Kristen Robertson

I attribute my success to doing the job for the right reason. Keller Williams has a saying, 'what's your big why?' - why do you do the job that you do? My big why was to help people, number one, but also to provide for my kids and give them a better life than what I had. It doesn't have to be any big thing, your big why could literally be 'I want to buy a beach house one day.' Different people are motivated by different things. I got into real estate for my kids, and it wasn't that I was passionate about it in the beginning, but I am now. It was something that I thought I would like to do, and now it's something I love to do.

The best career advice I ever received came from my coach at Keller Williams, Jason Driscoll. I'm the kind of person that needs to learn everything and be comfortable before I go out and do something, because I don't want somebody to ask me a question and I don't have an answer. I did that for the first six months of my career, and Jason finally said to me, 'just get out there and do it.' That was the best advice he ever gave me, because you learn by doing, not necessarily by reading and trying to have all the knowledge. I had my first transaction after that, and I learned so much more in one transaction than I did in the six months of me trying to just understand and learn everything I could about real estate. Fifteen years later, Jason is still the coach in our office, and I still go to him with questions.

Hang in there and develop thick skin. When I first started, it was tough, and I was like, I don't know if I'm cut out for this. My feelings would get hurt when trying to negotiate and all of that. I've mentored women since then, and they feel the same way - they're my friends and women who have gotten into the business, and they would call me and say the same thing to me that I was saying when I started. It is a very rewarding career, believe it or not. You're helping people with the biggest purchase of their life, and it's a very emotional purchase or sale. Somebody is selling a house and they don't necessarily want to sell, or they have to move because of a job. My advice would be to just hang in there, because it can be really rewarding.

The biggest challenge right now is the market we've been in lately - it's been a very challenging market for buyers. Inventory is really low, so you have multiple buyers trying to get the same house, and your client doesn't necessarily get the house that they really love. You have to keep going and move on and look for another one. The biggest challenge for me has been trying to manage emotions, not just mine, but my clients' emotions. The way to overcome that is education - to educate them and let them know right up front, 'listen, this is a challenging market that we're in, and there are going to be times where you may not get the house that you want, because it's very competitive.' We just have to put our best foot forward. I always say, and I truly believe it, that the right house is out there, and when it's meant to be, it will be. Overcoming it is just preparing people up front so that they're aware that it might happen and they don't get discouraged.