Recently, I was starting to feel frustrated about my “long way” of doing things. You see, while I was pouring all this time and energy into studying the details– be it reading the disclosure documents for every single home I hosted open, or looking into nuances in the contract, or asking questions about one-off driveway maintenance agreements– my colleagues were booking appointments and getting listings. I was starting to think that I was misdirecting my focus. Somehow, I was doing it all wrong. again.

Granted, my style has always been on the detail-oriented side. When I took the DISC personality test, my number 1 trait was dominance– getting shit done. But I also have a thing for data/details/minutiae. I want shit done but done right, so that means I want to know what I’m talking about. Studying the details and understanding the why gives me confidence and decisiveness. Anyway, I was starting to feel sorry for myself bc honestly, I was spending more time and not really gaining traction. I mean, how many times had I prepped all the offer paperwork in anticipation of submitting the offer only to get to the end and have the client decide NOT to submit on the property?? Yes, part of it was that I wanted to have the docs ready to go at a moment’s notice. The other factor was that I wanted the time to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s. Btw, all along I was meeting with my coach weekly, and I’d always show up with a bunch of questions.

Long story short, I caught a break last week! My coach called me and said the office was trying to recruit an agent– a top performer at another brokerage. In their conversations with the agent, he revealed that one of his problems is having too much work and not enough help. In the past, he had hired an assistant and added members to his team, but they never worked out. As a way of offering him a solution, my coach and the office CEO offered to refer him to some newer agents who could assist. My coach wanted to recommend me!! Say what???

Yes, I was thrilled. For one thing, I mean, my coach works with about 50 agents, and he said I came to mind. Yay. I was so happy and grateful that he thought of me. He said that I ask a lot of good questions, and the agent wanted someone who’s a good researcher. Yeehaw!!! So the thing is, in general, when you start off as a new agent, you can 1) join an existing team as a buyer’s agent and basically get leads handed to you. But you earn a salary (not commission) or 2) start on your own and get your own business. The reason I started my first year with option 2 is bc my coach said a lot of times the teams have retention problems. When you join as a salaried staff with a specific role, you end up basically doing all the grunt work without much compensation or room for growth. So my coach suggested that agents learn more about the business doing it on their own… I also liked the autonomy of option 2…

However, now that I’m a year in, I feel more confident about the transactional details but I could use some more leads! The cool thing about this new opportunity with this agent, let’s call him R is this: he’s happy to have my help on a case by case basis. This allows me to still do my own thing and build my biz. So essentially, it’s the best of both worlds: he gets the help he needs; I get some leads to build my experience and confidence and earnings!

After I told my coach I was interested, the office CEO wanted to talk to me before passing my name along. That phone screen cleared. Then, I waited two days and no word from R. So I got his info from the CEO and called him up. He is a delightful, jolly Persian man, a bit younger than my dad. He was so happy I called. We scheduled to meet later that day, and bam, he was keen to get started right away. Gave me the first client that day!

And I have been cranking out the property searches and info fast! In the last few days, I’ve delivered him info for three different clients. Each time, I compile all the info, disseminate via email, follow up with calls… and he’s like Santa Claus every time I talk to him. He’s so pleased and happy. Everything I give him, he’s like “Perfect. Very good. Excellent.” I’ve learned a lot too, about commercial/investment properties. Also, watching him make calls… He’s excellent on the phone– has incredible rapport. Then again, he’s been an agent for 30 years, so his clients come back and trust him. It’s amazing to witness what that relationship looks like: They seek his feedback. They listen to his recommendations. There’s respect. They’re willing to drive 90 minutes just to meet with him. It’s seriously been so eye-opening. And dayum, I’ve missed the validation and acknowledgement that comes from being productive and helpful and valued.

Looking back, this experience is a reminder of just how detrimental my disappointments have been on my psyche. The rejection and lack of response and rudeness of people was kinda screwing with my soul. And now doing these small tasks has filled my bucket again and given me renewed energy and resilience to continue building my business.