Matt Stigliano – a relatively new agent is out of the business. Temporarily. Most agents in the business are “relatively new” to me – I’ve been in the house selling business since 1978. Several people, in letting Matt know how much they cared about him, commented that – they too, had thought about leaving the business, or had also left the real estate business but came back to it later.
Matt is a really bright guy. A nice guy and a bright guy. Read his stuff and you will easily see both – a really nice and a really bright guy. And yet, he is out of the business. Most people who enter the real estate business do not last more than a few years. Some people who are not nearly as nice as Matt or even close to his level of brightness manage to last – without too many major hiccups – and spend their working lives as Realtors. Brightness, niceness, being well-dressed, clever, charming, articulate, computer literate, well-read, curious, having great attention to detail, etc. – good attributes, each and every one of them – seem to have little or even possibly nothing to do with long term success in the real estate business. It is actually very easy to find loads and loads of people with all of those qualities who don’t last and perhaps just as many people who lack virtually all of those qualities who do last.
What is it?
What is the quality or skill that permits longevity and ultimate success in this business that sort of seems to “get in the blood” of the people who last.
It’s pretty simple. For some, almost too simple.
Yes. No. Maybe.
All specific questions can be answered YES. NO. Or MAYBE. Yes and No are easy. I do or I don’t want “it” – whatever “it” might be. Maybe is YES and NO fused together in the mind. Every problem anybody has ever had or will have has had an unresolved “MAYBE” sitting there. And that point of indecision connects to past times of confusion and indecision and then just floats along with the person stuck on the maybe.
Do you want coffee? Would you like to go to see a movie? Would you like to list your house with me? Would you like to buy this house? Are you a Realtor? Each one a question. Each one with the same three possible answers.
If you are constantly around people who are “on a maybe” you will tend to find yourself also “on a maybe”. It just sort of works that way. I know. My first twelve years in real estate I was constantly “deciding” if I wanted to stay or leave. I had no idea where I would go – but that living from deal to deal, month to month, never feeling really secure, never feeling like I had a “real job” was a fantastic version of hell that I called my life.
To fully “make it” all the maybes have to be stripped off. All of them. Are you IN or are you OUT? Pick one. Get ALL the way in or get ALL the way out. This is true for pretty much any activity, really. In or out? Avoid the middle. Don’t quite like that customer? Find a way to like them or get rid of them! Do not carry on trying to endure them. Fish or cut bait.
This business is SO simple – even a Realtor can do it. From the Millionaire Real Estate Agent, Leads, Listings, Leverage.
The reason (note: not A reason) agents leave the business is they did not have enough leads. The one skill they needed to become good at – they didn’t. Lead generation and lead conversion. Agents who have enough leads have “enough” business. It is lead generation that makes the difference between success or failure. You could factually be awful at all the other skills and still make a decent living. One can not be awful at lead generation and still do very well – no matter what other skills they may possess.
Lead generation is accomplished either by prospecting (the agent reaching to the customer) or marketing (getting the customer to reach to agent). There are no other “methods”. All methods fall into one of those two: prospecting or marketing.
The secret? Strip off any and all reasons or explanations for failure and to not do well. Then learn to lead generate like it really really matters. You can do it. I know. I’ve been where you are. Like Winston Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, keep going”.
