INTRODUCTION
In the Introduction to Thrive, I explain why the book is needed: there is very little training available to commercial real estate agents, and almost no salaried sales managers who are responsible for delivering the training. When I entered the industry in the early 1980s, I had lots of training and a sales manager who often said to me, “Grab some files. We’re going to make some calls together.” When the day was over, the sales manager debriefed with me, and I got better.
Those days are gone – but where did they go? In the Introduction, I explain the four reasons that, in my opinion, transformed the industry from a true corporate sales position into a adrenaline fueled free for all:
- The barrier to entry remains very low. Anyone with a real estate license can call themselves a commercial real estate agent.
- The RTC crisis in the late 1980s eliminated non-producing sales managers from the CRE brokerage industry.
- Since the RTC crisis, agents have been on their own – and have responded with a “ready, fire, aim” approach to sales.
- We’ve transformed from employees to independent contractors, to our disadvantage, and now have to take training into our own hands.
You can reread the Introduction to see more detail, but just ask yourself – “am I well trained?” Who do you know that is well trained? I’m not talking about the senior salesperson that has survived, and probably thrived in the last economic run-up. I’m talking about someone who could teach you how to build a durable business of your own.
This is the single most difficult challenge we face in our role as coaches. So few agents even know what effective training looks like that they do not avail themselves of coaching. If you’ve chosen to read these posts about the book and the state of coaching, you are in a small minority.
Maybe that is to your benefit. If you are willing march to your own beat, to swim against the tide, to invest in yourself, then you have the opportunity of a lifetime. You can be an exceptional performer.
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