You are in charge of the process. Your client is in charge of the decisions. (Zan Monroe). The process is complex, and both knowledge and experience are required to navigate the many challenges that can surface in a real estate transaction. This is why your clients wisely choose to seek your expertise. You strive daily to equip your clients with the information they will need, and the quality of that information will likely impact the quality of their decisions.
You can’t change people’s minds. You can only change the content of their minds. (Tony Jeary). We all remember exceptional teachers who have touched our lives. They somehow managed to take complicated things and make them understandable, and sometimes even interesting! Great REALTORS® are great teachers. They possess the required information, and they also have the ability to communicate and connect with others. The expertise required to be a truly great REALTOR® by any standard is typically not achieved simply through initial training or transaction experience. It must be systematically and intentionally acquired throughout one’s entire career.
A troubling reality in the industry is that many real estate licensees nationally are unlikely to seek out any form of professional development beyond that which is required for license renewal. Compliance with license renewal requirements is an essential start, but sadly a large of number of licensees never go beyond that point, apparently concluding that there’s nothing interesting or valuable to pursue, perhaps without even conducting a simple search. This is like judging a restaurant without ever looking at a menu!
There is a large menu of education options for REALTORS®. The Kansas Association of REALTORS® offers ongoing education programs (live and online) designed to go beyond compliance and move in the direction of mastery. Mastery learners are people who are in constant pursuit of excellence. They revisit questions and concepts regularly to refine their understanding. Mastery learners seek new ideas and perspectives, new knowledge, and new skills. They take courses from the best instructors in the industry. They never assume they “already know” something. The masters of any discipline never resist revisiting the fundamentals and are not afraid of exploring newer of more advanced approaches. Mastery learners are the people who are actually enjoying the things they are doing and the results they are producing.
Larry Kendall (Ninja Selling) reminds us that we are the products of the places we go, the books we read, and the people we meet. We invite you to go to association events, read a new book or take a challenging class, or just connect with the many people who are only one hand shake or phone call away from you. Choose to be a master of your craft, and remember……the master is forever a student.
