Pearland Broker Gives Summer Advice to Realtors . . .

Store Yours Nuts!

Ah, the real estate business!  "Work your own hours!"  "Be your own Boss!"  "You love houses and people??? You, too, should become a Realtor!"

How many of those have your heard or fallen for?  Hmmm, let's see....my own hours . . . does that calculate to 24/7?  My own boss . . . does that mean I don't have to answer to my buyers and sellers when things don't go their way?  And after 38 years, houses are simply commodities to me, though I still enjoy engaging with people . . . nice people, that is.  There's a bumper sticker that says, "Mean People Suck."  Harsh, though often true.

But did you know that there are typically 6.5 "peak" months in the real estate year?  The other 5.5 are "valley" months, so a Realtor has to learn to "spread his/her income out" to pay the bills and maintain some sort of semblance of the status quo.  Easier said than done.  Most agents live very well and love the real estate business 6.5 months out of the year.  The other months . . . well . . . they "suck it in" and pray for a return of the peak.

Since real estate is not the "people and house" business that everyone thinks, there are indeed some strategies that a Realtor can employ to live without the constants income "peaks and valleys."

First of all, learn that real estate is a task business.  And some of the best Realtors are very task-oriented.  There are two basic tasks in this most basic of businesses -- generate and convert leads.  And although basic, it's not easy.  In fact, it can be quite challenging and there is a great learning curve, despite the ease and speed of getting a real estate license.

One of the things I coach agents on in our complete Agent Development Program is to "store your

nuts."  Like a squirrel gets ready for winter, so should a Realtor prepare for the 5.5 months of less-than-stupendous marketing times.  Contrary to popular belief, there is not a steady stream of buyers in all price ranges at all times, though sellers expect that from their Realtor and become grumpy when they don't get it!  So, the "store your nuts" philosophy is not only a strategy for dealing with income peaks and valleys, but also market condition changes and handling buyers and sellers through those periods.

"Store your nuts" also refers to planning your marketing peaks and valleys to "even out" the market times -- through the slow and fast-paced months.  How do you do it?

I've been helping agents with these issues for years, but now I'm making it part of the RE/MAX Top Realty Agent Development System, "Develop + Act + Measure = BOOM!"  (DAMB for short!)  It's planning and implementing the systems and strategies from the old coaching program, "From Broke Realtor to Rich Realtor" which I've now shared online with those agents savvy enough to sign up for it (for FREE).  (And there are over 350 of those agents.)

Interested in our DAMB program?  Join us At The Top and learn to Store YOUR Nuts!

If not, what do you do to ensure your success during those 5.5 valley months?