I have had the privilege of attending The Gateway, a marketing seminar provided for real estate agents by Don Hobbs and Greg Herder. They are the founders of Hobbs Herder Advertising, the nation's largest personal marketing firm specializing in Realtors. As a new agent, their consultation on"?identifying a niche market and developing a personal brand"?image for my marketing has provided a firm foundation for our plan.

As with any new business, it takes money to make money! The cost to provide services is high"?for a new agent, and cashflow (time between closings) can be long. A new agent has to have a source of working capital to pay for the very marketing activities that bring in the business. Veteran agents can rely on personal referrals - after all, they have spent years building a reputation and visibility in the market. A new agent cannot rely solely on referrals - the business must be built like the foundation of a house - brick by brick.

One of the images that assisted me in understanding the "long range view" of business development was the attached slide that illustrates the life cycle of an agents career. The model demonstrates that business for a rookie is characterized by low sales, high cost and negative profit. In general, veteran agents will tell you that it took them close to three years to begin to see steady flow of business, steady cashflow and profitability.

In my opinion, this is the cause of the high turnover rate and loss of new agents within the first 24 months post-license. Few are positioned to compete in such a highly competitive and fragmented sales arena, and few have the necessary capital to succeed.

The Shearer Group is at the mid-point of the adventure! I will keep you posted. I really thought this model would be helpful to new agents as a visual image of what you may be experiencing. It helps to know that it is normal, it is expected, and you are not failing - we will succeed despite the great odds against us!

Have a great week and holiday,

Kendra