Our market conditions offer plenty of opportunity for those who are best prepared and willing to change with the swings.
Looking back over my 33 years as a REALTOR, I can't help but recall my activities when things slowed down.
The activity I remember best was getting back in touch with my referral base of clients and asking for their help to stir up new business, not to mention seeing if I could help them with their plans for the future.
I was amazed at how many were making such plans even though the current market was not all that active.
As a result of those contacts, I was renewing some great relationships and getting advance information on business to come.
If ever there is a way to turn the light on your business, this is a good one! Another action that re-fired my business was seeking out educational opportunities, most notably the Graduate REALTORS, Institute (GRI) professional designation course series.
I took mine at The Ohio State University in the continuing education department.
I recall that the staff provided a new perspective of my career that I never considered before.
Ron Racster was my instructor and went on to become one of OSU's top real estate professors.
I can tell you that he challenged me.
I was really proud when I received my GRI, making me feel well equipped to handle any difficult market with confidence.
I was the only GRI in the office at the time and displayed my certificate and pin proudly.
My fellow designees know how I felt.
For those who are thinking about entering the series...
two words of advice...
DO IT.
Market corrections have obviously occurred over the years and I've continued to feel the need to keep up.
An important decision was to begin taking Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation courses offered by the National Association of REALTORS.
These were a little harder to schedule at the time, often requiring me to travel all over the Midwest.
But in the course of pursing the designation I met the neatest people and learned as much from them as I did in the classroom.
Here again the instructor was top-notch and the material relevant to raise the standard on my career.
My confidence level was always on the upside when I was pursuing my designations.
My business would still fluctuate from time-to-time but the periods in between seemed to be much shorter due to activities and practices I learned in my sessions.
After obtaining the CRS, I came to the conclusion (I'm a slow learner) that I would continue on no matter the market condition with my education.
As such, I enrolled in the Certified Residential Broker (CRB) series.
These were a real challenge because of the real life scenarios we had to deal with and here again, learning with other members who were going through the same experiences that I was.
Any CRB would agree that at the end of the course we had covered just about anything that might happen in our careers.
Now my most recent endeavors have been in the technology areas, just trying to stay up-to-date with what we need to service our clients.
Market changes are a part of our business, being prepared for those changes is what we need to do as REALTORS to build a career.
As a young REALTOR I would wait until I had the time to take courses.
Now I enroll whenever the opportunity arises.
It has to be that way if you're going to build something worth having.
DON'T WAIT...
EDUCATE!