You're watching your bank account dwindle and your enthusiasm fade. You might be asking "Remind me again why I signed up for this? "

Patience, grasshopper. There's a reason we real estate agents have enormous earning potential and it's not 'cause this job is easy. Oh, sure, it's easy for me to SAY that, now that I'm past my rookie year, but sometimes, pithy little cliche's are true. But I know you're not looking for witticisms or bumper-sticker mottos, so here's a little solid encouragement for you (at least I think it's encouraging):

The BEST Source of Business
    In my experience (and I think many will agree), the easiest source of business in THIS business comes from satisfied past clients (SPC's). This is good news and bad news for our beloved rookies.

The bad news is, obviously, rookies don't HAVE any past clients, satisfied or otherwise. But the good news is... you have the time and the enthusiasm and the energy to go all out for the clients you will have over the course of your first year.

DO IT! Go above and beyond every chance you get. Don't listen to Old Fogies who advise that Open Houses are a Waste of Time or that All Buyers Are Liars or that You Should Fire a Buyer if he doesn't buy after looking at X number of homes. Service the heck out of your listings and bend over backwards for your buyers. It WILL pay off for you in the future... BIG TIME.

Then, After Blowing Your Clients Away with Your Service... All You Gotta Do is Stay in Touch
   If you read much of my stuff, you know I'm a big proponent of staying in touch with your SOI, which should obviously include your past clients. However, y'know what's really cool about SOI'ing with your SPC's? If you did a wonderful job for them, it doesn't take much to retain your status as their Favorite Real Estate Agent on the Planet. A few notecards every year, a few interesting, non-salesy emails  - that's really about it. You've already proven yourself to them and in our industry, being GOOD can be a bit of a rarity, unfortunately.

In the absence of SPC's, you can easily demonstrate to your Sphere of Influence (SOI) that you're an RCHB (love all the acronyms?). RCHB stands for a Reasonably Competent Human Being which means someone who is reliable, intelligent, organized, ethical and knowledgeable. Because the general public doesn't think that our job is all that hard, as long as you come across as someone who can be trusted to show up and work hard, that's about all it really takes to get business from your SOI. However, this obviously requires you to do two things:

1.        BE an RCHB

2.       Put yourself in the position to demonstrate your RCHB'ness to other people.

Since I'm already over 500 words, I think I'll wrap this up and continue the RCHB discussion on another blog.

But here's the thing for rookies. THIS JOB GETS EASIER! In all likelihood, your first year will be your hardest and your lowest -paying. Well, duh! As you acquire SPC's and begin to master your craft, you'll GET more business and perhaps more importantly, you'll CLOSE more business.

And guess what? It's a blast and something to look forward to!

www.SellwithSoul.com

This blog is directed at new agents. Experienced agents, who know their systems, their markets and their contracts, and who have a steady stream of business can certainly succeed working part-time. But in the first year......

No! Selling real estate (well) is NOT a part-time job!

I know this opinion is unpopular. And because I like to be liked, I've kept my mouth shut. As an active participant on several real estate forums, I see this question come up time and again. Responses range from "Oh, yes, you can definitely sell real estate part time" to "Well, you can do it, but you'll have to work real hard." To my great surprise, no one comes right out and says "Are you crazy??"

So, I'll be brave and go first... "Are you crazy?"

Let's talk about the reasons someone might become a PT real estate agent...

Uh...okay, only one reason comes to mind. Money. Not enough of it.

I can't think of any other reason someone would start a new career and only attack it half-assed (or less!)

This is a tough business to get into, especially now. Well, I should rephrase that - it's certainly not tough to get into, but it's very tough to succeed in. Rumor has it that eighty percent of new agents fail within the first year. Eighty percent! So, if you are considering entering a business in which eighty percent don't make it through the first year, the odds are very much against your chances of succeeding. And you think that giving it less than your all is going to improve those odds?

The common song I hear when agents insist on going part-time is a whining "Well, it would be NICE if I could do it full-time, but not EVERYONE has that luxury!"

Fair enough.

Then, maybe, just maybe, this isn't the right time. Just because selling real estate is your dream doesn't mean that you are entitled to succeed if you aren't ready. Some dreams may just have to wait. Patience, grasshopper!

But enough ranting and raving (maybe). Here are some solid reasons part-time is not nearly as cool as full-time:

1. Being part-time screams to your friends, prospects and clients that you aren't successful enough to do it full-time. And who wants to work with an unsuccessful real estate agent?

2. Being part-time requires you to be oh-so-efficient with your time. This sounds like a good thing, but it's not. In the course of learning to be a good real estate agent, you need to be able to risk "wasting" your time. For example, let's say you get a floor call from a marginally qualified buyer. If you're part-time, you might be tempted (or forced) to turn him away. If you're full-time, you're delighted for the opportunity to practice your craft, regardless of the potential for a paycheck. But I guarantee you, whether or not you get paid for running around with this buyer, the learning experience will be worth every "wasted" minute. And who knows, this buyer could end up being your biggest referral source.

But as a part-time agent who doesn't have time to mess around, you'll never know.

3. I don't see how a new part-time agent can truly serve her clients when she doesn't have the time to learn her craft. When I was new, everything I did took me five times as long to do as it should have because I had a huge learning curve to climb over. I worked very hard (full-time) to learn my market, to master my systems, to know my contracts inside and out, to develop my team of service providers and oh, yes, to answer my phone every time my clients called... or to return their calls within five minutes.

4. Your paying clients expect and deserve your full attention. Especially when you're new and, c'mon, admit it, you don't know what you're doing. When you go on your first listing appointment, you SHOULD have spent the previous 48 hours straight preparing your market analysis. Your fear of failure and embarrassment should motivate you to go through the comparable market data with a fine-toothed comb. A part-time agent doesn't have the time or energy for this.

Your buyer needs an agent who is as enthusiastic about his house-hunt as he is. He deserves an agent who previews like a madman to find just the right house the day it hits the market. An agent who is willing and able to hold the buyer's hand through the painful inspection. An agent who can drop everything and spend five hours making phone calls when a last-minute crisis threatens your buyer's closing.

5. The agent on the other side of the deal expects and deserves your attention. She doesn't want to do your job for you just because you're at your "real" job and can't get away. And remember, you're making her look bad to her clients when she can't reach you to get a question answered or a problem resolved. 

6. Selling real estate is a constant learning experience. Even full-time, experienced agents learn something new with every sale or listing. If you're only selling four or five houses a year because you're part-time, you're missing out on a lot of on-the-job training. It doesn't matter how smart, how motivated or how charming you are, you'll never be as qualified as a good full-time agent.

(Note I said "good." There are plenty of bad full-time agents and you may very well be more qualified than some of them).

7. In both of your careers, if something goes wrong, it's going to be blamed on your dual-life. Perhaps with good reason.

Again, I know my opinion is unpopular. I just know how hard I worked in my first five years, and I can't imagine succeeding in (or even enjoying) this career without devoting my heart and soul to it.

So, here's an alternate plan. If you want to sell real estate and you want to succeed... work your backside off for the next year and save some money. Work two or even three jobs that guarantee you a paycheck and put that money away. After all, that's what you're talking about doing anyway, right? Working two jobs? If you think building a real estate business is easier than, say, waiting tables at night, you're mistaken. At least waiting tables guarantees you $3/hour with no out-of-pocket costs!

Then, hit your new career with guns blazing. ALL your energy. ALL your enthusiasm. ALL your attention. You'll be glad you did, I promise.

www.sellwithsoul.com

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Confidence-Builders for the Rookie Real Estate Agent

copyright Jennifer Allan 2007