Real Estate Related April 21, 2009

Get scared or get busy!

As I’m out in the field with all the different agents who are trying to survive in these tough times I realized that there is definitely a commonality with the ones who are being successful vs the agents that are running scared. 

The biggest difference that I see is based on the attitude they have and how they make that attidude work for them or against them. Being a Realtor is not an easy job but if you work smart and look forward instead of looking behind you things tend to be easier.

Many agents I talk to today say they are overwhelmed, can’t keep up, don’t have the time to learn all the new stuff that is coming at them. I get it, but that is an excuse. Show  me any profession today where you can just take what you know and survive on just that knowledge for an indefinite period of time. One of the responsibilities of any professional is to maintain expertise by always increasing your knowledge of the tools you use to enhance your business. The medical field is a good example of this, I recently read a  study that stated many physicians spend equal time if not more time learning new concepts in medicine in order to offer the best health care possible to their clients. I would ask  how much time do you spend learning new ways to interact with your clients and keep your business fresh and on the cutting edge? 

The customers today are so demanding,  and it can really be difficult as you try to  keep up with them and make sure you are showing up different than anyone else. What I would ask however is to have an open mind and not a closed mind.  I’m always out there pushing the envelope on new things to try and it requires some effort and learning but none the less if you do it and succeed you win. 

What I run into over and over again is the agent that would rather just dismiss the idea all together and then say something along these lines. ” Well that may be how you do business but my clients are different and I don’t need that stuff”  What your really saying is “Hey I’m scared and it is a bit overwhelming  and I want to keep up but I just can’t get my arms around it!”  Why don’t you just say that then, and let us try to help you and began to learn how to use the new tools and concepts. I recently read an article from the Denise Lones Blog called. The two types of agents. It is the heart of what I’m talking about here. The agents who have the positive attitude and then look forward and charge full speed into new ideas and concepts with out trepidation are going to be the agents who will absolutely thrive. The agent who wants to hang on to the way it use to be and walk very slowly and moan and grown all the way may still do business but it will be a painful road and eventually that road will end.

I would ask you to examine you attitude, check the negativity at the door, open your mind and began to think out of the box. You will be surprised what that might do for you business.