Why Treating Real Estate Like a Job is a Recipe for Disaster
Each year, I have the opportunity to work with hundreds of agents in the area and thousands of agents across the country. Throughout my time observing agents of all shapes and sizes, I have picked up on one mistake that they make that keeps them from making real estate a great career.
The mistake is that they’re treating real estate like a job instead of a business. You must treat your real estate career like a business owner instead of an employee to see lasting, sustained success. About 80% of Realtors get into this business as a way to make ends meet. They’ll have a desk, make phone calls, and go to meetings, but that’s not how you really make money in this business.
The agents who make the most are the ones who understand that and spend their time and energy focusing on ways to improve their services. They come up with their own to-do lists, keep their own books, and go out and grab business instead of waiting for it to come to them.
“The max amount our agents pay per year is $3,200.”
A successful agent understands that when they wake up in the morning, they need to think about lead generation, sales, budgets, and all the little things that make a business profitable and build a strong pipeline over time. They constantly learn by reading books, listening to experts, and developing new skills to make them better business owners.
Another thing that great agents do is reinvest into their own businesses. Some agents will get a big commission check and blow it all on fun stuff. They don’t put a cent back into their businesses. I recommend putting 10% of every closing back into your business through lead generation, marketing, or some other business-building avenue. Reinvesting that cash flow is the best way to help it grow over time. Knowing where that cash goes is just as important.
Here at Plum Tree Realty, our agents keep 100% of their commissions, and the cap here is $3,200 per year for all the systems, software, and coaching we offer. A lot of other big-box brokerages will charge you tens of thousands for desk fees and leads, and you’ll never build a profitable business that way. Agents get to keep more of their hard-earned money with us, and they’re able to reinvest that into their businesses instead of paying tens of thousands just to have a “job” with an average income.
If you have questions about what you should be doing right now to build your business or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
