What can I say, this past week has been another grind. But holy crap, on the plus side, I am feeling the growth. I promised a recap of last Saturday, so first things first. Yeah, last Saturday was Easter weekend, and I started the day by tabling with a veteran (20+ years of experience) loan officer at BOA. I was awful at tabling. People would just kinda walk by as they headed to the teller line. Thankfully, my lender had a table full of swag and that brought some people over. I watched her engage them, asking questions about their current loan and rates and seeing if they were interested in refinancing. She was so great about introducing me as the branch realtor. I know, it’s strange to hear. Anyway, who the hell knew that bank branches could be so damn busy? I talked to the branch manager, and he gave me the lowdown: many of their clients are blue collar workers who don’t have direct deposit, so they come in with a pile of checks and then leave with cash, bc they are still cash-based in most of their transactions. The other interesting tidbit was that nearly everyone at the branch spoke Spanish, and it was cool to see a place providing customer service tailored to its clientele.

The branch manager was super friendly AND actually, he’s a warm lead: he’s moving to Texas in two months. It became super apparent that he was a researcher (he spent the last two years researching various cities throughout the country for his next stop), so we bonded over that. After I got home, I did all this research on good agents in San Antonio, reached out to one of them, and then made the intro. We’ll see if that pans out as a referral.

Later, my lender started working with a couple, and she brought me over and introduced me. The couple told stated that they are already working with an agent, but the lender continued to push me as a backup or in case if anything changes. I was super nervous though, bc I recently had a training at the realtors’ association and they always say it’s a huge no-no to engage with clients who are already taken. I mean, obviously, from the client’s perspective, if an agent can answer questions now, I suppose it’s helpful but you can’t be stealing clients. As a newb, I was especially uncomfortable about it and I think the awkwardness came across. Interestingly, I recently discovered that all lenders also have a real estate license, which is required as part of their lending license, so the lender helped me navigate some of the topics they were discussing. I was sooo nervous. Still, it was very helpful to see how the pros do things… you really can learn a ton just by watching.

In the afternoon, I had the open house at the swanky flip house in Almaden Valley. I got about 13 people through. I’m still nervous and uneasy when people ask me questions, so I need to work on that confidence… it’s ok if I don’t know the answer, but I just have to make sure I’m more assertive about finding the answer and getting back. J saw me interact with some of the people and said I’m getting more comfortable about it. For the most part, people are super cagey, but thank goodness for the ones who are open and friendly. It makes a world of difference. Shit man, sales is so fricking hard. This makes me re-think the next time I enter a retail store: I really should be nicer. Everyone’s trying to do a good job and earn a living, you know?

So that sales/prospecting class is now in full swing. Aside from the insane goal of 100 real estate conversations/week, we are tasked with a full list of homework. In class 2, which was last Wednesday, the coach made a point of clarifying: this is not a training class; this is an intense coaching program of transformation. What does that mean, you ask?

Let’s just say, everything is being tracked. Number of calls, number of hours spent on lead generation, daily habits, number of people met, etc. We created a weekly calendar down to half-hour chunks. I mean, I have done some pretty damn intense things in my life, and I have to say, this is way up there. I feel like I am working or thinking about work from sun up to sun down. For real. And then the program has us broken into teams and if you don’t meet your individual goals, the team suffers. So there’s that.

Every damn day, I am waking up feeling tremendous stress and pressure worrying about how I’m going to hit my goals. I seriously feel like I am in that Justin Timberlake movie In Time. Thankfully, I met the 20/day goal Th, Fri, and Saturday but holy crap, it takes major hustle.

On Thursday, I realized that manually dialing people from a list was going to take for freaking ever, so I got set up with a power dialer tool. Basically, it’s a software program that automatically dials a list of phone numbers. I know, don’t hate. But holy cow, that tool is wonderful bc it allows me to quickly hang up on bad numbers, leave a pre-recorded VM on answering machines, and it just keeps powering through the list without pausing. Some dialers can call up to three lines at once, so yeah, technology is fucking amazing.

The thing is, I’ve had the shittiest luck with the cold calls. I have not gotten any leads, and true, it’s probably bc I’m not very good at it. For example, on Friday, I called into my team captain for 8am script practice. He and a colleague demoed a call and dang, the captain is good. I mean, assuming he can extend the call beyond the first ten seconds… he is smooth and super natural and persuasive. It’s an interesting revelation bc listening to him on the call, my brain tells me he’s just naturally talented with the confidence and persuasion. It’s that authentic. But then after talking to him and hearing him explain how he practiced daily for months and months, I realize that his fluidity is learned behavior. Every little bit is studied and practiced to the point of becoming natural… I know practicing does wonders but shit, I am still impressed. So, back to the scripts!

In addition to the calls, I did a few other “reach” activities this week. For example, on Wednesday, I found a sweet house in Almaden Valley to possibly host open for Easter weekend. I saw that it wasn’t scheduled for an open house, so I reached out to the listing agent to ask if I could host. She didn’t get back to me via email, so then I texted her. She’s covered, she replies. But it still wasn’t on the calendar. Maybe they were just going to take a break this weekend, or maybe she was reluctant to have me host? I don’t know. But then on Friday afternoon, she reached out to me and asked if I was still interested. Yes! When I spoke with her on the phone to get the property rundown, she was surprised to learn I was a newbie. She said I came across very professional. Hee, hee!

After our call, I called up some lenders to see if any of them had leads for me (another reach), and an officer from BOA told me she was holding a Loan Day at the local branch on Saturday. She invited me to join. So just like that, at 5pm on Friday, I was booked to table at the BOA on Saturday morning and then host the open house in the afternoon. Yup, skateboarding class got canceled. I gotta hit them stats!

Friday night, I was up late prepping and fixing my signs, and Saturday was a looong ass day. I wasn’t very good at tabling, but the open house went pretty well. The house was a beauty, so that helped. More deets on Saturday later. Needless to say, I was wiped by the time I got home. Too much people interaction!! I spent most of today (Sunday) doing homework, and I had zero real estate conversations. Hitting the sack now to get up early and start the countdown again tomorrow. Ugggg.

Sorry for the long silence, I have been busting my ass. After my pity party last month, I resolved to do more and to do better. What does that mean, exactly?

For one thing, I signed up for a 7-week sales and prospecting class. Yeah, if you thought I was uncomfortable as fuck showing up at banks with popcorn gifts, attending random meetup groups, and reaching out to friends and acquaintances asking for referrals, that was just Level 1, my friends. For the class, we have to call people up (Yeah, who do you know who actually still uses the phone these days, right?) and do the drill/script. OMG, I was so freaking stressed about it. I stalled and stalled and finally only called Bubbey and a neighbor that first day. The goal for the class over the period of 7 weeks? 100 people PER WEEK. In other words, 20 new people PER DAY.

It’s an interesting predicament, bc that day, I experienced a total return of my previous social anxiety/paralysis from ages ago. It’s probably been over a decade since I made myself that sick with worry and stress over talking to people. After I got home from the first class, I cried and felt like shit. I rolled around in bed thinking, “I just don’t have it in me. I can’t do this. I don’t know how to speak the ‘language of sales’.” And then after a night of feeling completely paralyzed, I knew what I had to do.

This is the path I have chosen. This is part of the business. No matter how great I’ll be as an agent– managing the projects, keeping all parties in the loop, finding resources and studying the market, I will never get to that point if I don’t get clients. It all boils down to getting the clients.

I realized too that I was taking everything too damn seriously. I was hanging on every word, every pause, every statement. I didn’t like this or that or word choice… I mean, I can be pretty damn particular. But if I’m going to enroll in the class, I have to believe in their approach. I can have all my doubts and skepticism, but I have to at least try the exercises the way they are intended to be done. If I try and it doesn’t work, then I can do things my way, but I can’t be rejecting methods before even starting, you know?

It was really a moment where the rubber hit the road. I usually get so excited about learning new things, getting in on the trade secrets or whatever… I have always considered myself coachable, but am I really??? Hell, no. I was resisting like crazy. But I caught myself, and now I’m going to do something about it.

So now I’m trying to hit my numbers. I’m still incorporating a little bit of my style in doing things… for example, I am contacting people by email first and then following up with the call (that’s how I did my cold-calling work when I was at the fuel-cell company). I just like the idea of giving people some background/intro and heads up so at least they know who I am when I call. But shit, I’m going to follow the script and go from there.

At the trainings, my coach in the past has asked, “Are you a shark or a clam?” Clams get their food passively, by filter feeding. They sit there, hoping that food comes their way. On the other hand, sharks are bosses. They attack and take what they want. I am always amused by the analogies trainers use to motivate and inspire people. But heck, that shit worked on me. I’m a shark, goddamnit, and I’m going to start acting like one.

Holy crap, how is March here already? By the end of this month, we will have completed the first quarter of 2017. Say what??? Yes, we are just back from a quick vacation. Sadly, my anxiety levels are right back up to pre-vacay status. Part of the thing is, I feel like the last few months have been so stop and go. I gain momentum then life shit happens and I lose steam. Repeat. I mean, granted, that is life and there’s nothing that can be done about it. I just have to climb back in the saddle and move forward. But man, it’s frustrating bc my new line of work already has so many ups and downs in and of itself and then couple that with the rollercoaster ride outside of work and it feels overwhelming.

And then the week before our vacation, our office had a team meeting. Our CEO gave a market update presentation but also recognized three newbies for their work ethic and gumption. First, I didn’t even know there was such a recognition and then second, I wasn’t among them. And that REALLY bummed me out, bc I honestly feel like I have been working hard. Every damn day my calendar is packed! Between reconnecting with old contacts, meeting people over lunch/coffee (to plant the seed), attending trainings at the office and through multiple associations, previewing homes, studying market data, and updating my databases, I feel like I am doing A LOT. So his whole award announcement was that these ladies were unafraid. They tabled. They door knocked. They held open houses. Ok, well I didn’t do those particular strategies… my methods have been more personal and one-on-one…  plus I missed several trainings bc of Martin, Montana, Maryland, and Mexico (whoa, all Ms!). So fine. Maybe I wasn’t the top student. I think the other reason it really bugged me is bc two of the ladies kinda irk my nerves. Like the one who door knocks: she’s super LOUD when she talks and she’s just kind of annoying in her communication style. I mean, I won’t go into the various scenarios but like today: she did the “how are you” thing where instead of a question that prompts a conversation, it’s used as a greeting. Like she didn’t even bother to hear my reply. I asked how things were going and she said “going” and turned around and sat down. Huh? Anyway, just one example. Whatever. Regardless, I was bummed out.

But in usual fashion, as the end of the day rolled around, I stopped my pity party and resolved to work harder. That night and the next day, I reached out to more people, got to rescheduling that reunion for my old workplace (startup), and contacted more lenders, scheduled meetings to discuss hosting homebuying seminars. I don’t always do things by the book. Sometimes I have trouble following rules, bc I have my own style and approach. As someone who used to work in communications, I’m pretty particular about how I interact and engage with people. Yes, I overthink ALL of it. So no regrets for the work and effort I’ve put in to date. I like my style bc it feels more genuine to me, but at the same time, I know that I need to amp up some parts of my strategy. Maybe it’ll mean being more direct about asking for referrals. Maybe I will start talking about market trends and reasons for buying vs renting in more conversations… I do need to push farther and that’s a good outcome from the team meeting.