I listened to Zig Ziglar say once “The fastest way to get what you want is to help other people get what they want.” I didn’t understand this until I had a real estate mentor for a couple years and realized what Zig said was true. Whether you are the mentor or mentee there are great benefits to the relationship that can be established.
When I was looking for a real estate mentor, four things came to mind when I started my search that I felt were important.
The first thing that was important to me was finding an individual who was successful. The success that I was after was not just in the finical category but rather a list that I constructed when planning who I wanted to surround myself with. Successful to me was an individual who worked with integrity, spent time away from work with friends and family, was healthy, financially very well off, and had a process and system to their business. I have learned you can make more money than you can count. However, if you do not have a passion or dreams to go after with that money, more is actually less.
The second thing I looked for was someone who was not going to be a “card holder,” which also meant that this individual I was after probably was not going to be a direct competitor. When someone is a direct competitor, or sees you as a threat to their business or their current way of life, they most likely will not show all the cards and truly want to help you along your road to success. My mentor choice was a couple hours away and almost never worked in my area which also made it easy when it came to referral opportunities on both sides.
The third thing I looked for was time. How much time am I willing to give to my real estate mentor and how much time is he or she going to give to me. I have a very tight structure to mentor meetings. I want this person’s knowledge and friendship, and know I need to appreciate their attention like it is gold when they offer it to me. First, I list out all my sales numbers, transaction types, goals, and executions. Second, I listen to what they have to say or ask about whatever I have documented. I usually try to keep the time with them to one hour or less and write down three to four action items that I am going to do between the meeting and the next time we meet.
The fourth thing I found important was knowledge outside of my typical “sell more farms intentions.” Once I find the money, what can I do with it so I don’t have to go find it again? How do I make it find me? The mentor I was looking for needed to be an investor with lots of tax knowledge. If you are going to make money to waste it, you can skip the making step and save yourself lots of time. I was looking for someone that had answers to investment and savings questions as well.
If I was going to find another real estate mentor, I would use a simple set of questions for myself. What do I want? When do I want it by? Who do I know or can I meet that will help me to best help myself get it? and when am I going to set up and appointment with that person? In my experience, with the right mentor for you and documented goals, there is nothing the land business cannot provide.
About the Author: Jacob Hart, ALC, is a licensed real estate broker and auctioneer in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. His firm, High Point Realty & Auction, specializes in land sales and management of agricultural row crop and recreational ground. He attended SDSU in Brookings, SD, then studied at the World Wide College of Auctioneering.