You’ve probably heard the saying, “Everyone is Irish on St Patrick’s day.”
Lots of people who aren’t Irish love to celebrate on Saint Patrick’s Day. Why not?! There’s nothing wrong with going to a parade, enjoying some Irish food, and having a few drinks.
But picture someone going to a parade, and having a few too many drinks.
And then that person jumps up on the bandwagon as it drives by in the parade. He grabs an instrument from someone in the band, and starts playing it poorly. And then he starts singing from the top of his lungs about how great it is to be Irish.
Might be good for a few laughs from the crowd. It’s probably annoying to the people in the band. But, beyond that, it isn’t really hurting anyone.
Here’s a question for you…
Was that guy truly Irish, or not?
Given what you saw happen, it’s impossible to say. There isn’t enough information. But, he sang about being Irish, so you might presume he is.
What you can say for sure is that he was a mess, and not a very good singer or musician. It was obvious that he didn’t belong up on the bandwagon. He just jumped onto it and made himself part of the band.
As real estate agents, we see this happen in the parade of our industry.
People who are part of the onlooking crowd jump up onto the real estate bandwagon. They get their license because it looks fun, or easy, or because the market is hot. And then they start singing from the top of their lungs about how great it is to be a real estate agent.
So, what’s the harm in that?
For those of you who aren’t real estate agents, you hear plenty of agents who just jumped on our bandwagon singing about how great it is to be a real estate agent. But…that doesn’t mean that the agents you hear singing that tune are great real estate agents.
There’s no way for you to know if they’re truly great real estate agents, until it’s too late… until you’ve decided to work with an agent who has simply jumped on the bandwagon. It is then that you come to find out that the tune they’re singing is out of key.
Agents who just jump on the real estate bandwagon can hurt you.
In the least, it can be a waste of your time until you figure it out and ditch that agent for a better one. But, you could find out the hard way, if the agent doesn’t know what they’re doing and causes you to make a mistake when you buy or sell a house.
From an agent perspective…
While it may seem harmless enough for someone to get their real estate license and start singing about how great it is to be a real estate agent, it’s not.
It’s part of what gives the great, serious agents in our industry an undeserved reputation. And it gives people the impression that our profession is one big parade or party people can jump into.
It isn’t.
It’s a career that requires absolute dedication and seriousness.
Sure, we all love the great days and times we have in real estate. The little celebrations.
But there are as many days and times that are not one big party that we need to go through in order to become, and actually be, truly great real estate agents.
When I was a new agent, I realized quickly that getting my license was just the beginning of my education. I voraciously read, I dilligently attended classes. I employed coaches and mentors with decades of real estate, negotiation and marketing experience and soaked everything up like a sponge.
Still realizing I didn’t know enough to consider myself an expert, I partnered with an associate broker who continued to diligently trained me until I became a consummate professional. While this industry gives us much to celebrate and being goofy on social media if fun. This profession is about guiding people through a complicated and emotional transaction and it is not a duty to take lightly. Ever.
I continue to get higher education weekly. Pushing myself to be the best advocate, negotiator, marketer and coordinator for my clients possible. To be the best teammate possible. To be an exemplary real estate agent. To be the best person possible.
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