Riders on the Storm?

In light of the two hurricanes this past week, it has made me think about our agents and our market and I wonder, are you riding the storm out?

The winds are blowing pretty strong, the waves are getting higher, the rain is coming down faster and the question is, what are you doing about it?

Are you inside watching? Are you outside dancing in the storm? Or are you wearing the appropriate attire and moving forward to your destination? We all have choices. Are you inside waiting for the storm to end? Are you having fun being reckless in the stormy weather? Or, are you braving the elements equipped with the right tools, attitude, persistence, perseverance, education, and language?
Our market is stormy right now. Some of you are inside, some outside, some are taking the storm head on, finding opportunities and forging ahead. In every market, whether up or down, there are opportunities.

If you are inside, get the hell out! The market we are in is going to be with us for another 18 to 24 months. You can’t survive waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for people to visit your website, waiting to get an email from a past client to buy or sell. You have to get up and get out!

If you are outside playing, get focused on your activities. Find a niche. Do what other successful people are doing in today’s market. Research what they are doing and see if it will work for you. Reach out to learn how you can weather this storm.

If you are moving ahead, having success in today’s market , make sure to take the time to reflect on what you’ve done, how you’ve done it, see if it can be improved on and move ahead.
We are all challenged by slack agents, more negotiations, more details, more obstacles – stay on top of your business and you will reap rewards.

Again, get out and speak with successful agents, brokers, lenders, title companies and learn. Attend seminars, and conferences out of town. Invest in your business if you want it to grow. Spend money when you don’t have it. Our top 10 agents this year have done just that. Look at where their business is this year – their commission is up 15% over last year’s top ten. It is more of a challenge and more rewarding when you find the opportunities in down markets than up markets. Virtually anybody can be successful in strong markets as we saw recently. Many experienced and new agents became order takers, rested upon their success and didn’t continue pursuing different avenues to success. Don’t be like everyone else – differentiate and reinvent yourself.