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COACHES’ CORNER
Got a question for our coaches? Send it to: communications@gcaar. com and it may be featured in an issue of Capital Area REALTOR®
We’ve asked two of the top real estate coaches the following question. Take a look at what they have to say.
Q:
What is the number one mistake you see REALTORS® commonly making?
JULIE YOUNGBLOOD Julie was born and raised in Southern Nevada
and comes from a family that has been in the real estate industry for over 35 years. At an early age, Julie knew real estate was her passion. She has been engaged with her local association through various committees including, Community Outreach, Grievance, Professional Standards, YPN, Finance, Faculty, has served on the Board of Directors, and is a Trustee for the Nevada Association of REALTORS®’ Leadership Program. She runs Youngblood Coaching & Consulting, a coaching firm for real estate professionals. The objective is to give agents the tools they need to hit their goals. Julie was recently recognized nationally by Inman News as one of the “25 Best Real Estate Coaches in 2016.”
The most common mistake I see REALTORS® making is that once they “get busy” they forgo everything that got them there, essentially securing themselves a front row seat on the “Real Estate Roller Coaster.” We’ve all done it; we get really excited about appointment and lead generation. We focus on it and with the right skill set, in just a few days or weeks we’ve generated some business. Now we’re off to the races! Listing appointments to prepare for, buyers to show homes to. That leads into properties to put into the MLS, signs to order, ads to write, home inspections to schedule, escrows to open, paperwork to follow up on, commission instructions to sign... you name it and suddenly it has become SO PRESSING that it’s somehow more important than the work we put in to actually generate our new found flurry of production. We close a few deals and cash a few checks, and then...our business is a ghost town again. At this point we go one of two directions. We get back on the phone and generate some more business or, we wallow in how good it was and try to figure out why it stopped. The truth about real estate is that consistency will set you free in this business. As we grow and get busy, we must never forget the activities that we do daily that got us to that point. It’s truly a 90-day cycle in this industry. That being said, focusing on business you’ve already generated at the expense of creating more business opportunity is most certainly one way to make this business a roller coaster of financial and emotional uncertainty for yourself and those that you support through this business. So, if you’re not getting paid today, ask yourself this: How many meaningful real estate conversations did I have 90 days ago? If the answer is ZERO, then you can choose to get consistent with your appointment and lead generation. Stick to the program when you get busy. Enroll an accountability partner at your office, one who won’t buy into your excuses. Ask your spouse, children, family, loved ones to help out with accountability. Make sure they understand it’s about holding you accountable to the daily activities-not the results. What do I mean by that?
GOOD Accountability Question: How many real estate conversations did you have today with NEW people? BAD Accountability Question: Did you sell a house today? GOOD Accountability Question: What script did you practice today? BAD Accountability Question: Why didn’t you sell a house today? In short, don’t forget where you came from. Lead/appointment generation is your job. Do it every day, and you’ll always be in business!
CANDY MILES-CROCKER “The Real-Life REALTOR®, coaches, mentors
and trains new and experienced real estate agents to transform their business by mastering her proven systems for success. She is a firm believer in managing expectations and her goal is to elevate the perception of real estate agents among the general public through education so every client has an amazing real estate experience. Candy’s unique training methods have shown agents what it takes to be successful! Inman News selected Candy as one of the Top 25 Real Estate Coaches in 2016. Learn more at www.RLRETraining.com.
Contrary to popular belief, being a REALTOR® means you are a small business owner. Sure you are affiliated with a broker, but you have to decide how you’re going to run your business. Only you get to determine what days and times you will work, what clients you will work with and how you will market your business. When agents aren’t experiencing success it is usually because they aren’t putting in the time and doing the work. Just because you can set your own hours doesn’t mean that you don’t have a work schedule. Are you going to work seven days a week? Are you going to work eight hours a day? With no one standing over you telling you when to work it is far too easy not to work or to work sporadically. We all have periods of time where we do “busy work.” These are activities that give the appearance that you are working when in actuality, they aren’t income producing activities. Stop fooling yourself and put yourself on a daily schedule. Time block your activities to be most productive. Remember, activities will take as much time as you give them. Hopefully you are in business to make a profit. How will you market yourself to get and keep people in your pipeline? How will you determine your marketing budget and how will you analyze what’s working and what’s not? Real estate agents tend to spend money without keeping track of the results of that spending. Take the time to track where your business is coming from and what marketing activities are giving you the best return on your investment. Whether new or experienced, agents need to understand that they need to treat their business like a business. Put yourself on a schedule, know and watch your numbers and when you work, be intentional.
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