In 2018, I start a new business managing residential rental properties along the coast here in San Diego. I make over 1,000 cold calls during the first year. People yell at me. They hang up on me. They say terrible things to me.
But I am determined. My bank balance looks dismal. My son’s college tuition is looming, and mom needs additional care.
I drive anywhere and take any meeting, signing any investor willing to give me the chance to prove myself. Along the way, I receive a referral from a fellow licensee. Her client wants to rent her oceanfront townhome for $8,000 a month. Eight thousand dollars is a big number for me, and securing that contract would be a huge boost.
I spend days researching and preparing an analysis. I walk past the home, gaming out the meeting. I rehearse my pitch like I’m auditioning for Broadway.
The day arrives. As I walk toward the front door, I feel like thousands of butterflies are trapped inside my stomach. My mouth is dry. I can’t take a full breath. Despite the days of rehearsal, the words escape me and my mind goes blank.
Can you guess how that meeting ends?
I am frustrated. Dejected. Why do I fall flat on my face?
The truth is that I need more stage time. More practice. More pitches. More rejections. Over and over. Again and again.
Since then, I’ve had a thousand meetings and lots of practice.
Last week brings a new referral. It’s an 8,000-square-foot estate in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in San Diego. The owners want to rent it for $40,000 a month.
As I drive through the security gate, enjoying the lake and fountains, I suddenly laugh.
“Wait—where did my butterfly go?”
There is nothing. No flutter. No racing heart. Just a quiet, peaceful knowing.
Instead of trying to impress the owners with what I need to say, I ask questions, listen, laugh with them, and enjoy the conversation. And I arrive home to a long thank-you note from the CEO husband.
Today, I wear a butterfly pin. It reminds me of those early days when butterflies were flapping in my stomach—when I was rejected, when I fell flat on my face, and when I wasn’t quite ready yet.
My butterfly is no longer in my stomach. I wear her on my lapel for all to see.
Thanks for reading. And, remember, when your preferred clients need world class residential property management, southern California’s top producers will tell you that we always secure your future listing. My mobile office is: (858) 922-4880.
See ya’ next week!
~Rose Fletcher
Programming Note
Over the past eight years, Full Bloom has become rabidly followed and widely recognized for our humorous legal and regulatory analysis and think pieces impacting individuals and organizations holding a California real estate license.
For that reason, we recently co-founded a media company called Life Points which is now the publisher of Full Bloom as well as The Shiny & Shady Show which investigates the business processes that cause so many real estate agents, brokers, and others to fall prey to our ultraprocessed Grab & Go food and beverage distribution systems.
We are so happy you are here!
Rose