I’m going to start this post off with a trigger warning.
I honestly believe that 50% of agents should quit real estate.
Now, I know that might sound harsh.
But the industry has become saturated with people – many of whom are bringing the real estate industry down as a whole.
There are certain types of agents who will never be successful.
They’ll never build the big, automated real estate business of their dreams.
Want to make sure you’re cut out to build a 7-figure business?
Keep reading to learn the biggest traits that prevent agents from reaching their income goals.
1. People think the industry is against them
Agents that think the industry is out to get them should not be agents. Period.
I’m not saying that real estate businesses don’t have their challenges.
But many agents like to act like real estate is one of the most difficult industries in the world.
Real estate isn’t rocket science.
If you’d rather complain about how hard real estate is than learn how to build a streamlined, automated business…you’re not cut out to scale, and you may as well quit real estate.
2. People who only do 5-10 deals a year
I know this opinion is controversial.
And I also want you to understand…
I’m not saying you have to live and breathe real estate.
In fact, real estate isn’t even my #1 passion in life. I see real estate as a vehicle to create the life of your dreams.
But if you’re someone who wants to do real estate on a very part-time basis…
I.e. → you don’t have the desire to get automated systems in place, you don’t want to grow a team, you only want to do the odd deal here and there…
Well, all you’re doing is diluting the market.
You’re taking deals away from the people who are 100% committed to their real estate business.
The people who are all in – who’ve made it their mission to create the highest level of service and to be the best version of themselves.
THOSE are the people who are going to get the best results possible for their clients. They have the infrastructure in place to do so.
If you’ve got one foot in and one foot out when it comes to your real estate business, you need to make a decision.
Either decide to give this thing your all and elevate your business – or quit real estate altogether.
3. People who blame their brokerage/blame others
Being a successful real estate agent means taking 100% radical responsibility for your business.
Not blaming the market
Not blaming your clients
Not blaming your broker
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard “Well, I joined X,Y,Z brokerage and they said they were going to help me!!”
Your broker isn’t responsible for your business.
Your broker is responsible for processing your transactions and getting you paid. That’s it.
Sure, there are brokerages out there with excellent training programs or who do a little extra to help out their agents.
But if you go into real estate with the mindset that your brokerage is what will help you secure business, you’ll never find the success you’re looking for.
Stop giving your power away. Get out there and source and find the information you need to transform your business. If you’re waiting for someone else to build your business, you may as well quit real estate.
4. Agents who refuse to challenge the status quo
Let me ask you an honest question.
Are you truly innovating in your real estate business?
Or are you resting on your laurels?
I’ve heard so many agents tell me that because they have 10, 20, or 30 years of experience…that should be enough to consistently get them business.
But do you really have ten years of experience?
Or do you have one year of experience repeated ten times?
Because so many people just do the same thing over and over.
They’re not challenging themselves. They’re not growing. And they actually just have one year of experience that they keep recycling.
Doing the bare minimum and expecting something to change is the definition of insanity.
5. Agents who rely on referrals alone
This is another one of my opinions that really ruffles feathers, but I’m going to share it anyway.
For so long in this industry, we’ve glorified real estate referrals.
When you rely too heavily on referrals, you’re relying on other people to secure business FOR you.
At the end of the day, you’re not in control of your marketing, your lead flow – AKA the lifeblood of your business.
Could you imagine if Nike relied on referrals?
If Amazon decided not to advertise and said their customers will do that work for them instead?
They would never, because they’re running real businesses.
To scale a business, you need predictability in your lead flow.
Referrals leave it completely up to chance.
6. Agents who treat their business revenue like their salary
This is a hard one for so many agents to wrap their heads around.
Your commissions are not your income. Your commissions are the business’ income.
You pay yourself out of the proceeds.
If you view your commissions as your personal income, you will be emotionally attached to money. Money that you SHOULD be using to invest into growing your business.
Real businesses do not consider all revenue to be personal income of the CEO.
7. Agents who refuse to face their fears
I’m not saying this one is easy.
Running a business is one of the greatest exercises in personal growth and development.
And it can be downright HARD.
Take it from someone who came out of an absolutely horrible physically and mentally abusive relationship.
I had to start from nothing.
There are things that are going to happen in your life and business that are going to feel like they’re insurmountable.
But when you show up with a willingness to confront your fears and tackle things head on – that’s when you become unstoppable.
What is the story you’re telling yourself for why you can’t succeed?
Hint: whenever a thought starts with “I’m not the type of person who…..” – you’re putting limits on your growth.
Whether you’re telling yourself:
- I’m not the type of person who’s good at sales calls
- I’m not the type of person who’s confident in front of the camera
- I’m not the type of person who can lead and manage a team
You’re keeping yourself small.
You HAVE to decide that your desire for growth is larger than your desire to stay comfortable.
For example…I do a lot of video.
Do I always enjoy being on video?
Nope.
Sometimes I feel physically self-conscious.
But I do what it takes and I show up – even on the days I don’t feel like it.
I remember being invited to speak on stage having gained 40 pounds in front of hundreds of people.
Was I terrified?
You bet.
But I realized that sharing my message so I could create impact was MORE important than how I felt about my physical appearance.
It’s not about you. It’s about the message. You get to be the vessel.
Face your fears and show up for your business, no matter what the voice that doubts you says.
8. Agents who can’t be adaptable
The only thing that is certain in life is change.
How willing are you to ADAPT to new ways of doing things?
It’s so easy to get caught up in an identity.
You might tell yourself “I’m a cold-caller!”, or “I run a referral-based business”.
But I have to ask…
How’s that working for you right now?
Is it unlimitedly scalable?
Are you building the business of your dreams?
Or are you just doing what you’ve always done?
The number one thing that is going to make you successful over time is being adaptable.
It all comes back to the theory of evolution.
Those that survive and thrive, whether it be a species, or a business, are those who are able and willing to adapt.
Think about the kinds of companies that have failed over the last 10 years.
Take Blockbuster, for example.
They didn’t adapt fast enough to the digital economy and didn’t get online.
You don’t get to operate your business the same way for 10 years and expect continuous success.
Without evolution, at a certain point, things will start to plateau – and eventually, decline. If you’re not willing to ever adapt, you may as well quit real estate while you’re still ahead.
9. Agents who make the industry look bad
Do you want to know what professionals DON’T do?
They don’t treat each other like crap.
They don’t behave so badly that they put a stain on an entire industry.
Because the unfortunate truth is – there are agents out there doing exactly that.
One particular story that comes to mind is when I was selling my house in Toronto.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you might know that I originally got into real estate because of my Mom. She’s a real estate veteran who’s been in the industry for 35 years.
And so, I chose her as the agent to list my home.
When my Mom listed my house, we had an obscene amount of offers come in (it was a low inventory market).
One day, I overheard an agent speaking to my Mom on the phone.
And I became enraged.
He was yelling and swearing at my mom on the phone.
It wasn’t a good look. I took the phone from my Mom and told this agent how he’d royally screwed up.
From that point on, it no longer mattered what kind of offer he proposed.
I simply didn’t want the commission going into that agent’s pocket.
After we sold the home, his clients called for weeks in tears asking why they didn’t get the house – even with the incredible offer they submitted.
It broke my heart to tell them that it wasn’t about them, it wasn’t about the offer…
It was about the agent they chose to help them purchase a home.
Agents like that make our entire industry look bad. If you’re not able to act with integrity, I 100% believe you should quit real estate so that you stop bringing other agents down!
Again, if you want to be treated with respect, be respectful.
Stop trying to win through manipulative, sleazy techniques.
Be kind and courteous to others in the industry.
And take your business seriously.
Stop with the spray and pray random acts of marketing, and START showing up consistently for your ideal clients.
I genuinely love this industry and think we can do better.
So if you see yourself in any of the points above, the question is…
Are you ready to step up?
If the answer is yes, apply for The Listings Lab to build a scalable real estate business that offers you true freedom.
