BUSR BUSINESS PLAN

Real Estate, As A Business

Published on Saturday, June 5, 2010, 4:31 PM Last Update: 5 day(s) ago by Christy Crouch

Category: All Articles » Business Management

So many of us get into real estate thinking it will offer more time and money.

 

But, where will the prospects come from? How will you get them? How do you become a top agent in your marketplace? How do you handle the objections along the way?

 

These are questions almost every new Realtor faces when beginning their career.  And due to lack of training, some agents are still asking themselves this same very questions years into the business.

 

When agents get started, sadly, in many cases they aren't taught how to do much of anything other than write a contract.

 

The sooner you accept that it's mostly up to you to make this thing called Real Estate work, the better off you'll be.  It's not like any other job or sales position.  Although you do work for a company, really, you work for yourself.  You're the one making your broker money, your broker isn't paying you.  It's easy not to do much in Real Estate because there really are no minimum standards in most cases.

 

My first full year in real estate in a brand new town where I didn't even know how to get to the grocery store and back, I sold 39 homes. How? With a strong desire, a strong commitment, an unwavering level of daily discipline, the thought process of owning my own business and a great coach.

 

I never thought of myself as just a salesperson or just a Realtor. I thought of myself as a business owner. I formed a corporation for tax purposes which actually made it a business. I'm not telling you to do this, however calling myself a corporation vs just a Realtor surely helped my mindset in addition to many tax savings.

 

I had no income at all when I began in Real Estate, and was 7 months pregnant with my first child. Despite the challenges, I never thought of any outcome except that I would make it work, and would become a top agent.  I wanted to sell 100 homes a year and be a top agent.  I had this posted everywhere. I talked about it to everyone. I had a detailed business plan to follow and an amazing coach to teach and hold me accountable along the way.

 

I got two credit cards, one with enough of a credit line to pay my coach for one year and one to pay my living expenses for six months.  I jumped in head first without giving myself any options other than to make it.

 

I knew to truly be a top salesperson in any business, you can't sit around waiting and hoping for business. You have to get up, get out, and find the business.

 

But how? Well it's really fairly simple. As an agent our goal is to find buyers, find sellers, and put them together. It's really much more simple than many agents think.

 

But how? We have to go out and talk to lots of people that we don't already know. Sure, you can talk to your family, friends, and associates.  This will carry your business for a few months and hopefully help get you started, but after that you've got to find a way to create business.

 

There are only so many ways to create income in real estate.  You can call people, mail to people, door knock people, sit in open houses and wait for people, take floor time and wait for people, run ads and wait for people, ask everyone you know all the time for referrals, hope that other agents or your broker give you business and/or referrals. You can have a fancy website, car signs, your name on benches and grocery carts and wait for people. 

 

I think you get it, no matter what, you have to find people who want to buy, sell or invest.  Pick the avenue that works best for you.  Then learn everything you can about how to do it best.  Find others who have already made it by doing it the way you want and allow them to be your mentor.

 

Let me ask you, if you were just opening up a brand new business that gave you the potential to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, how would you answer the following questions?  Take the time to answer them to yourself and really imagine that you are the owner of a coporation with the potential of making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, because that's exactly what you are as Realtor. 

 

Begin to think of and treat your real estate business as a real corporation and automatically your business will increase.

 

So, you just opened your brand new company....

· How would that make you feel?

· How would you spend your days?

· How would you dress?

· What would you think about most of the time?  Remember Earl Nightingale's quote "You become what you think about most of the time"

· Would it be helpful to have someone who's already accomplished what you're trying to do, train and teach you how to do it most effectively and efficiently?

· Would you trust and listen to them?

· Would you have a detailed business plan to follow?

· Would you have a daily schedule and/or routine to follow?

· Would you practice the skills it would take to grow and maintain your new business?

· Would you realize that you have to go out and create the revenue and business?

· Would you tell everyone you come in contact with about your brand new business?

· Would you consider writing a vision statement of what it will be like in your life when your company succeeds and you're making hundreds of thousands of dollars?

· Would you be enthusiastic and excited about your new business?

· Would you realize that it will take some hard work, some long hours, and some levels of frustration to get there?

· Would you try it for a few days or a few weeks and then give up and say it doesn't work?

· Do you believe you are or can be a successful business owner?

Guys, while some of this may seem simple and elementary, these ideas and exercises are a common denominator for the vast majority of top corporations, athletes, salespeople, etc. across the country.  If we want the same level of success they have, then surely we should follow the same basic principals they do, right?

 

Take some actions around your answers.  If you don't already have a coach, this is the best thing you can do for your business, yourself, and your life.  I've had a coach for the last 18 years and couldn't be who, or where I am today without having them in my corner.  I'm not telling you this so you will hire me as your coach.  Research, Google, talk to people and find a coach that best suits your needs. 

 

Of course, I would be honored to support you.  I will teach you everything I've learned along the way to selling a 100 homes a year.  I'll share the scripts, the systems, the business plan, the accountability, the schedule, the mindset, the mistakes and everything I know with you to help you grow your business to the level that you desire.