Experience matters?

I read a decent article from Inman News  regarding the number of new real estate licensees that are out there (I would give you the link to it, but you can’t read it without being a member of Inman, and I don’t want to imply that you should drop the $150 to do so).  The same is true in this market, as we have a tremendous amount of Realtors in our local association, especially relative to the number of homes that are currently on the market. 

The article was written by Marcie Geffner.  I have never met Ms. Geffner.  I had no idea who she was until I came across the article.  Being that we live in the Internet Age, I googled her.  That is how I found that previous link to her web page.  Incidentally, I google my prospective clients, colleagues, heck, just about everyone.  Sometimes, I even google myself. 

I googled Geffner because I think it is important to know something about the authors of pieces such as these.  When someone is commenting on an industry, especially my own, I like to know what experience they have.  While Marcie’s website has plenty of information about her ability as a writer, editor, and proofreader, her biography mentions nothing of actual real estate sales experience.  In fact, it doesn’t even mention that she has had any experience in real estate other than writing about it and editing industry publications.  That makes my spider-sense tingle.

I don’t want this to sound like I am lambasting Marcie Geffner, because I am not, I just point this out because it lead me to take some of her insight with regard to the profession of real estate with a grain of salt.  I just wanted to point out that I don’t think I am being unreasonable in that approach.

The part of the article with which I take umbrage is the following:

"there is a qualitative difference between
a first-time salesperson and a 10-, 15- or 20-year veteran in real
estate just as there is in any other business. A better system would
pair new agents with more experienced counterparts in a way that would
give home sellers more choices in the marketplace and enable the
newcomers to acquire the necessary skills before they attempted to fly
solo.

I will tell you now that I consider myself a relative new-comer to the real estate business.  I have been practicing real estate for 2 years and 8 months.  I realize that I have a lot left to learn, and when the day comes that I know it all, I will quit.  No sign of quitting on the horizon. 

The thing that bothers me about her analysis of real estate newcomers is that she feels there is a "qualitative difference" between the newbie and the agent that has been doing this for quite some time.  At least in my experience actually practicing real estate, I haven’t found this to be true.  At least, not based on years of experience of the agents in question.  My wife and I, who both started at the same time, have often heard from clients who don’t know how long we have been practicing that we are much more experienced than our age would let-on.  I have worked with Realtors who are newbies and struggle, and I have worked with VERY experienced agents who have the same issues. Heck, I don’t do it perfectly all the time, either.

The thing about real estate that makes this possible is that so many people in our profession are choosing this as a second career.  They oftentimes bring experiences from their other careers to the table that they are able to leverage.  While real estate is really my first, and perhaps only, career, I have always tried to use the experience I have gained through my education and previous work experience.   So while there are many Realtors out there who have not held a license for very long, that doesn’t make them inexperienced. 

The beauty of real estate is that there is nothing holding you back.  You are able to work as hard as you are willing to work.  Of course, there is nothing propping you up, either.  And those that choose to relax may find themselves out of the industry very quickly. 

One advantage that I have experienced in being a newbie in this industry is that I am much more willing to try new techniques and change the way things are done in order to find what works best.  Many agents are actually crippled by their experience.  If you don’t update your knowledge, you are in trouble, no matter how long you have been in this business (behold, the Realtorsaurus ). 

My point is that while there is definitely a quantitative difference between newer and older agents, I feel that any perceived qualitative difference has little to do with the years of seasoning of the agent, and more to do with the personality and work ethic of the agent.

The reason why Marcie’s lack of experience as a real estate practicioner got my attention is because if I applied her logic to her very-own article, I would have to dismiss it out of hand due to her lack of experience in the field.  As we all know, writing about something and doing something are two very different things. Alas, I did not just dismiss Geffener’s analysis of the industry, no matter how lacking I perceive her experience to be in such matters.  Like I said, I think that quality work can come from anyone, and is a product of their personality, not their experience.  Granted, I don’t agree with her, either. 

So, are so many new Realtors really bad for the industry?  That would depend on who you ask.  I say, certainly not.  For one– the more the merrier.  And secondly– I love competition.  Not to mention, we aren’t the only industry dealing with this issue.  Just check out the same debate  that is raging in my beloved NASCAR.  They don’t seem to be suffering, at least according to track attendance and television ratings.

Luckily for us, Marcie plans to tell us how to fix the problems in the industry created by the exorbitant number of newcomers.  I’ll let you know what she thinks. 

Oh yeah, and me, too.