5 Traits of Successful Investors
Understanding the market and knowing a proven formula are important to real estate investing, but they aren’t the only things that matter. Often, deals are acquired with the help of certain skills that investors possess. If you are looking to jumpstart your real estate business, consider the following five traits of successful investors.
Diligence
When it comes to real estate, you have to be willing to lose some deals, learn from the mistakes and move forward putting your new knowledge to use. Even the best investors only land one or two accepted offers out of 10. The difference between successful investors and those who fail to perform is that the successful investor doesn’t hang back or give up after having offers rejected. Rather, the successful investor will work even harder on the next deal. While it would be amazing if deals just fell into your lap, that is a dream. The most successful real estate investors are the ones who are self-motivated, determined and willing to work hard.
Honesty
Honesty is an important trait for any relationship, business or otherwise. People want to work with others who they can place a certain level of trust in and who they believe can get the job done. One of the biggest mistakes investors make is to tell people that they can do any deal in every market. Simply be honest and tell a fellow investor that this particular deal isn’t going to work for you. If you don’t know something about the business, don’t make up information; say that you don’t know but will be happy to find out. You need to be honest and upfront in every project you take on, so if you say you’re going to do something, do it.
Enthusiasm
The power of positive thinking is not a myth: People would rather work with someone who has a positive attitude than one who is negative and complains about everything. When networking, think about the attitude that you project because your attitude alone can help you secure a deal. People may not remember exactly what you said when they spoke with you, but they will be sure to remember if you were complaining about a deal you just lost. If you truly enjoy what you are doing, let it show. The people around you will want to work with you more, and are more likely to recommend someone who truly has a passion for the business.
Respect
A secret savvy investors know is that you can never judge a book by its cover. The guy who walks into a meeting in jeans and sneakers may end up being one of the most successful investors in your area, and they are looking to partner somewhere down the road. Real estate tends to be a pretty close-knit community, so if you bash someone or judge them unfairly, there is a good chance your words will get back to that individual. Treat everyone from your real estate agent to your contractor with professional respect and courtesy for the smoothest and most lucrative relationships.
Availability
One of the most frustrating aspects of any business is not being able to get ahold of someone when you need to. This is especially true in real estate where the market moves fast. When people aren’t able to reach you they don’t assume you are super successful and are just busy, they assume that you don’t care. With all of our technology, there is no reason you can’t get back to people in a timely manner, even if you don’t know an answer to their inquiry or you have bad news to give. Don’t wait for the “right” time to deliver information, do it as soon as it becomes available to you. Try to answer your phone every single time it rings. This may not be possible for you, and if it isn’t, try to return any texts, calls or emails within an hour of receipt. The more available you are, the more people will want to work with you.
You don’t need any formal training or specialty courses to hone the five skills listed above. Being a respectful, honest and available person will help you go far in the real estate business. Start incorporating all of these traits of successful investors into your business dealings today and soon you will start to close on deals you may have thought impossible.