If you are an enemy of agents working hard, you are an enemy of mine. If you make it socially acceptable to fail in this market, you–personally–are as bad as the media that has made it socially acceptable to walk away from your house. I have said to just walk away from failure enablers, but I have to fight back.
I read a post yesterday that made me again question WHY I read RE blogs. The poster had some closings that were going sideways It occurred to me that this mighta been their fault. I mentioned this. This agent was using the ‘best lender, best systems and best procedures,’ to watch their deals go sideways, and then use the best blog to yell at the echo chamber…I was quickly shouted down by the chorus of failure fanatics.
If Your Systems Are Failing, By Definition, They Ain’t The Best!
Lemme tell ya something. There are people doing great (and easy) business in this market. I know a buyer’s agent here Columbus that has 7 houses under contract every month like a machine. That’s because the month before he sends 15 people up for loan approval, and won’t be satisfied with a non approved loan, and asks me brutal questions. Generates his own leads, doesn’t take listings, and is in 100% control. Stuff happens, but it’s never on more than 1/10th of his business. OH, this agent sells everyone two houses. His buyers write an ethical and fully disclosed second house offer in case the first house fails to get the short sale processes moving at two places so he’s guaranteed a check. And with his deals, he runs the short sale unless it’s a listing agent he knows. He’s taken responsibility for way more work.
It’s More Comfortable to Be and to Manufacture Victims
It’s infinitely more comfortable to think that something else was the author of our failure, isn’t it? It makes us all feel better when we don’t have to realize that we effed it up, because the (choose one) [Buyer/broker/builder/lender/other agent/title company/buyer’s overprotective daddy/lawyer/unethical marketer/barista] caused our deal to go sideways.
Everyone raced to reassure the original poster that it was okay to fail, and it wasn’t their fault. We believe what we want, and what makes us sleep at night.
I am WAY more comfortable believing in that my failure is ALWAYS my fault than I am believing that some external circumstances will impose their will on little old me. Screw that. Nothing pisses me off worse than thinking that I’m a victim of circumstance. Bang the phones, make something happen.
As a Real Estate Agent, I’ve had both 15 closings and 0 closings in a month. Guess what? I caused both outcomes. In 2007, I more than doubled my production as a loan officer…while the rest of the industry was cowering and quivering. Guess what? I caused that. In 2003, I got brutal liens, judgements and had an IRS nightmare that I wouldn’t even wish upon NAR President Dick Gaylord. Dug me a six figure IRS hellhole I’m STILL digging out of. Yup, caused that, too.
Sure, there’s a lot of variance in any given deal. But you must work to overcome the variance. Deals CAN go sideways. But you know what? There’s a REASON why Russ Shaw moves a ton of homes, and it’s his fault. He has deals go south from time to time (though I’ll betcha less often than most). Guess what? Because he’s running a business, he tries to fix it and moves on.
In my classes, I even TEACH the self-learning it takes to build systems. I have a (must download) form for closed loans and NON closed loans that I make sure we use…so you know what went right, wrong, how you can learn what the market is doing. Waste of time? Hell no. Reading your notes and not making the same mistake twice is baseline service, and anything else is theft of client equity. If some underwriter wants a condition? Satisfy that condition, in advance on every loan at submission. (The Xbroker elaborates here.)
Remember: Responsibility is not blame. We are paid a fortune for taking responsibility for things that seem out of our control. We STILL NEED to raise our game and take control of more things…and then not surprisingly, we win.
Ann Cummings says:
Chris, I love this line – “Walk away from failure enablers” LOVE it.
That said, you’re right, we do have far more control than we either know we have or admit to having. If something’s not right, I do my utmost to get it fixed pronto. Take the bull by the horns and do the very best you can possibly do. I deserve it, you deserve it, our clients deserve it.
I know too many are too quick to blame everyone under the sun, and rarely do they look in the mirror. No doubt, at times, I’ve done the same thing, but I’d like to think that those times are few and far between.
This is one of the best posts on this subject I’ve read in a long time!
June 10, 2008 — 4:53 am
Genuine Chris Johnson says:
Ann-
Thanks. Some people go through life not knowing what could have been controlled.
I myself have squandered my ability for years because I listened to the wrong crowd. No more. Time to boogie.
June 10, 2008 — 5:22 am
Jim Rake says:
Personal Responsibility. Chris, thanks for the reminder.
June 10, 2008 — 7:02 am
Greg Swann says:
> I am WAY more comfortable believing in that my failure is ALWAYS my fault than I am believing that some external circumstances will impose their will on little old me.
Beautiful. The whole post, but I love that quote. Perfect performance is infinitely approachable. All you have to do is figure out what you’re doing wrong and do better from then on.
June 10, 2008 — 7:12 am
John Allen says:
Agents that are passionate, focused, tenacious, confident and RESPONSIBLE are almost always successful. Most of the “victims” out there are not making it in this market.
Great Post!
June 10, 2008 — 7:20 am
Genuine Chris Johnson says:
GS-
I’d go further. I’d say that you have to define right and approach it, ILO runing away from wrong.
This business is still highly controllable, but you don’t win this year’s game with last year’s standards.
CJ
June 10, 2008 — 7:26 am
Greg Swann says:
> I’d say that you have to define right and approach it
Indeed. I’m talking about how to respond when you have failed. What did I do that I should not have done? What did I not do that I should have done? When your performance falls short of your ideal, it’s time to figure out what you did wrong — and stop doing it.
June 10, 2008 — 7:41 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Breath of Fresh Air reading this. Too many blame their circumstances on someone or something besides themselves which in my opinion is counter-intuitive from being in business for one’s self. You are the driver, the mechanic, the gas attendant, the tire changer..if something happens it’s your responsibility..it’s also to your benefit
June 10, 2008 — 8:08 am
scott bridwell says:
This post reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Walter E. Williams (an economist @ GMU)
“Some people prefer the excuse over the achievement”
June 10, 2008 — 10:16 am
Teri L says:
>I am WAY more comfortable believing in that my failure is ALWAYS my fault than I am believing that some external circumstances will impose their will on little old me.
Brilliant. And it’s much more liberating to know this, than to cower in the corner waiting for an unseen puppetmaster to decide my fate.
June 10, 2008 — 3:20 pm