Real Estate Apprentice® Winner’s Progress Report
Aliso Viejo, Calif. June 1st, 2005 – Sixty days ago Kendra Shearer quit her secure job of 20 years in nursing, and with no prior experience whatsoever in sales, decided to become a real estate agent. To make matters worse her husband Paul at the same time was a victim of a business trend downturn in the paint industry, and also found himself without a job. Suddenly there were no more weekly paychecks to keep them afloat while they ventured into the new and questionable waters of the real estate industry.
Not completely an uncommon position for many new licensees that start a career in real estate, hence the notoriously high failure rates in the industry. The drop out rate, depending on each state and market, is estimated to range between 50-80%. So statically the odds were definitely against the success of this middle age Georgia mother of three. Yet, that is where fate stepped in.
Upon evaluating her essay The Real Estate Apprentice™ Foundation Judges however saw something special. They believed they saw the qualities and determination needed to succeed as a real estate agent and out of 1,580 applications decided to award Kendra the first Real Estate Apprentice title, and grant worth $75,000. The Grant is not cash, and the purpose is therefore not to give the recipient money, but rather the education, products and service, that will empower the Grant winner to lay down a solid foundation to become a very successful real estate agent – one that will still serve many hundreds of consumers, give back to the industry and ultimately contribute towards helping the industry be a better place for future generations of agents.
With these facts in mind, this first progress report on Kendra Shearer, The Real Estate Apprentice Season I winner, examines not only this rookie agent’s fears as well as victories, but also addresses the larger question regarding the debate over the likelihood of rookie agents succeeding as they weigh the cost to benefit value of high-tech tools, mentors, coaches, state of the art software, remote devices, and top quality books written by agents who have gone before rookies to set the pace.
In an exclusive Foundation interview with Kendra Shearer, she explained that as a rookie coming into the industry she had a misconception about what it was going to be like to work in real estate. Her first belief and awakening was regarding the amount of money that was necessary to successfully establish a real estate business. She quickly discovered she needed to generate cash flow and identify her target market, while immediately launching an active program of lead generation. Another misconception was her belief that a good real estate company name would have leads flow in abundance. Although some new business might come through the brokerage, it was evident that she could not afford to simply sit and wait for clients to knock on the door.
The Real Estate Apprentice Grant tried to address both those challenges by facilitating a structured transition and with certain specific Awards Kendra was afforded the opportunity to dive in whole heartedly and boldly tackle the risks knowing that she had quality guidance from multiple sources guiding her towards taking the right decisions.
For example she attended the Gateway Seminar presented by Hobbs Herder a leading corporate identity design company and one of the sponsors of the Real Estate Apprentice. “It was like a 3 day executive MBA program” says Kendra. “They have helped me create a marketing image and identity that has already been transitioned into custom advertising and personal marketing materials. “Within weeks I am already setting myself apart from agents that have been around for many years. “As a real estate professional, you must look upon yourself as a product, and you must market yourself as such,” says Don Hobbs, co-Founder of Hobbs Herder and also one of the 12 independent judges of the Real Estate Apprentice Grant. “I would not have been able to overcome this challenge this quickly or easily had it not been for the guidance of Hobbs Herder,” said Ms. Shearer. “I now have a much better understanding that I am not just another mass commodity called a real estate agent, but need to be branded as a unique real estate professional that brings abilities to the table that are exceptional and different from other agents.”
Everyone also knows that technology plays a vital role in anyone’s success today and the real estate industry is no different. After receiving from the Foundation a laptop, printer, digital camera and PDA, sponsor McLean International stepped in with some the one-on-one business system consulting and helped Kendra lay down the correct groundwork for building a sustainable database, lead generation systems and contact management system. “They visited my offices at Keller Williams Realty and took care of everything. I had nothing and the next thing I knew I was fully automated and ready to start prospecting my sphere of influence, manage data and send out hundreds of personalized marketing pieces to defined target markets. It has enabled me to start generating a pipeline of prospective clients,” she said.
Kendra also signed their first contract as a buyer’s agent that generated two transactions that are now both in escrow. “It was absolutely exhilarating,” she said. “It was a pre-qualified husband and wife who were relocating from another state and were bringing with them an 87-year-old mother. Because of my nursing background, I was able to locate the perfect assisted community for the mother as well as a separate ranch condo for the husband and wife close by.”
“In this short time Paul and I have already learned the value of referrals,” Kendra says. “In two months quality customer care has already helped us gather 15 prospects that we are working towards creating a contract with.” When evaluating applicants for the Real Estate Apprentice Grants the Foundation takes various aspects into consideration including communication skills, salesmanship, entrepreneurial spirit and integrity. Although only time will tell, it appears at this stage that Kendra truly has what it takes to become a top producing agent. The Foundation will again review her progress later this year.
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More about the Real Estate Apprentice™ Foundation
The Real Estate Apprentice™ Foundation is a non-profit venture that provides 20 bi-annual grants, totaling $250,000 every year. Grants are sponsored by various leading real estate companies, service providers and industry leaders including: First American Corporation – The nation’s leading provider of business information: Hobbs/Herder Advertising and Design – A household name in real estate agent corporate identity and branding; Thomson Learning – A global publisher of books in real estate, law, tax and accounting; Success Strategies Institute – A premier real estate coaching company; McLean International – A respected real estate organizational structure business systems implementation company; RealtyU® the nation’s largest network of Real Estate Schools; iSucceed the nation’s largest online real estate mentoring service; The CyberSpace Society – The 1st name in online conventions and cyber information and RIS Media and Broker Agent News, both highly respected names in real estate news reporting. Companies interested in becoming sponsors should contact Dr. Martin Oliver at dr.Oliver@ReApprentice.com. For more information visit www.RealEstateApprentice.com
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