The misguided advice of much of the “old school” real estate training, tells you persistence is a virtue. I believe it is an overrated quality that often results in loads of frustration.

Although a familiar Winston Churchill quote says, “Never, never, never give up!” when persistence turns into a dogged resistance to change or hoping that you’ll get the same results by doing the same old things rather than a winning quality that takes you past your limitations, it is counterproductive. If you keep your focus on the end result rather than being bound to doing things the way that worked before can enable you to see when to stop digging when you find yourself in a hole.

Change is never comfortable at first, even if you are one of those people who like the exhilaration of the new. Most successful real estate agents I know like control . There is comfort in figuring out what has worked in the past, putting those systems in place and then working the plan and waiting for the results to unfold. As a matter of fact, much of my coaching seems to revolve around helping people do this systematization so they can be more effective. The challenges begin to occur when the end result is looked at as a completed system instead of as a work in progress.

I recommend a quarterly review of what is working and what isn’t with course corrections along the way as the year goes on. Your systems should be reviewed as part of your annual business planning or on a regular schedule, such as one every month. By doing this, you will compare your current yearly progress to your vision and big goals for the year and discover what would have the most impact on bringing them to fruition, instead of just repeatedly taking the daily actions that aren’t accomplishing what you want, remembering what Sydney Harris said, “Perseverance is the most overrated of traits, if it is unaccompanied by talent; beating your head against a wall is more likely to produce a concussion in the head than a hole in the wall.”

Some places to quit being persistent

While acting like a bulldog and never letting go, will occasionally pay off eventually, more often than not, it will leave you frustrated and ineffective.

Ask yourself - what is the highest and best use of your time? Are the actions you are taking right now taking you closer to your goals? Where are you spinning your wheels? If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, it's time to look at whether it's time to trade in your persistence:

• Are you taking listings that won’t sell?
• Are you holding onto buyers who are sucking your time and energy?
• Are you continuing to prospect in the same way that worked three years ago, but for less results?
• Are you mailing instead of e-mailing?
• Are you advertising in the same ways and in the same publications?
• Have you created a website and not made updates or changes?

These are but a few areas where you may not be getting a good return on your investment.