Let me introduce you to Joan Carter, who retired on 30 June 2018, ending a successful twenty-four year career in real estate sales.
Before real estate, Joan was a school teacher. Throughout her career, she was often in the Top Ten Salespeople in the Pittard rankings. She was part of a very impressive pool of winners whose results far exceed typical industry averages. Joan was often in the top three.
Throughout her long career, Joan set a standard to which many people would never have the guts to aspire. She was a shining example of everything a real estate salesperson should be – a person of character who’d never lie or stretch the truth to make a sale. She was a winner who wrote high figures consistently from the beginning to the end of her career. Joan was no ‘one-hit wonder’.
I’ve heard salespeople say things like, “I’ve been in real estate for thirty years” as though it’s supposed to mean something. What does it matter if you’ve been in real estate that long if your results are poor?
These people will say, “I don’t need to prospect – I get plenty of referrals”. But they have seldom nurtured their networks and the truth is they don’t get that many referrals. Some of these self-appointed superstars write little over $130,000 in fees per annum.
Competence doesn’t just happen. Time in the industry is no guarantee of competence or high results. Nor is it a guarantee that you have joined the ranks of true professionals.
Champion cyclist, Anna Meares once said, “True success is measured in longevity”.This certainly sums up Joan Carter, who enjoyed a long career with high results and happy clients.
Not a person to cruise toward retirement, Joan decided to finish with a bang. In her last year in real estate, she produced $815,327 in fees, all in a country town with a population of 3,800 people – that’s people, not properties. In her last quarter she produced $188,446 in fees.
Now that’s a winner!
Ask Joan the secret of her longevity and success and she will tell you that she is a product of consistent training, dedicated practice and large amounts of competent action. Joan was never too busy to attend training and never once uttered the famous loser line, “Been there, done that” when referring to training.
The reward for competence is high levels of client satisfaction, trust, and a high income.
It’s worth working for – competence doesn’t just happen.
Gary Pittard