Image Courtesy of Lyndi and Jason
My name is Ginger Wilcox and I have mental road blocks that have prevented me from accomplishing my goals.
The first step is to admit you have a problem…
I am a third generation real estate professional. When I first started selling real estate, I teamed up with my mother, a successful real estate broker in Tempe, Arizona. She had been in the business for a long time so I immediately jumped in and started selling homes. Getting clients was the furthest thing from my mind. My focus was purely on showings, contracts, closings and customer service. I became very well versed in the mechanics of the industry.
When I moved to California, I knew the mechanics of the business, but I didn’t know the neighborhood and I really knew nothing about finding new clients. I felt like I was missing the most important piece- contacts, connections and how to convince people to work with me. I was petrified to be selling real estate when I did not have the all important past client list. To make matters worse, I was in my 20’s, looked young, and was young compared to most of the agents and residents of my community. (The average age of a first time mom in my community is just under 40!)
I knew I needed to meet people and build connections in this new community. I am extremely social, so meeting people is usually not a problem for me. I volunteered, joined the PTA, talked to moms at the park, delivered pumpkins to my neighbors. I did all the things that I was supposed to do, but I was still struggling.
I was a far better agent, yet I couldn’t get the business
When other people (often times bad agents) had clients rolling in left and right, I was suffering. It was really frustrating for me to know that I was a far better agent than many of the “successful” ones, yet I couldn’t get the business. I kept blaming it on my database. I didn’t have the right people in my database. I also blamed it on the fact that I was too young. I thought that people thought I was too young to be a knowledgeable real estate agent.
I had erected a huge roadblock in my path of success. One pile of rubble was my limited database and lack of connections. The other pile of rubble was my age and appearance. How can you possibly sell real estate to affluent older residents when you don’t have the right connections and you look like you are seventeen? Ok, I was in my late 20s, I definitely looked older than seventeen, but other agents did constantly comment on what a baby I was. (jealousy!)
You can’t clear the rubble if you don’t admit it is in the way
So, how do you get rid of the roadblocks?
The first step is to admit you have a problem. Sounds like an AA meeting, but it is true. You can’t clear the rubble if you don’t admit it is in the way.
Secondly, you need to address the problem head on. I realize now that I have built quite an impressive database. Apparently, there are agents salivating to know the people I know. Why wasn’t my business going where I thought it should go at that time? It is not about how big your database is or even who is in it- it is all about how you use it. I was actually afraid of some of the people in my database.
Why would they want to work with me?
So how did I address it? How did I clear the roadblock? The clearing is still under way, but the majority of the rubble has been blasted away by a powerful tool..
It is called blogging. Huh, you say?
Through blogging, I proved to myself that I am a good agent. I demonstrated my knowledge and expertise to me. Day in and day out, I write about things going on in my community, issues impacting the real estate industry, tips and tricks on how to be a better agent for other agents. Through this process, I have developed a confidence in me. I now know that people should hire me because of what I know and how I treat my clients. If they choose to hire someone else, it is not a reflection on me.
Will some people decide not to work with me because I am too young? Possibly, but if their criteria to work with an agent is age, so be it. Work with people who want to work with you. I have sold homes to a former mayor, engineers, professors, PHDs, and CEOs of major companies. The majority of my clients have hired me because a) they like me and b) I demonstrated my knowledge and expertise to them.
You can’t prove these things to others if you don’t believe in them yourself.
