Are You Making Rookie Mistakes?

It doesn’t matter how many years’ experience you have in the real estate industry, we’re all in danger of making rookie mistakes.

You know the ones; they’re the silly little errors that are easy to make.

They tend to happen when we’re distracted, overconfident or just not paying attention, and boy can they have a big impact.

Rookie mistakes are everywhere

Take a good look around and there’s a chance you’ll witness some rookie mistakes in action. They’re everywhere, across all industries, and there’s a common reason they tend to occur, particularly at the hands of those who really should know better.

As we get more experience, we gain confidence. When we become overconfident, there is the danger of becoming complacent.

It’s at this point that our attention to detail drops. Our commitment to the final one per cent wavers. We let down our guard. We think the systems, procedures and habits that helped get us to this point are no longer required, because we’re experienced and we’re successful.

And that’s where the danger lies…

A case in point

I can think of lots of examples of rookie mistakes, and I’ve made my fair share of them too. But the following true story helps illustrate the case nicely…

A high performing million-dollar agent unknowingly changed one small thing during her listing presentation. Subsequently, she lost six successive listings. Ouch.

Perplexed as to what the problem was, she called in a coach.

That coach rang the lost listings and requested honest feedback from the sellers. He uncovered the missing link.

The common sentiment from those potential clients?

“The agent just didn’t seem as interested in our property as the other agents - she didn’t even take notes.”

The rookie mistake? She stopped taking notes!

And no it wasn’t because she lacked interest. In actual fact, she had become so good at remembering property details, she felt that there was no need for her to ‘take notes’. It was a costly omission.

Perception is reality

Something similar often occurs to seasoned professionals when they lose to younger ‘more energetic’ agents.

“They seem more eager - more enthusiastic,” is the most common feedback given by the vendors behind those lost listings.

There’s a valuable lesson here. The perception is the reality. Chances are those more experienced agents were indeed eager, but a little more sedate after years in the job.

As an aside, there’s also a lesson here in the value of feedback. It can be an incredibly powerful tool for finding weaknesses in your professional practices.

If you’re looking to up your game, I strongly recommend asking a colleague to call your lost listings and /or your unhappy clients to get honest feedback that you can use to learn, improve, and grow.

The bottom line…If you’re on, you’re on

It doesn’t matter how many years we’ve been in the industry or how many times we’ve done a specific activity before, when we are on, we need to be on.

We need to follow our checklists, not leave it to chance or memory. Sure, we might know the job back to front but we still need to use the habits, procedures and processes that got us to where we are now.

There is no room for assumption and complacency. We must remain vigilant and diligent, because that’s what our clients deserve.

Success to obsolescence

There’s a reason success is often followed by obsolescence. Much of it comes down to ‘rookie mistakes’ and complacency.

We get arrogant and take our eye off the ball. We fail to dot the Is and cross the Ts. And the irony? It’s so avoidable.

We just need to retain the vigilance and attention to detail which brought us success in the first place.

About the Author

Manos Findikakis is the CEO of Agents’Agency, Australia’s first multi-brand real estate network, ‘the only fully integrated solution for you and your people to create an unforgettable experience.’

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