Tag Archives: professional support

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Get To Know and Respect Your Collegues

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One of the issues with out jobs is that sometimes we have no control over what another party does in any transaction we have.  While we still continue to do everything we can for our clients, there are just some things “acts of god” that we can never predict happening.

 

However over the years, one important thing that I have learned is to get to know agents, loan officers and closers in the communities which I serve.  I do a ton of networking. I can honestly say that I have developed some great connections and made some new friends.  It’s an awesome thing.

What this ultimately does for me is this… I have a relationship with another agent. We have respect for each other. Deals happen with these agents and I know that there is a trust factor involved.  We are then able to have open communication with each other about transactions we are involved in together.  Its my own “circle of trust” with colleagues. 

So get to know others in the industry and take the time to communicate with them. Be genuine and authentic.  Share stories and ideas.  We all have the same goals in mind so why not help each other!

Safety-Its Something To Always Think About

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Last night I had a rather unusual occurrence happen.  I received a phone call, in the middle of the night, from an unknown number.  I was sleeping at the time so the phone call went to voicemail.  When I awoke in the morning, I listened to the message that was left on my voicemail.  The voice was unfamiliar and the person was saying some things that were clearly inappropriate to say to someone who you do not know.  I was pretty disturbed by this and I racked my brain trying to figure out who this could have been.

I sat and thought about it for a while. I am almost single, kind of starting to date and I thought, maybe I gave someone my number. But deep down I knew I hadn’t. One thing I did know was that my cell phone number is listed all over the place.  As an agent, there’s really nothing I can do about that.

I thought about what could happen if someone stalked me or tried to attack me. How would I defend myself?  I have some kung fu skills that I learned by watching movies and I obviously know how to kick someone in their “manhood”.  But what if none of these tactics worked?

I guess what I could do is be more cautious.  I should probably consider carrying some mace or even get my conceal and carry as one person suggested.

Just a reminder that you should always be cautious of your surroundings.  Always have a plan in case something could occur.  Maybe as agents, we should all be required to take some sort of self-defense course.  Be careful and be prepared!

Developting A Connection

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My feeling about people who fail with their social media efforts is that they lack the ability to obtain a true connection with someone. How are consumers supposed to trust you if they know nothing about you.

I recently commented of a status of Jimmy Mackin where he asked the question “What percentage of your Facebook Friends have you met in real life?’.  My answer was 80%.  I am not on Facebook, adding random friends. I am meeting someone first and requesting them later.

My main focus in my social media efforts is simply “being real”.  I don’t try to pretend I am a certain way.  Some things I may say may not mesh with everyone but it’s who I am.  By doing this, when the few people who I havent met IRL do meet me, I am the same person they got to know on any social media site.

Personally, I value my friends whether online or IRL.  I try not to be fake. Most of you that know me very well understand this.

While at the NAR conference I attended this past weekend, I met Jared James for the first time IRL.  We had known each other for years on Twitter and Facebook.  You would have never known by us meeting that we hadn’t met each other previously.  We chatted like we would have any other time.    We didn’t have that awkward feeling when you meet someone for the first time.

It’s all because of how we connected in the first place. We had conversations.  We took the time to get to know each other.  You have to take everyone you meet online the same as if you met them in person. Ask questions, figure them out.  It’s really not that hard

Losing a client especially when it is to death

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We can work with many of our clients for months on listings or trying to find buyers a home.  We get to know them, they get to know us, and we form a relationship with these people. After all the hard work we put in to working with them it is hard to lose a client no matter what the circumstances are.  But in my case I lost my first client to death.  We had been working together for 8 months trying to find him the perfect home all along while he struggled with really retiring down here to Myrtle Beach, SC from Maryland.  We got to know each other in a way that goes beyond an agent/client relationship. We formed a close friendship especially over running.  Finally after all those months he decides to make an offer on a house. However 3 hours later he went for a run in the heat, came inside and dropped dead.  He was in perfect health. All the doctors can figure out that it was coming in from heat to the cool that caused his heart to give out.   And because no contract was in place, his widow is not bound by the offer and now does not want to move.  So I lost a friend and a deal.  Not to make the day worse, while reading his text about the offer I ran into my garage door and messed it up.  I have kept working and kept running, but my heart has not been in it like it was.  I hear about lost deals and clients but this just feels so different from the stories I hear.  How many lose a deal and a client/friend to death?  It took a little while to get my confidence back in both real estate and running; I sort of shut down.  But now I am back.  I am realizing that just because a client/friend and a deal were lost no matter what the circumstances were that does not mean I have to stay off the horse.  It just means I need to get back on the horse and ride harder than before.  So I have lost my first client.  I am really hoping the next client I lose (which will happen again, it always does) it will be to expired agreement not death.

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BREAKING NEWS! Going back to my roots!

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Ok…So I seriously wanted to use “Breaking News” just once in my life and well…here’s my excuse.

As many of you know, I have been taking a deep look at my career path. I’ve gone back and forth about whether or not I should stay in the business. It weighed on me deeply.

However, a couple of months ago, I ran into Brian Bolier at Rebarcamp.  I had known him since my title days but honestly never knew what he was all about.  We had the opportunity to chat a bit. We seemed to have the same ideals as far as our business goes.

After many conversations with Brian, I felt that Coldwell Banker Burnet-Woodbury would be the perfect fit for me. I feel that Brian will be a great mentor for me and can help me improve my business. In return, I hope to share my knowledge with him as well.

I look at this as a fresh start. I feel it’s a good, positive change.

I do want to thank everyone who contacted me recently and offered to help. It was truly humbling and I can’t even begin to express my appreciation. I am so lucky to have such a great group of friends and colleagues.

I also want to thank Edina Realty for all the support over the years.

I am looking forward to my new adventure. I have a feeling that there are great things to come!

New Focus, New Attitude, New Drive

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There are many things that I have let hold me down in the past. I let this happen by my own choosing. I have now made the choice to not let the mistakes I have made in the past leave a shadow over what I am doing now.

Its time for me to reinvigorate my business.  I have a new focus. Not to be selfish, but its all about me. I’m not scared to start over.

Lucky for me, I have so many colleagues available to give me advice .  Dont be afraid to ask for help.  There are plenty of people out there that are more than willing to give you a push.

If there is something not working in your business plan, re-evaluate it and make changes as you go a long.  Look at people who are successful and try to see what they are doing.  Look at your failures and makes sure you don’t repeat them.  People in any business fail from time to time, so don’t be hard on yourself.  Be confident in yourself and don’t give up.

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Wow, Thank You!

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I published a post on Tuesday about a pretty personal situation.  I was sweating bullets right before I published it.  I had concerns about how people may perceive it.

The next morning, I found several messages from people.  I couldn’t believe it! The pouring in of support was amazing.  I had a hard time holding back the tears.  I felt very humbled.  I would have never expected a bunch of agents being so supportive.

So thank you to all of you that sent me comments.  It’s great to know that so many agents could sympathize. It’s hard to explain how much it meant to me.  I just wanted to express my gratitude to all of you!  Thank you so much!

My Emotional Take On The NAR Dues Increase

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It’s very weird to me to even discuss what I am about to in a blog.  I am a very private person. This is something that is extremely personal.  However after talking to someone at NAR about this, they recommended I blog about it as it is a real life issue of why the dues increase will affect me and so many other agents.

Most of you probably have no idea because I have not made some social media press release but I am currently going through a divorce. What does this have to do with the increase? Well, my average sale price is $90,000.  I could close many of these within a year and still not pull in a significant enough  income to support my family.

A lot of things have weighed on me. I really took a deep look at the costs I incur as an agent.  I looked at many of them and thought “these are just stupid”.  Then I got to thinking about the dues increase.  While you could say 40 bucks is 40 bucks, when you are someone like me, its enough to make me concerned.  In order for me to stay in the business, I not only have to increase my sales, but I have to pinch every penny.

While talking to a friend within NAR, I was told to tell this story as this is the kind of story that NAR should have heard prior to the passing of the dues increase. While I am glad that I didn’t have this story to tell prior to now,  I wish I had heard stories similar to mine.  There is no way that I am the only person who feels this way.

I guess you could say the dues increase affects me more now as I wonder if I’ll be able to stay in the business. While its extremely hard for me to imagine not being an agent, I have my children to think about.  Letting my license go is something that is not out of the question.  I will do anything for my children.  At the same time, I’m a deeply saddened by the though of giving up my career and everything I have worked so hard for.

So my dear friends a NAR, this is my story.  While the issue no longer matters now, I wanted you to hear my story.  I wanted you to understand what I, as well as many other agents feel about it.

The Little Dream That Came True

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You may have noticed some new posts from fellow agents on this site.  I am enjoying getting different perspectives for you.  I hope you are enjoying them as well. I have to give a shout out to Emily, Sarah and Seth for the great post they have written.

Recently I have noticed from the site stats that people are actually searching for this site now.  This is huge to me.  All the hopes for this site are coming true.

I began this site back in 2007.  Not really sure what I planned to do with it.  I was just frustrated with being a new agent and not knowing what the heck to do.

As I began blogging and people began reading it, I received comments from other agents thanking me.  At the time, not many agents were blogging about real life experiences.  Speaking the truth has always been something I am good at! I think agent valued the fact that I didn’t hold much back. It was something you really could not get at a training class.

It was then, I realized what this blog was all about…LEARNING.  I began working harder to bring agents information that I thought they could use. At the same time, I was learning and growing as an agent as well.

I decided to take on the new authors to get different views.  This is in an effort to bring you more.  I hope you are enjoying them.

To those of you, who have supported the site, THANK YOU!  I do not do this out of vanity or trying to build some persona. I do this because I genuinely want to help.  This has become something that is very important to me and I hope to continue providing valuable information to you!

Thanks to all of you for helping me realize a dream.  I have truly enjoyed the experience.

Reflection On My Career

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I recently met a  loan officer @Alex_Stenback . We were talking about business and how I got into real estate. He asked a question, that honestly I had a hard time answering. He asked “What is your goal for the year?”. I honestly had no clue. I have never really set goals. I guess you could say this is bad.

I took the evening to look back at what I have done over the years. Starting in the title end. I ended up in the closing side after college. I had no clue what I wanted to do for a career. I went to a temp agency and they happen to place me at Burnet Title. I almost instantly fell in love. I love the energy, the challenges and the growing up I did while I was there. I started there at 19 and worked there for 6.5 years. I was known for doing a great job, handling a high volume of closings and I became the go to person for questions.

Towards the end of my time there, I began to realize that I wanted more. I needed a bigger challenge and I wanted to be more involved with the entire transaction. So I took a big leap and got my real estate license.

It was very intimidating. I believed that I could just jump right in and be successful. Obviously wasnt the case. It was hard work. I struggled for a very long time. Almost quit once because I didn’t think I could make it. I started this blog in the beginning of my career. I had a hard time finding real life experiences from other agents. I thought maybe it was my job to share my experiences, good or bad. It works for me and I think many appreciate me being so honest about what’s going on in my career.

The good news us, this past year, has been epic for me. I have had one of the best years yet and the opportunities have great. It’s all clickin’. I think I may have it figured out.
As far as a goal, I really have no clue. I’m terrible at setting goals. However its something I have to consider.