10 Habits Of A Successful Real Estate Agent

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Habits are the foundation to future success in real estate. Successful agents know that it doesn’t exist, but if there is one thing that has a similar setup, it is consistency. Scheduling routines and rituals can greatly improve your ability to accomplish tasks, again and again, so you can actually make a profit once the switch gets flipped.

Luckily for you, CORE Member, we’ve produced a list of 10 Habits that a Successful Real Estate Agent should have. Remember, that while the first step is completing any of these amazing courses, the second and possibly more important step is taking action even if it’s imperfect action.

Habits can be hard to form and easy to break apart. They’re often harder work than they’re worth.

Prospecting isn’t easy, but you are miles ahead of all competitors once your prospecting methods are structured. Even if you need to do more work on the idea generation and idea evaluation team, you can learn from that as your process stays consistent and rewarding throughout.

If you have a productive habit plan in place, then introducing positive habits might be an easier way to maintain overall health and happiness (an easy way with no worries). Let’s talk about creating new habits and removing old ones.

One of the most well-known books on habit formation is by James Clear: Atomic Habits. This book is about how to implement them, and how to change one’s life beyond all recognition.

If you want to succeed in real estate, use systems. James Clear uses The Four Laws and Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change to upgrade his habits. Even Rev Real Estate School believes that systems are a must for success.

Before we dive into the list of habits of a successful real estate agent, let’s first discuss the how-to of behavioral change with The Four Laws and Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change.

Rule No. 1: Make It Obvious

In this section, Jame Clear discusses the importance of how we should measure our progress to curb any excuses in order to keep on doing the behavior. He talks about a community in Amsterdam where the city studied the electricity usage of its citizens. They say that some citizens used less electricity than their neighbors. When they looked further into it, they found that homes with their meters on the main floor tended to use less energy. The conclusion is that because the main floor metered homes have obvious feedback, they tended to use less electricity.

To apply this…

The night before, make sure to prepare your method of contact. Keep track of the phone numbers you have been calling and place the printed-out handwritten cards next to each number. When you get ready for your prospecting time in the morning, you don’t have to dig through your CRM to find contacts just to call and set up meetings.

Rule No. 2: Make It Attractive

This rule deals with the concept that we inherently have emotions and expectations, or cravings. We walk into a room and see a plate of cookies on the table and we feel an instant craving for those delicious sugary treats. The problem is long-term this manifests as negative habits, but at that moment, we’re in heaven. This shows that negative habits are usually tied to an instantaneous reward while positive habits are always linked to a long-term one.

With an incentive-based system, we can focus on the incentive-reward imbalance and focus on the long-term pain associated with negative habits. A tasty cookie now comes at a price in the future – weight gain, health complications, and more.

To apply this..

Agents who are up and coming will feel the pressure of hustling at a pace that feels overwhelming. But while it may be difficult now, they’re not going to struggle like this forever. With time, comes experience and good agents thrive on returning value to their clients.

Rule No. 3: Make It Easy

A common mistake people make with new habits is to look at the hobby as an entire task that takes a large amount of time to complete. When we fail at the initial steps, it can be difficult not to give up and miss the point of making things easy for ourselves. To keep the momentum for habits, it’s better to break them down into simple steps that are manageable. In working out, it might just be putting on your gym clothes. As you continue with these small tasks, you will build the habit once again due to the progress and momentum you gain when taking action.

James Clear developed the 2-minute rule where he says that most habits can be formed in 2 minutes. If you do the first steps of a habit, then the rest of a habit should follow.

Here, you downscale your habit down to the easy first step.

To apply this..

Just sit down and write one handwritten note, or make one phone call. Make it easy on yourself by tackling only the work that feels easy. Once one of these tasks is completed, continuing to work becomes less challenging.

Rule No. 4: Make It Satisfying

The immediate follow-up to your habit should be satisfying in some way. Jerry Seinfeld used this strategy for joke writing, marking off days with an X after he wrote a joke. His satisfying result was continuing the chain of X’s until it became a week and not breaking the chain of weeks. This draws on some immediate satisfaction about tracking your habits.

To apply this…

Put an X through every day that you prospect, following Jerry Seinfeld’s advice. Keep this chain of Xs going as long as possible.

Now that we learned about the 4 Laws and Cardinal Behavior of Change, let’s move on to the list of habits itself.

Remember, if you want to improve, you have to keep re-evaluating your work and making improvements. In order to be the best you can be, you have to keep sharpening your skills by learning new things.

When you start to adopt these habits and ideas, you will see some positive changes.

Practice Listing Presentations and Listen to Your Calls

Have you ever thought that you looked good in the mirror then saw a picture and thought, “Wow, I actually look terrible”? Sometimes, our brain can deceive us. It senses what the eye sees differently than recorded documents.

We may think we are finally getting close to booking a property, but when you listen to the call, it may be that instead of closing, we’ve missed an offer. Odds are, if you listen to a recording of the call, you’ll realize where you missed an opportunity.

Recording your calls and hearing your conversation can provide immediate learning opportunities because you can determine where the mistakes occurred and how to improve your strategy.

Recording your phone conversations is extremely easy to do. Simply visit your phone app store, search for “call recorder,” or use a dialer that will have it built-in. Just be sure to follow your state’s call recording laws.

At the same time, roleplay your listing presentation with someone. Get feedback on your listing pitches with a colleague, who will critique them.

Have a Morning Routine

With the day just around the corner, if you are looking for a way to start your day off by staying motivated and prepared, The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod is a great book to read. It even has an agent version, which is perfect for some extra motivation!

If you don’t have morning routines but want to start one, Hal recommends using SAVERS as a guide. With this simple acronym, he highlights his recommended routine.

Enhance your Digital Presence Routinely

Real estate professionals know that the website is the best way to engage and inform their customers.

To improve user engagement and attract more leads, these sales professionals constantly spend time creating and adding relevant content to their site. They also constantly measure the results of these efforts so they know whether or not their site is helping them reach their revenue goals.

When it comes to your website, Carrie Klein (of RE/MAX Heritage Real Estate) recommends making sure the listings are highlighted enough and are easy to find.

Klein explains, “Curating your website is a key way to integrate itself with potential leads and clients,” he says.

Grow your Real Estate Leads Actively

It might seem obvious, but don’t always reject every prospecting possibility. Be ready to do things you’re not so fond of or aren’t comfortable with. Cold calling and cold leads drive some agents crazy.

But they’re sometimes necessary.

No matter how many times “no” is said in response to your request, you can keep going and never take it personally because that’s when people get down the most. If you look into the statistics, there is a higher probability of getting what you want if you persist.

As with any other type of sales, real estate is a numbers game. The more leads you talk to, the more sales you will make.

If you want to specifically target your leads, you need to organize them into a contact list using dynamic customer relationship management software.

Julie Nelson of The Nelson Project at Keller Williams has specific advice on how to grow your lead list over time:

“Database your top 100 coworkers, neighbors, soccer club,” says Nelson. “Start communicating with them in a systematic and compelling, value-add manner.” The system is built for you to use Nelson’s dataset of the best customers, employees, and friends.

Do a Modern Day Reading

Reading is of course a part of the list, but what does modern-day reading look like? Well, there are many ways to consume content in our current world that you may not have guessed. So what about spending time on your current hobbies, like yoga or running? While it seems all too hard, at least start down the path to reading and be healthier in the process.

“Consume your material the way that best suits your lifestyle.” As real estate agents, we can be for long hours. Audiobooks are an easy option for when we’re on the go or have downtime.

If you are more of the type that just wants the main ideas from a book, consider picking up Blinkist. This is an app that provides the main points of most non-fiction books in bite-sized pieces with references to original quotes and summaries from the author.

Finally, check out an e-reader and keep it in your bag. When you’re having some downtime, you can use your e-reader to read a few pages or articles.

Have a Network’s Mindset

One thing that resonates with people is the idea of a gregarious, extrovert real estate agent. An idealizing persona may be what we envision, but in reality, many successful salespeople are ambiverts–a mix of introverted and extroverted. The Hubspot blog has an excellent article on this.

You don’t need to have a personality like Tom Cruise to be successful in real estate, but rather you should approach your career with a networker-like mindset. Introverts and extroverts alike can succeed in this industry, but they just have different approaches.

With a networker’s mindset, one has the opportunity to talk to new people daily through different spheres such as grocery stores, coffee shops, offices, and social media.

It’s natural for people to be hesitant to take this approach, but when you change your conversational habits, you open up a new path. It’s just endless amounts of opportunities waiting right around the corner!

Here’s a Tip: It is difficult to change habits. But when you communicate with more people, many opportunities will open up for you.

Get Good at Handling Objections

Every prospector knows the standard objections right off the bat, like let’s wait to list our home and get input from your spouse. These objections are common, but they’re not usually new insights.

The only thing separating the good agents from the great ones is a willingness to fight for a “yes” no matter how many times the leads give an objection. Generally, most agents get discouraged if they don’t get “yes” and move on to the next lead.

There is a lot of pressure to make it in your field. You also run into people who are really resistant. Well, these challenges can be overcome by going through them and getting a rejection, instead of avoiding the pain and discomfort of rejection.

So how can you effectively overcome the fear of rejection?

Expose Yourself to Rejection

This common method to overcome fears tries to expose the person to their fear in a safe, controlled environment. If you have “phone phobia,” then this method is for you. Schedule a Saturday prospecting session and phone 100 people with a single goal: rejection.

If you’re feeling a little down lately, here’s some advice, “Do you want to sell your house, or not?” This strategy of offering the end sentence first will improve your response rate by as much as 100%.

With a prospecting session, you will experience everything that can happen to you–successes, failures, joys, and pains–all in one sitting.

Usually, you would only experience one type of rejection at a time. But when you face the full spectrum of it all in one sitting, you’ll see how much easier it is to get over your fear of rejection. You’ll become more resilient and build stronger negotiating skills, leaving behind your fear.

Do Not Underestimate Planning

Imagine the most accomplished people you know. Did they achieve their success without a plan? Or did they have a plan from the start to get where they wanted to go

Creating success isn’t just about luck. Successful people work hard and feel their way through many challenges before they succeed.

Agents must be aware of the potential changes in their field and be prepared for them. If a company starts to focus on building new operations, agents need to figure out what it is that they do best- research the market and place a bid for a specific property.

Communicate as Quickly as Possible

Clients get annoyed when they don’t receive a call back in a reasonable period of time. It’s understandable. We all feel that way.

Make sure to provide your customers with a realistic timeline on when they can expect a response. That should be within 24 hours. Anything more than 24 hours is unacceptable.

The most successful agents return calls and emails promptly.

They follow up immediately with their potential clients, answering any and all questions they may have. They make their clients feel important during the life of their transactions and after; maintaining consistent contact.

One way to determine your ability to attract new clients is by how well you communicate with them.

That’s it for this blog CORE Member, remember to subscribe to our channel and if you feel like we’ve delivered value please share this blog with ONE person. That’s right just one person as a token of your appreciation for the hard work we put into making content that educates and helps you on your mission of building your own fortune. Remember you can read blog after blog, but it isn’t until you actually take action that you’ll start to see results. See you soon!

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