These are the words that my first broker had for me after I closed my first deal. As luck would have it, I was in for quite the ride for my first deal and at times I thought there was no way I could actually get it closed and even worse, there was no one or nowhere I could turn for all of the answers.

It involved foreign terms to me at the time like elevation certificates, flood plains and settlement statements. Most of us who have done this for a while have had transactions where we just thought the changes would never end, but, when my broker told me “every deal was different,” I thought twice before continuing on in my real estate career.

Surely things wouldn’t always be different and if they were, I would never be able to learn enough about how to be a great real estate agent so I might as well quit now!

If you are a new agent, there is no need to have the fear I had. Instead, think of the fact that every deal is different as a blessing. Every new transaction will open up for you new and creative ways to make transactions work.

Even as real estate agents (not brokers) what we are really doing is “brokering” a transaction between a buyer and a seller.

In today’s market, things can often times become more complicated than in the past because of fickle buyers, short sales, foreclosures and wounded sellers who have seen their retirement accounts slide away right alongside the equity in their homes. These situations can make real estate in today’s environment tricky and deals harder to hold together.

Frequently, less than usual situations risk tearing apart transactions that sometimes seem only to be held together by our will.

This is when great real estate agents thrive and where we also realize that getting a transaction closed requires other great professionals to make it happen. Those we choose to associate ourselves with can often be the difference between a closing and a contract termination.

When the deal is different, being the best and working with the best is the only option.

Today, with more experience myself and a team of agents operating leads from www.RyanWardRealEstate.com, the fact that deals are different is what keeps me in the game. It’s the challenges we face that make this career unique and exciting and when we perform well, we truly can help someone succeed in realizing their dream of owning a home.

The idea for this blog post came while I was on vacation and reflecting back on a conversation I had with a colleague just before leaving. She told me that real estate feels more like work now and that she isn’t having fun anymore so she was going to get out of the business and do something different.

It came as a shock as she is truly a success – at least her numbers say she is. While I was on vacation, I thought about that conversation and the greater difficulties we have today sometimes getting a transaction closed than in recent memory. Then I thought about my first transaction and those words that my broker told me after I somehow successfully guided my clients to a safe closing in a tumultuous transaction.

I was excited after that closing. I felt a rush of success and fulfillment when I saw the excitement on my clients faces that day. I remembered that feeling while on vacation last week and it made excited about the next transaction – whatever that transaction is – and fun and creative work that will be needed to work through whatever issues arise that threaten to derail it from closing.

I look forward to the challenge that “every deal is different.”