Are you getting the Support you need from your Broker?

If anyone would have told you last year that the #1 item you should put on your wish list to Santa should be a cool face mask or two you would have thought they were nuts. None of us had any idea we would be where we are today and none of us know where we will be a month from now...lets hope it's not still at home but what if it is?

I am a Licensed Partner with Engel & V?lkers, the #1 International Luxury brand in the World and one of the most advanced in technology in the industry as well. They have kept me busy since this started, you see we were already doing a lot of our business virtually with 3-D visual reality on our listings so buyers around the world could walk through our properties without ever setting foot in them. Since this new world reality began they have stepped up the pace and we have been sent 47 classes running from 30 min to an hour to walk us through all the new and amazing tools we are receiving and to help with our new position in the industry. Google Hangouts is the mode of choice for one on one and group meetings as well as keeping up with what other offices across the country are doing to support their advisors and office staff. I make a point of contacting my advisors at least once a week and 3 times we have had Hangout Happy Hours to unwind and discuss whats been happening with each other, being able to see each others faces helps a lot right now.

Getting a routine down is mandatory to be able to work through this amazing challenging time we live in today. Some have a difficult time working from home and I get it but it's all a matter of setting your mind to it. Set up a place in the house were you can work and not have to move things around for other uses. One of the things that has helped us is that my husband goes into the office to do his work and I go to the dining room to do mine, we meet for breaks and lunch and end our work day around 4-5. Then it's pretty much back to the normal life we had before, how was your day is asked, we talk for awhile then fix dinner.

Thinking about the future, J.J. Watt ( I love this kid) posted a video that pretty much sums up my thoughts perfectly... Think about where you want to be 5 years from now, then break it down to what you need to do today to be there in 5 years. I preach this to my advisors from the day they sign on, give me your goals and lets break it down. I have my 5 year goals and this little bump in the road is not going to stop them from becoming a reality, only I can stop them... letting a few weeks of being at home derail you is a shame and totally not necessary, it's all in how you react to what is going on around you, you can either take it as a negative (I'm locked in the prison and cannot do a thing) or you can look for the positive ( now I have the time to catch up on all those calls I have not had the time to do and no one was home... I can concentrate on my territory, read the publications, Google Hangout with others in the industry and make new relationships).

I got my license in October 2006 in 2007 I closed 47 transactions and then in 2008 I only closed 17, because we all know what happened in 2008, the bottom fell out and hundreds of agents quit the business forever. I, not knowing I should panic at the drastic change in the industry took to heart words from Martha Turner that I had read in one of the publications that when there is a slow down you should take more classes to be ready when the market turns again, because it always turns again. So that's what I did and continued today, where I have attained 17 certifications and designations and put all that education and experience to work training new advisors and counseling established agents as well.

2008 also showed those of us that stayed in the business that no matter what happens people still need a place to live, when the market is good people move up in housing, when it's bad they move down either way we are still needed.

So are you getting the Support you need from your Broker?