Don't Get Too Comfortable

There comes a point in many successful real estate careers when things start to feel a little easier.

You’ve built a good database. Your name is recognised in your market. Past clients refer business to you. Listings come your way without you necessarily having to chase them. You know the process, you know the people and you’ve developed the confidence that comes from years of experience.

That’s a good place to be. It’s also potentially a dangerous one. Because somewhere between building a successful business and enjoying the results of it, it can be very easy to stop doing the things that got you there in the first place.

Success can quietly remove the urgency that created it.

Remember when every opportunity mattered?

Think back to the beginning of your career. When your database was small, every contact mattered.

You followed up the buyer from Saturday’s open home, you called people back quickly, you stayed in touch with potential sellers even if they were six or 12 months away from making a decision.

You prospected because you had to, you prepared thoroughly for every appraisal because you desperately wanted the listing, you looked for opportunities everywhere because there weren’t enough opportunities simply arriving at your door.

Then something starts to change. The database gets bigger, the listings become more regular, your profile grows and referrals start coming in.

Suddenly you’re busy, and the very activities that created that success can start slipping down the priority list.

Busy can hide a lot

One of the challenges with an established real estate business is that the consequences of changing your behaviour aren't always immediate.

Stop prospecting today and your diary might still be full tomorrow. Neglect your database for a month and listings may still come in. Follow up a little less consistently and referrals may continue arriving.

That’s because much of the business you’re doing today was created by the work you did months or even years ago.

A healthy pipeline can disguise unhealthy habits. The problem only becomes obvious later.

Six months down the track, there are fewer appraisal opportunities, your pipeline starts looking thinner, a past client lists with somebody else, or maybe an agent who has been consistently building relationships in your area starts appearing on more signboards.

Then it can feel as though the market has suddenly changed, but often, it hasn't happened suddenly at all.

Experience should make you better, not comfortable

Experience is incredibly valuable in real estate. You learn how to read situations, you become a better negotiator, you understand your market, you recognise problems earlier and you develop instincts that simply can't be taught in a training room.

But experience can also create assumptions. You can start thinking you already know what a seller is going to say. You can walk into an appraisal relying on your reputation rather than preparing as thoroughly as you once did.

You can assume a past client will automatically call you when they're ready to sell again. You can start treating the fundamentals as something newer agents need to worry about.

That's where comfort becomes dangerous. The fundamentals don't stop working because you've become successful. If anything, success gives you the opportunity to execute them at an even higher level.

Your competition isn't standing still

Here's another reality worth remembering: While you're enjoying the position you've built, someone else is trying to build theirs.

There is always another agent making the calls. Someone is meeting the buyers. Someone is following up the homeowners who aren't ready yet. Someone is learning the market, improving their presentation, building their profile and developing relationships.

That doesn't mean you should operate from fear. It simply means you can't assume yesterday's reputation guarantees tomorrow's business.

A strong reputation creates an opportunity, but you still have to live up to it.

Keep doing what built the business

The answer isn't to go back to behaving like a brand-new agent with no database and no experience.

You've earned the advantages you've created. Use them, but don't abandon the habits underneath them.

Keep talking to people, keep following up, keep nurturing your database, keep preparing, keep asking questions, keep learning, keep looking for ways to improve the experience you give your clients.

And every now and then, ask yourself a simple question: If I were building my business from scratch today, would I be doing things differently?

If the answer is yes, it's worth asking why.

Success isn't the finish line

There is nothing wrong with reaching a stage in your career where business feels more established. In fact, that's what most agents are working towards.

The danger comes when established becomes comfortable, and comfortable becomes passive.

The best agents I've known don't spend their careers constantly reinventing everything they do. They simply don't stop doing the things that work.

They continue building relationships when their database is already strong. They continue prospecting when their pipeline is full. They continue learning when they're already experienced. And they continue earning trust even when their reputation precedes them.

Because success in real estate isn't something you achieve once and then own forever. It's something you keep building.

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.’

For all enquiries and more information on how the Agents’Agency can help you take your career to the next level, click here to get in touch.