Realty World Northern California & Nevada

The term ‘differentiate yourself from the rest’ is bandied around so much today in the real estate industry as if it’s the magical solution to being successful.

Many years ago a very significant mentor in my real estate career introduced me to ten small words that, over the years, have given me the direction I truly needed. These ten small words have become very significant in their meaning:

“If it is to be, it is up to me!”

The real estate market is coming out of eight years where money was easily made and so many picked up on the opportunity to grab hold of it with little to no direction. You did not have to differentiate yourself; you just needed to be in front of people and have a heartbeat. Now that a stable foundation is being formed in the real estate market, many must choose to step up to the plate or change career paths. It takes a strong commitment to remain in this profession.

As you formulate your business model, take into consideration that you need more than something that rejuvenates and motivates you as those attributes are short-lived. Move from ‘differentiating’ to being ‘directional’ in your business model.  What this means is building your future with books, seminars, and blogs that provide a clear mindset. Be accountable and have a well-designed action plan.  Become confident with the tools and systems that serve you the best.

Blog! Allow others to learn from your expertise. Enhance your standing in your community and offer a positive impact in people’s lives. Give of yourself and, above all, give service.

Being directional in your business model will push you to attain a higher level and you’ll soon find yourself differentiating naturally.

Dennis Stewart
Vice President & Regional Director
Dennis.Stewart@rwnc.net

There’s nothing worse than fear of the unknown, which is precisely the distraction of so many good real estate professionals today.

Many years ago during a changing economy, I found myself in a real estate market of 17% to 19%+ interest rates. This type of market was all new to me and I knew I would have a tremendous challenge ahead, struggling to earn a living and raise my young family of six at that time. Well, it didn’t take me very long to understand that change was among me. The “old” way of doing business wasn’t working, and a new path lay ahead of me. I took a proactive initiative and disciplined myself into learning new skills so that I could educate my prospective sellers and buyers who weren’t confident with the real estate industry because of negative information they were hearing through the media.  Yes, the media was negative then also!

My goals were clear. I had to set out and find my own direction before I could begin to give direction. I prepared action plans of what services and systems I could offer my clients. I had to dig in and truly understand the markets I serviced, assess each area of my expertise and on a daily basis because things changed that quickly, just as they do today. (Oh, if back then I had the privilege of the technology offered today). 

Once I achieved my goals, encouragement came in the form of people asking me questions, they wanted to be educated. That, by itself, was enlightening to me. Confident in my newfound skills, I felt it my professional responsibility to guide them and help them understand every aspect of the home buying or home selling process. And it took so much pressure off of me because there wasn’t a need to “sell” anymore. People didn’t need to be sold, simply informed. The fear of the unknown was gone, and the fun began.

From the beginning of my real estate career I had a long term commitment to this industry.
I hope you do as well.