Not everyone wants to use a real estate coach; learning on the job isn’t a bad way to become a successful agent. It’s safe to say pretty much every agent follows that path. After all, real estate school teaches nothing about how to run a real estate business.
That path, however, diverges at some point, separating the ambitious and skillful from the complacent.
While those on either path can, at some point in their careers, benefit from a business or life coach’s services, it’s typically the former that seek them.
“Struggle + Real Estate Coach = Achievement”
claims author Sean Everett at medium.com. “If you remove the struggle, there’s no need for a coach because it means you’re not working towards anything great.”
If you are working toward greatness and have hit a wall, a coach may be just what you need to break through it. But there are other benefits a coach can offer as well.
How to know if you need a real estate coach
If you haven’t a clue about last year’s production, let alone the past three years, if you don’t have a business plan or a marketing budget, if you have no idea how to raise your production, you need a coach.
Some top coaches on Forbes Coaches Council suggest additional symptoms of someone needing a coach:
- Feeling overwhelmed – that you don’t have control over your real estate business, or “feeling like there is too much to do and too little hours in the day.”
- You need someone to talk to about your business, to bounce ideas off
- You’re frustrated because you know what to do yet don’t do it
- You aren’t getting the results you want in your business
The benefits of real estate coaching
The late and legendary NFL coach Tom Landry summed up coaching in one sentence: “A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.”
With that in mind, all agents, even newbies, can get something out of working with a coach.
Don’t agree?
An Inman survey from a few years back shows that “the vast majority of agents working with a real estate coach see a return on investment.” In fact, 90 percent of them said that in their first year of working with a coach, their production increased 10 percent or more.
Thirty-five percent said their business increased up to 26 percent more and nearly 10 percent saw an increase of from 100 to almost 200 percent.
Still not convinced?
Think of a real estate coach as being a fresh set of eyes. Someone who can look at you and your business in a way that you (because you’re so mired in the details), can’t.
It’s lacking that “big picture” thing that causes many of us to hit the wall. Then, paralysis sets in and we’ve no idea how to lift our legs and, if we can, which direction to tell them to carry us.
A few years ago, when Spencer Krull, Director of Training, Productivity Coach at Keller Williams Santa Monica, was a working agent, he talked to me about his coach, Steve Shull of Performance Training.
“Real estate agents always like to complicate things and we love getting in our own way. Steve simplified the process for me,” he said.
Although he was resistant to the idea, his coach convinced him to try door knocking. “I door-knocked three times a week. It worked,” Krull said. “Coaching is only of value if you’re going to do what your coach tells you to do.”
From simple steps, such as those suggested to Krull, to attitude adjustments, there’s a lot to be said for business coaching.
“I am really in the breakthrough business. I help people to find a way to break through from where they are to where they want to be,” Tony Robbins tells Inc. editor-in-chief Eric Schurenberg.
How to choose a real estate coach
When you’re thinking of hiring a real estate coach, consider the different types and formats out there. From real estate specialists to general business and inspirational coaches, there’s a lot to think about.
Then, real estate coaching comes in various formats, from e-courses to teleconferences and webinars to live, one-on-one sessions.
Choosing “the one” isn’t easy and gets even more confusing if you turn to Google to learn how.
Entrepreneur Tim Kitchen hired a coach to help him with his startup company, Exposure Ninja. It’s a rather long story, but the coach’s advice ended up costing Kitchen loads of money. The lesson learned is to “ … only take the advice of people who have done what I want to do,” he tells Alison Coleman at Forbes.com.
Sometimes, someone who hasn’t walked in your footsteps may be just what you need, as President Bill Clinton found out when he sought out the help and advice of Tony Robbins.
Many real estate coaches specific to the real estate industry, on the other hand, have done what you want to do. And, because results are dependent on so many variables, it’s challenging to pick “the best.” Some agents have worked with several real estate coaches before finding the right fit.
Emile L’Eplattenier has put together an interesting comparison chart of some of the more well-known real estate coaches that is worth a look.
Don’t give up if you don’t feel comfortable with the first real estate coach you try. Finding the right one can launch your career to heights you never thought possible.
Owner & Operator,
Chad Hett
The Elite Group
Largest Home Inspection Company in North America
Best Selling Author “Secrets Of Top Producing Real Estate Agents: And How To Duplicate Their Success.”
