1. Slow Down & Take a Break

Many struggling agents drop out of real estate or pile on more work when they hit a slump of real estate motivation. We want to gently nudge you in a different direction because we bet you can get that motivation back no matter what challenges you’re facing. 

Let’s start with the fact that research increasingly shows that it’s general happiness that drives work satisfaction. Shawn Achor, author of “The Happiness Factor,” argues that 75% of success is predicted by three things: optimism, social connections, and how you perceive stress.

There is an important correlation between burnout and quality of life. So while many people pile on additional busy work when they are struggling, it might backfire and make you feel even more overwhelmed and tired.

Instead, do the opposite.

Let’s focus on that 75% factor. Reducing stressors in your life, changing your schedule, hitting concrete objectives, and working on improving happiness can get your motivation back and help you to begin hitting your goals.

2. Identify & Solve Your Most Pressing Problems 

Your problems are virtually impossible to deal with when they’re tearing around in your head, so take a few minutes in a quiet space to write each one down. They might not look as scary on the page as they do in the deep recesses of your imagination at 3 a.m.

These nagging issues are weighing you down like anchors, literal drags, and will zap you of all real estate motivation. The solution is to develop actionable, concrete plans for each problem. 

Have a medical issue you’ve been putting off? Schedule that doctor’s appointment.

Have toxic friends who only hold you down or stress you out? Got to cut them loose.

Of course, not all the obvious stressors in your life will be this clear-cut, and you probably won’t be able to fix all of them in one day. That’s OK—just do your best and make a plan to address the ones that need more work.

Freeing yourself of anchors allows you to be more optimistic and less stressed so that you can focus on bigger and more complicated problems.

3. Divide & Conquer Your Schedule

Now that you have identified and worked out solutions for some of your stressors, it’s time to tackle your schedule. Scheduling is a common cause of feelings of helplessness and chaos. No one really prepares you for how overwhelming it can be to run your own business.

One important way to conquer your schedule is to be highly specific when assigning tasks. For example, don’t just schedule “lead generation”—schedule specific tasks you want to complete, like “email three warm leads.” Put specific tasks into specific time slots and stick to them. Be sure to schedule your most challenging tasks first thing in the morning when your mind is sharpest. 

Also, try to limit your distractions and interruptions. If you can break up your work into specific tasks, schedule them early, and truly focus on each one, research indicates that you’re more likely to get more done with less time procrastinating. Achieving these small goals will go a long way to helping you regain your real estate motivation.

4. Make Time for Relaxation & Fun

Believe it or not, scheduling time to grab lunch with a friend or go to a fitness class makes you better at your job. If you have a hobby you want to get back to, time with friends you’ve been skipping, or something new you hope to try, it’s time you made it a part of your life.

  Pro Tip

Consider volunteering with an organization related to real estate, like Habitat for Humanity.

Instead of selling a house, build one. You’ll help your community, work some muscles, feel a real sense of accomplishment, and maybe even have a rejuvenated sense of purpose.

5. Lean on the Experts

There are some incredible resources out there from agents and brokers who’ve been in your exact position. Videos, TED Talks, books, and even inspirational quotes can help you find a little kernel of wisdom or a tip for mental fortitude that will help you soldier on when you lose that drive. 

A great starting point is to learn how top agents regained their lost real estate motivation. You’ll gain tips and insights from the experts, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll see that you’re not alone in feeling this way.

Our collection of the 28 best real estate books has a few that are perfect for building motivation, including Angela Duckworth’s “Grit” and Leigh Brown’s “Outrageous Authenticity.” We find ourselves coming back to these again and again.

We also have a selection of our favorite 19 TED Talks that specifically speak to building real estate agent motivation. Dan Pink’s “How Motivation Can Be Hacked to Take Your Career to the Next Level” and Kelly McGonigal’s “How to Make Stress Your Friend” are especially helpful. 

And if you enjoy videos, check out our 27 best YouTube channels for real estate agents and our own YouTube channel, where you’ll find content like our Top 5 Real Estate Productivity Hacks.

Podcasts can be another way to tap into motivational expert advice and experience. We have our own podcast, The Close Weekly, where we bet you’ll find some helpful resources, and we also have this list of nine other excellent podcasts that agents should listen to every day. 

If you’re short on time, check out our compilation of 89 motivational quotes, which speak to failure and success and offer genuine wisdom. We especially love one from Terrica Lynn Smith, a broker, author, and motivational speaker: “…you need to be courageous, even when things come up against you … you need to be vibrant because your energy is what’s going to attract your business.”

6. Be Receptive to New Ideas

As you dive into these quotes, books, and videos, remember that you have a lot of control over how you receive all of this expert advice. 

According to Stanford professor Carol Dweck, there are two mindsets that people typically have: a fixed mindset, where individuals believe they simply have certain traits and can’t change, and a growth mindset, where people believe there is no limit to what they can accomplish.

According to Dr. Dweck’s research, people with growth mindsets generally take more chances and have greater success. She argues that someone with a growth mindset sees challenges as exciting, focuses on the process of building, tracks trial and error, forgives imperfection, and develops grit and persistence.

So as you’re looking to the experts to help you regain your motivation for success in real estate, remember to focus on maintaining that growth mindset.  

7. Revisit Your Goals & Set Some New Ones

We bet at some point in your career, you’ve set some goals for yourself—where you want to be in a year, three years, and five years. Maybe you’ve even broken it down into financial and personal goals.

Take some time to revisit these goals and think about what is actionable and what can be achieved long term. For example, maybe you want to hit a certain number in sales, but your weekly goals need to be broken down to more actionable to-do’s and tasks. Did you set a goal to make 100 calls a week (20 per day), and you hit that goal? Congratulations! 

8. Level Up With a Checklist

While we strongly encourage you not to pile on work for yourself when you need a reset, there are opportunities for leveling up that feel manageable and concrete. Ask yourself, do you see ways to be challenged? An area where you can practice or stretch yourself?

At The Close, we love checklists. When you feel that loss of motivation, these actionable step-by-step guides might be just the thing to lead you out of it. Here is a list of our favorites that could help you bump up to the next professional level and reach some of your loftier objectives.

9. Tap Into Your Creative Side

If you’re feeling a little burned out by the business side of things, consider taking a break to focus on something business-related but creative. Consider a new logo, business card, or maybe make an infographic. Tap into that right brain for a little while and have some fun with our guides, templates, and generators for branding and marketing.

• Real Estate Branding: How to Build Your Brand (+ Case Studies)
• The Best & Worst Real Estate Logos of 2022 (+ Pro Design Tips)
• 89 Creative Real Estate Company Names (+ Our Name Generator 2.0)
• 107 Best Real Estate Slogans & Taglines (+ Slogan Generator)
• The Best & Worst Real Estate Business Cards of 2022
• 97 Real Estate Infographics + How to Make Your Own & Go Viral
• Canva for Real Estate Agents: The Ultimate Guide for 2022

10. Consider Taking a Course With Actionable Content

There are plenty of real estate courses that promise maximum success with minimal effort. But we’ve found one that’s a little different, and it might be just the kind of class you need. 

Ryan Serhant, of “Million Dollar Listing New York” and SERHANT., has put together a crash course on branding and sales called “Sell It Like Serhant.” You can read our in-depth review here, but its strength is that it’s extremely actionable. He and his fellow instructors lay out a clear strategy, complete with step-by-step guides and an in-depth workbook. 

It’s not cheap, but if you’re really looking for something to shake it all up, this course could be the key to rethinking your entire professional strategy. 

Learn More

Bonus Tip: Take a Deep Breath

Yes, I know. It’s a cliche. But it’s a cliche because it works. 

Stop whatever it is your doing and breathe along with the animation below for at least a full minute:

Keep practicing your breathing whenever you feel the stress taking over, and take a look at our article on meditation for some beneficial videos.

Bringing It All Together

You can do this! And we’re here to help. 

Conquering your lack of motivation takes courage and a lot of chutzpah, but if you trust these tips, you’ll come out the other side feeling better and back on track. 

After all, the sparks of motivation begin when you start seeing the possibility of what you can do, not when you’re focusing on what other people are doing.

Over to You

We hope we’ve given you some strategies to get back on track. If you’re someone who has gone through bouts of a lack of real estate motivation and have some wisdom to share, please let us know in the comments.

The post What To Do When You Lose Your Motivation as a Realtor appeared first on The Close.

Since it’s such a common question, we decided to put together this guide on how to recognize and deal with toxic buyers and sellers.

You can’t always spot them right away, but with a little practice, the red flags become quickly apparent.

Here are some horror stories, tips and tricks to recognizing and dealing with toxic clients as an agent.

The 5 Types of Toxic Clients You’ll Get as a Realtor & How to Deal with Them

I’m sure you’d agree that there are likely far more than five types of toxic clients you’ll come across, but these are the most prevalent that seem to show themselves in the market.

Type One: They Know Best

These clients believe they know it all, distrust your expertise, disregard your advice, and it often leads to their great frustration.

These are clients who believe they simply know best how real estate works, and most assuredly don’t.

Some great examples of the “they know best” client is the seller who wants to set the price of their own home, or the low-balling buyer who thinks they’ll even get a response bidding so far below the asking price it’s embarrassing.

The seller ends up with a home that sits on the market, and the low-balling client is without one completely while continuing to waste your time.

How To Deal with They Know Best Clients

Educate, give them stats, and include them in the process. These are people who want to score a great deal or somehow work the system, they just don’t know how negotiating, or other areas, truly work.

Be honest with sellers about pricing and why it matters. Start talking to these low-balling buyers before bidding how every home around their dream house has sold for 5% over list price, and ask why their situation would be different.

Be patient, and they’ll often come around. You might lose a couple of offers before they come around, but through education you’ll close the deal.

Type Two: The Impossible Negative

These clients are unreasonable, pessimistic, and resistant to consultation. They want a house on the beach in Miami for a price that would be a fixer upper in a flyover state, and complain that every listing you show them isn’t good enough.

Even worse, they will likely even continue to ask for showings of properties that you are certain will not result in a sale. Whether on the buy or sell side, these clients can be exasperating and stay with you for a very long time until they finally give up or give in.

How To Deal with The Impossible Negative Client

Avoid them. When you sense from your first meeting that they’re unreasonable, ask to set up an informal “expectations meeting” to get a better handle on what they’re looking for.

This is a great situation when, for the price of a cup of coffee and an hour of your time, you can save yourself unlimited hassle.

Let them speak about what they’re looking for, don’t interrupt them, look for red flags, and politely state that you don’t feel like you’ll be able to get them what they’re looking for.

Truth is, no one will.

Type Three: Relentlessly Demanding

These are clients that have a feel to them. Unlike the impossible negatives, these individuals might have perfectly reasonable expectations.

They can be very nice people, but are terrible energy vampires who expect you to be on call to their every whim or idea. They may ask you to research building codes simply because they’re “curious,” or expect immediate answers on questions irrelevant to their search or sale.

They’re exhausting.

How To Deal with Relentlessly Demanding Clients

Set boundaries. I know, we all want to go above and beyond for clients, but there comes a time when you just can’t continue to spend unlimited time on something irrelevant to the search.

Politely redirect them.

For example, if they want you to research building codes because of “curiosity,” state that you simply don’t have the time to do things outside of the search right now, and give them a name so that they can look into it on their own.

These clients can be initially put off and push you, but hold firm, and remind them of the importance of staying focused when you close the deal.

Type Four: Disrespectful

These are the worst kind of toxic clients. Sure, it’s okay for clients to have some valid frustrations because emotions run high…but this is different. It goes too far.

It’s not about the process or their disappointment, it’s a personal attack on you. They are not just inappropriate, they can be downright verbally abusive, venting their anger in inappropriate ways, and then still continue to want to use you.

Ultimately, these individuals don’t view you as a professional, but as a servant. They look down on you, are demanding of you, and treat you in ways you’d never put up with in any other circumstance.

How to Deal with Disrespectful Clients

Avoid them. Meeting a new agent is like a first date, and it should be when clients are on their best behavior.

Yes, people can be unlikeable or have a personality you just don’t click with, but this is beyond that.

If you already see that a client is speaking disrespectfully, in a way that is demeaning or offensive to you, walk away.

Type Five: The Ghost Client

They might seem incredibly interested in a property yet don’t respond to emails/texts, they may be nice to you in person but send biting or mean emails.

They may even seem to be completely satisfied with the course of the upcoming transaction and then have a “secret” plan for reducing the price that they don’t share with you and comes out of nowhere.

These are tough clients because they are unpredictable, can give you mixed messages, and can ultimately spoil great deals.

How to Deal with The Ghost Client

Call them out.

A lot of times, we hold back saying things to avoid uncomfortable discussions, and in this case it will end up spoiling deals at the end.

For example, if you find they are inconsistent in their communication, let them know that while you understand that we’re all busy, during the process and especially negotiations that it’s going to be essential that they’re at their phone and responsive so you can get the deal done.

People are usually pretty surprised when you call them out, but if done in a way that is professional and lays out the importance, you’ll find that often these clients will fall in line.

How to Spot Red Flags & Avoid Toxic Real Estate Clients in The First Place

When meeting with potential clients, we’re usually listening for real estate related questions we already have in our head, but not focusing too much on the details of what kind of client we’re taking on.

Perk up your ears and listen for these 7 potential red flags when screening your buyers and sellers.

7 Red Flag Client Behaviors to Watch Out For:

1. They’re Overly Demanding.
   They want urgent responses and they’re not even your client yet. While you might be an agent on your game, they are already attempting to manage you. Either you feel you can redirect these clients’ expectations, or let them go.
2. They Lack Clarity.
   They don’t know what they need or want and are generally unclear. This can either be a process of discovery, or a pattern of indecisiveness you don’t want.
3. They Expect Free Work.
   They expect you to work without a contract while they ‘test you out.’ You are not a car, don’t give test drives.
4. They Lie.
   They may have mentioned earlier that they are selling due to a pending divorce, but now say they just want to downsize. Lying to someone who has no skin in the game is a bad sign.
5. They’re Inconsistent Communicators.
   If they have difficulties even setting up or holding to initial appointments or calls, that isn’t a wonderful sign of things to come. Weigh whether they can be educated or if this is a persistent pattern.
6. They Bad Mouth Several Previous Agents.
   While there are certainly some ineffective agents out there, a pattern of problems with previous agents usually reflects on a problem with the client.
7. They are Belittling or Rude.
   Like a first date, this is when clients are usually on their best behavior. If they are rude now, just wait until they get comfortable.

Do you hear the future problems you may be facing or clients who seem like someone you can help?

Do they seem like they simply don’t know how to work with an agent and would respond to redirection, or do they have problems that just seem like part of who they are.

Listen carefully and if your gut is telling you to pass, you might be very glad you did.

While some might not have the luxury of passing on clients when they have bills to pay, consider this a preventative measure that saves you time, hassle, and a bit of sanity.

While everyone has to take on clients they might not always like, you can often avoid the worst of them by simply taking an extra moment to attend to things your normally don’t.

Red Flags But You Need The Client? Teach People How to Treat You

Once you have a toxic client, you can go a couple of ways.

Are they abusive? Ditch them.

There is never a reason to put up with verbal abuse to make a few bucks.

If you take these people on, or take their friends on, you’ll be swimming with weights on your back for a very long time just trying to keep your head above water and hold on to your dignity.

If they’re just difficult or demanding? You have to educate them.

“I often joke that we are real estate social workers, and to some extent that is true.” Sheryl English Realtor at Blackjack Realty

Educating clients is hard, but unless you want to suffer, you need to learn how.

It requires sometimes drawing firm boundaries, holding to them, keeping their expectations in check, and really showing them how you do business.

There is a pretty well known phrase in psychology that we all “teach people how to treat us” by what we put up with and what we tolerate both in our personal and professional lives.

Have confidence to know the value of what you offer, advocating for yourself, and politely begin the process from the very beginning of giving clients clear direction in how you operate and what they can expect.

Nightmare Clients and Lessons Learned…

David Welch is a broker associate from Re/Max 200 Realty, who, like most of us, has been burned by toxic clients.

Early in his career, he was contacted by buyers who had been looking for a home for two years with no luck.

Eager for a challenge, he took them on, but noticed the tell tale signs of a toxic client in their very first appointment together…

“He complained about my car, a one or two year old Honda Accord. ‘I thought successful Realtors drive Cadillacs?’ he said. I told him ‘smart ones drive Hondas.’ Today, I would tell them they should find another agent with a Cadillac, because I knew he would be trouble.”

It started a trajectory of pessimistic and rude behavior with clients who were impossible to please. The clients became overwhelming in their demands and were constantly complaining and changing their mind.

Their time together ended with the client spilling coffee all over his car, denying it, and then later blaming it on the agent’s driving. That was the braking point for David…

“I was on the expressway going about 65 miles an hour, when I slammed on the brakes, pulled over and told them I was done. I drove them back to their apartment in complete silence. When I got back to their place I asked for my card back, told them to never refer me to anyone, and take my phone number out of their phones…. I never wanted to hear from them again.”

How does it get to this? While David surmised that “life is their too short to work with jerks,” and moved along, he later became curious to see if the couple ever did buy a home.

They did, two years later. He wondered, “How many other agents had to put up with this guy, before they bought?”

My Takeaway: Don’t Allow Toxic Clients to Drive You From a Career You Love

While David decided to ditch his toxic clients, he didn’t let them scare him away from real estate. Today he is happily working as a broker in Florida, and still has passion for his career.

In order to make it as a Realtor you’re going to have to learn to deal with toxic people… FAST. Don’t let them drive you from a job you love.

Have a method that helps you deal with toxic clients? We’d love to hear about it.

The post “How Should Agents Deal With Toxic Clients?” appeared first on The Close.