In this article, we interview four of the most prolific realtors in Metro Vancouver on how they climbed out of the top 50% list in 2015 and into the top 5% list in 2018.
The world was a lot different in 2015. Barack Obama was still President of the U.S. Justin Trudeau was just about to become Prime Minister, and the Vancouver Canucks missed the playoffs (well, not everything was different).
But the world four years ago was certainly a lot different for real estate agents Brandon Crichton, Casey Archibald, Devon Owen and Gary Wong.
“You gotta start somewhere!” Says a top realtor in Metro Vancouver
Back then, three of them were, at best, in the top 50 per cent of all agents in Greater Vancouver, – one didn’t even make that list. Four years later, all four found themselves in the top five per cent. So, how did they get there?
“When I first got in, I was keeping it pretty lean. I was just working with people I knew within my network.” said former professional basketball player and current top five per cent agent Casey Archibald.
For Brandon Crichton, the first few years were more than just lean – they were scary. “In year one, I lost 40 thousand dollars. In year two, I think I broke even. Year three, I made some money but still not enough to put food on the table.”
“You don’t have your confidence in the beginning. You are kind of unsure of yourself and you just don’t have that experience,” said Devon Owen who moved from a top 50 per cent agent to 25 to 10 to five in consecutive years.
“You don’t know what you don’t know.”
All four agents started their lives as realtors the same way anyone starts a new job: inexperienced. No matter how much education someone has, there is no replacement for experience. Some, though, were lucky and able to rely on the experience of others to help them along.
“I met my mentor in 2014 and that took my business to the next level,” said the top 5 per cent agent Gary Wong, who describes his mentor as a multi-millionaire serial entrepreneur. “His influence, his strategy, his accountability – it took me aback. After my first hour on the phone with him, I was like, ‘there goes my one year MBA’.”
For the first few years as a real estate agent, being your own boss and business for perhaps the first time in your life, the experience that comes with time simply isn’t there. Which is why Gary and the other agents feel strongly about learning on others for support.
“You’re only going to learn and be exposed to so much by yourself – this is a soloistic job,” explained Crichton. “Entrepreneurship is great, but if you’re stuck in an office and you don’t have a dialogue to get access and exposure, it’s a scary industry.”
“Somethings you can’t control, but somethings you can…”
But the central factor in making Brandon, Devon, Gary and Casey successful is not some life hack that can be found in a Reddit post. What sets these four agents apart from, and what has helped them improve steadily every year is a commitment to making the client happy, and working incredibly hard to do so.
“I was working six-seven days a week when I first started. And now I still work the same. Actually, I work seven days a week. And I don’t say no to clients,” said Devon.
“I just work hard to keep growing my business and doing what I’m doing. I put my client first and try to provide a valuable service to them,” Said Casey.
“You should only be in real estate if you’re really focused on it. The good agents out there treat it as a 24-hour gig,” explained Brandon. For me, I eat it, I sleep it, I breathe it.”
“It’s not how you start – it’s how you finish!”
Becoming a top five percent agent in Vancouver didn’t happen overnight for these four agents. And In 2015, these agents’ lives looked a lot different than they do now. But what Brandon, Devon, Gary and Casey all have in common is a commitment to hard work and a desire to be great. Who knows where they’ll be in the next five years?