The Responibility To Be A Mentor

by Jeff Brown

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

Why aren’t you a mentor? Most experienced agents aren’t. And no, answering a question or two from a neophyte doesn’t make you a mentor. It means you weren’t too busy and were in the mood to look magnanimous. Mentoring is a serious missing piece of the real estate puzzle. It is probably a major factor in the huge turnover we see in the business every year, whether it was a boom or bust year.

Why is that?

If you’re an agent or broker, what was your first year like? Did you set the world on fire? Did you meet all your goals and make a name for yourself as a rookie? Not likely.

My first year I made about $3K or so. Of course the median price then was about $19K or so. I was a full time college student working weekends and a few hours before or after class during the week. But I was mentored and a half. 🙂

By the time I received notice from the state I’d passed my licensing test, I’d been attending seminars for two years, 90% of which were attended by me, myself, and I. The forms were old hat for me before I took the state test. I was grilled by Dad and his general manager, Wally Porter about all the finer points of being an agent.

Sometimes Dad would actually let me tag along when he took listings. There was no presentation. He spoke, they listened, they signed. For a naive teenager it looked the world to me like I’d be driving a Lincoln in no time flat.

The key to all the mentoring I received was how generously it was given. There were probably at least ten experienced agents/brokers who took the time to pass on their experience and to ensure I actually understood them. They taught me the things you just can’t learn in school. They also invariably reminded me that I’d no doubt be in the business long term and would have the obligation to do for others what they so graciously were doing for me.

What were the results of all their mentoring? Who really knows? I can tell you stories in which I was able to use what I was taught — stories in which the endings were mostly happy. For instance, I listed a FSBO the first day on the job. How? I just did what Wally told me to do. After all he wouldn’t lie to me would he? Of course not. It’s only fair to mention that listing wasn’t worth the ink it took to make it a contract. But it was a listing, and I was jazzed as only a young man can be on his first day on the job.

My boss (Wally) later that week called the sellers of that property to ask them their thoughts on me as an agent. Wally didn’t convey this conversation to me until a year after I opened my own firm, back in 1977. They said, and I’m paraphrasing like crazy here, “That young man had more confidence and enthusiasm than the three agents who came before him combined. And that’s why we listed with him.”

Where do you think that confidence and enthusiasm came from? It came from the men and women who took the time to get me up to speed. Guys like Russ Stowell, Ray Clancy, Lew and Lorraine Ditler, Dick Hall, Wally Porter, Sali Brown, Helen Stuart, Clyde Neal, and of course Dad. But there were more, many more. I just can’t recall their names.

And that’s my point. Back in the day, when folks were more concerned with quality than quantity, mentoring the new guy was part of the job description. Sadly, it’s pretty apparent these days are far different. It’s every agent for themselves for the most part. And that’s shameful. It’s a black mark for the industry as a whole.

I’ve been blessed by my experience mentoring young people. I’m proud to say that so far I’ve taken several ‘virgin’ agents and moved them into the main stream as long term successful producers. Sometimes the satisfaction received from that eclipses the financial success with which I’ve been blessed. There’s nothing like seeing the bird leave the nest, flying away with confidence, knowing you had something to do with it.

Who is in your office in need of a little experience, some encouragement, a few words of wisdom, and a glimpse into a successful future? Though I always profusely thanked those who helped me, I still wish sometimes I could thank them just one more time.

The responsibility, as the wheel keeps turning, to pass on what they taught, weighs on me. It’s why I stop what I’m doing when a young stranger, calls me for advice from another region. Or a young man from another country recently moved to Canada calls out of the blue, asking how to get started. I love when that happens. I get to return the favor.

Who have you helped lately?