A recent article from Dean Burgess at excitepreneur.net:
There is a lot to learn about business from the real estate industry. This has become very clear after talking to a number of its professionals. Anyone thinking of starting any kind of business should consider the business sense, sales skills, and risk-taking behaviors realtors must possess. There’s so much more to it than figuring what a property is worth and selling it.
I’ve been conducting a number of interviews with realtors and gaining a lot of great information in the process. Philip Scarborough of Elite Realty Group in Jacksonville, Florida for one, shared some interesting insights.
First, I asked him what made him decide to go into real estate.
“I started my business because I love meeting and working with all kinds of people,” he told me. “If I didn’t, I’d have to be crazy to go into real estate when the market was going bust. Realtors were leaving big companies because they could no longer make a living selling homes. I saw a niche and began working with lawyers, builders, bankers, and investors even though other businesses were cutting back. I was building my personal dream, and by 2009 I had my own firm. To me, it’s more than just additional income – I am helping people live better lives. Often people come to us looking to make a transaction, but I want them to know we can do more than put a roof over their heads. We want to go above and beyond to make their dreams come true.”
On what he loves about working in his area in particular, Scarborough said, “I truly love Northeast Florida. It really is home for me and helping others find it to be their home is great. Jacksonville is the largest city in the state and there are so many neat little spots all over the city to explore. It has a lot to offer and that makes it easier to sell, especially when you love it yourself.”
I asked Scarborough what his proudest career moment is. He said there are many.
“I love it when our agents can help make people’s dreams a reality,” he added. “I love that the team at Elite has an amazing attitude to all the challenges that arise, we all quickly spin it to a positive light and this is key. I am blessed by the quality of the people that I work with. When I say quality, I mean the character and integrity of these folks I get to work with is amazing.”
Finally, I asked Scarborough what the biggest challenge is that real estate agents face and what he does in his own career to overcome it.
“Getting caught up in the ‘fire drills’ that grab our immediate attention can be a challenge,” he said. “Real estate agents are in sales because we love challenges and variety in our days. F.O.C.U.S. is the key acronym - FOLLOW ONE COURSE UNTIL SUCCESS. It’s in our nature to want to help others so even though mowing that yard for a client seems like a great thing to do, it doesn’t always fall into our FOCUS. We need to make sure that we are regularly operating in our most productive areas. To overcome these challenges requires a plan to review roles, goals, and the actionable steps and metrics to measure progress. We should continue to review these items at least once a week or every other week.”
This is a lesson any business owner can use.
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