I have my California real estate broker license - but I am not a real estate agent. I help people buy and sell homes - but I am not a sales person. I own my real estate brokerage - but I am not a business owner. I have agents work for me - but I am not a boss... I am a teacher. My primary objective in every single one of those roles is to teach.
I believe that if this is how I view each of the previous roles, I cannot fail. In fact, I cannot be anything short of exceptional. I believe that when you educate clients and let them choose what is best, you are beyond a sales person. You have empowered them to decide what is best for them rather than trying to direct them to a property that you think fits their needs.
I believe that as a boss, my job is not to command. My role is to give my agents the tools and knowledge to be successful and then simply hold them accountable for the results. My role is to tell the agent where they are right now (point A) and tell them where they need to be (point B). I must define point B very clearly and with a lot of detail. Then I must tell my agents they can get to point B however they choose (while abiding by the ethics and values of the company). This takes me out of the boss role and puts me into the role of a teacher. The agents will use my expertise and be open to my ideas but at the end of the day, it is their own creativity and work ethic that will define their success. This is a very common and powerful technique used by some of our counties best classroom teachers. Studies have shown time after time, that students will achieve more, faster when a teacher uses this style of educating.
I believe that if you view yourself as a teacher, your clients will respect you more (more referrals), your employees will respect you more (harder work), and you wil be more proud of what you do ( greater sense of satisfaction from your career).
