In
teaching the pre-license real estate course the students are always
inquisitive of what the real estate profession entails. My
thoughts:
First, being a successful agent
has nothing to do with sex. I have known highly successful
agents both male and female who were in some cases brokers for both
large and small companies. Not many occupations can purport
such an equal opportunity to either sex when the criteria used to judge
is success.
Second, success does not
directly relate to formal schooling. Again I have
known successful brokers/owners of small companies with just a GED and
I have known the retired military officer with multiple advanced
degrees last not even a year in the business. This is not to
say that success is not related to expertise. But, this can
be obtained in any number of ways once a person is part of the business.
Success does
belong to the agent who is a "people" person.
In selecting an agent I would look for one who loves to work
with people. You know those people who are always late, never call, who
don't see things your way, are hard to understand, and change their
mind with each house shown, and who say one thing yet act another...
Success in real estate comes from an ability to work with all
people. I once had an agent who I threatened to fire weekly.
Their paper work was done incorrectly, rules were not
followed, the system wasn't being used and their knowledge was a cell
phone
call to the broker which occurred all too frequently. That
agent, at years end, was the top producer and for all their failings it
was hard to check-out at the local food store and not know that you
were standing in line with a real estate agent who was put on this
earth to sell you a house. People praised their interaction
with the agent. Truly a people person!
As my children matured I
explained that there are professions and jobs. When one works
at a job, the primary concern should be money. Whichever job pays the
most will allow for the most options. But a profession is not
about money but more about you.
It is not to be viewed as work but mor importantly what you as a person were
designed to do. I spoke to them of their mother, who as an
educator of elementary children, defined who she is to a small degree
by being a teacher. I view Real Estate as a profession with
the same requirement as other professions. A commitment to
always improving
the same as you would expect a doctor. So once a profession
is determined then the money is no longer the consideration.
Rather the money which a profession affords you becomes the
amount which now establishes a person's life style. Why would a person
select a job to make more money then to have a profession which may pay
less but is a day to day pleasure? So if being a real estate
agent is about money, please click on over to my thoughts on commissions and realize that
real estate is a profession and not just a job.
Lastly few occupations directly
reward work. Most require dedication to a schedule and
might possibly provide an annual bonus if the company is
successful. In real estate those that are successful are the
workers who not only work hard but work smart. If you work
harder or smarter in real estate you are financially rewarded for your
efforts. Not many professions have work and financial reward
so closely tied.
1st Addendum (May 2002)
I obtained an
Internet copy of the Alabama Board of Cosmetology Statutes
and Regulations 2001 edition. Section 34-7A-22 requires a
licensed cosmetologist to have between 1,200
to 1,700 hours of formal schooling or 3,000 hours
of apprenticeship training (not more than 8 hours a day and to be
completed in 3 years). To be a licensed manicurist
either 600 hours of formal schooling or 1,200 hours of apprenticeship
training.
To be a state licensed real estate sales
agent you are required (along
with a few other items like being a citizen or an alien with permanent
resident status) to have a High School degree or the equivalent, be 19
years of age and have completed a 60 hours
pre-license course plus pass, with a score of at least 70%, the state and national test!
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