All of this is a shame because being a REALTOR, when done WELL, is not an easy job – particularly in this market. The foreclosure market has changed the game, partly because banks don’t play by the rules and partly because foreclosures turn what is perceived to be a buyer’s market a seller’s market in many market segments. Agents are working with asset managers instead of home-owners and listing agents with large books of REO listings have turned into nothing more than systematic zombies, going through the motions as best as they can. Short-sales are a crap shoot – agents can work months for a deal that has a 1 in 3 chance of closing. Sellers are often in financial and therefore emotional distress. Buyers are either searching for the seller’s blood in the water that the media has told them is there or are too timid to jump off the fence. Meanwhile, tighter credit standards make it harder for buyers to qualify for loans. When they do qualify, and if they’re in the bottom end of the market, they’re jumping into multiple offer situations that leave them exhausted and disheartened – after a lot of work, many buyers just give up. On top of all of this, agents are being told they should be blogging, tweeting, facebooking, and LinkingIn!

The reason you’re not finding too many people who are good at it, is because it’s a lot harder than most people think (and I’m sure you know this from personal experience.) The problem, therefore, as you said, is how easy it is to get a license and how little experience you need to actually start practicing (as in… none!) I think there are many, many things that brokers and state boards should be doing to fix this and you’ve listed some of them here, but steering a ship this large is tough, especially when the passengers are all independent contractors who cannot be directed in any meaningful way by their brokers. (Maybe that’s where we should start?)

Finally, I have always found that the good agents aren’t the ones who appear on your radar because they’re out there busy doing their job. My husband’s mantra is to not engage in much of the silliness he encounters; he just moves it along and gets on with the job of helping his clients. So, when you’re in our positions, the squeaky wheels are all we see and this can definitely make you jaded.

Mentoring – Can’t believe the industry doesn’t require – look at appraisers, nail techs, massage
therapists, etc.

Professionalism/raising the bar — quit being like an organization of corporate flunkies and be business oriented vs pay check oriented. If you build a business vs earn a vacation check and work the business full-time then you can call yourself an agent (if belong to NAR then REALTOR). If not, just stick to your full-time job and let the REAL REALTORS step up. As an agent who has sold over 800 homes in 9 years it is difficult to explain to a prospect that we aren’t all alike because the industry doesn’t promote full-time workers…instead it is like Mary Kay or Amway —- work part time and become a gazillonaire…not!

Two, is the fact that with all the lip-service regarding “raising the standards / bar” I feel that too many agents / brokers focus on other people changing, instead of themselves.

I appreciate all the feedback and great comments here.

Ken – We’ll just have to agree to disagree on all accounts…

Please God don’t let the bottom feeders get you down!

As a leader in my market center (I am not the broker, but I am on our Associate Leadership Council), I routinely assist other agents with contracts, listing presentations, statistics, anything they need to be the best possible agent for their clients.

Your issues, and your recent experiences – seem to have driven your entry, and may I apologize for those of us in this industry that simply refuse to act in the fashion of those agents you decry.

At the end of the day, most of how we handle our interpersonal relationships – business or otherwise – can typically be traced to to the old “Everything I Ever Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten” adage.

Our focus in our market center (in which you will find well over the 50 good men and women required to save us from His wrath) is always looking forward, being proactive in being our area’s leader in agent eductation (mostly in classroom settings). I am proud to bellow a hearty “You Bet You Can!” when I’m asked by newer agents if they can tag along on a listing presentation or with my Buyers.

Every single day in our market center calendar typically has at least two training events – including studies of Gary Keller’s MREA, Facebook strategies, Mentoring groups, how to compile relevant statistics for listing presentations, and much, much more.

Please Matt – come back to the light – we are out there, and we are legion.

A Good Man

Navy Chief, Navy Pride

I want to run around to all the listings in my neighborhood and say “Here, go buy a lock box at Home Depot and put your listing on Postlets and Trulia; because no one will protect your best interest better than yourself!” – your words. This points up the fact that anyone, literally, can sell real estate. You don’t need training, a license or anything else. You just need the deed that says you own the place. Are we going to require home owners to pass a test to sell their own place? I think not.

I can’t speak for Matthew, but since I share his name, I’ll give my thoughts anyway.

I don’t think this was the intention of the quote. I think the point is that if we are no more educated than the consumer, they might as well save the cash and go with themselves. If we as a profession think it just takes a sign in the yard and a few postings to Trulia to sell a house, then we might as well not bother with licenses, training, legal and ethics updates, E&O insurance, etc. We should just sell our own houses and be happy with it.

I’d rather learn how to hit from Tony Gwynn giving an interactive webinar than a ‘never was’ on the field, one on one.

We both know that, if done right, online education can be extremely effective. There are stats to show that, too.

So, rather than wipe out an affordable, efficient option, focus instead on the careful selection of online education providers and online education programs.

Self-paced training and education programs could be very effective, if everything we know about interactivity & testing-adaptive learning paths were built into them. Unfortunately, even after 40+ years, most self-paced computer-based training still consists of “turning pages.”

We get better results from live online training, provided that all of the interactive capabilities of the virtual classroom system are used. A conference-style “presentation” doesn’t do it; participants must be involved & required to think and act.

So, by all means, choose affordable online education, but choose it carefully. Ensure that it is live, interactive, objectives-based, and cost-effective.

… Robin

I want to run around to all the listings in my neighborhood and say “Here, go buy a lock box at Home Depot and put your listing on Postlets and Trulia; because no one will protect your best interest better than yourself!” – your words. This points up the fact that anyone, literally, can sell real estate. You don’t need training, a license or anything else. You just need the deed that says you own the place. Are we going to require home owners to pass a test to sell their own place? I think not.

Certainly, it would be better for the profession (alternately called an industry) if new entrants had more expertise and a better personal code of conduct but, let’s be clear, no matter what profession you’re in there are going to be incompetent or corrupt members — shady lawyers, Dr. Feelgood physicians, accountants that manipulate the numbers. Why should real estate be any different?

As much as we like to say “we care” about our clients or anything else, we know in our heart of hearts that it’s about the money. It’s that way for individual agents and it’s that way for Brokers. No one I know does this for free (with a tip of the hat to Sellsius, who is always pushing for pro bono real estate). I want to represent my clients with professional competence and some empathy. I also want to get paid. My Broker wants to get paid and even tacks on a little fee to the transaction to make sure the lights stay on.

Unfortunately, for Brokers, real estate ain’t as easy as it looks and agents leave quickly if they don’t think they can hack it. State and local Associations are losing membership and cutting costs (when will education see the ax in deference to political action?).

So, as mean as this may sound, Matt — “Get over it.”

Oh, by the way, some more reasons not to file a grievance: 1) I may have to work with that agent in a transaction and I don’t want him holding my offer back, 2) grievance, arbitration and professional standards committees are often very “chummy” and cliquish, 3) the rules for these committees and State regulatory bodies are very narrowly defined with very little room for movement, 4) a slap on the wrist is hardly worth the time and trouble…and don’t even get me started on procuring cause. Brokers don’t even go there anymore.

I have to say that I do think Matthew’s suggestion (and it’s one that’s been made many times) of raising the bar for education would certainly help bring us to the right place. Read my comment about the online course I took. You know what I “learned” in that “30 hour” course? That if you kill a Pharaoh Ant and he doesn’t return home from hunting for food, the queen injects other ants to make them queens, so by killing one – you’re only increasing their numbers. Worst part about that fact? It was an aside by the author. Everything else was something I a) already knew or b) learned by asking a few simple questions (the class was on inspections).

I think consumer education only works if people want it. We as agents constantly espouse the idea of educating our clients, but when a client wants to just hurriedly sign the contract, they want to sign. You can read every word to them and explain every nuance of every word – it won’t matter. They’re already hanging curtains in their head. Not everyone is like this of course, but I have come across many with that pattern of thinking. They don’t want or need the education – that’s why they hired us. I still work to help everyone of them understand what it is I’m doing, but I know it falls on some deaf ears. And I can’t say I blame them. There are plenty of times in my own daily life where I don’t want to be educated about why something is being done, I just want it done.

I like your “new national-brokerage-yet-to-be-launched” thought. You’re probably right.