I worked on my mental blocks (so I thought), passed the NYS certification exam on the first try, and found a brokerage of my liking. You might think that was the most difficult part? Well, not for me.
After having a few conversations with my broker, I realized that I had more challenges to overcome. I felt uncomfortable, if not strange, calling myself a “salesperson,” and found a workaround by calling myself an “agent.” But then, my broker dropped a bombshell on me – turns out, in New York State, unlike other states, his brokerage could be fined if I put “agent” instead of “salesperson” on my business card. Can you believe that? I had no choice but to embrace the “real estate salesperson” persona. For that to happen, I had to find a new definition of a salesperson for myself.
The light bulb went off for me when I heard someone say that, at the end of the day, we’re all kind of like salespeople. Whether we call ourselves agents, advisors, consultants or anything else, whether we’re pitching products, services, skills, or ideas, we’re all out there selling something we believe in. That thought helped me come up with the following definition: as a real estate salesperson, I help people navigate through a major life change and make one of the biggest decisions of their lives. After all, I’m an expert in navigating life changes!
However, my major challenge came into play when my broker discovered that I didn’t have any family connections in the area. This meant that my “group 1” (family) in my “SOI” (Sphere of Influence) was non-existent. And here’s where it got a little crazy for me – he actually suggested the dreaded “door-to-door” strategy to generate leads. There was no way I was going to do that. My entire being reacted with a loud and clear “Hell no!”
So I took a step back and revisited my business plan worksheet – more precisely the SWOT analysis. I went over my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and had a heart-to-heart with myself to figure out how to turn my weaknesses into opportunities. It was only one way I could think of to market my real estate venture and generate leads.
I was very excited. The opportunity to revive my blog and conquer my fear of putting myself out there on social media was finally here!