What does it take to be a successful new broker in Real Estate? I get asked this question often. In my role as Chief Sales Officer at Eastern I am responsible for training and managing our new brokers. Last year, we developed the AdvanceTrac training program and its participants have significantly exceeded our expectations of success.
There are two factors that lead to a successful new broker: personality and platform. I believe the following personality traits are the most important.
Ability to manage adversity. Days full of canvassing lead to days full of rejection and that pain is most acute than when they first begin. Devoid of clients and relationships, a new Broker’s job is to canvass. Staying focused, positive and enthusiastic in the face of constant rejection is difficult but a key differentiator between those who succeed and those who do not.
Confidence. Brokerage is a long sales cycle job that is a 100% commission. (If you are receiving a salary you really are not a broker.) Successful new Brokers believe in their ability to generate income. They set clear goals and their language includes words like “will” and they avoid “trying” or “hoping” and never “should” all over themselves. They simply do.
Work smart. Hard work is the price of entry but top new Brokers work smart. They manage their time judiciously, prioritize key activities and know their limitations. They ask for help, guidance and support. They seek knowledge and learn from every success and failure. At Eastern, they regularly interact and receive guidance from some of the most successful Brokers in NYC. They seek and covet the time and feedback and we provide them the mechanism to receive it.
Relentless enthusiasm. Top new Brokers are persistent and always enthusiastic. They get deals done because they are persistent, continually working to the close.
Balance cooperation and competition. Cooptition is the concept that Brokers work both collaboratively and competitively. Top new Brokers understand when to be competitive, when to lead, defer or work on a team.
Finally, while skilled, smart and talented they do not take themselves or their success too seriously, recognizing that everyday they either get better or worse; stasis is nonexistent. Remember, you are never as good as you think you are when you succeed and never as bad as you feel when you fail. Lastly, they never, ever, confuse their brains or ability for a bull market.
What do new Brokers need from a firm to be successful?
Support and structure. Gone are the days when a Blue Book and a phone generated success. The market is too complex, its players too sophisticated. New brokers are not competing with other new brokers but with top brokers in NYC because they are the ones with the relationships.
To maximize potential and create unlimited income new brokers need both sales management and deal specific guidance. They must structure their days, prioritize their time and learn valuations. Brokerage is a business of information management and new brokers need to be taught what, how and when to share information and what not to share.
After analyzing the needs of new brokers and surveying other training programs both in and out of real estate Eastern developed the AdvanceTrac as a yearlong program for rapidly training Brokers. It includes full time sales management and significant senior level Broker deal mentoring. Specifically, it provides: intensive sales training; weekly sales meetings; weekly one on one sales coaching; deal specific strategy sessions; daily check-ins; total involvement on deals including client meetings, negotiation and strategy development.
In 2013 our AdvanceTrac Brokers had fabulous success and we are continually improving the program to adapt to changing market conditions.
