What You Must Know Before You Hire A Real Estate Coach

There are many things you must know before signing a contract and hiring a real estate coach.  Below I will share my personal stories of exactly how we hired a coach, our experiences, results and some tips you can learn from.  

This could be a life-changing event to really develop your real estate business.  Or hiring a coach could set you back. So be sure you are going into this very important decision with eyes wide open.

The Call

I was about 2 years in the real estate business and I get a call from one of my fellow agents.  We both got into real estate in the same year and we’re both making the same kind of money. Steve!  I just got back from this event!  It was amazing! I am going to make a ton of money!  You should go whenever you can!

I was thinking what the hell is she talking about?  But I was also intrigued and curious. So, I asked when she would be at the office next and we met up.  She begins to tell me how inspired she is and that she hired a real estate coach. They have a plan for you to follow to make more money you could ever dream of!  

She was back from the event for a few days now and her excitement didn’t let down.  She was on another cloud. All I kept thinking was, I want that same excitement and also want to know how to make all of this money she is talking about…

The Event

I call up my sister and explain what she explained to me.  There was another event is in a couple months in Fort Lauderdale and we decided to make a commitment to go.  She agreed. We didn’t have much money so we really stretched to gather the funds for the entry fee, hotel, food, etc.

We got out there the night before as the registration in the morning was early.  I think around 7:30 am. We had no idea what we were in store for. We get in line at the closed doors as people kept piling in.  These were real estate agents from all over including outside of the United States. We were excited but at the same time even a little nervous.

It was loud and we were meeting a lot of other fellow agents.  Many who have attended these events before. The doors opened and it was like running with the bulls.  People were fighting to sit up front or stretching to get good seats. Finally, the event begins. This was the Productivity Sales Event hosted by Mike Ferry.

Over the next few days, we were learning scripts and dialogue.  We were role-playing with everyone around us. We were broken into small groups and intensely just kept practicing.  It was uncomfortable, to say the least. We had these booklets with scripts. We were altering our tone of speech and really working on getting better with these foreign scripts.

Need phone numbers? FSBO’s, Expired Listings, For Rent By Owners, Pre-Foreclosure (Short Sales), Geo Areas – The link below will waive their $149 sign on fee!!  Explode your business right now!  

Prior to this, I never approached, mail, called or door knocked a FSBO or Expired.  So this was a different world. I always knew these were the gold mine target markets but really didn’t know how much money you could really make…  Until now.

The Panel

The only downtime was the truly inspiring part.  There would be a panel of 5-7 “superstar” real estate agents up on stage.  Mike Ferry would introduce them each and each one would speak for a little bit about their background, how long in coaching, where they live, etc.

However, the eye-widening part was when he was asking – How much money did you make last year?  One agent – $850,000.  Another agent $780,000.  Another $1,200,000 and so one.  

Is it hard not to get inspired by this right?  I was thinking is this even real? Are these paid actors?  But they were not. Just regular people who practiced their scripts every day and relentlessly cold called for several hours every day.  

We can do this right, Jen?!  Let’s find out more details on this whole coaching thing…  

Back Of The Room!

Anyone who is interested in turning around their real estate careers with a real estate coach, please go to the back of the room and speak with one of our coaches!  

My sister and I went back to learn more details.  The coaches and staff were very friendly and motivating.  They were asking a lot of questions and were very informative.  But I still wanted one question answered. So how much is this?

The Cost

$1,000 a month with a 12-month commitment.  I about fell over. I barely was getting by as it was and explained we just didn’t have that kind of money.  (The Objection) ** Keep in mind these are salespeople trained to handle all the common objections as to why someone would not join coaching.  

The sales representative says I understand this is a huge investment for you guys and know it is a lot of money.  But let me ask you, what is your average commission check? ($4,000). Ok, so essentially we need to get you to do an additional 3 sales a year to break even right?  (Right). That really isn’t a lot of sales right? (I guess so…) Well, what if we were able to help you do an additional 2-3 sales every month? Then the $12k a year is actually very inexpensive, isn’t it?  (I guess).  

Well, we did what we did and put a $1,000 monthly commitment on an American Express credit card.  A very risky endeavor I must add at the time. However, it was on Jen and me to commit and really take control.  We only needed 3 sales to break even right?!

The Interview

We got back to our Fort Myers office on Monday.  We were excited and inspired but still really didn’t know what we were doing…  

We had an initial phone call to discuss what kind of coach we would want.  Male or female. Personality type etc.

The next week we get a call from our new coach, Tim Harris.  A truly great guy. He turns out to be our full-time coach for the next 12-month commitment.  The first phone call was no bullshit. We got down to business right away. He asked many questions including where our existing business comes from.  Who does what? And what our goals are.

One thing that I like about Tim was that even though the Mike Ferry approach is very aggressive in nature like cold calling and door knocking, he encouraged us to continue doing passive activities that were working, like our farm area downtown Fort Myers.  

Where Do We Start Tim?

He instructed us to sign up with one of the lead generation plans to get the phone numbers for FSBO and Expired listings.  

Tim – You both have to cold call every morning for at least 2.5 hours.  I want you to speak to at least 25 a day, Monday – Friday. Figure out who is going to call FSBO’s and who is going to call Expired.

Before you call, practice your scripts with each other for 30 minutes then get on the phones.

Me – Ok Tim.  So we need to practice a lot more, so when do you think we should actually call them?

Tim – Start today!  Practice on the public!  It is ok to fumble and fail.  You will get better. Practice and practice!  I’ll be in touch next week. Email with any questions!

So We Begin

We stuck to the schedule for the most part cold calling at least 4 days a week.  Not the easy income-producing activity but it got easier as our scripts and dialogue became more fluent.

Quick Tip – Sales is a series of questions to get you to your end result.  No matter how you are marketing or who you are prospecting to, be sure to have your scripts, dialogue, and objection handlers down.  

Accountability

Tim – Steve, why did you only cold call 4 days last week?  

Me – Umm…  Thursday night we went out and I was a little hung over.  

Tim – Are you going to take this serious enough in order to reach your goals?  Why did you hire me?

Me – Yes.  And we hired you to ensure we are trained right and hitting our goals.  

These were the kind of conversations we would have when I didn’t hit my numbers.  Rightfully so. He was hired and paid to hold us accountable to ensure we succeeded.  

Bottom line, if we didn’t succeed, they wouldn’t either.  If we didn’t make the money we needed to, we would likely not resign in the future because we wouldn’t have the funds to do so.  So the coaches (most of them anyway) wanted to ensure we were hitting our numbers.

At the end of the day, the concept is fairly simple.  Concentrate on your numbers. If you hit your numbers each day, you will get a certain amount of appointments.  Out of those listing appointments, you will get a certain amount of listings. And those listings will contribute to a certain amount of sales per year.  

How Were The Real Estate Coaching Sessions Structured?

Every week we had one real estate coaching call.  It was an hour long. As mentioned above we reviewed our numbers, current inventory and any struggles we were having.

Tim did a great job in leading us on each call.  He put many things into perspective on what was needed to increase sales.  For example, we would discuss a specific listing. How many days on market.  The activity we were getting. Feedback and why it hasn’t sold yet. We were then instructed to get price adjustments on any listings that were not selling.  At the end of the day Price, Condition and Location sell real estate. The location you cannot change. Is the seller willing to improve the condition? If not the only other logical thing you can do is reduce the price.  

Most of these calls and advice were common sense.  However, it was just like any other coach pushing you along to achieve those things.  If you hired a fitness coach it would be very comparable in terms of getting you on a plan and sticking to it in order to get results.

Other Tips on Hiring A Real Estate Coach

Speak to Other Coaching Clients

This is a huge financial decision.  So be sure you do not go into this blind relying on their organization or sales representative to “sell” you on the coaching.

Do your due diligence like any other major decision you have for your business.  So reach out to others who are currently in coaching or have been coached in these organizations.  Find out how they have helped. What they like. What they dislike. Are they getting the value out of the investment?

Also, you may even want to consider hiring that exact coach that the real estate agent has if the feedback (and results) are really good.  Remember many times these coaching organizations have dozens and maybe even hundreds of coaches. And not all coaches are created equal.

Am I Coachable?

If you are considering hiring a coach, be sure to ask yourself if you really are coachable.  Meaning, are you going to trust the process and implement everything your coach is guiding you toward?  

It will be a waste of your money if you hire a coach, only to resist them.  I believe you have to be in the right state of mind to really want and need coaching.

Is It Worth Hiring A Real Estate Coach?

Well, we tracked our numbers from the beginning and I can tell you our first year of coaching brought in approximately $80k+ more in revenue.

So, financially I would say, yes.  I was still a bit resistant at times, but we came out ahead and learned a lot.  And… Honestly, I think we only gave it probably 40% of our real potential and effort.  I usually would stop once I got a listing appointment. When I could have gotten 2 or 3 more.  

So be sure you are ready and willing to go all in.  I think if we were willing to go all in we would have easily tripled or quadrupled that number in the first year.  

Hiring The Right Coach

Our coach, Tim Harris, went on to found his own coaching company, Harris Real Estate University.  So after a year with the Mike Ferry organization, we had to get another coach.

Well, this didn’t go over too well.  We had another gentleman with the MFO reach out and we were not very impressed with him.  I can tell you not all coaches are created equal.

Unfortunately, he seemed more robotic just pushing out information to us as opposed to getting to know our business and where we were at.  

So after a couple months with this new coach, we decided to split ways.  Maybe we thought Tim was a great coach and this guy didn’t compare? Whatever the case, we just knew we were not getting the same value so it was important to recognize this and move on as quickly as possible.

So be sure not to settle.  It is imperative like choosing the right real estate broker that you choose the right coach.  Do not settle for mediocre.

Real Estate Coach or General Sales Coach?

I likely would have gone in an alternative direction for full-time coaching if I did my due diligence a little more.  Back then, I didn’t hear much about coaching in general besides sports or fitness. I would have actually gone in a more universal coaching program like Grant Gardone as opposed to real estate specific.

I felt the coaching calls overtime became somewhat redundant.  A more generalized coach can help in multiple facets of your business besides just accountability and real estate scripts.  A more generalized sales coach may have more of an effect on your overall business from sales, marketing, finances, and growth.  

Some Coaching Companies To Check Out

As mentioned in many of my articles on this website, this is a real business and needs to be taken seriously.  With that said, you may not want to hire a “real estate coach” but maybe a more general sales coach.

I have a suggested list below to check into for general, financial and real estate specific.  Ease into them. Read some of their suggested books and find out who really speaks to you. You will definitely pick up some incredible tips for the trade regardless.  If you feel coaching might be an option for you, then search their coaching programs.

Steve Daria

Yours truly!  Subscribe to SteveInvests and get FREE real estate coaching!  You can also check out our low cost, highly effective paid courses HERE.

Grant Cardone

Grant is the leading sales coach in the world with a strong real estate investing background.  He coaches small and large organizations and also invests heavily in large apartment complexes in the United States.  He came from nothing and built a multi-million dollar organization.

Grant had many different resources and coaching programs to invest in which are highly motivating – 10X Your Business.  Click below for more details on what they offer.

Tony Robbins

Tony has a mindset and an inspirational feel for guidance and coaching.  I have been following Tony for years now and have been to several events including walking on coals.  A very cool experience. Maybe ease into his book Awaken the Giant Within to see really where this guy can take you.  

Robert Kiyosaki

You will review time and time again in many articles on this site that one simple book he wrote changed my financial life.  Robert has a simple way to grow your business through financial intelligence.  

Don’t forget about the cash flow game!  This is a game we still play on a regular basis.   

Tom Ferry

Tom who is Mike Ferry’s son broke off and founded his own real estate coaching company.  Tom has more of a hybrid strategy of both passive and aggressive marketing for real estate agents.

Check out the latest pricing on his book The Proven Strategies to Transform and Grow your Real Estate Business.  

Craig Proctor

Craig has always trained real estate professionals in more passive marketing techniques that are creative to get your phone to ring.  His marketing style will get the consumer curious on what you are really offering which in turn gets you more calls and appointments. Check out Death of the Traditional Real Estate Agent.

Tim Harris

Tim Harris was my personal coach as mentioned above.  He was the first person to tell us to get ready for the new market of the 2008 recession and build a business around Short Sales.  

Mike Ferry

Mike Ferry has been around for decades now.  He has a more aggressive approach in coaching real estate clients which are mainly revolved around cold calling FSBO’s and Expired Listings.  Check out How To Develop Six Figure Income.  

Our Courses

And of course we have taken a different approach in Real Estate Coaching.  Focusing on providing affordable coaching programs based on your niche target market.

Check them out HERE.

To your success!!