How real estate sales/purchases are like running a marathon.

Running a marathon and selling a home might not strike you as similar right off the bat, but let’s look at all the connections that can be drawn between the two.

Running a far distance takes mental preparedness, you must be driven and inspired, and you need a level of mental grit. You must approach your run day with the understanding that parts of the race will require push through, will feel hard and painful and you must come to the very start with a resolve to finish. 

Equally important the the success of the run day, is all the lead up preparations it requires. Success comes after putting the work into training. Hitting the pavement, trail running, stretching, eating right, hydrating. 

Let’s take a look at the crossover, into what it looks like for a realtor to get from the start to finish of selling a home. As with marathon runners, realtors have to put in a ton of pre-work to get to the sale at all. Realtors market themselves, they list and advertise specific properties. They host mixers, they flyer, they invite to and put on open houses, it is a ton of lead up work. It’s the first part of the process. 

The mental toughness aspect is a big piece for realtors too, these folks have to do all this work knowing that even multiple times, things might fall through! All the footwork in the early stages might not pay off because someone might bounce. 

And let’s look at it from the prospective of the seller for a moment as well. That piece of being ready for the roller coaster is important for the smoothness of the process in its totality. Sellers must be in it for the long game, and sometimes it’s really kinda long and you get your hopes up and it doesn’t pan out. Or you must patiently traverse a lot of back and forth to get to an acceptable contract. The ups and downs can be hard, so getting your head right, as with marathon running, is paramount. 

That challenging middle spot. You hit ten miles and still have 13 to go, it ain’t over soon and your body is starting to feel it. You better push son, tell yourself to hit that rhythm, breathe and lift those legs. 

And over here in real estate land, you’re in mid negotiation. You’ve had several offers back out; your buyers are anxious and challenging. Your seller is rigid and carrying emotional attachment to the house you are selling. It’s a moment that requires mental resolve. This house will sell and in the end all parties will get what they need, just keep your composure, and carry on.

For sellers it can look like so many moments you thought it was coming to fruition and you would be free of the house you are selling and able to move on with life, and it still doesn’t happen. It’s a kind of limbo that takes patience and it requires staying grounded in the process.  For the runner, the realtor, the seller, perseverance, and picturing how rad it will be at the end, allows them to hold it together and push through to the finish. 

The main connection most easily drawn is that commitment to follow through to the reaching of the goal. 

As with running a marathon, selling a house can be a lofty undertaking. No matter how well one prepares, unforeseen snags occur. When the process is approached with enough mental fortitude, hard goals can be accomplished. Closing the contract and making that sale happen, getting to that finish line, is a remarkable feeling of having done what you’ve set out to do. It’s a feeling universally recognized as awesome, when you work your ass off, and you do the damn thing.