To be among the best, learn from the best.
At the start of my real estate career, I constantly reached out to top agents in the area for meetings. Sometimes, they declined. Most of the time, they were willing to give me some of their time. And I absorbed as much information as I possibly could from them.
Now, years later, my approach hasn’t changed much. I do record my meetings with other agents and industry professionals for The Byron Lazine Podcast, but the value I receive is the same.
Learn from the best.
Recently, I sat down with Mary Poola, who is one of the top agents in my area and a true entrepreneur. She has been in the industry for over 30 years and averages 100+ transactions every year – even during the recession between 2007-2009.
During our hour-long conversation, we spoke about tried-and-true strategies, advice for new agents, and how to be consistent year after year. Below are some of the highlights I took away from our time together.
Real Estate comes with hard work – and grunt work.
The real estate industry is not what you see on HGTV. It requires the discipline of getting up every day and going out and speaking with real people. You need to make the phone calls, run the open houses, make the coffee, and ensure you are meeting your clients’ needs every single day.
“One of the big myths is there’s this great flexibility with the job and there’s not. You really need to be very committed and very self-structured to propel in the industry. You have to treat it like a job, getting up every day whether you have a lot on the agenda or not. You have to create that agenda.” – Mary Poola
Find your team.
Whether you work with an assistant or a large team of realtors, finding the right support system is paramount in real estate. A single agent cannot provide as much value as a group of people with strategic operations in place.
Clients supersede the sale.
Excelling in real estate will come when you learn to care, listen to what the client needs, and respond to those needs. You must put the clients’ needs above your own – which means you cannot be relying on one sale to pay all your bills.
“You have to say to your customer, ‘What’s best for you?’ It can’t be, ‘What’s in it for me?’ It has to be, ‘What’s in it for them?’” – Mary Poola
Be sure to take in the full episode, packed full of insights from Mary Poola:
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