I just read a post of John Novak's that got me thinking. Off I went to click on his links and read some more. His post is about the top selling agents in real estate. It's an eye-opener. Take a detour and check it out. I'll wait.
The post is eye-opening because the volume these agents have done is beyond huge. It's ginormous! The top selling agent, Dolly Lenz, sold $748,319,000. That's for the year, not a lifetime. Quite the impressive number, don't you think? Ms. Lenz states that depending on whether one of her deals in escrow closes in December or January she'll make over $10,000,000 in commission for 2007. Let's s-l-o-w- t-h-a-t- d-o-w-n a l-i-t-t-l-e..... ten million dollars in commissions. Most agents don't have that much in gross sales, let alone commissions.
I enjoyed reading several articles profiling Ms. Lenz. I cannot relate to the numbers, but I can relate to the ideas.
She deals with overpriced listings like the rest of us. She specifically discussed having Donald Trump's Palm Beach estate on the market for over a year. The beachfront estate is listed at $125,000,000 and she feels it's more in line with right under 100 mil. But what to do? The Donald feels it's worth 15 million more. Until the disparity between his perceived value and the market's perceived value is no longer there, nothing is happening with the listing. Not news to us, is it?
She feels it's important to mirror her clients as far as image and the status quo. For her that means $8,000 purses and frequent $500 dinners (5 times a week) at NYC's famed Four Season's Restaurant. Her words ring with some truth, "it’s how people judge each other at the curb. Why would you not overcome that curb if you could?" I'm sure most can find more than just a modicum of truth in this, even if we don't shop in the same boutiques or partake of the same filet of bison served with foie gras and Perigord truffle sauce.
She attributes her success to working hard. She puts in 80-90 hour weeks. I'd like to think that our results are directly related to the effort we put in. I'll give her that much. I'm not sure I want to make 90 hour weeks routine for me though. That comes at a cost I'm not willing to pay.
She has teenage children and, by her own admission, spends about an hour a week with her daughter, and talks 10 minutes a week to her son. This last one makes me think it's on the phone. Whoa! Now here we have to part ways Dolly. There is no amount of money in the world that can take the place of spending time with my children. There are no number of accolades earned that can replace staying in touch with my kids and their lives. Being a hands-on parent is not something I am going to negotiate on.
I want to be successful. Really I do. But each person needs to define success in their own terms and what it means to them. My definition includes sufficient quality time with my loved ones as well as paying the bills and having enough for some wants, not just the needs.
Today I wonder how Dolly's children feel about her success?
Maggie Dokic, SFR is a licensed real estate broker in the state of Florida selling residential real estate in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Coral Gables, Gables by the Sea, High Pines, the Redland and other select areas of SW Miami-Dade County.
Maggie has earned her SFR certification to be able to better serve the needs of her customers in today's non-traditional real estate market. SFR is a Short Sale, Foreclosure Resource Specialist. Designees have been trained to understand the highly specialized options available to Sellers facing short sales & foreclosures and Buyers looking to buy them.
For more information on our local real estate market, or to see or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Coral Gables or the Redland, visit my Miami Real Estate blog or contact me at Maggie (at) TheBlogThatAteMiami (dot) com.
The opinions expressed herein, are those of the author, and not necessarily of Prudential Florida Realty.
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