When Oriana Mehden first got into real estate after a career in retail management, she gave herself 90 days to make an impact. Twenty years later, she’s helped hundreds of clients make the biggest purchase of their lives, and is now helping other real estate agents do the same.
As an Accountability Coach in Zoocasa’s Agent Accelerator program, Mehden helps agents find their footing in a home sales career. In this Q&A, Mehden shares how the Agent Accelerator Program works, her approach to coaching, and how she helps agents find success.
Want to know if Agent Accelerator is right for you? Find out more here.
Q: What is the Agent Accelerator program?
My definition of the Agent Accelerator program would be a series of platforms that have been brought together strategically in order to offer agents help in any part of their career.
They need help with lead generation. They need help with accountability. They may just need help building their business. This program offers a number of platforms to really allow them to build a foundation of what their business looks like, and within that, one of those components is a coaching session.
Q: What is your role as an Accountability Coach?
I meet with about 45 agents every other week for 20 to 25 minutes at a time, and each of those relationships are unique in what they need, where they’re at, and what I can do to deliver for them to move their needle 1%.
Essentially, we’re working on foundations, building a business, identifying what being a business looks like for them, and then helping them grow into that. When they graduate, my goal for them is that they never need a lead generation program again because they’ve got all their foundation.
As far as the accountability part goes, there are certain metrics that the program holds the agents to a standard of, and there are some fundamentals to the program that have to be met.
Q: How do you approach coaching?
There are 45 unique humans on the other side of my camera every single week, and in that, they’re all in very unique places.
My challenge to each and every one of them every time we meet and before we leave every single session is: what is something you can do that others don’t do, in order to get the results others don’t get?
They’re missing a component to their business that would have placed them in the level of success they deserve, and they’re not there.
I studied the psychology of sales in order to understand the other side on a really deep level, and so I have a “why” for everything I say, everything I do, and how I do it. My version of coaching is just to not only give those suggestions, but also why I do it. Understand the “why,” because if you can understand how other people process what you do for a living, it actually makes your job much easier.
Q: How does that coaching philosophy look in practice?
For example, you never want to show up to a showing with only one property in mind. If you’ve done a good job exploring, being curious, and making a connection, you really ought to have one to two other alternative properties to show them the same day, same time, to really maximize your time together–but also have comparable properties to really gauge what their needs and wants are based around the initial one.
I encourage the connection, the buyer consultation. I encourage curiosity and getting to know each other, so that way there’s some familiarity before you show up to the first property. Now more than ever, I think people actually do crave human interaction again.
Q: What does agent success look like to you?
I think success looks like quality. Are they meeting their goals or exceeding them? And am I playing a role in that so that they get there on time with that ideal outcome or more? And are they doing it in a way that’s sustainable, or is it just a temporary fix to a long-term issue?
There are so many factors in helping people find success that each person defines it differently, and it’s not my role to define it for them. But it is my role to understand it and nurture that, and help walk them through that, and remind them of that when they have a hard day, a hard week, or a hard lead.
Q: Are there any program success stories you can share?
We’re still in the early stages as far as the U.S. and the New York team go. While we haven’t had anybody graduate yet, many agents are seeing results they didn’t actually think were possible. They’re having conversations and showings and accepted offers with people they would not have otherwise met.
They’re also showing up to these coaching sessions with an open mind, an open heart, and a willingness. So many of them in the beginning weren’t sure what the value of that time was going to be, and now 90 days later, they are so appreciative. They are so quick to share their wins. They are so quick to let me know what they implemented and that they’ve already seen results from that.
At the end of the day, everyone who’s going to the closing table right now, I think all of those are success stories.
Q: What qualities are helpful for agents to succeed in a program like this?
This program is designed to be all-inclusive. It is going to give you a platform for your goals–all in theory for free. Money distributed after closing is another part of the conversation, but all of that is given right up front on day one with no charge.
What I think the mindset is of the agents coming into this program that are going to find the most success is to commit the time to all of the platforms, commit the time to just appreciating the value of the experience in the room. It is one thing to be in attendance, but it’s another thing to participate. That is the difference between the ones that might get through the program and the ones that will excel.
Q: What would you like to share with people considering applying to the program?
This is an incredible business and an incredible time where I think everybody should really self-reflect and evaluate what makes sense for them, their business, and their “why.”
With that said, if you don’t have a strong customer relationship management with strong accountability, with a strong foundation of success, where you know where your next 5, 10, 20 deals are going to come from, then this is going to help not only elevate you, but it’s actually going to position you.
Should you take advantage of everything it has to offer and all the experience, it’s going to put you in a place where this is a sustainable pipeline for the rest of your career. Anything less than that, this probably won’t feel like a good fit at first. But sometimes, you come in and you don’t know the mindset you need, and then us coaches and the leadership team that show up every week will help you discover that early enough on, where you will literally have a mind shift. This program will absolutely lead you there if you allow it.
Want to Make Your Real Estate Career Sustainable?
Agent Accelerator is currently available across Canada and the U.S., with opportunities in multiple markets.
Ready to be coached by experts like Oriana and build your career? Agent Accelerator was made for you.
Reach out to Evelyn Anders at [email protected] and check out the Agent Accelerator Instagram page to stay up-to-date on the latest announcements.
