Atlanta-based real estate maven Anna Kilinski may hail from a real estate legacy, but her entry into the industry was unexpected, spurred by a fascination with the investment and renovation process. Born out of resourcefulness and driven by a passion for maximizing her life, Anna’s story offers valuable lessons for those navigating the dynamic world of real estate.
Lesson 1: Become the REALTOR® of Choice
Recognizing a lack of young real estate agents in her peer group, Anna capitalized on her natural networking skills. She focused on sphere-based marketing, leveraging her existing relationships to generate leads. By consistently providing speedy and reliable service, Anna became the go-to Realtor for her friends, kickstarting her career in real estate.
Lesson 2: Shift Your Mindset to Do Hard Better
Anna shares her experience entering the real estate market in 2008, during a challenging economic period. While acknowledging the market’s cyclical nature, she emphasizes the importance of mindset and encourages agents to focus on building a resilient business regardless of market conditions. Anna urges agents to consider the life they want to create and emphasizes that success requires effort, whether in a booming or a shifting market. By embracing the challenges and doing “hard” better, agents can position themselves for success in any environment.
“It never gets easier. What happens is you become someone that handles hard stuff better.”
– Kara Lawson, Duke Basketball
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Lesson 3: Take Care of People
Anna vividly recalls the moment a client fired her, citing her self-centered decision-making. This incident prompted her to reassess her approach to real estate, shifting her focus from simply getting clients through the funnel to supporting them and their needs at every phase of the journey, no matter how much time it may take. Real estate agents have a unique impact at pivotal moments in people’s lives, and understanding and embracing this outlook is vital to running a successful business.
Lesson 4: Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Anna highlights the importance of mastery and prioritization. As a young agent she spent too much time trying to innovate and do everything her own way rather than identifying systems and models that already exist and making them her own. Today, she emphasizes mastering aspects of life that either generate income or provide control over time.
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