10 Reasons Why Agents Stay Below $100,000 in GCI
Feb 28, 2023Thank you for joining us for another episode of Brilliant Talks, our free weekly coaching program for real estate agents. This time, Mark, Jacob, and I talk about things that don’t often get talked about: those things that happen behind the scenes and within ourselves that hold us back from achieving our goals.
Working on your strategies—door-to-door sales, cold calling, scripting, marketing, and all that stuff—is a great idea if you're an agent and you're currently stuck at below $100,000 GCI (gross commission income), but you want to level up your business. But in order to determine whether our behaviors and mindsets—rather than our skills—are what's preventing us from making a breakthrough, we also need to look within.
This is part one of 10 reasons why you might be stuck below $100,000 in GCI.
1. Lack of commitment
We often start out as part-time agents in a team, and if that’s you and you are totally fine with doing real estate as a side job or part-time, that’s fine. But some of us are stuck in the "part-time agent" mindset, even when we are already working in real estate full-time. If you want to succeed in this industry, you need to have a high level of commitment to this job, whether it be in scheduling, planning, how much time you are putting into prospecting, and the like.
That lack of commitment to this business can often set us up for failure. Here’s why:
That energy you’re giving out is being transferred to whoever you are working with. So, if you lack that commitment or drive to function like a full-time agent who puts everything on the line for this career, your prospective clients are going to feel, “Does this person really have the commitment to work with me like I want to?”
If you are not going to show up for your client the way they need you to, how can you convince them (and yourself) that you can commit at a high level when you deal with multi-million-dollar transactions, or at any level, with your potential clients?
“You are what you strive to become.”—Jacob Steagall
Take ownership of your craft. It is “I am a Realtor®" - not, “I’m a newbie Realtor®” or “I do real estate on the side.” That kind of self-talk can be a big jump into making a mindset shift toward a deeper commitment to your business.
How do we fix this lack of commitment?
- Have clear goals. What does that look like? The more specific you get, the clearer your goals are that revolve around your strengths, and the chances are higher that you will be more energized and motivated to work like a full-time agent.
- Find your why. What were the end goals you had in mind? Why did you start doing this? Stay committed to your goals and figure out what really is important to you. Why did you choose real estate, when you know you’ll be working with a lot of different personalities?—because it gets tough. Why is this important to you?
- Get a plan. A lot of us lack a plan so we can’t stay committed and motivated. Because we don’t know what exactly we need to do next.
- Find people to hold you accountable. Who is holding you accountable? Because if it is just you, it’s probably one of the reasons you are failing out of this business. It can’t just be you. Even highly self-motivated people need someone to give them that extra push and support when things get tough. Finding a solid group of people to support you helps you stay committed to your goals.
That’s what coaching is for. Having a coach or mentor sit down with you one-on-one or even being part of a group coaching program helps you stay connected with people who will teach you the basics, help you evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and guide you into what to do next or come up with a plan to decide where to go from here to get to the next level. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people also helps you stay motivated and focused on the goals you’ve set for yourself and your business.
If you want to get set up for one-on-one or group coaching, feel free to check out our coaching services or reach out to us with any questions.
2. Fear
There are five common categories of fear that hold agents back.
Fear of rejection
We are afraid to hear “no” from our prospective clients because it feels like we have failed to get the deal. However, shifting that into a mindset of “every “No” is an opportunity that gets you one step closer to a “Yes.’”
Instead of seeing them as failures, look at your rejections as an opportunity to learn something new. Or learn how you could do things better. So that the next time you give your pitch, meet a client, pick up the phone, or knock on someone else’s door, you are more equipped to handle different situations and overcome objections.
Once you’ve accepted that being told “no” is just a part of the process, it is easier to overcome your fear of rejection. And it will pay dividends for you in the long run.
Fear looking or sounding new
We all struggle with this when we are just starting out. Especially if you are a young (in age) agent. You get customers who look at you and question your credibility for being young or new.
However, we all need to give ourselves some grace to be beginners at something without having it shave away at our confidence.
You trained. You practiced. You put those lessons into practice on the field. Trust the process and the experience. And every new experience is an added tool in your arsenal that you can utilize for your business success.
Fear of procrastination
Sometimes, when we’ve procrastinated for so long, the things that need to get done start to pile up and we feel pressured by them, leading to a vicious cycle of procrastinating.
If procrastination can be avoided, this can help prevent this fear; however, life gets in the way sometimes, and we find ourselves in situations where some things just need to be pushed back.
The only way to overcome it is to just jump back in anyway.
Take a look at your long to-do list and prioritize the items in order of urgency and importance. Then just focus on getting things done, one at a time. Delegate what you can, delay what you don’t need to do for now, and ditch the things that are no longer relevant.
As long as you keep on working at doing what’s in front of you—that is your priority for the day—you eventually find that you’re already caught up and are now tackling the current things that you need to be doing.
We will never run out of things to do, but we can always jump back into them if we ever find ourselves going off-track.
You just really need to overcome the highest wall, which is taking the first step back in and then keeping at it.
Fear of the uncomfortable
Humans are wired to feel aversion toward discomfort. We don’t like pain, and whenever possible, we want to avoid dealing with the unknown.
However, if your goal is to grow, you need to get comfortable with facing a certain level of necessary discomfort. This is where commitment comes in—if it matters to you, you know that a little discomfort for now is worth what’s in store for you next. And overcoming that fear helps you grow strong enough to face the next batch of discomforts.
Fear of execution mode instead of being stuck in education mode
At some point, we have to leave the nest, so to speak.
Training is easy. If you make mistakes, you can correct them because you know you are in the process of learning. But going out in the field and putting your knowledge into practice is a different thing.
We often doubt ourselves and question whether we are really prepared for this. And most of the time, we are. It’s just our nerves getting in the way.
One way to think of this is, we feel nervous or afraid to mess it up because it matters to us. And since it matters to you, you can find the courage to go do it anyway. Just trust the process.
3. Doubting yourself
Lack of trust and confidence in yourself often stems from not knowing the answer to something, so you start questioning your ability to do it. Sometimes, it stems from the insecurity we feel when we get rejections—because of our age, our inexperience, etc.
When our credibility is questioned by others, self-doubt tends to creep in, and we tend to keyhole ourselves mentally: We start to internalize other people’s rejections, and we end up saying the same things to ourselves.
However, when we start to doubt ourselves, we give off that energy to the people we meet. How can your clients believe in you when you don’t believe in yourself?
Take a step back and look at it objectively. Trust in your own ability and skills, and trust your experience. Learn how you can do things better moving forward and apply it to your next opportunity.
Sometimes, having an accountability partner to help put things into perspective for you helps you build the confidence necessary to pull things off well.
And here’s the thing: the truth is, even the most seasoned veterans and most successful agents still feel nervous sometimes. They still have feelings of self-doubt and ask themselves whether they are really prepared for this presentation, phone call, or meeting.
And that’s okay. The best way to combat self-doubt is to prepare ahead of time.
If you feel like you always fumble your words when you talk to people on the phone or in person, practice delivering your scripts or your pitches. Find someone to do mock calls or practice conversations with.
Having people who you can rely on to help you, who will hold you accountable and bring you up really makes a lot of difference. Find people who can exchange strategies and stories with you about their experiences on the field. Even if you weren’t the one who went through that situation firsthand, you will be able to learn a lot from their experiences, expertise, and mistakes.
Another way to feel more prepared is to know as much information as you can. Ask your prospects questions. Get to know what they need and want. Observe them and try to figure out their personalities, what kind of person they are, etc.
The more you know about your clients, the better you will be able to provide what they need, and the better you can anticipate and prepare answers to possible questions they might have.
The more you practice and the more experience you have, the more you “develop that muscle memory”—things you found awkward at first eventually start to feel second nature to you.
This is part one, so stay tuned next week for part two! Have an awesome day.