Become Leaders in Real Estate

My great friend, Kent Eley, gave me a book for Christmas by John Maxwell called the Maxwell Daily Reader. As many of you know, John Maxwell is one of my favorite authors. It is a great book that everyone should get if you don’t own it already. On January 7th, he writes about the Law of Influence in which he touched on 7 points leaders possess to get others to follow them. I believe these points are critical to a successful real estate career and felt compelled to share the segment with you and relate it to our business. He believes the factors are character (who they are), relationships (who they know), knowledge (what they know), intuition (what they feel), experience (where they’ve been), past success (what they’ve done) and ability (what they can do).

Let’s face it, if you aren’t an outgoing, friendly, personable person who likes to reach out to meet, help and be with people, you will have a difficult time in the business – you’ve got to have character. By possessing character, you will develop relationships and continue to grow your database which will in turn, help you succeed in real estate in any market – deepen your relationships with your sphere and grow your sphere (or relationships) and your career will expand as well.

You all know where I stand on knowledge. As I have always said, “You’ve got to learn if you want to earn”. John Wooden said, “It is what we learn after we know it all counts”. Come to trainings, real estate information exchanges, know the numbers in the market, know your numbers, read – basically get educated and communicate to your sphere and others you encounter and your bottom line will grow.

Intuition is very important – you gotta go with your gut. If someone isn’t realistic on pricing their house, making offers on properties or doesn’t respect you or your time – you can feel it and walk away. They will drain your time, energy and sour you on the business. Additionally, our business isn’t rocket science – you know what you gotta do so do it.

It is obvious that we have had experience in all aspects of our lives, not just in real estate. Be able to relate past sales success, advice you have given in certain circumstances to others that has helped them, coaching kids, or other experiences you have had to real estate to show how you can help your current clients – become a story teller of your experience.

It is critical to explain to others your past successes. We have all had them. Be able to communicate in a non egotistical way, your success story in real estate. Develop a success “elevator speech” of why people should work with you.

The last one John Maxwell mentions is ability. You have to be able to do the business. There are so many aspects of ability in real estate so only a few critical ones will be mentioned. You must master presentations for listings, buyers, and communicating your value. You need to know the entire process and who does what in the transaction so nothing slips through the cracks. Learn all of the forms/contracts and what they say and be able to communicate it to your clients in easy to understand language to show your competence. You must be able market yourself and your properties to get results. You need to become a master networker to grow your sphere. And as I mentioned, there is even more. Be a professional and know our business to break away from the pack of ordinary others in our business.

There are two additional pieces to this puzzle that help you become a leader in real estate. They are a positive attitude and open mind. People get enough negative news in the paper, from the television and in conversations with others – keep it out of the office and out of the dealings with our team members - we don’t need to hear it or want to hear it in any circumstance. Be a beacon of hope and encouragement but also be realistic in communication with those you encounter. Additionally, keep an open mind to learning new ideas as well as listening to what is occurring in all aspects of our business. We are experiencing an unprecedented number of foreclosures, short sales and inconsistent valuations throughout our area. By listening we can learn and in turn educate others. A closed, negative mind has no place in our company or in our environment. If you are through growing, you’re through! As the saying goes, “Change is good” – what are you going to change?