Perseverance a key part of success for realtors in the Calgary housing market

Tanya Eklund has sold about 1,500 homes since becoming a licensed realtor in August 2000, including 183 last year.

And the realtor with RE/MAX Real Estate (Central), who also operates her own company The Tanya Eklund Group, says the key to her success is pretty simple – never giving up even when times were bad and challenges were tough.

“There were many times, especially in the first five years of my career, when you cold call people you’re kind of like a telemarketer and you get hung up on, you get sworn at, you get doors slammed in your face. It would have been really easy for me to give up and just say I’m not cut out for this. And I didn’t,” says Eklund.

“So I would say tenacity is a big one. I really wanted it. And I didn’t want to fail. I didn’t want to have to go back to my family and friends and say sorry I wasn’t able to make it. So I think there was a bit of a fear of failure coupled with tenacity and just not giving up. Perseverance and tenacity were probably the two biggest things when I first started my career.”

Eklund recently spoke to a group of realtors from RE/MAX Real Estate (Central) about her keys to success but also on how she structured and runs her own business while creating a brand by marketing herself.

She has been with RE/MAX Real Estate (Central) from the beginning of her career.

“You are the average of the top five people you surround yourself with. And I still believe that today,” says Eklund. “If you are surrounding yourself with people who aren’t at a higher level than you, you’re never going to push yourself. So I reached out to people in my life that I either didn’t know that I wanted to know or people that I knew that I admired and I made sure I surrounded myself with people that would elevate me and would push me and were more knowledgeable and smarter than I was. That was a really big ticket for me in being a realtor and in just starting a business.”

The Tanya Eklund Group has three administrators and four agents, including Eklund.

It has been the number one team for the past three years for RE/MAX Real Estate (Central).

David Pelletier is another RE/MAX Real Estate (Central) realtor who has experienced great success in the real estate industry in Calgary. The six-year veteran – all with RE/MAX Real Estate (Central) – did 100 transactions last year.

He has been recognized as the top-producing individual in the office for each of the last three years and has achieved Diamond Award Club status for each of the last three years.

So what’s the key to his success?

“One of the things I’ve always identified in terms of answering that question is mindset. In my opinion it’s such a critical component of success. Having a clear, strong, focused mindset has probably been the difference maker for me,” says Pelletier.

“A clarity of purpose. A strong sense of perseverance. A passion for what you do. Having an abundance mindset. Believing in possibilities and potential. Not letting things distract you from your focus and your goal.”