| Successful Agents | | | | business as a business. They actually have a |
| | | | business plan and a budget. They understand |
| In the past few years I've been researching | | | | that you have to spend money to make money. |
| who are the successful agents, tried to | | | | They know how many sales they need to make |
| figure out why top agents are top agents. | | | | the income they require and then they figure |
| | | | how they'll get from here to there. They plan |
| Do they have a common educational background? | | | | in advance and execute the plan. |
| No. Good ones have high school diplomas, | | | | |
| masters and doctorates. No correlation. | | | | 2. They actually work when they work and play |
| | | | when they play and take a day or two off |
| Similar previous careers? No. One of the best | | | | every week. (Just like a "real job!") |
| agents I know used to teach baton twirling. I | | | | |
| doubt if I could find a lot of those if I | | | | 3. They have fun and enjoy selling real |
| tried! I've had waiters, teachers, high | | | | estate but know that it won't be forever. |
| powered executives and stay-at-home Moms who | | | | |
| were all very successful. | | | | 4. They buy a lot of real estate for |
| | | | investment when they see good deals because |
| Common interests? No. Other than eating, | | | | they know that no one gets rich selling the |
| (which we Realtor-types seem to do | | | | stuff. You get rich owning it! Financial |
| exceptional well) the interests are widely | | | | independence gives one a lot of freedom, |
| diverse. | | | | autonomy and a certain air of confidence that |
| | | | smells like success. |
| After 13 years in real estate sales and | | | | |
| management, I've only found a few constants. | | | | . . . And people like to do business with |
| | | | successful people so they do more business! |
| 1. Successful agents treat the real estate | | | | |