วันอาทิตย์ที่ 21 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Real Estate Prospecting - Should You Get a Job Or Stick it Out?

If you were making $60K/year as a realtor, would you rather keep doing it or quit and go to work for someone else for $60K? When I was young and terrible, I used to pity agents who quit to take "real" jobs. "They can't take it! They're losers!"

Now I'm older and wiser. So when I ran into a former agent at Starbucks the other day, I had a pleasant paradigm shift. I had thought he was one of the "biggies" who couldn't fail. (Sound familiar?) He looked great--healthy, vibrant, so I said it looks like business is treating him well. He told me he'd quit and gone back to the work he was in before. He wasn't making as much money, but on the other hand, he spent less and was much happier. He looked it.

He wasn't the first former agent I'd seen around town looking fit and at peace.

Do What's Right for You and Your Family - You Can Always Come Back Later

For some agents, going to work for someone else at this difficult time can be a relief from the constant pressure and stresses of not knowing--not knowing when they'll get paid, not knowing if what they're doing will make a difference, not knowing how to sell, etc. Working a job can be relaxing. It's satisfying to be an expert at your work and to get paid a regular wage for doing it. You have fun colleagues to act as a sounding board for life issues and be there for you--an extended family.

When Working a Corporate Job Isn't an Option

On the other hand, for other agents, quitting isn't an option. A corporate job would suck the life out of them, or they don't take orders well, or their options for interesting work are limited, or they have the sense that "great success is just around the corner" so they keep at it. Unfortunately, many of them get stuck in average, revving their engines until the gas runs out and they're forced to take a job anyway.

If you're stuck in average, but are still hoping to make it (build a sustainable, profitable real estate business), then you have to realize the situation isn't going to change on it's own. "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got."

Avoid, for now, the fad prospecting programs that promise "it'll be like shooting fish in a bucket." (Some of them really are great programs.) Instead, get rigorous coaching or mentoring for a while. Think of it as an intervention or a crash course. If you can't afford professional coaching, use your broker, manager, another agent in the office--or all of the above. Just keep your eye on reality.

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