YOUR INCOME IS DETERMINED BY HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU SERVE AND HOW WELL YOU SERVE THEM.
“The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, ‘Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.’ Another way to say that might be, ‘Everybody can be successful because anybody can give.’” (Excerpt From: Bob Burg & John David Mann. “The Go-Giver, Expanded Edition.” )
One of the questions that I have asked those whom I am blessed to manage is the following: “How are you going to set yourself apart from the other 3,000 agents in Greenville?” Most of the time, when I ask this question, a blank stare will immediately follow the question from the one I am asking. How does one answer a question such as that? How does a brand new agent set themselves a part from day one of getting into the real estate industry? Believe it or not, this is very simply answered through the law of compensation.
Imagine this…you are hungry and have a desire for a chicken sandwich. You get in your vehicle, you head toward restaurant row….and you encounter multiple fast food restaurants; all of which you can purchase a chicken sandwich from. So which one do you choose? There are clearly several choices of well know fast food establishments at your disposal.
You begin to look at the traffic and the drive through lines. You begin to notice how many vehicles are in the parking lot and the ease of getting into and out of the facility.
You realize that Chick-Fli-A’s drive through line is three times longer than McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendys combined. All of these restaurants sell chicken sandwiches and you are a little short on time…
Then the thought hits you! You remember the experience you had the last time you went to Chick-Fil-A. You remember, the drive through line was wrapped around the building…yet somehow you were able to place your order with a live smiling person (Because they were outside in the drive through line with Star-Trek looking computers in their hands) and had your food in record time. You recall receiving your food and paying for it and the Chick-Fil-A employee greeting you with respect and graciously thanking you. You remember saying to yourself as you reach into the bag while pulling out of the parking…this food is Hot AND Fresh. You thought to yourself…How do they do this? How do they serve so many people in so little time and still manage to do it better than anyone else?
Chick-Fil-A has mastered the Art of Fast Food, and because of this…they have also mastered the Law of Compensation. They figured out a way to be the best and set themselves a part by providing exemplary services over their competition. From the cleanliness of their restaurants to their managers being on the front lines…to the person providing everyone a refill and the employee walking the floor making sure that the patron experience was superb…Chick-Fil-A sets the bar for fast food customer service.
So what does this have to do with Real Estate? I am so glad you asked…
Let’s look at the The Law of Compensation again; Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
1.) Your Income is NOT determined by your commission split.
If you work for a company providing you a 90/10 split and your company services and your own services are not up to par…more than likely you will do less transactions than an agent on a 60/40 split with a company that has superior Customer Services and Customer Experiences. The agent on a lower split will more than likely be referred over and over and the agent on a 90/10 split will consistently fight the up hill battle of trying to find their next lead.
2.) Your Income is NOT determined by your paid lead service.
This has been proven countless times. STOP Paying for leads! Work YOUR Sphere of Influence. Service YOUR Sphere better than anyone else. Grow your SPHERE by providing excellent customer or client services where people will want to refer you. It is natural for people to talk about and refer business when they have a wonderful experience. Oh sure….every now and then you can close a deal through a paid lead service but ask any seasoned agent and they will tell you….their business stems from their Sphere of Influence.
3.) Your Income is NOT determined by your knowledge in the industry.
Studies have shown that one’s success is equated from 15% of their technical knowledge in their field and 85% of their social skills. You do not need to know everything about real estate to excel very quickly in this industry. But if you have excellent social skills and combine them with excellent customer service…there really is no ceiling to your income level. (Statistics provided by The Charleston School of Protocol and Etiquette, Inc.)
4.) Your Income is NOT determined by your tenure in the industry.
I have seen agents in the industry 20 plus years that are making less today than they were 15 years ago because newer agents in the industry have found a way to serve more people and in more exemplary ways.
So let’s circle back to the original question in the blog – “How are you going to set yourself apart from the other 3,000 agents in Greenville?”
Do it by serving and do it better than everyone else and your compensation will greatly increase.
Until next time…Broker Different! ~ MLT
