Take a look at a list of the most successful agents in your market and try to figure out what they have in common.  How did they all become top agents?

It’s not easy, because successful agents don’t conform to the superficial stereotypes that we all have of the dynamic “superstars” out of central casting.  Some are charming, others are boring.  Some are loud, others are quiet.  Some are glad-handers, others are back-benchers.  Some are likeable, others are abrasive. Some are neat, others are sloppy. Some prospect like crazy, others never pick up the phone.  They’re all over the map.

So what do they all have in common?  It’s simple. They’re all really good at their jobs.

It’s really that easy. They’re good at pricing homes, they’re good at learning inventory, they’re good at negotiating, they’re good at counseling clients, they’re good at facilitating a transaction. That’s why they are so successful, because being good at helping people by and sell homes is obviously the most important driver of your business. If you’re good at pricing listings, then you’ll sell more of them.  If you’re good at counseling buyers, you’ll get more of them into contract. If you’re good at facilitating a transaction, you’ll close more of them.

Most importantly, of course, if you’re good at your job, your satisfied clients will work with you the next time they need to buy or sell a home.  And they’ll tell their friends to use you. And they’ll write great testimonials that will provide ironclad validation whenever you’re trying to win over a new client.

Conversely, you’ll never be a top-producer if you’re bad at your job. Your overpriced listings will expire.  Your neglected buyers will find another agent.  Your complicated deals will fall apart.  And eventually, regardless of how charismatic and dynamic you are, regardless of how much prospecting you do, you’ll be out of the business.

So take a look at that list again.  What you’ll find is a group of agents who don’t look the same, act the same, or generate business in the same way.  But most of them are agents that you would personally probably hire if you weren’t a real estate agent and needed someone to sell or buy a home.

That’s why they’re top agents.  They’re good at their job.

This post is part of a series of what I call the “36-1/2 Rules for Client-Oriented Real Estate Agents,” a collection of short takes on the CORE concept that I’ve developed over the years of discussing and teaching the system.  We’ll count up to the 36th rule over the next few months, and then the 1/2 rule.  You can get the full list of rules by clicking on the “36-1/2 Rules for CORE Agents” category on the blog – scroll from the bottom if you want to read them in order.