It's like a bad Chumbawumba song.

I get knocked down
But I get up again
No you're never gonna keep me down

Having a background in food service and bartending, I made an analogy for Greg (my teammate) about people's perceptions of Realtors and how we're paid. It's just like when you're a waiter or waitress: unless your customer has walked in those shoes, they don't get how it works. They don't get that you are making $2.83/hour ($0 after taxes) and that you're at the mercy of their tips for survival. And sometimes, frankly, they don't care.

Being a new agent is, well, a financial feat. Did you know that your agent is paid $0/hour and receives no health insurance benefits from their employer? That all the reports he or she has poured over to prepare for your appointments, the childcare accommodations that have been made to get you to your appointments, the gas money spent to get him or her to all ends of the earth for you: that is all 100% absolutely, completely not reimbursed by anyone unless you buy a home. I bet you could never tell by the way your realtor (if you've picked a good one) is ready to go at it day after day with a huge smile plastered on their face, as if their pockets were lined so fat they didn't care if they ever got paid.

It's hard out here for a pimp, riding a rollercoaster of emotion almost everyday. This morning I was whistling and practically leaping with joy as I walked through the halls of our office. I was writing an offer at 11, we had a buyer tour lined up for this evening. Floor duty (answering the phone at the office = chance to pick up new clients) at 2:30-4:30. It was a day full of promise. So explain what drove Greg and I to heavy drinking this evening? That's the thing...just a few hours can make or break your day, week, or month in this business. The offer was too slow, the buyer tour got cancelled, and no real prospects called in during floor time. Suddenly an 8 hour day had actually cost us money and set us back. Beer me.

Here's what will make or break an agent though: what do you do next? What do you do when you get beaten down? It's easy, as an independent contractor who receives ZERO compensation for going into the office, to say "$!%@ it, I'm staying in my jammies and blogging about Michael Vick all day", pop some Ellio's in the toaster oven and hang out with the dog. You can expect then, with that effort, to continue making $0 gross and net.

The agent who's going to make it is the one who, whether it takes them an after work martini binge or not, wakes up the next morning refreshed and genuinely ready to go at it again. Who gets excited when their phone starts ringing at 7 a.m. Who will meet the clients who have cancelled a zillion times and not hold a grudge, because maybe this is the time we'll find "the one" and there's only one way to find out.

He drinks a whiskey drink
He drinks a vodka drink
He drinks a lager drink
He drinks a cider drink

So you agents that are tuning in, let's all brush off the disappointments of today in favor of the opportunities tomorrow is bringing. If your brain is too cluttered with yesterday's shortcomings, you're gonna miss out on the sale staring you right in the face, or the chance to take floor calls, or you may be too bitter to give that sporadic appointment keeper another chance--the very day they decide to buy. I'm not UNICEF....when I want to do charity work I'll go back to Big Brothers, Big Sisters full time. That's why I'm skipping the Ellio's and PJs and getting geared up for another ride on the 'coaster.

We'll be singing
When we're winning