After My First Deal, Things Got Harder (Not Easier)...

When I closed my first deal, I honestly thought I had cracked the code. I thought, Okay… now it’s going to flow.

It didn’t....

After that first deal, I went through a long stretch years, not weeks where things just didn’t move the way I expected. I was still on the phone with sellers. Still explaining cash offers. Still running numbers. Still following up.

But nothing was closing...

I’d get off calls feeling hopeful…

then days would pass. Sellers would go quiet. Some would say they were “thinking about it. Others would tell me they had a cousin, an agent, or another buyer suddenly show up.

And that frustration hit different because I knew deals were possible. I had proof. But proof didn’t mean consistency.

Here’s what I didn’t understand back then and this is important for anyone new:

Your first deal doesn’t make you skilled. It just proves you didn’t quit early.

The real learning starts after the first win.

Those seller calls that went nowhere?

They were teaching me how to read tone. How to slow down instead of forcing an offer. How to listen instead of talking too much. How to follow up without sounding desperate...

Back then, I thought frustration meant I was doing something wrong. Now I know: Frustration usually means you’re still in the game long enough to learn.

There were times I questioned myself. Times I wondered if I had just gotten lucky with that first deal. Times I thought, maybe this isn’t for me.

But I kept calling. Even when I didn’t feel confident.

Even when nothing closed. Even when it felt pointless.

And slowly very slowly things started to change.

Not because the market changed. Because I did...

I got better at conversations.

Better at patience.

Better at follow up.

Better at accepting “not now” without taking it personally..

Here’s the lesson I want beginners to really understand:

If you’re talking to sellers right now and deals aren’t closing yet, you’re not broken.

You’re in the training phase.