Real estate mogul and business expert, Barbara Corcoran, once said:
“Don’t be afraid to...take on clients just outside of your knowledge base. Confidence is overrated. It’s when we’re uncomfortable and looking for answers that we learn and grow the most.”
To all you real estate agents out there who wish you were selling in higher price points but are afraid to take yourself beyond the $1M, $2M, or even $3M mark, take note.
I’m going to tell you the story of one of my agents, let’s call her Mary. A young woman in her early 20’s, just starting off in real estate and with little experience beyond a healthy rental business, Mary was lucky enough to take an office call late on a Friday afternoon from a couple looking to purchase a property. Remembering everything she had learned about sales so far, Mary asked all the right questions to find out more about this couple’s goals. When she got to the question about their price range, Mary nearly dropped the phone: $3M-$5M.
Mary came to me in a panic. How could she possibly work with this couple? She didn’t have any experience beyond sales of $300K or $400K or so. The reality was that Mary had everything it would take to successfully sell this couple a home. And she did. We worked together to help her see that her service to these clients needed to be no different than the service she provided to any of her clients, no matter how much money they had to spend. Certainly, she had to get up to speed on the inventory in that price range, but she was able to do that pretty quickly. She also worked hard to establish her credibility amongst the listing agents in the $3M-$5M. And she did that successfully too by showing herself to be engaged, hardworking and professional. She even approached a senior agent in her office and asked him to serve as a sounding board for her and a potential back up if she felt she needed the help. She didn’t. Sure, it was a steep learning curve and there were times when Mary felt out of her depth, but she learned a lot and realized that a little confidence went a long way. And this happy couple purchased the home of their dreams with Mary.
