I am a real estate agent, so there’s always competition around me, particularly in the ways all companies try to motivate agents.  I hate that.  I am told, “It’s the nature of sales people”, which I am loathe to accept.  There’s a reason for that: I am usually not motivated by anything others around me do.  Some literature says that makes me a rebel, and yeah, that’s probably right.  I realize that there is a number of transactions I should achieve to make me ‘normal’, yes, but that’s a metric.  And, I may or may not think I need to reach that number, or pass it.  I have to assess my own situation first.  I usually know what I need to do and I know what I want to do, and often, in a rebel way, I always look at the ‘motivator’ and figure out whether they are qualified to try to motivate me.  That’s another story.  However, if I’m in a foot race, well, that’s different.  I’m going to try to outrun the others.  But overall, I’m not a follower.  That can make me hard to control, if that’s the goal. 

I’ve been contemplating this topic and mostly trying to figure out what ‘influence style’ is either other-motivated or self-motivated.  I know my Meyers-Briggs type puts me pretty much squarely in the middle of all of the metrics, so I can go ‘either way’ as they say.  As far as introvert versus extrovert, I can tell I’m an introvert, but others might never believe it.  I can be as out there as anybody, but when the day is done, I like my cave.  I’m comfortable with my own company, I could be happy on a lone trek in the wilderness.  And networking events are hard for me; they are a chore.  But I think there must have to be a J in the last metric, as in ‘judging’, in order for one to be other-motivated, because that metric puts you in oversight of others and might be the thing that makes you more likely to compete in that way.  And I’m not all the way in that category.  It’s complicated.  Generally, I compete with me.  I want to be better than I was ‘before’ whatever that was.

When you are a real estate agent, your job is to advise your clients and help them through a very complicated set of tasks.  My approach is to listen to their wants and needs, and try to help them get them, to the extent possible.  That means I have to be a good listener, a good partner, and I also need to have a level of compassion.  I also have to be a good communicator and teacher, so that the goals can be set and understood at the outset.  It is without a doubt true that different age cohorts have different needs and attitudes and expectations.  So there’s a great deal of skill and knowledge required to get in the right gear, so to speak, for the different age groups.  Like millennials, for example.  They’re great, because they do their homework, they know what they want, they’re engaged and usually ready to run or make a change quickly if needed.  The risk is that they may not know what they think they know, and how to navigate that issue is a big deal.  

Seniors are often shrouded in fear about the whole process, because they often haven’t done a real estate transaction in decades and they may be completely uncomfortable with the electronic world.  They are also some of my favorites, by the way, because I understand them and know how to help them.

Experience is important, in other words.  For me, I will take all the time necessary for my clients to feel good about their experience.  Imagine if I am competing to have the monthly award and push my clients so I can win.  That would be selfish and unethical.  So, patience is important…and not always a factor in competition! 

Anyway, if you are going to be a real estate agent, you should learn to set your own goals.  Your OWN.  Nobody else knows how much money you need to make in order to survive and how much you need to thrive.  Go your own way; after all it is your business.  You should be able to list your own goals and the things you need to do to achieve them.  It would be a good idea to know whether or not you are actually motivated by someone else…which in my opinion isn’t a good thing.  I think if you are always watching others, you can never really know you, and can never really get your own business grounded.  And you might not care about that.  Like I said: Complicated.

Maybe your broker-in-charge sets your goals at first.  Well, if your BIC knows you and your skill level, that is very helpful.  The best thing you can do is learn the business, learn about people, not just the ones like you, and remember you are an advisor, not a task master.  The best agents are compassionate servants in my opinion.  And remember by grounding your business you become a competent and confident leader, and that’s what your clients want.  After all they are putting a huge financial transaction in your care.

Either way, future real estate agents, get a handle on what you…YOU…need to do to achieve your personal goals, and start there.  You can’t succeed strictly by copying or solely by competing. There has to be an element of self motivation in there.  Real estate is an ever changing entity, and you have to pay attention.  We just got a list of the changes to the offer to purchase.  Holy cow.  Happens every year, too.

Whatever you do, have a good day, build your business, meet wonderful people.