I recently had the opportunity to read Frank Cook's book, "21 Things I Wish My Broker Had Told Me". It was given to me by a wonderful loan officer that I have developed a great working relationship with.

The preface of the book starts out with the insight that no one really understands what type of person it takes to succeed in real estate: "A well educated, midlevel executive from another profession who comes into real estate seems to have no better shot at making it big than a former housewife who thinks she'd like to make a bit of money now that the children are gone". The "normal filters" just don't seem to figure in, says Cook.

And, there does not seem to be a relationship between licensing test scores and performance in the field!

In the book, the idea is to fast-forward into your career and think about the top 21 things you wish you had known. A couple of my favorite's from the list of 21 are:

1. (Number 5 in the book): I wish I had known how much money I would need to stockpile before I got into the business and how long it would be before I got my first commission check. I wish I had known how much money I would be spending to get my business going.

In my opinion, this is probably one of the highest reasons for agent turnover in the first 1-2 years. I had no idea that I would be operating in the red for this long. It takes 3 years to develop a strong enough business to have positive cash flow, and in which marketing is working to attract new customers.

2. (Number 9 in the book): I wish I had been realistic about the kind of strain my spouse and children would be under if I did the things I felt it would take to become successful. I wish I had remembered that I needed to take time out for them.

This is a tough one, and one that as new agents, we can try to factor in! Nothing is worth our families.

3. (Number 20 in the book): I wish I had consistently understood the importance of allowing people to make their own choices in finding a place to live and that my assumptions were completely irrelevant.

I love this one! I am a very low pressure "sales" person. In fact, I do not view myself as a sales person. I conduct myself as a consultant, advisor, and facilitator. This perspective allows me to establish a relationship with my client that is deep and lasting. I treat people the way I want to be treated, fully respectful that this is their purchase. I think this is a great area for scripts (practice) and customer feedback.

I hope this is a nice overview and that you will get the book and read it for yourself!

Have a great week,

Kendra