WHY IS THE FAILURE RATE IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY HIGH?

Disclaimer: My blog is not meant to pull any punches but if at any point, you feel the message gets through to you, I think it's time to sit down and re-evaluate things. 

 

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 So here's my take on why so many agents fail nowadays. 

1. They are not with the right brokerage.
This can be a huge part of what you're going through. For me, being with the right brokerage is like being planted on rich soil. You need a great foundation when you're just starting out your career. You need the right brokerage to help you grow, and pivot you towards success. You need the  right tools and training to help you soar higher in the plane level of success rate in this industry. You need to have proper education not just in selling house, but also around compliance, lead generation and other important matters. If your brokerage doesn't give you all that, that could be a red flag early on. Time for you to reconsider and find another brokerage who will give you unwavering support and continuous education. 

2. The Unwillingness
This industry is fast evolving and it is evolving constantly. Every now and then, our contract laws change. Even the market starts to change depending on the status of the economy. Unless you are geared to adapt easily, you will definitely drown. I don't want to brag, but when I discovered this fact, I feel blessed to have the ability to learn, evolve and continuously evolve based on the demands and trends of this business. You need to learn how to be comfortable with the fact that change is just a normal part of the game and just go with it. I know it can be terrifying at first, but you need to be out there, learn what you can about the trends and changes and just keep flowing with the change. The only thing you should be worried about is, when you are still the same person you were last year and the years before that. 

3. You Don't Have The Engine Inside Of You
Do you still have the fire? Do you still have the heart and the passion to keep going, to get up in the morning and do it? I know I'm about to go hard to some people on this one, but here's the deal. If you wake up at nine o'clock and you're sleeping in, and then it takes you a while to get your day going. And then you're finally trying to call leads at 12 o'clock, why would you think that you're going to be successful? How do you think you are going to be successful when you've already lost half of your day? Since this business entails us to be accountable, we need to get up and show up as if you have a regular job. What this means is, you have to be get up at eight o'clock. You can't stroll in at nine o'clock and then just chill all day before deciding to start working at 12. That's not how this business operates.

For me, I usually start my team briefing at eight o'clock in the morning and it's on a Zoom Call there's no point complaining about it even if you're getting up in your pajamas or if you look like you just got out of the bed, I don't care.

Now, I do see a lot of people who get upset that their business is not actually going to where they need to be. But they just can't face the fact that they are not putting their work in with so much dedication. You need to start taking your business really seriously as if your whole life depended on it. 

Let me share a real personal struggle when I first got into this business. I have been enjoying way too much freedom actually because first, I  was not used to working from home. As a matter of fact, I am one of those people who aren't used to that freedom. No one was there to check on me or supervise me. So during the first few months of working from home, I found myself binge watching some TV Shows, and by 12 o'clock, I realized that I haven't done anything. And guess what?  My numbers meant that I didn't do anything! And it wasn't only until I took a good look in the mirror that I learned my mistakes. I didn't blame my brokerage. I didn't blame the mentoring the coaching or anybody else. I looked in the mirror and said you are wasting too much time. 

4. Doing Too Much
People are doing way too much. I don't know what your Lead Generation Pillars are but if you're generating these in so many capacities and you're not able to keep up with it, that will cause a huge problem in the long run. Do not do the same the mistake that everybody else is doing: trying to do everything all at once.

The thing about lead generation is, everything in it works  and does not work at the same time. What do I mean by this? I prefer to go an inch wide but a mile deep when it comes to my lead generation strategy. For instance, I became really good at open houses by fine-tuning my existing processes again and again until I got to the point where I became really good at open house and I can consistently get 20 plus families at an Open House. I finally was in my zone that I could get 30 families at once.

Then I felt confident enough that I tested another strategy: The New Construction Homes. Not everyone can work on New Construction leads, Open House Leads,  FSBO's, Expired, Realtor.com, Zillow.com,- you name it everyone can't do that. Sometimes, you're doing too much and you're not able to keep up and nurture your leads. so find something that you actually like and focus on mastering your lead generation efforts on your specific niche, and just slay it. 

5. Commission Breaks
This one is outright funny whenever I bring up this topic. Some agents don't like the thrill of the chase in the hunt. I actually do. I get off on it. I love hunting down the lead, following up and doing it whatever just so I can seal the deal with them. Often times, I see too many new agents who are only trying to get the "Right Now Lead". Don't get me wrong, we all want that. However, we need to understand that this is not how it works. In reality, if you don't follow up well on your leads, you'll end up losing that person, or you push them too much they smell your commission breath coming a mile away.

It's amazing when I usually talk to an agent, the first thing they would normally ask is their client is already pre-approved? I mean like, really? Is that all the question you can ever ask? You can actually ask things basic questions like: How much do you want to spend in your house on a monthly basis? What's a comfortable number for you? Their answer is going to determine as to whether or not they are pre-approved. Because, even the worst loan officer could make your client understand what a monthly number is. The best approach is for you to sit down with your client,  take them so they could go see a house or two so they can better understand what they are actually looking for. And by the time I have met with them, I already have those questions out of the way.

To gain a better understanding of your clients, ask them about their needs while you're walking with them through a home. You may ask them about their time frame, or the top five things that they're looking for in a home. You need to make them understand that you are not asking the financial  questions just to scare them away but rather, to help them get to the first stage: which is getting pre-approved.