25 Sep Why Younger People Have a Difficult Time Making It (Part 2 of 3)
The following is a continuation from last Thursday’s posting based on observations by industry veteran, Len Krick.
- Most will not do B2B cold calling and cold canvassing, which is required, and most cannot handle rejection;
- Most do not accept that using “social media” is no substitute for sweat, shoe leather, and the ability to build relationships through inter-personal face-to-face meetings.
- Since they dislike prospecting, they avoid it and find themselves with a dwindling book of business; thus, the personal cash-flow roller coaster is set into action. Then they compound their problem by living on credit cards.
- Most cannot figure out how to convince the Listing Prospect that they are probably going to have to finance the Buyer, so either (a) the Seller prospect is not prepared for the reality or (b) there is no way to fund the Buyer and the listing never sells.
- Many think it is “beneath them” to take smaller listings and hold out for large prestigious/high-profile listings, not realizing that they do not have the experience, skills, or resources to successfully conclude a large transaction, even if they could get one. They might be able to get that big fish on the line, but they can’t reel it in.
- Unfortunately, they don’t realize that listings selling from $80,000 to $300,000 pay the rent, etc., and that is what most Buyers have the ability to purchase.
- Many get way too wrapped up in a Listing or a Buyer, and don’t understand that they need to develop an “SWSWSWN” (Some Will, Some Won’t, So What, Next) attitude. When they are unable to sell the listing or find a business for a Buyer, they take it personally, and get discouraged.
- Most younger people are not willing to put the time in to be successful; they are distracted with other priorities, such as building a family or socializing.
- Successful business brokers are able to juggle many balls at once. In each transaction there are many different personalities with differing agendas. Some need to be on the team, some need to be stroked, some need to be finessed into supporting a position, etc. Younger people simply have not been able to develop all the skills necessary to navigate through these and get all the people to a common ground, so the transaction can close.
- When they get desperate, they get, what I call, “commission breath,” and the parties can sense that they are desperate for a commission.
- That’s when they do things that they shouldn’t be doing and “going for” the commission, because they have to pay the rent or feed their kids. So they attempt to “force” the deal to get a commission. For example, that is when they might tell the Buyer what the Seller will actually take, which may be less than the listing price, and a violation of the Broker’s fiduciary and agency duties.
- This results in a much higher potential for litigation and personal liability.
- Then they get named in a law suit and they are done.
Thursday’s posting will complete this article with a listing of Len’s suggestions for anyone thinking of entering our Business Brokerage profession.
