Lynn Minnick
By Lynn Minnick
When I was first starting out in real estate, I was lucky enough to have an experienced agent take me under her wing. We were from entirely different generations, and had very different business styles, but regardless of our differences, the education I learned from her was invaluable and continues to shape the way I practice real estate today. Our relationship didn’t arise from any formal mentoring program like the one my company later adopted. She was someone willing to foster young talent, and I was someone eager to learn; the Yoda to my Luke.
She took me on listing appointments, had me co-host open houses with her, brought me to home inspections, and taught me to be supportive of and network with other agents. She stressed the importance of our business reputations. And through it all, I was in awe; when it came to real estate, she was utterly fearless, because she knew how to handle every possible situation and dilemma that might occur.
Beyond everything I’ve already described, here are some more lessons she taught me: Continue reading »
Brittney Bissett
By Brittney Bissett
For my first YPN Lounge blog, I thought about what a new agent who has been licensed barely six months could bring to the table that more experienced agents would want to read about. Then I realized that with my “newbie” status, I could share how the newbies on the block see the business!
As a new agent, I think one of the most important things for us to do is find someone who we see as a mentor. If you are able to cultivate a working relationship with them, all the better. If not, find someone in your office, company, or area who works in a style you admire and just watch how they succeed. Watch what they do and then try to do it one better. It was probably one person who invented the wheel, but look at all we do with it today! The same goes for something you see as success story — you do it too, and do it better if you can!!! (Unless it’s copyright infringement, of course.)
Personally, I have been extremely lucky in landing in a situation where I had a strong and intelligent woman to take the reins in our office and share what works. Having a proven producer take you under their wing is a great way to boost not only your confidence, but also your street credibility. Watch them. Copy their style. Do their grunt work! It will pay off in the end. You will, in turn, pick up their habits that put them where they are today. Also pay attention to the tips and tricks your company gives you. They wouldn’t push it if it didn’t work.
And to the experienced agents… be nice!!! The new kids, while not necessarily having their feet under them, are still your colleagues. We are still learning and doing the best we can. A good manager will help get some of the kinks worked out, but everyone should be able to remember the first contract they wrote or their first listing that got an offer! Hopefully we can all play nice in the sandbox together.
Brittney Bissett is a REALTOR® with Howard Hanna in Madison, Ohio. Learn more about Brittney at www.howardhanna.com or connect with her on Twitter @brittneybissett.
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I was recently in a task force meeting for the Minneapolis YoPros. It really got me thinking about the true value of YPN and what I feel it’s all about.
To me, YPN is about bridging the generation gap. Not to stereotype my generation, (which I am not quite sure where I fall…X, Y, Z…who’s keeping track?) but typically the younger generations are more knowledgeable about technology and communications. A lot of us feel like we have ADD and we are constantly moving to the next best thing.
With that said, there is a lot that can be learned from older generations. I thought about an agent in my office. She has been around for 30 years. She knows the ins and outs of the business. She has seen the good times and the bad and she survived.
She recently got her first Facebook account. It was cute. She seemed a little iffy at first. I would constantly see her replying to someone in her status update. It would make me chuckle a bit. But believe it or not, she is workin it! She is now posting blogs, articles and other valuable content to her page. I have been really impressed by her. Continue reading »
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I was recently working in my office and got to thinking as I look around at all the other practitioners. All but a few had a relative who was able to mentor them. Then I look at myself… I am flying solo here. I was lucky enough to start out in the closing end of the business but being on the other side was completely different to me.
I still am trying to grow as a practitioner. I try to participate in several groups, read about up and coming agents, marketing trends, networking, you name it. But still, I am not quite the Donald Trump I had hoped to be… at least not yet.
I read my fellow YPN bloggers posts and wonder… how do they do it??? They all seem to be a wiz in this crazy world of real estate. I wonder how they all got their start and how have they become the agents that they are.
I am now on a mission to find a person to help show me the way. If you can’t figure it out yourself, you need to do what you can to find a way to get there.
On my blog www.strugglingrookierealestateagent.blogspot.com, I received a comment from a newly licensed agent. He wanted to know some key questions to ask when shopping for a broker. It was a tough question for me to answer, as I had not asked any questions when I had first received my license and just went to the company that I had closed for and later moved to a company that a friend of mine worked with. After some careful thought, this is what I came up with and what I probably should have asked in the beginning. Continue reading »
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