REAL ESTATE AGENT NEWS

Secret Ingredients of Successful Agents
by Bob Corcoran

If successful agents had a list of ingredients on their backs like a can of cola, I have no doubt you’d find these five key (and all-natural) contents listed:

1. An unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Sure, you expect agents to know their business and many will have the CRS, GRE and of other certifications. But you’d also never find them thinking they know it all. In fact, they’d be the first to tell you they learn something new every day. That’s because they’re curious and they’re always seeking – and usually finding – opportunities in their market where others only see roadblocks.

Is your level of curiosity where it should be? If not, hit the books, the classrooms and the media to keep learning.

2. A stellar and consistent display of customer service. As a coach, I see plenty of agents who can talk all day about giving good customer service. But that’s where it all ends -- at the talking. They postpone returning e-mails and phone calls from leads. They never look for ways to go above and beyond what the clients might expect and mediocrity is their best friend. They refuse to look for ways to improve themselves. Sad but true.

Look at other agents in your market who are known for outstanding customer service. Then create five specific ways to make your service even better.

3. A crystal-clear sense of what success is. When I visit agents for the first time, I learn that every single one wants to be successful. But when I ask them what success is, they look at me like I just landed from Pluto. They haven’t a clue. Some eventually get a glimmer of brain activity and say they want to make $100,000 or they want to sell 50 houses.

That’s all well and good. But I like to help agents look beyond those goals and consider their lives as a whole. Are they happy at home, and if not, why? Because if one area of your life’s disjointed, I guarantee the other parts will be out of whack, too. Inventory your life to find where you need balance and repair as needed.

4. A vast network of people. In all my years of coaching agents, I’ve never seen an agent who reached success by him or herself. Never. And I’d bet my last dime I never will. They have assistants. They have mentors. They have coaches. They have a sardine-like pipeline crammed full of contacts who work in the real estate industry: lawyers, home inspectors, loan officers, closing specialists, other agents and brokers, developers – a rolodex fatter than a spoiled cat.

Surrounded by people, not just professionally, but socially, too. They attend church, they serve on school committees, go to baseball games, volunteer at the food bank, visit the elderly. Always out in front of people. Could you be more connected? Probably. Go do it.

5. A positive attitude. If I had to pick a single ingredient of success, attitude would be it. Can you imagine a top producer with a bad attitude? Well, if you can, I promise you they won’t be one for long. The fire inside successful agents is at the very center of their belief that they can succeed – that they will succeed – no matter what. Period.

Stop for a minute and ask yourself if you really, truly believe this about yourself. If not, do some soul searching to find out what will help you believe. Because once you do, watch out – this main ingredient kicks in and you’ll have all the success you can handle.

Best of luck to you!