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This post was updated Sept. 8, 2023.
This is the first in a five-part series on the pillars that form the foundation of agent success. Here you can find parts two, three and four. Part five will be published on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Success as an agent in real estate is not complicated. It’s very simple. But like most things in life that are simple, they’re not necessarily easy.
Getting in shape is simple, just exercise regularly, eat healthy and burn more calories than you consume every day. Simple… but easy? Not exactly.
So, it goes with becoming a successful real estate agent. The principles can be simple to understand but difficult to follow and extremely difficult to follow year in and year out for an entire career.
I am going to spend the next five weeks outlining both the foundation that all great agents build their business upon and the pillars of success that stand on that foundation. A successful career is almost like a great and ancient building in Rome that rests upon a foundation of bedrock and unbreakable stone pillars.
Service is the foundation of success
The foundation of success, especially any kind of sustainable success, is service. Specifically, the ability and willingness to put people first and to craft unforgettable customer service experiences. These kinds of experiences create raving fans (and referrals) for life, assuming you do your job and stay top of mind after the sale.
If you can learn how to provide excellent service that people talk about, sustainably and reliably generate leads, and then convert those leads to closed deals, you will never have to worry about money or success as an agent.
It’s pretty simple, right? That’s really all there is to it. But anybody who’s tried it before can tell you that it is not easy.
Over 75 percent of agents who get into the industry are out of the industry in their first two years and never even reach their first license renewal. Often there are numerous things that these agents don’t understand or don’t get right, but one of the most frequent is a lack of dedication to service.
- Service that goes beyond the transaction.
- Service that is committed to providing value to people before they commit to using you as an agent.
- Service that transcends industry, product and experience.
- Service they remember. Yet, service alone is not enough.
Sales can be a tricky business because you need to learn how to balance the foundation of service with the ever-present need to put yourself out there for rejection by asking for the business as well as implementing a strategic plan for your career. It starts with service but it doesn’t end there.
The four pillars of success in real estate
There are four critical pillars to success that rest upon this foundation of service. These pillars are models that have stood the test of time. They are built upon habits and systems that hundreds of thousands of agents have used to serve millions of clients and build generational wealth for their families.
Whether they realize it or not, all successful agents follow these four pillars with an almost religious commitment. The top producers have all four of these pillars nailed. They are integrated into their lives and a part of their daily existence.
- Personal development
- Strategic planning
- Lead generation
- Lead conversion
I will be taking the next four weeks to take a deeper look at each one of these pillars and how you can absorb them into your life and business to guarantee both of them are built for success.
A quote to ponder
“Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”
— Winston Churchill
Nick Schlekeway is the founder of Amherst Madison, a Boise, Idaho-based real estate brokerage. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
