Posts
SO, YOU
WANT A CAREER IN SALES
By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, April 19, 2026
WHERE’RE YA GOING?
High in the Sierra Mountains lives
an old man
Who, from their hermitage, looks
down in pity
Upon other people of higher mental
aspiration.
One day he rescued a little group
of Swiss mountaineers
Lost deep in the mountains’
fastnesses.
When told where they were, they
exclaimed in disbelief,
“But how did we get here?”
To which the old hermit replied,
“If that question ain’t got no
answer attached to it,
I ain’t got none that fits.
If you is goin’ anywhere in
particular
Up here, yu’d better figger fust
how to get thar.
Cuz by jest goin’ afore ya know
where yere agoin’
Ya can get to a powerful lotta
places ya might not wanta be.”
-Author unknown
For the record, I retired after a thirty-three-year real estate career in 2012. I was licensed as a Salesman in 1980 and a Broker in 1982. I provide this to give the reader the confidence that what I write about, I have personally experienced. Salesman, Manager, Broker, “Broke(r) Owner” and a sales course writer and trainer.
“Success Leaves Clues!”
Anthony Robbins
“Lead with revenues,
not with expenses!”
Gary Keller
You are either
learning based or you are ignorant based, choose wisely!”
Gary Keller
“People will do business
with people they know, like and trust!”
Jeffrey Gitomer
“People don’t like to
be sold, but they love to buy!”
Jeffrey Gitomer
“You become what you
think about most!”
Earle Nightengale
Why would I begin this Nugget with
the above quotes? I am glad you asked. The quotes contain the wisdom needed to
be a success at anything you do – ANYTHING!
“The more things
change, the more they remain the same!”
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr
Success DOES leave clues! Someone, someplace, has already done what you want to do. It does not matter the career decision you make; chances are good that you will NOT be the first one to attempt doing it. It would be safe to assume that since you are reading this, you have made the decision to build a career in sales/business. There is no doubt that a career in sales will provide for a tremendous number of opportunities to personally grow, chances to become highly successful in both the number of sales that you close and the amount of money you could earn. For me, the MOST important aspect of real estate sales provided me with a career that was always changing. I was able to meet new people, develop relationships both with customers and with other real estate agents. Every day there were new challenges, new opportunities to show off my ability to sell real estate, to market homes and commercial buildings, to find solutions for my customers, to build my brand and my real estate business. If I kept doing the things that I KNEW would work to create business, my days would remain active and alive and they were never boring!
Assuming you want to be successful in sales or business, the biggest secret is to find out WHO has already done what you want, then learn from those people that have done it! Where do you find such people? Physically, they are all around you. Befriend successful people in your area and develop relationships where you can exchange ideas, discover what is working and what is not working or the why behind each situation. Attend conferences and seminars on all things relating to sales and business.
I set a personal goal of reading three books a month and did it every month of my thirty plus years in the real estate business. I read non-fiction books on sales, on developing personal relationships, on real estate contract law, on negotiation techniques, you name a subject and I am confident that I have read a book on the subject. In this regard, Gary Keller was right when he encouraged people to become knowledge base. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that a great many real estate agents complete the basic training required to become licensed and then take only the courses required by a state real estate commission to keep the license active. Such courses are great and cover specific information usually surrounding the real estate laws of the state in which you are licensed. Such courses rarely cover contract negotiations, relationship building, building a successful team, tax advantages specifically designed for independent contractors, the list is endless. Gary Keller was right about another critical aspect of building a successful business and that is AVOID GOING INTO DEBT! Lead with revenues, not with expenses. Charge ONLY those items that you must charge and if you do charge an item, make every effort to pay off the amount at the end of each month.
Every person you meet “could” become a source of business for you; EVERYONE! Most people eventually have a need for an expert, and you want YOUR NAME to be the FIRST name that people think of when that situation arises. Think about your own personal life. If you are like most people, you know the name of a primary care physician, a dentist, a plumber or electrician or a lawncare service. By contrast, people do not usually have a relationship with a real estate agent, a family attorney, a family accountant, etc. unless you have trained them to have one! Your job, should you decide to begin it, is to train the maximum number of people as possible so that when “they think (insert your business), they think (enter your name)!” That simple message will take more than one exposure. You must repeat the message until it becomes a memory in the minds of people and subject to instant recall so that when they think of your type of business, they automatically think of you!
Jeffrey Gitomer has authored books on sales, and I have read them all! Gitomer is spot on target when he writes that people do NOT like to be sold, but they love to buy. Does that apply to you? If it does, why is it so difficult for businesspeople to understand that the more you try to SELL, the fewer sales you are likely to make. The more you develop relationships with probable buyers and sellers, the more they will buy and sell using your services. More importantly, assuming you were not a jerk during this period of relationship development AND you concluded a successful sale with the customer, THEY WILL REFER THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO YOU! They become your personal “wealth builder” therefore, treat them accordingly! Based on what Gitomer has said, people may buy or sell real estate using you as their real estate agent but if you did not take the time to build a relationship with the customer so that they know you, like you and most importantly TRUST YOU, it is doubtful that they will EVER refer their friends and family to you for future business.
As stated above, I have written and taught courses on every subject someone in sales would ever want or have a need to know. I could, therefore, go on. Suffice it to say, the material I have learned, I learned by making sales or by reading; mostly reading. The following is a list of what I would consider MUST-READ books that anyone in business can learn from. Set aside at least three hours per week to read. DO NOT JUST SIT AND READ. If you own the book, read it with a highlighter and markup the book to make it easier to find important reference material. The books are NOT in any order, except for the first two, which I consider essential if your goal is to become successful in the field of sales. Do not let the title, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent deter you if you are not in real estate sales. The book is about building a business, not selling real estate.
Keep in mind that if you do not know WHERE you are going or WHERE you want to go, or HOW you are going to get where you want to go, you could end up in a lot of places you would rather not be! Discover what other successful people do, do what they do PLUS a little bit more and above all else, READ! You can read for a CHANGE; or you can READ for a change! Think about that for a second! Set a goal to read for one hour OR MORE PER DAY. That is SEVEN hours per week. THAT IS 364 HOURS PER YEAR! What can you learn to do if you read for 364 a year? You would become an expert and more successful than you ever thought possible!
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller
You WILL become what you think
about most. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. As an example, golfers
often say to themselves “do not hit the ball into the water” when it would be
in their best interest to say, “hit the ball onto the green!” Golfers should focus on the “green” not the “water!” When you focus on what you want or where you
want to go, the universe works overtime to make it happen. Therefore, Earle
Nightengale is right, “You become what you think about most.” Assuming that is true, why would you not
think about what you want in life as aided by what you READ?
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