My $50,000 carrot

I have been motivated, or so my boss thinks. My boss has placed yet another carrot in front of all the agents on our team. It may be a large, juicy, $50,000 carrot, but it is still a carrot.

Real estate agents, at least this real estate agent, is motivated by money. "To make a donkey move, one must put a carrot in front of him or dab him with a stick from behind." (Shah and Shah p. 3) Brokers, builders and other agents often dangle more and more money in front of agents in the hopes of getting us to sell more of their inventory. The problem with this idea is that we cannot sell what we cannot get people financed for. (In many cases, we cannot sell what appraises for under the asking price.) Sadly most agents and brokers only use manipulation to achieve results and call it motivation.

People are motivated by a number of reasons. Internal and external forces all contribute to why people do what they do. The best motivation however does not come from an external force, but from an inner drive. The best agents are those people who are driven by an inner need to achieve something in their career. Very few people who are in it for the money last past a recession.

This same idea can be applied to convincing someone to buy or sell a house. By moving past the obvious financial gains when purchasing a home, an agent can hit a cord with a client that will motivate them to purchase a home even when the odds look daunting. I realize even more now how important it is to create a personal relationship with my clients so that when their motivation seems to be waning I can remind them what started them on this journey in the first place.

As for that carrot. It will me mine.

Shah, K. & Shah, P. (n.d.) Motivation. Retrieved July 10, 2007, from

http://www.laynetworks.com/Motivation.html