Career Possibilities

One of the things I love to share with aspiring agents when they come in for office tours (contact me here if you're interested in signing-up for one!), is the variety of ways you can structure a career in real estate. People often think of being a real estate agent as only representing clients in the purchase or sale of a property. That's how I started my career, and may be how you start yours too. But it doesn't have to be the only way you put your skills to work.

I'm a big fan of variety and of diversifying sources of income, including building in some passive income where I can. I thought I'd share with you today some of the ways you can do that as a real estate agent. Keep in mind that my experience has been with Keller Williams exclusively, so the opportunities I discuss below are the ones available with this brokerage. I don't know for sure what other brokerages offer. Okay, caveat out of the way, so here we go.

Option 1: Representing Buyers and Sellers. This is pretty straightforward. As a real estate agent, clients will hire you to represent them in the purchase or sale of a property.

Option 2: "Flipping" Properties. This is where you buy a property, invest in renovating it, and then sell it for a profit (hopefully!). There are several shows on HGTV profiling people who do this. As a licensed real estate agent you can represent yourself as buyer and seller and you'll have access to new properties as they come on the market. Keller Williams has a book to help agents learn how to do this successfully. It's called, appropriately enough, "Flip."

Option 3: Investment Properties. This is where you purchase a property and then rent it out to a third party. Again, Keller Williams has educational materials to help agents do this successfully, maximize their earning potential, and avoid some of the mistakes people commonly make when starting out as landlords. It's called, "Hold."

Option 4: Referrals. I know agents whose entire business is built on Keller Williams' Referral Program. Keller Williams has agents licensed to sell homes anywhere in the world. If someone approaches you wanting to purchase or sell a home outside of the area in which you work, you can refer them to a Keller Williams agent in that region. If that client hires that Keller Williams agent and they purchase or sell a property, you could receive 25% of the commission on that sale. Just for referring that client. Pretty great, right? I've done it several times and it's a win-win-win experience. I know I'm referring someone to an agent who is going to provide them with excellent service; a great KW agent gets to serve someone that may not have otherwise found them; and I get a nice financial thank-you.

Option 5: Profit Sharing. Okay, this one is a unique option within the world of real estate. When you close a transaction, you pay a percentage of your commission to Keller Williams, until you've paid the company dollar CAP in commission in a calendar year. After that commitment is met, then you keep 100% of the commissions you make. Here's where the profit-sharing comes in. The person who "referred" you to Keller Williams gets a thank you for sending you to KW. So, if you go into business with Keller Williams and then you recommend it to a friend or acquaintance and they join as an agent too anywhere in the world), you could get a portion of the commission. You're fully vested after 3 years and the benefit can outlive you and be passed along to your heirs.

Option 6: Salaried Positions. For whatever reason, maybe you want a more predictable 9-5, salaried job. Keller Williams hires licensed real estate agents to provide administrative and transaction support to our Realtors. So, you could use your knowledge and skills in this way as opposed to representing buyers and sellers.  Or maybe you're a great leader and want to take on additional responsibilities on top of your work as an agent. KW has formal curriculum for people who want to pursue a leadership role, and there is additional income associated with those opportunities.

Was any of this news to you? Did one or more of these options make you think about a real estate career in a different way? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below or contact me here if you want to talk more about real estate or Keller Williams.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you here again soon!

Fantastic Keller Williams Video to Share!

Hi all! Just a quick post from me today to share a video that came across my Facebook account last week and that I thought you all might appreciate seeing too. You know I love working for Keller Williams, and if I had to condense all of the great things about it down into a short and sweet 2-minute video, this would be it. As I find others that I think are worth sharing, I'll post those here too. Check it out here when you have a couple of minutes and then let me know what you think below. I'm also happy to answer any questions that the video brings up for you, so feel free to leave those in the Comments section too!

Where Do You Want to Be?

This post is all about deciding what you want and making a plan for success. In other words, setting goals. I've been doing this for 14+ years now, and wanted to share a bit about what I do and how it helps me be successful.

#1: Formal Training Through My Brokerage. At Keller Williams we work big and then drill down to monthly, weekly and daily goals. I started with a course called Quantum Leap as a new agent and have taken it multiple times over the years. Gary Keller created this training course to help people set their five-year goals. His premise is that whatever big dream you have in your heart, you’re five years away from achieving it. It takes that amount of time to condition yourself, learn and hone new skills and make a plan--essentially build the foundation required to turn that dream into a reality.

The second formal goal-setting training I do is the Business Planning Clinic, in which I break down my five-year goal(s) down to three year goals and then from three year goals to one year. Once I've got my goals broken down to an annual schedule, I use KW's CGI calculator, a mathematical calculation that breaks that one-year financial goal down to monthly, weekly, and daily activity goals. I literally come out of it with to-do lists for each day. (The mathematical calculation is based on your target income goal for the year.)

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#2: Accountability Activities. Setting my goals is one thing, but I also need a formal accountability program to help me achieve them. If I never check in on my goals, I could get to the end of the year and be light years away from where I want to be financially. So...

Once per week my team reviews our goals vs. our actual numbers--i.e. where we planned on being and where we actually are. Ideally those two things match!

I also meet with my KW coach weekly to review those numbers and set my goals for the following week. You'll note that I still work with a coach fourteen years into my career. Anyone can benefit from a coaching relationship, from new agents to seasoned ones. Coaches remind you of your potential and hold you accountable when you aren't reaching it. Conversely, they often serve as a much-needed voice of encouragement, reminding you of your successes. Having to be accountable to another person for meeting or not meeting my weekly goals is powerful motivation.

On a monthly basis I participate in something called The 15th Protocol. All of the agents from our office meet on the 15th of the month to check-in to see whether they’re on track for meeting their goals for the month. The idea behind this is that if you aren't in good shape by the middle of the month and don't make any adjustments, you won't meet your goal by the end of the month.

And finally, I meet with the other agents in the top 20% (of transactions closed) in my office and we talk about our goals and any challenges we're facing. People allow themselves to be vulnerable in these conversations, because when you are honest and open about where things are difficult or not going well, other people can offer practical and emotional support. This is one of the things that makes Keller Williams different. In a profession that many people assume is hyper-competitive, we have a team-oriented mentality.  The profit sharing model helps in this regard because we all sink or swim as a group. So people are generous with their knowledge and advice.

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#3: I'm Clear About Why I'm Doing What I'm Doing. The goals I've been talking about are financial goals--I decide how much salary I want to generate each year and I work toward that goal. But the motivation behind my goals changes from year-to-year. Beyond what I need to earn in order to support myself, I am often motivated by a mission or charity I want to support. For example, I can't go on a mission trip with my church (I've got family and work obligations that keep me here), but I can devote some of my salary to sponsoring people who can go and do that mission work. So, I might set a goal of giving $10,000 to sponsor three people on a mission trip and then I'm working toward my financial goals with that motivation behind it. It's important to me to connect what I'm doing at work to whatever cause has spoken to me that year. I'm finding my "why," if you will.

What charities or experiences would be meaningful to you? Ask yourself how you could best support them or make them a reality through your work. Then you're starting to get closer to your "why."

Motivation

#4: Some of My Goals Are Not Financial. Sometimes my goals are relational. I might set goals related to how many new people I want to meet each week. Or sometimes it might be about serving a certain number of families. Other times my goals are related to the number of aspiring agents I can reach and coach. And sometimes I set goals for continuing education--trainings I want to attend or a specialized skill I want to learn that will help my business long-term.

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#5: I Follow the SMART Guidelines for Goal-Setting. In terms of the content of my goals, whether financial or action-oriented, I follow make sure they are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound.

Okay, that's it from me for now on my goal-setting process. If you have comments or questions, please share them in the Comments section below. I'm always happy to continue the conversation there, or one-on-one. You can contact me here if you want to talk more about this topic or about getting started with a career in real estate.

The One Question You Must Answer...

Hi there! Another quick video post for you today. As you think about starting and growing your career in real estate, it’s important to think about what sets you apart from other agents and why clients should/do choose to work with you. This is a topic I’ve thought a lot about, and this video reflects my thoughts on it.  Click here to watch! I thought it might be helpful for you to see what I identified as my value proposition and how I communicate that to prospective clients. As always, feel free to get in touch with questions, or share your thoughts in the Comments section below. Thanks!

New Agent Tips

This is a quick post with my thoughts on how to establish yourself as a new agent. The term "brand" is thrown around so much now, that it's become a buzzword and something that can be tempting to ignore. But you really do need to be able to communicate who you are and what sets you apart from other agents from the beginning. It's important. So, here are a few of my tips. Hope they help you! Know your strengths. This is a slightly simpler version of knowing your value proposition. I had no idea how to do this when I was starting out. Keller Williams' IGNITE Program does this in the first class session, so if you join us you'll go through our process for answering the questions that will clarify this for you. It's a pretty basic series of questions, really. What are you known for? What are your strengths? How would someone describe you in 3 words? Ask a former employer, co-worker and an employee (if you ever supervised people) how they would describe you in just a few words. This can be a great starting point.

Develop your network. When I started I didn’t know anyone in this area. My family were all up in Canada and my only circle of acquaintances were a handful of co-workers from the airline I'd worked for and the people at my church.  So, I asked myself how I could expand my circle to hundreds of people. I started small with my own neighborhood and held a food drive there to meet my neighbors. Then I thought about all of the places I did business as a customer--my hair dresser, my local coffee shop, mechanic, etc.--and I networked with the people who owned those establishments or worked there. My advice is talk to everyone you know and if you don't know that many people, find ways to meet some. I also offered to work other agents' open houses. I did tons of those as a way to meet people who were looking to buy a home.

Get a coach. I've had a coach since I started at Keller Williams and meet with one weekly. A good coach will help you remember the basics and focus on your goals, which is especially important when you're starting out and everything feels new and overwhelming. Have them coach you on building a brand, on networking and communication skills. These things are important components of reaching your financial goals.

Develop an Authentic and Positive Online Presence. In many ways, being a real estate agent (or any business where you're front and center) is like running for political office. You must be clear and consistent in your messaging and you must be careful with your online image. You are building your tribe of prospective clients with the things you post on your blog, website, Facebook page and Twitter account. Don’t post anything you wrote after a stressful or frustrating day. Don't vent publicly about a bad experience with a client or colleague. Everything you write/tweet/post can influence a prospective client, so be thoughtful about the impression your online communications make. I teach a class for new agents and I tell them that I'm happy to read anything they're thinking about posting and give them my thoughts.

Know Your Story. This is in the same family as knowing your value proposition and is also covered in the IGNITE class I mentioned earlier. But I think of this as the more personal version of your elevator pitch. Know why you're an agent; what it means to you personally to do this work; and the kind of experience you want your clients to have. Know it and be able to articulate it in 30 seconds or less.

Lead with revenue. Inspect what you’re expecting out of the things you pay for. Meaning, I'm not going to invest in advertising or marketing without knowing how it will translate to more money in my pocket. In the first year especially, you need money in the bank and there are loads of free and nearly free ways to network and market. My first year I spent almost nothing and today I don't spend any more than $50 on any one marketing activity. My first year as an agent I paid $20 to join a breakfast networking group. That was really useful, actually. I'm still in touch with some of the professionals I met there and we refer clients to one another. When you do start investing in marketing, think about partnering with someone else (loan officer, insurance agent) and split the cost, if it's more than a $50 investment.

As always, feel free to leave your questions or comments in the Comments section below!