I have heard it all before, and quite frankly, too often to ignore and not mention it since I believe talking about it will help some people cut through those walls they put up. I am talking about the obstacles title sales executives put up to stay at a dead-end job, or with a company or boss that makes them unhappy. These obstacles range from "I make too much money" better known as the golden-shackle obstacle, to the "I am happy and not interested in changing jobs" obstacle, followed by telling me a litany of reasons why their current situation is less than ideal. The truth of the matter is that creating barriers to change is normal behavior by everyone, in title sales or any other job. Change is difficult. There is a natural fear of the unknown and if you are doing well (financially, I mean) you don't want to risk losing what has taken you a long time to grow.
Now, since I began this post by telling you these are all obstacles we put on ourselves, not true obstacles, I will break them down into two categories. The first category is financial, and the second is happiness. Every obstacle we put up falls under one of these buckets. I will explain why, at least in generalities, these are all excuses we tell ourselves because we fear change.
These obstacles comes from a place of stability. If you are doing well financially, it becomes much more difficult to rock the boat. However, I see title sales executives who are not doing that well and when placed with the right agency or team would be able to double or triple their income, tell me that they are not willing to change jobs. What I have often found is that this fear of change has more to do with how sure of oneself the title rep is and less about financial stability. Those reps who are sure about their ability to sell and build a book, never even bring up any financial obstacles. They want to hear how they can turn their great selling capabilities into more sales. They want to hear what the new company has to offer in terms of compensation, advancement opportunity, benefits, training, tools, and support. They are more interested in the customer service reputation of the agency and less on how they can minimize the impact of the transition on their finances.
Of course, with every job transition in sales, there is a ramp-up period where sales will go down. But so far every company that I have represented has worked with the title sales person to provide a guarantee period to help with that transition. So what is holding you back?
Happiness is a state of mind. These happiness obstacles have more to do with how one perceives their situation. They are much more difficult to overcome since you are not talking about numbers; but about feelings. These obstacles come in many forms, bu they usually have one overriding trait–underplaying the extent to which the situation makes the sales person unhappy.
I have heard sales executives rationalize bosses who berate them, micro-manage them, stop advancement opportunities in favor of "friends" and create turmoil within teams. I have seen them rationalize the lack of benefits, or company culture, or even policies which limit their earning potential. These sales people usually say well, I might have "that" situation going on, but I get this...whatever "this" is that justifies their unhappiness with "that."
Truth is, really down-deep inside, they know they are rationalizing their situation and understand that whatever "that" is, it is not ideal.
What I say is, you are at your job a minimum of 8 hours-a-day, and in title, it usually is much more than that. The job never stops, so do you really want to be in a situation where you are unhappy the majority of the time, with no respite? Why would you want to do that when there is a world of opportunities out there for you to explore? Besides, just because you explore these opportunities does not mean you have to take them. So break free of those walls you have been putting up. They are hiding blue skies ahead.
If you see yourself in some of the samples in this post, we are here to help. At Jobtracks we believe you should be happy and have opportunity for growth. If your job or your boss is holding you back, it's time to see what other opportunities are available. There is a high demand for title agents. Call or text me at the numbers below, or simply click on this link with the best time to talk and I will get in touch with you.
Otto Suarez
Executive Recruitment Manager
Jobtracks
otto.suarez@jobtracks.com
786-406-6767