5 Key Ingredients In My Success Recipe As Real Estate Agent and Mentor
Hello…. today I’d like to share my humble Recipe for Success with you.
Many people consider real estate agents aka property agents have the best job; they can work whenever they want, they’re kind-of their own boss, and best of all they can potentially earn 5 to 6-digit commissions per month. What’s not to like about that?
These perks explain why becoming a real estate agent is a relatively sought-after role. Unfortunately, anyone already involved in the property business knows it’s just not that simple.
The sad truth is that more than half of aspiring property agents will fail. That’s a harsh reality.
The questions you need to ask yourself are: What is it that sets you apart from the rest; and why do you think you have what it takes to succeed?
Yes, it’s true that working as a real estate agent can be very fulfilling and financially rewarding, but it’s definitely not easy. Are you prepared to promote yourself, drum up business, track leads, and provide excellent customer service? Are you prepared to potentially go without income for months? How do you handle rejection, because there will be plenty of rejections during a career in real estate?
The Hard Truth
The real estate industry is a cyclic industry; it’s an industry that closely follows the cyclical patterns of both our domestic and global economies, which means that it doesn’t bode well for property agents in a downturn. It can be so financially damaging during down-times that many real estate agents are forced to undertake other jobs instead of relying solely on commissions.
Most of my peers that attended the same training I did 20-years ago failed to make it through their first year. After the third year, I was one of just two survivors left. I was fortunate enough to be awarded in the Top 50 Achievers in my first 5 years of my career as a Real Estate Agent.
I then decided to walk another path. I built a sales team and mentored many of them to achieve astounding results. Some of the more successful agents earned over $1,000,000 in commission for a few years in succession.
I’m proud to say that my division has always been crowned in the Top 3 Division in the World Ranking from 2008 onwards, coming in First Place in 2009 and 2011. Over a period of 10 years I grew my team from 30 agents to more than 1200 agents.
PS: The team has just increased to 1800 agents as of Nov 2020.
Please allow me to share with you 5 key ingredients in my Recipe for Success that I personally used to take me from a rookie real estate agent to where I am today.
1. Make Mistakes and Grow Stronger
This is a key ingredient in becoming a successful real estate agent. Many successful people failed multiple times before they became a success (do a Google search and see just how true this is!). For every successful business you see, there are hundreds of unsuccessful ones.
Unfortunately, most people only see the glory without fully knowing the extent of failures a person has endured. Successful people know there’s no embarrassment in failure. They consider every failure to be a temporary defeat and they use temporary defeats as an opportunity to learn and grow.
I have made many mistakes in my lifetime, and many of you would agree that you have too. One mistake I made was that, when I had robust real estate sales in the first few years, I didn’t scale up fast enough. I was complacent, assuming the high profit I was generating for my business was good enough.
Had I leveraged more man-power I could have created more long-term success. Instead, during my fifth year of business I was completely burned out.
So, I learned from my mistake and when I started on my team-leading path, I immediately hired a personal assistant and a few part-time telemarketers to help out.
My team grew extremely fast: in 4 short years my small team of 30 agents grew to 750 agents, which was unheard of in the property industry. I now have 3 full-time staff members to help to handle our various marketing platforms and daily operation.
2. Have Grit and Determination
People who are winners in life are continuously jumping hurdles that appear before them. Successful people don’t quit because life dealt them a few lemons. They use those lemons and make delicious lemonade!
I never quit when the going was tough. In 2010 I lost half of my team when a law was passed requiring that all real estate agents be certified in order to practice. 400 of my team members quit the property industry. Honestly, this was a huge setback, but I persisted with my team building and eventually grew the team to more than 1200 agents.
At some point in our lives we all find life pretty tough going, but the trick is to keep pushing and never quit!
3. Take Risks And Leave Your Comfortable Zone
I always try to bring myself to an uncomfortable zone as I know complacency and procrastination are the enemies of success. Being comfortable equals stagnation. You must continue innovating and keeping a pulse on industry trends.
In 2017 when my team was 1200-agents strong, I took a leap of faith and joined another smaller agency, fully understanding that at least half of my team members would not dare take the risk. I understood that technology disruption was inevitable in the real estate industry and I wanted to prepare my team ahead of others.
Together with Stuart Chng and Jackie Mang, leader of the largest team in another agency we co-founded Navis Living Group in OrangeTee & Tie. With Jason Tan and Jay Ong, we started with only 5 co-founders and within 3 years we had built our team to 1200 agents. My current team sales production has already exceeded the previous team by 30%.
I know that taking risks creates great personal discomfort, but risk-taking is a huge part of improving your business in the long run. If you always stay in your comfort zone you could well find that your business stays stagnant and could even shrink over a period of time.
Even if your business is doing well, continuously review market trends and your customers’ needs. You can also looks at ways to up-scale your business to a higher level.
4. Create a Balance between Your Work Life and Your Personal Life
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Most of our daily battles take place in our minds, so the ones who strive and possess great mental strength will win the race. It’s only natural that, with our daily routines and hectic work schedules, we lose a little bit of ourselves every day.
Good mental health will help you aim for higher levels in life; ensuring you realise the big dreams of exotic family vacations, a big house, luxury car, or an improved way of living. However, at the top of the list must always be your good health. Never, ever neglect your health.
I have been keeping to an exercise routine since I stopped smoking 21-years ago. 3 times a week for 30-60 mins I will either jog, swim, hike or hit the gym. My exercise routine has become a life habit. I also spend not-negotiable, quality time with my family; making sure we eat together and talk together at least once a day. We also travel together for a yearly vacation to create precious family memories.
I strongly recommend for your good mental health that all real estate agents indulge in a hobby or other passion. I regularly play golf with my friends and we enjoy exchanging stories with a drink after the game.
5. Get A Mentor
As an entrepreneur and a real estate agent, it's exciting to go it alone and create something amazing on your own. However, the reality is that while you may have great passion for what you’re doing and you’re certainly prepared to work long hours, you may not know exactly what you should be doing with your business; especially when you are new or intending to scale up your operation.
You can learn many, many valuable lessons from a good mentor. While a good coach can change your game, a great mentor can change your life. Allow him or her to push you out of your comfort zone. He or she can help guide you through your entrepreneurial journey and help you achieve your goals.
Don’t let your ego get in the way. Having a mentor is not a sign of weakness; in fact, it shows you are smart enough and driven enough to succeed. I am fortunate enough to have had a few great mentors in my career and I’m now in a position to return the favour to others who need guidance.
In Conclusion
The above are some of the key lessons I’ve learned that have guided me to where I stand today. It’s not easy to be a successful real estate agent or a team leader.
It’s a bit like going to school where there are many lessons to be learned during each stage of your growth. Those who successfully learn their lessons are invited to move on to the next stage, while others must repeat the class.
Successful entrepreneurs stare adversity in the face and rise above their challenges. It was never meant to be easy, but with passion, drive, and hard work, there’s no reason at all why you too can’t achieve your goals.
If you would like to look for a proven mentor to shorten your learning curve, you can Whatsapp me. Otherwise you can schedule a 45 min consultation with me too.
** Please share this article if you find it useful or know someone who can benefit from it. Thank You.
To Your Success,
Gary Chua is the co-founder of Navis Living Group
—A 1300 agents-strong division with Huttons real estate agency, and the fastest growing group in this competitive industry. Gary is also a mentor to many real estate agents and team builders, for two decades and counting.
Before devoting his work full-time to grooming realtors, Gary was himself a distinguished real estate salesperson. He first stepped into the industry at age 30 in Year 2000 and having been Top 50 Achievers in his 5 years of sales, he understands the hurdles and challenges facing both new and experienced agents, and is thus equipped with a wealth of knowledge to aid and teach the property agents whom he takes under his wings.
In 2005, Gary realised that his true calling was to groom and coach the next generation of real estate agents. It was also the year that he consciously diverted almost all of his time and effort into recruitment activities, putting his personal sales aside and taking a hit in his bottom line.
Through sheer grit and determination, Gary's vision took hold as his team expanded, eventually growing to become the largest division in its agency, and also one of the largest in Singapore. It cultivated numerous top producers and achievers throughout the decade—some of whom have clocked in more than S$1,000,000 in commission in a single year, broken many sales records, won many local and international awards, and helped many real estate agents achieve outstanding results and realise their financial freedom.
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