Finding a Mentor

Finding a Mentor or Coach

Finding a Mentor or Coach can be a daunting task. It's important you realize you are interviewing mentors, and, they are not all created equally. I've been mentoring and coaching other real estate agents for just under a year now and have realized some of the things people are looking for are exactly what I can offer.  Through a desire to be the best darn mentor/coach I can be, I am constantly trying to improve and research for better ways to help others.  Through coaching and mentoring others, it's helped me to be accountable to having reliable systems, tools, & schedules within my own business. Having duplicatable models I can share with others is crucial.

A year ago, today, I set out on a mission to find a coach/mentor who matched my ideal image of a mentor. After realizing I outgrew my TR coach I had after only one year, I ventured out seeking out someone new who could help me with my business at the level its at now. After interviewing all the top coaching companies, I finally narrowed my search down and decided to give one of them a try. I liked the company's long reputation of building top producing agents through their systems and models. The interviewing rep was on the ball and knew her "scripts" and said all the right things. After they matched me with a coach, I realized they matched me with a full-time coach who had not been in production for over 8 years who ran her program as cookie cutter as they come. She asked minimal questions and began talking to me like I was a rookie agent who was learning real estate for the first time.

A few months back I received a last minute invitation to a Luxury Event being hosted by a competing Brokerage known for their luxury real estate model. They hosted a speaker who happen to own her own coaching company.  She spoke about the D.I.S.C. personality testing. She told stories about the different client personalities and how they ran their businesses so differently. Each of her clients were so different, yet successful with completely different business models. Her CS client was super successful with his print marketing campaigns.  Her ID client built his business on his social networking and market expertise.  Another one of her clients, who was an IS, made a lucrative business built on her sphere of influence and referrals.  After listening to her for only the first few hours, I knew I had look into finding a coach/mentor within her program. She mentioned that she adjusts her methods of coaching based on the client. She believes in helping agents build on what they've already been successful at within their personality traits. There was no cookie cutter here. Finally, I found someone who's values and beliefs system matched mine.

Anyone can read books and watch youtube trainings or take webinars on how to do real estate. Coaching & mentoring is about having the skill to take someone's talents and helping them grow utilizing those natural talents. Nurturing and feeding the areas they excel at and refining those skills to get the best out of them is what it really takes. If you know anything about the DISC profile, everyone usually has one or two areas they excel in naturally.  Some have the skill to adjust their personality in areas, however, it is recognized that adjusting regularly or too often can be exhausting and deplete people's best spent energy.

Recently, I received the biggest honor. One of my existing mentees asked if I would mentor/coach his daughter.  Wow! When you have given back in the form of coaching, and you put your heart, soul and seek to do the best you can possibly do, the opportunity multiplies.

I am very passionate about helping others succeed and surpass their goals. What a great feeling! Helping others on to the fast track toward their goals and dreams is so rewarding. It is equally rewarding being on the receiving end of that scenario. Constantly improving myself through education, self improvement and receiving coaching from others, has helped me in my business and in helping others build their businesses.

It's incredibly exciting to envision what a few years from now looks like for my Real Estate business and for the businesses of those whom I've worked with these last few years.

Below is a pretty good guide and list of the qualities you should be looking for. Create a solid set of questions for your mentors/coaches. 1. Are you currently in production? 2. How successful were/are you? What are/were your production/unit numbers? 3. What kind of systems and models you utilize in your business? 4. What is the average GCI and units production of your mentees? 5. What should I expect from you? 6. What do you expect from me? 7. Do you give actionable items for my improvement? or, do you usually just guide me to help me make my own decisions? 8. How many coaching clients do you have? How many hours/week do you spend coaching? 9. How accessible are you to me if I have questions?

Good Luck!

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