Your Career: Are You Where You Want to Be?

 Print Article

Commentary by Jose Perez Jr.

RISMEDIA, Jan. 15, 2008-Is your glass half-empty or half-full? A New Year has begun and it’s time to take stock of our accomplishments in 2007 and plan how you are going to achieve your goals in 2008. Regardless of whether you’re a broker, a manager or a sales associate, you may find that you’re simply not where you want to be.

The actions we take (or fail to take) will determine our success in the coming year. For some, the answer is selling more houses or increasing the company’s bottom line. Others reinvest in technology or other marketing tools. Some will focus on trimming expenses and others might look to acquire their competitors who may be struggling. Still, others just get back to basics.

“As a manager, when an agent would come to me looking for help, nine times out of 10 it had nothing to do with real estate,” says John Thompson, regional president and managing officer of Intero Real Estate Services in Los Altos, California, “So it was very clear that if I could help people with every aspect of their life, that it would dramatically help their real estate business and help them better serve their customers.” When we asked Thompson for some pieces of advice to help brokers help their struggling associates, we were somewhat surprised with his answers.

“It all starts with getting up early, going to bed earlier and exercising more.” He then advises:

Read more-Thompson leads a book club in his office, where agents voluntarily meet once a month to discuss a selected title, which is usually focused on leadership.

Focus on time management-Thompson urges associates (and brokers) to constantly re-evaluate their personal efficiencies.

With all that said, Thompson says that the most important factor for a broker trying to motivate his or her associates is their ability to “walk the walk.”

Regardless of whether you’re a broker, manager or sales associate, at least two to three hours of your day-every day-should be spent on prospecting and growing your business.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to assess your situation, create a plan, and then go out and execute. So many people spend time at the beginning of a new year talking about making changes, but then “life happens” and they never get around to it. Don’t let that happen to you. RE

Jose I. Perez, Jr. is the president of PCMS Consulting, a full-service consulting organization. For more information, please e-mail jip1961@comcast.net.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

For more articles about succeeding in real estate, don’t miss:

• Strategic Marketing: Eliminate the Bottom Half  
  It’s All about Them: Recruiting Generation Y  
  Targeting the Internet Generation