Call Them What You Want, But You Better Get One

Mentor, coach, friend, confidante, accountability partner, or buddy. I don’t care.

When I first started in real estate there was a lot of talk of mentoring and getting experienced agents in your offices that would let you tag along with them so you could learn more, learn better, and learn faster. Consistently I heard that taking the licensing test wasn’t going to get you anywhere – learning from those with experience would. I got the concept, but I wasn’t one for mentoring or coaching I thought. So I never really did it. I didn’t approach an agent and say, “Hey, can you teach me? Will you be my mentor?” I just sort of dove in and got started.

What I didn’t realize until the other day, was that I had all of this and more. Let’s forget about the online friends and helping hands that I have come across since becoming an agent (this group here alone could all be mentioned in my acceptance speech at the Oscars). Let’s pretend not a single one of you taught me anything. Let’s talk about my office and the real face to face interaction between myself and other agents.

Meet Reggie, my all around go to guy.

Reggie Hock has been at our office for a long time. He worked with my broker back when he ran a RE/Max franchise. They go way back. When I first started, I was intimidated by Reggie. He’s a top agent at our company, he knows everything it seems, and he’s got a laugh that fills a room. Him and I said hello here and there, but overtime, we both began to talk more and more. I think he was encouraged to talk to me as I seemed to be in real estate for the long haul (since I joined we watched many people come and go). The more Reggie and I got to know each other, the more we talked. We clicked and we soon found ourselves stopping for a talk most days when we were in the office.

Reggie and I found we had some things in common, although for different reasons. He was in the Navy on a submarine. I was in a rock band on a tour bus (a submarine on land). We both had our moments of rebellion and carousing in our youth. We both love a good joke. As we grew to know each other, I began to ask real estate questions. What do I write in section x of this form? If an agent sends an offer with this, how do I negotiate to this? Where do I find out such and such information when I can’t find it in the MLS? You know the questions, you’ve wondered them yourself. Reggie knew the answers and had all sorts of tip and advice. He took my calls no matter how late it was and even stopped by my office to encourage me through any successes or setbacks.

I never thought of Reggie as my mentor. I thought of him as the guy I have a good relationship with in my office. What’s the difference? None really. Our relationship as friends and agents is the same. We help each other out. We encourage each other. We celebrate our successes. He made me write my goals out on huge sheets of paper…they’re hanging on the walls of my office and I can’t miss them each and every morning. Reggie drives me to be a better agent and I hope I provide the same for him in some small way. No matter what I call him; he is my mentor, coach, friend, confidante, accountability partner, and buddy. The benefit I receive is incredible and its so effortless, I encourage every new agent to build a relationship like it in their own office. If you can’t build it in your office, build it with another agent you’ve met here, from another company, on Twitter, or at ActiveRain. Just build it. No excuses. Don’t think of someone who tells you what to do (what I thought of mentors), but as someone who will help you come to the right decisions. Reggie doesn’t always give me the answers – sometimes he makes me work on them, but he’s there to give his opinion on my results.

I’ve had a busy weekend.

This week, I helped my out-of-town client buy a new home. It was great fun and the client is awesome. I couldn’t ask for a better situation and its been an enjoyable experience all around. Yesterday, my phone rang and I saw it was Reggie. He was wondering if I was okay. He hadn’t seen me in the office, so he was worried I was sick or even worse, leaving real estate. You can’t get that kind of concern from someone you don’t have that one-on-one relationship with. When I told him what was going on, he got excited for me and started asking me a million questions – did you do this, did you remember that, what did they say about this…he wanted to be sure my back was covered in the transaction. He wanted my client to get the best service. He gave me advice for follow up to ensure the client always thought of me when they heard the words “real estate.” He makes no money from this, but does it because we have that friendship, that mentorship, that business relationship. He wants me to succeed and is willing to take his time to help make that happen.

If you don’t have a Reggie, go get one. You’ll thank me later. And for you more experienced AgentGenius readers, please, take a moment to help someone new out – you’ll appreciate it and your new agent buddy will too.

photo courtesy of moonjazz