To be successful in any business requires a few key skills. Here are the most common skills required for success:
1) Ability to sell – if you can’t sell, your business is doomed. Business owners must be able to sell. It’s required. You have to sell your ideas, your services, your products, your company. In addition, you have to be able recruit new team members, vendors and more. In fact, a real entrepreneur is constantly selling. I can honestly say that I sell every single day that I work.
2) Leadership – in order for your business to grow beyond you, you must be able to lead other people. Leading is not easy. However, once you learn to lead, your business will begin to do things you never imagined possible. Sadly, most agents don’t know how to lead. Leading is getting results through other people. If you’re not getting results through other people, your not leading.
3) Ability to Market – the ability to attract prospects to you and your service. Are prospects compelled to contact you? (This skill set probably could have been included in number one above.) If prospects aren’t compelled to contact you, make marketing your primary focus for the next month or two. Yes, you still can attract prospects to you in this down market!
You probably would agree that each of the above skills is required for success in real estate, right? However, there is one major skill that many agents lack. This one skill is, in my opinion, the most important skill required for success. Here it is…
Resourcefulness
Are you resourceful? What does resourceful mean? According to FREE Dictionary.com resourceful means having inner resources; adroit or imaginative; "someone who is resourceful is capable of dealing with difficult situations"; "an able and resourceful politician"; "the most resourceful cook in town"
Here is the definition from Merriam Webster on-line: able to meet situations : capable of devising ways and means <a resourceful leader>
Right now in the States, far too many agents are sitting around complaining about our real estate market. They do not appear to be capable of devising ways and means to sell homes in this down market. I have been busier than I have been in a long time working on adjustments to our sales process. I have been writing new marketing campaigns. I have been editing old marketing materials. I have been adjusting presentations. I have created a new viral marketing campaign. A new monthly conference call for our prospects. I’m blogging. I’m being extremely resourceful.
What changes are you making in your business to adjust for the down market? This is much bigger than making a few more prospecting calls, or attending a few additional network meetings. In some cases, you need to adjust your entire sales process from advertisements, sales presentations, price and commission structure all the way through to the ultimate sale.
What would you do if someone put a wall up in front of you? Would you stop and wait for the wall to fall down or would you figure out a way to get passed the wall? Donald Trump once said something to the like the following…
"First I’ll try to climb over the wall. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go around the wall. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go under the wall. If all of this still doesn’t work, I’ll figure out a way to knock the damn thing down."
We need more people like Donald Trump. Stop waiting for the wall to fall down.
Be resourceful. Be unstoppable. Knock the frigging wall down…
Rob Minton
P.S. I have been completely overwhelmed by requests for access to the "How to List and Sell Bank Owned Homes" conference call that I’ve decided to post the audio from the call right here on my blog. If you missed this call, you can listen to it right now by clicking play below:
The website mentioned during the call is: InvestingNewsLive.com and the pass-code is: renegade
