By Brian Hosey, Marcus & Millichap
In physics, there is a term called escape velocity, which refers to the amount of energy it takes for an object, in this case a rocket, to lift off the ground and escape earth’s gravitational pull. The amount of energy required to lift a rocket off the ground and push it through the upper atmosphere takes tremendous force.
Most salespeople underestimate the amount of energy it takes to become successful. In commercial real estate brokerage, the gravitational force keeping you on the ground is strong. A new salesperson needs to build a database, learn underwriting, study the comps, cold call, and overcome objections. Most importantly, a new salesperson needs to learn how to sell their services to a future prospect. The list goes on. As if that was not challenging enough, there is a sea of competitors trying to put you out of business.
Commercial real estate is a full-contact sport that requires a level of dedication and sacrifice that most people are not prepared to give. If you find yourself hoping that the phone will ring with a “hot lead” you will surely fail. Hoping a rocket will somehow find its way into outer space without the appropriate planning and energy required is foolish.
There is good news! Salespeople that engage in high activity levels, aka high energy output, build momentum and become successful. And the best part? You can control your activity levels. Once you have listed and closed several transactions, you now produce your own gravitational force. Prospecting becomes easier. Underwriting is less mysterious. Cold calling is less scary, and referrals will start to come to you. An object in motion wants to stay in motion.
But don’t get lazy! Even a spaceship needs to turn on the booster rockets every now and then to stay on course. A good salesperson must do the same. I recommend that new salespeople commit to at least five years of high activity levels.
There should be no “work-life balance”. Most of your energy should go towards launching your brokerage business with the remaining time spent with family and on health and fitness.
Bonus tip: work an extra six hours every weekend. Most new salespeople are working long hours during the week. That’s a good start, but there are diminishing returns to working long days. Those last few hours are usually not that productive. I recommend an agent work a full workweek and then add on an additional six hours over the weekend. Those six hours over the course of a year will result in an extra month and a half of productivity.
Here is the math:
6 hours X 50 work weeks in a year = 300 hours
300 hours / 50 hours in a week = 6 additional work weeks
By adhering to this schedule, a new salesperson can boost their productivity by 13 percent while avoiding burnout. An added benefit of this schedule is that the salesperson will save money on dinning out and entertainment.
Most salespeople underestimate the time and effort it will take to launch their brokerage career. By sticking to a strict schedule and high activity levels the sky is the limit!
Brian Hosey is first vice president/ division manager of Marcus & Millichap’s Mid-Atlantic Division.