Several years ago, before I became smarter by building our sales team, I was taking all of our sales calls. One of the most memorable calls I ever received was from an experienced commercial real estate broker in the Midwest. When I asked, “Why do you feel you can benefit from coaching?”, he strongly responded ‘Because those damn kids are taking my market share!”
I loved it! Not only the passion he expressed, but more so his realization that (despite his long and successful career) he wasn’t ready to be put out to pasture – let alone be outdone by less experienced newbies.
[Tweet “”Those damn kids are taking my market share!””]
When we analyze our coaching client’s motivations and objectives (which we do on a regular basis, and you should do as well), we identify that a good number of our coaching clients can be defined as “mid-career”. These clients (due to a variety of reasons) have hit a plateau in their career. Hitting a plateau is ok, as long as you recognize there is additional growth to come and you just need to adjust.
Getting “stuck” is a natural event for any career, and especially sales careers. If you have been working in commercial real estate for over 5 years and have never been stuck, it is highly likely you haven’t focused on growing. Growing is saturated with failure, pitfalls, and plateaus. These plateaus can be identified as:
• Stagnant clients – you have relied on referrals and the same client base, who (for a variety of reasons) are no longer providing you the deal velocity they use to.
• Stagnant prospects – you have abandoned the consistent and disciplined prospecting approach you instituted early in your career.
• “Superman Affect” – you continue to rely on yourself for all facets of your commercial real estate business, including finding, winning, and fulfilling opportunities. Maybe you have been burnt in the past by a team mate/partner, or you simply feel no one can do the job better than you.
• Sticking to Old Fundamentals – While we completely agree that every successful commercial real estate practice is built on sound fundamentals, we must recognize that fundamentals have evolved.
There is no doubt that launching a commercial real estate career can be very exciting, and earning the position of market leader is very rewarding. In between that, there is the mid-career stage that can be the most challenging; this is where the greatest focus on growth, market share, income, and even personal margin is essential.
Are you ‘stuck’ in your career, and looking to get out of that rut? If so, please join us for a free Mid-Career Master Class on Thursday, September 13 at 1pm EST. To register for this free session, ‘Mid-Career Mayday Call – 5 Ways to Re-Ignite your Stagnant Personal CRE Business’ – CLICK HERE.
Please note, if you have less than 5 years of experience, this is not a session for you.
