“The aim of life is self-development. TO realize one’s nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for.”
- Oscar Wilde

I want to take a moment to address the kinds of things that can make it very difficult for someone to become a successful real estate agent. Specifically, I want you to know what you’re getting into and to really evaluate if this business is right for you.

The real estate industry offers an exciting and lucrative opportunity for agents. Most of what you need to excel can be learned and perfected, however there are certain personality traits that will help, and others that will make it difficult to succeed. Being an agent isn’t for everyone. Although there isn’t a special “salesperson gene” that marks able agents at birth, there are types of people who would simply be happier in another type of position. If you don’t love what you do, you won’t be able to do what it takes to become a success. Pursue something that you love.

Excitement and passion for something go a long way toward being successful.

There are a lot of average agents, many of whom quit within their first year. I truly believe that most of those agents would not have quit if they had known what to do. I believe a comprehensive guidebook and a good mentor would have helped them earn enough money in their first few months to improve their skill set and continue on to a solid career. However, I also believe that a certain percentage of those who quit should never have entered real estate in the first place.

Not Everyone Can Sell

If you look at the sales force of any particular industry, you will find the top 20% have sales 4-10 times higher than the other 80%! These top sellers aren’t just better, they’re leaps and bounds above the rest! This happens because many companies don’t realize that not everyone is cut out to be in sales. They develop policies that are designed to help the bottom-earners improve while failing to support the cream of the crop at the top.

Yet these policies rarely do help the lowest earners because the truth is that training and support have little practical effect on agents whose personalities make it difficult for them to effectively apply what they’ve learned.

If someone has an extremely shy and quiet demeanor, for example, that agent will have a hard time mustering the level of enthusiasm, confidence, and boisterous charisma needed to command client interactions. They may not even mentally grasp the level of energy required. What seems outgoing to a somewhat timid person is quite different from what might seem outgoing to you or me. Someone like this would be fighting their very nature as they try to reshape their personality to fit into the agent mold.

It is far more beneficial to find a career that fits your character traits, than to attempt to change those traits to fit your career. Trying to change yourself in this way leads to frustration and stress, which itself is a further hindrance. Top agents succeed in part because of the excitement and passion they bring to their work and the satisfaction they derive from it!

Those with ill-suited character traits are bound to fail and would make better use of their time in the pursuit of a career more suited to their strengths.

Champion agents develop patterns of behavior. On a continual basis they:

• Focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses.
• Naturally build and maintain relationships.
• Have a dynamic impact on others and comfortably “command” clients to say, “Yes!”
• Use empathy and interpersonal perception to recognize client needs and underlying motivations.
• Are driven by goals and rewards.
• Adapt to find the best system and structure for the most effective results.

Finding Your Perfect Fit

Let’s say you decide a career in sales is your true calling. That’s great, but you still haven’t found your perfect fit. It’s important to determine exactly which kind of sales and which company will let you be the best you can be. Sales positions can be strikingly different from one another. Just because you’re athletic doesn’t mean you would be equally suited for both basketball and tennis. Find your sport. Is it really rental real estate? If the answer is “Yes”…

Great! Now you need to find the company that best suits your style. In the next chapter we’ll discuss how critical it is to find the right broker. For now I just want to mention that you need to work in an office that supports you and your unique way of working. Find people that you relate to and with whom you can be yourself. You need an atmosphere that allows you to function in ways that work best for you. If you work best on your own terms, don’t take a position with a company that attempts to micromanage its agents. If you need more structure to be productive, make sure you can implement your own systems without interference.

There is no “right” way of closing deals, no winning approach. Ask the top five agents in an office to describe their selling style and you’ll probably get five different answers, as each one has developed a system built upon his individual strengths. Some brokers try to train all their agents in one style – the style that worked for them when they were agents. But you need to follow the method that works best for you – that uses your unique set of strengths. The right manager will understand this and help you play to your strengths and build on them.

Let’s briefly look at things that DON’T predict what will make a top agent.

Looks
There has been no evidence that beautiful people make the best agents. Your skills and personality will close deals, not your attractiveness. So relax, we’re not in high school anymore!

Education
Brokers who advertise for agents with undergraduate or masters degrees don’t understand what it takes to make a great agent. Everything you need to know you can learn on the job. Neither Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs graduated from college! Nor did F. Scott Fitzgerald or Tennessee Williams, and that didn’t stop them from ascending to the very top of their chosen careers!

Experience
YOu don’t need to have previously worked in sales in order to learn the industry and become a top earner. It’s just not relevant. If you have a ton of experience in sales, this could actually hinder you as you enter the industry because you could misjudge your capabilities. What worked selling cars may not work renting apartments.

Training
Don’t get me wrong; training is important, but it’s not the best indicator of who will excel and who won’t. Your initial training is just a starting point. More important is your own continuing education and improvement.

Relationships
Yes, you’re forming relationships with clients, but don’t mistake this for becoming everyone’s friend. As an agent you must control the interaction in a way that drives the client to make a commitment to you. From scheduling an appointment to signing a fee agreement to signing a lease – it’s about your level of control more than the feeling of camaraderie between you and the client.

Money
While financial goals can be great motivators, desire for money alone isn’t enough to succeed as an agent. Agents are often motivated by competition, a desire to be significant, or a drive to accomplish in areas where others have failed. These motivations go deeper than a desire for wealth; they enhance an agent’s self-esteem and keep him driven in a way money alone could not.

Finding Your Strengths

What do you love to do? When you have an idle moment, what kinds of things do you imagine yourself doing? What do you do naturally, easily, which others find difficult? What types of accomplishments give you the most satisfaction? Once you have several activities in mind, think about what those activities require. What parts of yourself do you put into each one? These are your strengths.

Some people have problems naming or describing their strengths and weaknesses. Use the following list of prominent character traits to help clarify your own. Rate each one from 0-5: zero if it doesn’t apply to you at all and five if it strongly applies.

What are Your Strengths as an Agent?

Achiever – You are constantly driven to achieve. Your self-esteem comes from accomplishing something significant every single day.
Immediate Actor – You are impatient with stasis in the face of a problem. You make a decision quickly and immediately take action.
Adapter - You are flexible and comfortable with sudden changes of plan. You don’t function well under a strict agenda.
Analyzer – You are rational and fact oriented. You like to understand all sides of a problem before deciding on a course of action.
Conductor – You manage many variables, people, and situations, with ease. You can switch plans quickly to find the most effective way to proceed given new circumstances.
Believer – Strong core values permeate your life. Every aspect of your career stands in accordance with your principals.
Commander – You like to take charge and frequently convince others to see your point of view. Some call you opinionated. You are not intimidated by confrontation.
Communicator – You are a born storyteller. You like taking an idea and sharing it with others in a vibrant and engaging way. Your words and images inspire others.
Competitor – You constantly compare your achievement with that of others. You are driven to be among the very best at everything you do.
Collective – You see the larger picture and treat others how you wish to be treated. You believe in fate and human interconnectedness.
Disciplined – You work best within a set structure. Routines are mandatory.
Empathizer – You are able to see things from others’ perspectives. You have a strong sense of tact and the ability to foster trust in others.
Focused – You have clear goals and work towards them every day. Almost all of your energy goes into behaviors that advance your life in some way.
Dreamer – You aren’t afraid to wish for a better way of life. You think big and believe anything is possible.
Peacemaker – You dislike conflict and instead seek harmony in all your relationships. You happily remain silent if your opinion will cause discord.
Embracer – You like to include everyone in your group. You don’t like personal judgment and exclusive groups. You seek to include those who have been left out.
Intellectual – You enjoy mental challenges and problem solving. It bothers you not to be able to figure something out.
Excellence – Anything less than extraordinary isn’t enough. You are drawn to people with strength, talent, and exceptional ability. You set high standards for yourself and those around you.
Curious – You are always learning something new – information, a skill, a hobby. You have multiple books on your nightstand and will probably finish them all. You are curious about new people, objects, skills, and possibilities.
Positivity – You are encouraging and generous with others. You have infinite faith in their success as well as your own.
Integrity - You do what you say you will do when you say you will do it. You take responsibility for your own actions and don’t liek excuses – your own or anyone else’s.
Strategize – You view the world like a chess game – able to spot patters and think through drawn out “what if” scenarios. You don’t act quickly but you rarely regret a course of action.
Charisma – You easily win over strangers and your friends can never stay mad at you. You have a genuine interest in people and a gift for making others feel significant.

No one trait is required to be a great agent. Instead, it’s a combination of traits that work together to enable an agent to ecxel at every step of the selling process.

Give some serious thought to where you will be happiest and most successful in life. What are your strengths? What excites you? If it’s not in rental real estate, be honest with yourself now.

If it is, however, read on!