(This is the 7th post in a 9 part guide, please read them in order)
What are common mistakes to avoid as a real estate agent?
The purpose of this post is to help you avoid stepping into piles of steaming shit along the way. Believe me, the road is long and you’ll be side-stepping so much you’ll likely have to come up with a theme song. However, with the right support system and mentors to help you along the way, things won’t stink so bad.
Mistakes not only cost you time and money, they will cripple your motivation level and momentum. The reality is that there are a lot of blind spots you won’t see as you build your real estate business, so asking questions and implementing solid systems is crucial to getting hit with major setbacks.
Here are some important takeaways:
- What you make in real estate is not as impactful as how stupidly you spend your money. Your ego is going to beg you buy expensive and shiny things to feel rewarded, and this is the fastest way to live a constant life of stress, no matter how much money you make. It’s entirely possible to make a million dollars a year and be in more debt than when you started the business, so you have to control your spending.
- The easiest way to put yourself into a 1% category is not to be like the 99 other agents that don’t create a business plan every year. Don’t operate your business without a plan! Yes, it’s tedious and you can probably memorize your numbers. But there is a reason why the most successful people in the world insist that writing down goals and processes is a major factor in actually achieving them. Thoughts in your head are only dreams until you commit them on paper and turn them into plans.
- Don’t underestimate the importance of starting a CRM early and maintaining it. This is your book of business, and the only thing that gives your business any real value. Your database will be an incredible source of future business for you – provided you build it, maintain it, and leverage it. And in the future, if you ever decide to leave the business, you can always sell your book of business to someone else.
- Don’t pay for coaching programs unless you’re willing to do the work. They will not make prospecting any easier and rejection any less painful. You STILL have to do the work. Many agents have this illusion that if they sign up for a course and take some training, their business will magically change. The fact remains that nobody is going to save you from your lack of self-discipline. Ironically, the best way to overcome laziness is to practice not being lazy.
- Don’t over think, over do. In other words, always lean towards taking action immediately. You need to get out of your own way.
- Practice your craft every day. Professional athletes spend more time practicing than actually playing the game, and if you aren’t improving your skills and waiting until you meet a client before you perform, you’re actually practicing on your clients. That’s a great way to keep your bank account in overdraft and feel shitty about yourself because you’re not closing any deals. Practice off the field so you can win on the field.
- DO NOT SPEND YOUR COMMISSION THAT IS FOR TAXES. This might be worth tattooing on your arm.
- Always spend the majority of your day doing things that build your business (like prospecting), not things that maintain your business (like paperwork). A lot of agents spend their day in the office searching for listings on MLS, abusing the photocopier, talking shop with their colleagues, and shuffling files around. You’ll go home in the evening feeling like you worked all day, except you made zero dollars. Prioritize business activities that grow your pipeline of business. In other words, PROSPECT.
- Don’t wait for someone or something to initiate learning for you. Many agents wait for weekly training sessions at their brokerage to learn what’s happening in the marketplace. This is the quickest way to be the most uninformed agent in your office. You need to always be educating yourself. The market and the real estate landscape is always changing, and you need to be running alongside to make sure you don’t miss anything.
- You can not “fake it until you make it” in real estate. There is a lot of money on the line for everybody involved, so it’s crucial to know your stuff and have experienced people in your corner for when you don’t. Don’t make stuff up to make yourself sound smart, because mistakes can be very expensive.
- Read your board rules, your regulatory body rules, municipal by-laws, landlord and tenant rules, anti-spam legislation, do-not-call list legislation… the list goes on. Yes it’s boring, but you’ll save potentially thousands of dollars in fines by knowing it all. You can not claim ignorance of the rules and policies that govern you when you’re in court or at an arbitration hearing. It is your responsibility to understand your business.
- Sit down and read every agreement and document that you will be using when working with buyers, sellers, and renters. Even if they are templated, you need to understand the implications of the clauses in these documents because you’re expected to be able to explain them to your clients.
- Don’t try to aspire to be like ‘successful’ agents you see. Many of them are not what they seem – some are downright miserable. Always focus on being the best version of yourself and good things will happen for you.
- Most importantly, don’t ignore this question: Why should a consumer pick me over another agent? Obsess about this question until you can answer it with conviction and convey it to a client.
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to remember, but I just saved you thousands of future dollars. You’re welcome!
Okay, lets move onto Level 8: Managing New Found Money As A Successful Real Estate Agent