7 Key Ways to Discover Entrepreneurial Real Estate Team Members | Private Equity Weekly

As we are currently working hard to grow our team, we have a number of job postings for experienced agents. Unfortunately, most of the responses came from undocumented individuals who either failed to read the job description (which stated that a valid real estate license was required) or were desperately looking for any job that might provide an income.

This process vividly demonstrates the general public’s complete lack of understanding of what a real estate agent actually is.

To illustrate this point, here’s a recent text conversation:

I: “Thank you for responding to our job posting for an experienced real estate agent. I noticed that you currently do not have a real estate license. Are you considering a career in real estate?”

Respondents: “Hi! I love it! I do know a lot about real estate – I haven’t gone through the process of buying three houses for nothing when I got married. I bought the training books, but that’s life, and as a single mom, I’ve been Trying to get it in place. I have a full time job, I just need a side hustle. I’m great with people; I’d love to be the first generation face of open houses, showing homes and stuff like that. I’m told that in my People feel safe and comfortable around me. I am passionate about homes in general. I do love real estate, especially real estate in our area.”

I: “Sounds great! I understand your need to make extra income, but, let’s be honest, real estate is a very difficult side hustle, especially in the current market. If you want to pursue a career as a real estate agent, I can make it happen for you Enroll in our training program to earn your license. We offer this program at a discounted rate. Once you have completed your training and passed your state exam, I can coach you on how to get started effectively.”

Respondents: “Well I’m always open to learning new things that might make my kids’ lives better. I’d love to learn more about this project if you need someone to sit in a nice house and let people Walk through it and I’ll be your girl.”

There is no doubt that this mentality is common among consumers who do not understand how difficult it is to truly succeed in this industry. Unfortunately, many real estate agents seem to have the same mentality.

This could help explain why nationwide 49% of agents in 2023 One or fewer homes for sale year-round. I often joke that if I retired, I might find a less difficult job like a Navy SEAL or a gator wrestler.

To truly succeed in real estate, you must be willing to put in the time and activity required to build a business. When I hear someone think they can do real estate “on the side,” it raises two questions.

First, it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the actual job description, and second, it presupposes that a person with limited or no experience can effectively guide a home buyer or seller through the largest financial transaction of a lifetime.

The Consumer Federation of America echoed the concern, saying: “Agent ‘surplus’ means part-time workers now make up the majority, leading to ‘widespread incompetence and pressure to maintain high commission rates.'”

In his book, How I constructed thisGuy Raz provides some helpful clarification by explaining the differences between hobbyists, tinkerers, and entrepreneurs. He defines an amateur as someone who creates something purely out of passion. A tinker goes a step further and is defined as someone who creates something out of passion to solve their own specific problem. The ultimate step, Raz explains, is when someone creates something out of passion that also solves a problem that many others face.

enthusiast

In the world of real estate, a hobbyist is someone who obtains a real estate license as a side hustle to make a little extra income. These people always have another source of income and just want to increase their existing income, thereby solving a personal problem: the desire for more money.

They’re generally not interested in moves that lead to solid careers; if the deal falls into their lap, that’s great. They will do the bare minimum, which may include doing some open houses, advertising to friends and family that they have a license, etc.

They will say they love real estate, but their mindset is not conducive to building an effective real estate agent career. So if a team is looking to build their roster, this is not the type of guy they want to hire. Brokers are filled with people like this. The only money a broker makes from them is usually their franchise fee or desk fee.

Tinker

A tinkerer is someone who most likely has a full-time job but uses a real estate license to make some investments for themselves or friends. They are keen on finding deals for personal gain.

Instead of focusing on building a career as a full-service agent, they prefer to use their time to find investment opportunities, flips, and more. Furthermore, if a trading opportunity comes to them by chance, they will usually take it, but this is the exception, not the rule.

If they become effective over time, they may manage enough business to transition to full-time, but they will most likely never become a regular agent and generally won’t make the effort to do any of the things that go into building an effective full-service practice. necessary things.

entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs may also start out as full-time employees, but their goal is to become full-time agents as quickly as possible. Not only do they love real estate, they love the idea of ​​helping others achieve their real estate goals.

You can spot entrepreneurs by watching them: they attend training, follow instructions, work hard to build a database, eagerly embrace open house opportunities as a way to effectively build a business, and generally burn the candle at both ends, Realize that building a successful business takes effort, discipline, and time.

They are looking for opportunities to quit other jobs as quickly as possible and start their own careers. If you were leading a team, this is the type of person you’d want to hire. While ideally you’d like them to start working full-time right away, in some cases, they can’t. However, by sticking to the right activities and getting to work, they should be able to quickly leave other work behind.

Ironically, this is how I got into real estate. After 24 years in my career, I realized I had reached the limit of my growth and was feeling burned out. I quit my job and went out and started a construction company. Since my business partner and I wanted to purchase investment properties, I realized that a real estate license was crucial.

During the day, I ran a construction company, built a database of over 700 contacts, and started marketing to them. Soon after, I was working construction during the day and working part-time in real estate at night and on weekends.

My wife served as my transaction coordinator and marketing department, and soon after, I sold my interest in the construction company to focus entirely on my real estate career.

An entrepreneur is defined as “an individual who starts his or her own business based on an idea or product that he or she creates, while assuming most of the risks of the business and receiving most of the rewards.”

So how do you identify an entrepreneur? Investment Encyclopedia Giving us seven key characteristics:

Versatility

Simply put, while others make excuses for things they can’t or don’t want to do, entrepreneurs figure out how to get things done. They may not be good at certain tasks and have to do things outside of their preferred skills, but they will adapt, put in the extra time, think outside the box, and do whatever research or training is necessary to learn new skills — whatever comes up Ways to move things forward.

flexibility

Tom Peters famously said, “Ready, Fire, Aim.” While there’s a lot to be said for effective planning and execution, when speed to market is critical and you’re in an environment that’s constantly changing, like the real estate market, The ability to shift is crucial if you don’t do it right the first time.

While many people are willing to sit back and watch what happens around them, entrepreneurs are paying attention to leading indicators to assess whether change is about to happen and develop strategies to stay ahead of the curve.

money smart

Starting a new business takes time and money. Real entrepreneurs know the value of money and will sacrifice, be frugal, and do whatever it takes to fund their ventures. Startups are rife with stories of bosses enduring the torture of Top Ramen until the project was up and running. With limited funds available, effective money management is crucial.

elasticity

Quote from Investment Encyclopedia:

“Running your own business is very difficult, especially starting from scratch. It requires a lot of time, dedication, and often failure. A successful entrepreneur must demonstrate resilience to deal with all obstacles along the way. Whenever they encounter failure or When rejected, they all have to move on.

“Entrepreneurship is a learning process, and any learning process comes with a learning curve, which can be frustrating, especially when money is at stake. If you want to succeed, it’s important to never give up when times get tough.”

focus

Any new adventure comes with a lot of distractions, and it can be hard to stay focused. This is where coaching and mentoring can make a huge difference. It’s important to discern which activities will have the highest dollar value returns, then target them and focus on them individually. Once these produce results, you can expand.

Gary Keller echoes this sentiment in his book, millionaire real estate agent: “The secret to getting the most out of your creativity is to always start with a proven foundational model of success. Once our initial model is successful, we can move on to creative thinking.”

Amateurs may be reluctant to do basic behaviors, while tinkerers may be omnipotent; entrepreneurs, on the other hand, figure out the basics and then target the behaviors needed to succeed.

business acumen

I’ve lost count of the number of real estate agents who think real estate is all about selling houses. In fact, it’s about building a vibrant and vibrant business. Accordingly, most agents I know have no idea how to keep effective books, read financial statements, have no business plan, etc. Entrepreneurs understand the need to run a business like a business and take the necessary steps to learn the required skills.

communication skills

Communication is key. Entrepreneurs recognize the need for effective communication and demonstrate a willingness to learn the necessary skills to improve.

A few years ago, a friend of mine shared his frustrations with finding talent. “There are a lot of people who want to be real estate agents. The problem is, not many people are motivated to do the work required to be successful,” he said. “Yet every once in a while,” he clarifies, “someone will have ‘it.’ I can’t explain it.’ It’s nothing,” he continued, “but I know it when I see it and I’ll hire them at all costs.”

What he means is that people with an entrepreneurial spirit and an entrepreneurial attitude leave clues. As team leaders, our job is to recognize them when they come up and do what we can to get them on board.

There is no end of people looking to get into the real estate industry. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of people have what it takes to start a successful career. When recruiting, increase your odds of success by hiring only those who are most likely to stick around.