Can you believe the first half of 2017 is nearly gone. As we approach mid-year, business owners with a formal performance evaluation process in place will launch into the mid-year review. Even if your brokerage doesn’t offer one, give one to yourself. If you’re an entrepreneur, give your real estate business a mid-year review. The mid-year review is an excellent way to get career-focused face time with yourself and your team.
Get candid feedback on what isn’t working so you can course-correct the balance of the year. Hear what is working so you can do more of that and focus on what you do well and where you are getting results. Tracking and measuring is an incredibly important activity for any business owner. My mentor always joked with me and said “Wade just because we don’t look in the mirror doesn’t mean we are not getting fat.” It is half time for our business year and let’s take a look at the mirror!
3 Simple Steps to Prepare for Your Real Estate Half Time Review:
#1 Itemize your goals and review the metrics used to measure them. Based on your business plan and goal setting in January, what did you agree to work on and how are these measured? Do you have specific business targets to hit, such as sales generated or project profitability margins or number of new clients? Do you have qualitative metrics to hit – e.g., to tighten your communication style, to broaden your strategic focus? Remember to include what has changed. The mid-year review is a good time to confirm changes of direction with your business.
#2 Assess performance to date and solve for gaps. If you have sales to generate or new clients to enroll, are you halfway to your annual target? If not, is your target too aggressive or do you need more help? Prepare an explanation for why you are behind. Ask for the resources you need. Share your plan for catching up. It could be something as simple as showing that the majority of sales typically occur in the second half of the year (by preparing this in advance, you are not caught off guard). Taking the time to objectively review your performance can serve as a wake-up call which can jolt you out of the day-to-day tendency to drown in busy work. Most people have the tendency of gravitating toward what we call ‘busy work’ work that makes you feel like you’re doing something impactful, when in reality what you’re doing is not impactful at all.
#3 Have The End In Mind & Take Action. So you’ve reviewed key goals and metrics, assessed your performance, and solved for gaps. The mid-year review is not just about you helping your business to hit its goals, but also a time for you to position yourself to hit your goals. My mentor Gary V said ideas are crap and implementation and execution is what it is all about and G.S.D. Get Stuff Done! Visualizing goals is perfectly fine, but excessively fantasizing is a grave mistake. Instead of setting “goals” around lofty outcomes, work on tangible, actionable things that can affect the here and the now and finish your year strong.
Stop fantasizing and take action towards your mid-year review today!
Do you feel like you’re losing the listing more often than not? Do you find the sellers in a sellers’ market are interviewing more than one agent now to see what really is the highest price? Here’s what I tell all of my coaching members … whether or not you win the listing is based on ONE main factor… Your listing presentation. Mess up the presentation, and say good-bye to the listing. Rock your listing presentation, and say HELLO to a new listing! Some of you are saying right now… “a listing presentation”? Wade the 80’s called and they want their listing presentation back. Yes! A listing presentation. Every time you don’t do one you rob yourself of the greatest gift in real estate and that is the client after seeing what it is you do can now advocate and share with other people what it is you do and what makes you so different from the rest of them! How important is that?!
So today I thought I’d share some of my best tips to improve your listing presentation so you can finally WIN the LISTING. Beat the competition. Have them tell your story and what makes You different from the rest.
Pre Listing Appointment
#1. Practice!! Spend some serious time on what you will say and how you say it. Be planned and prepared and not overwhelmed and ineffective. Don’t practice on the client!
#2. Send a short video letting them know how excited you are to work and meet with them.
#3. Deliver a pre listing appointment package to their home before you meet. (Your bio, team members, steps to selling, marketing, testimonials, your personal stats, how you find buyers, personal guarantee)
#4. Pre appointment listing questionnaire call. (what price are they thinking, who else are they interviewing, expectations, past experiences, confirm the appointment and time, recent improvements, current mortgage)
Appointment
#1. Know your customer – research them before you meet them. Google them or check for them on Facebook. Connect with them quickly and get them to like and trust you more by knowing a bit about them when you meet for the first time.
#2. Know the market, neighborhood, culture, and community. Have a really good idea of all the things the neighborhood offers, drive by the home before the appointment and find out all you can about their market area.
#3. Make sure you are in the right mindset – visualize speaking with your customers before meeting them. Get prepared and get ready to bring passion, energy and enthusiasm to the meeting and presentation.
#4. Tell the story – “I’ve been on 62 appointments and 58 people chose to work with me.” Share what others have felt when first meeting you and what they found it was like working with you after the process. Share examples of how you’ve helped customers in similar situations.
#5. You only have 22 minutes (attention span of average adult) to answer the questions… Why you? Why your firm? Why now?
#6. Don’t tell me… Show and sell me. Visuals and presentations have a far greater impact than just words!
#7. Close 3 times! One of my mentors Floyd Wickman said ask for the order not once, not twice but three times and increase your odds of getting the business every time.
#8. Don’t sell the steak but sell the sizzle. Every time you present always explain the benefits to them and not just the features. We buy the sizzle and not the steak!
#9. Explain to them the benefits to them of your listing presentation before getting started. “Mr. and Mrs. Seller let me take a few minutes to show you how I work. There is a myth out there that all agents and all firms pretty much do the same thing and that is the furthest thing from the truth! When you see what it is I do, you then are able to hold me more accountable to the marketing of your home and be able to call me on anything you see that hasn’t been done or done to your satisfaction. How does that sound to you folks?”
#10. It’s Show time! You only get one chance. Make it your best presentation you can every time and don’t risk your fate and lose the business.
There you have some tips and effective strategies on how to win listings in today’s market place and how to compete on a higher level and win the listing every time. Take time to share in the comments one thing you do that really helps get the listing every time!
One of the things we all love about real estate as a career is it is never the same day twice. The freedom and flexibility with our time is something that empowers us or THIS, however, can also be our recipe for disaster.
We are Sleeping ‘til 10am, a long lunch until 2 in the afternoon, then scrolling through Facebook until 5pm … before you know it, an entire day has slipped through the cracks and you have nothing to show for it. Can you relate?
You’ve heard me say it before, “Routine is the sign of an ambitious individual.”
Routine is what separates the average agent from the top producer.
Agents constantly know what the most important skills are in order to reach success, and to that, I always say, the ability to PLAN and EXECUTE.
That’s why today we are sharing an hour by hour plan for an ideal day for the top producer. It is up to you to implement and execute!! So here we go!
Use this time to fuel your body and energize yourself for the busy day ahead!
6:00 AM – 8:00 AM: Morning Routine + Getting Ready
Set yourself up to be in a peak mental state – this is crucial to reaching your goals. If you don’t have a morning routine then here are some ideas. My morning routine recommendations: prayer, meditation, visualization, audiobooks, gratitude, journaling, affirmations, inspiring videos etc.
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Prepare + Review
Connect with your assistant (or sit down with your calendar) and go over your objectives and outcomes for the day. Visualize your activities and purpose for the day.
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Appointment Setting Time
No distractions, just 90 minutes straight of prospecting and appointment setting (DO NOT SKIP THIS!). Get the most important activity out of the way in the morning. Follow up all your leads and make all your calls first thing in the day. Plant those seeds and set the buyer and seller appointments.
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Break
Take a brisk walk to mentally recharge before your next tasks. Clear your mind and get some air and reload.
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Lunch + Prep
Prepare your hot sheets by filling in all your buyer and seller lead details. Details like name, contact information, source of lead, type of lead, follow up dates and appointment set yes or no? After the hot sheets are done then plan for your afternoon appointments with buyer and sellers.
Use this 4.5 hour block to schedule in three 90-minute appointments or listing or buyer presentations. If you’re a new agent and don’t have 3 daily appointments or presentations booked, use this time for additional prospecting and appointment setting time.
Work your face off so you can go home at a decent hour and be present with your loved ones!
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM: Daily Wrap-Up
Close up the day and identify what you accomplished and what your goals are for tomorrow. Review your schedule for the next day and ensure the day is all set.
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Home + Dinner + Family Time
Work/Life balance is so important. If you want it to happen … you’ve got to schedule it in, just like everything else in your day! Stay present and enjoy a good meal with the ones you love. 6 pm is family dinner time, all of us at the table together with no electronic devices in our home.
Most top producers can get their clients to meet during daytime business hours, there are some exceptions where this isn’t possible so an odd evening appointment maybe necessary. Usually you will mostly use the final hours of your day to hang out with your significant other, read an enjoyable book, or focus on a favorite hobby.
9:00 PM – 5:00 AM: Sleep
Rest and recharge for an action-packed day tomorrow.
YOUR PERFECT BUSINESS STARTS WITH YOUR PERFECT DAY.
Friday night I popped a bowl of popcorn and poured myself an ice cold diet coke, turned on Netflix and sunk into my favorite black chair in the living room. It was bliss. My day started at 6:00AM with my morning routine, followed by a coaching client at 7AM, meetings, calls, emails, training at the gym with my trainer, groceries, dinner. Then finished with my oldest daughter calling to say she is moving out on her own and could she get some financial help. Back at the home front, doing nothing was looking pretty good. In our world of pop-up notifications, 24/7 Facebook “news” feed, and To-Do list apps that help you organize all the tasks you’re going to procrastinate about, it’s time to enjoy doing… nothing. First, the why.
WHY YOU NEED TO DO NOTHING
We live in a Fitbit, To-Do, pack-it-in, life-is-short, ROI world. And it’s not how we were designed. Sure, we all value initiative, hard work and results – pillars of modern society. But, here’s the rub: Being busy, always working, and struggling to achieve more will inevitably back-fire. I know – I’ve been there. When I launched my coaching programs three years ago it felt like I’d taken on a mountain of work ON TOP of the mountain I already had. Yes, I wanted to get coaching off the ground. The problem is I hadn’t changed my behavior or taken anything off my plate. I was running with the errant thought “I’ll just find a way to make it happen.”
Within weeks I was sloughing through 12 hour days and feeling like I was back in the real estate sales, cranking out back-to-back listings and sales and living on drive-through meals and coffee. The only difference was I was 25 years older, didn’t drink coffee and only frequented drive-throughs in moments of weakness. What I needed was down time—an appreciation for doing nothing. I was ignoring the warning bells telling me a break from my knee-jerk workaholic disease would be good medicine and not a waste of time. Sometimes, doing nothing is the best medicine. It helped me to understand we are designed to hunt and hibernate.
WHY DOING NOTHING IS REALLY DOING SOMETHING
We are designed to hunt and hibernate. Work hard, overcome resistance, make stuff happen and then… rest. It’s the cycle all athletes build their performance on. You should as well. When you’re in hunt mode, your brain fires off the hormone Cortisol (along with Adrenaline) to get bursts of energy, reduce sensitivity to pain – even improve your memory. And then you need to chill. Prolonged periods of stress, keeps Cortisol levels up and can lead to decreased cognitive performance, higher blood pressure, decreased bone density, increased fat and hair loss (I added that one)…need I go on? So, while hunting is good, hibernating is even better. When you put the two together you have a perfect duo for long-term productivity and a healthy life.
ENTER THE RELAXATION RESPONSE
Forty years ago, cardiologist Herbert Benson (and founder of Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute) made something old new again. He recognized that with a simple breathing exercise, muscles relax, organs slow down, and blood flow increases to the brain. A perfect trifecta of good health. Effective breathing triggers the body to return to a pre-stress state and allows it to heal.
The Relaxation Response was more designed for disease prevention and cure (as a side note, Benson first published his results in the American Journal of Psychology with the mouthful of a title “A wakeful hypo metabolic physiologic state”) – Benson would document impressive results for conditions, such as: fibromyalgia, gastrointestinal ailments, insomnia, hypertension and anxiety disorders (but not hair loss). Good old, daily relaxation is actually good medicine for anyone’s health. Let’s look at 5 easy ways to get started (even if you’re a high achiever and hate the lotus position).
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE HIGH ACHIEVER
Someone wisely once said “Advice is cheap – doing is what takes work”. My recommendations will take some work – the good news is, not very much. The Clutter Cleanse takes 5 minutes (every week), Zone Out 3 minutes, Escape into a novel 15. You’re probably spending more time reading about happy people leading wonderful lives on Facebook every day than it will take to complete any one of these practices.
Here are 5 ways of doing nothing and making it a natural part of everyday, just like brushing your teeth and syncing your Fitbit.
#1 Do a Clutter Cleanse.
This is a no brainer – reducing clutter increases brain capacity. Think of it this way: when you see something “unfinished”, like a half-read book, sticky note, orphan computer cable, or client file, you’ll think about it. “I should deal with that.” “Ugh, not now…I’m swamped.” “Right. I’ll get to it tomorrow.” “Yup, that’s it – tomorrow.” ….and on it goes for weeks.
#2 Zone Out
Here’s a simple 3 minute mind-break for midday. Zone out. Start by picking one object (like a pen, or coffee cup) and giving it all your attention. Focus on slowing your breathing and enjoying a full exhale/inhale rhythm. Let the rest of your attention fall away. It’s like a mini-vacation from thinking and doing – I always feel more relaxed and ready to focus on the next task.
#3 Escape into a novel
I love having a fun who-done-it on the go for some mindless mental entertainment. In fact, knowing I have a great read waiting is a good incentive for me to shut down whatever I’ve been working and to start wrapping up my day. Fifteen minutes before bed is all it takes to make you feel you own your day.
#4 Build Your Unplugged Habit
Use line-ups for coffee, waiting for the bus, or time before a meeting starts to unplug, chill, and restore. Fidgeting with your phone won’t help – there’s lots of time for that. Gaps in your day are invitations to unplug, allow, and re-balance – take them.
#5 Get Into Nature
It’s so simple, but we ignore it – take a walk in nature. Even a patch of green behind your subdivision is all it takes to allow the world to drop away and to recover a sense of belonging and peace. In one study researchers found that even after just one long walk in nature volunteers were more attentive and happier.
Doing nothing might sound counter-productive – even bizarre. But it might just be the most powerful weapon you develop against an already-busy life. Like runners who jog between hard intervals, we all need to pause if we want to show up at 100%, fully present and ready to contribute.
Bonus Tip:
4 STEPS TO RELAXATION
Following is the Relaxation Response technique taken directly from Benson’s book The Relaxation Response:
1. Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Deeply relax all your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face. Keep them relaxed. If you struggle to quiet your thoughts, try starting by relaxing your tongue.
4. Breathe through your nose. Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out, say the word “one” silently to yourself. For example, breathe in, and then out, and say “one”, in and out, and repeat “one.” Breathe easily and naturally.
Continue for 10 to 20 minutes. You may open your eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes opened. Do not stand up for a few minutes. Don’t worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them and return to repeating “one.” With practice, the response should come with little effort. Practice the technique once or twice daily, but not within two hours after any meal, since the digestive processes seem to interfere with the elicitation of the Relaxation Response.
It’s so important to take the time to think and put ourselves in the shoes of our customers rather than thinking like a realtor and what we need and want all the time. This week we look and see the trends of our customers and how to model what they want and need from us. So let’s get started….
#1.) Follow up web leads and make contact with them in under five minutes (speed to lead). We know 50% of sales will go to the first person to make contact with them and the agent that makes at least 6 follow up contacts has a 90% higher chance of getting a response and chance of converting the online lead. (Source Insidesales.com )
#2.) The best time to make email contact with a customer is at 8:00 A.M. in the morning and 3:00 P.M. in the afternoon. ( Source GetResponse)
#3.) The best time to make follow up phone calls with a customer is between 4:00 P.M. and 5 P.M. in the afternoon. Second best time is between 8:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M. and the worst times are 11:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. (Source InsideSales.com)
#4.) The following are the best days of the week to follow up with contacts. Thursdays are the best follow up and prospecting days. Wednesdays are the second best follow up and prospecting days and the worst day to follow up or prospect according to InsideSales are Tuesdays.
#5.) The owners of real estate and high probable home selling clients are using the social media site LinkedIn at least 6 hours a week. Are you? (Source Jill Konrath)
#6.) Back in 2007 it would take 3.68 cold call attempts until you found a client prospect and today it is taking at least 9 cold calling attempts to find a prospect and lead. (Source Ovation Sales Group)
#7.) The average real estate agent only makes 2 attempts and 45% only make one attempt to follow up a client lead and would increase their conversion rate by 9 times if they increased their follow up attempt to only 5 times. (Source Sirius Decisions)
#8.) Agents only have a 2% chance of converting a cold call to an appointment. Lesson is to stop making cold calls and make warm calls using new ways to reach the decision-makers. (Source Leap Job)
#9.) An average agent can make about 8 prospecting contacts per hour and prospects for 6.25 hours to set one buying or selling appointment. So remember the magic number for prospecting is 50 prospects to set one appointment. Are you making enough contact when you prospect? ( Source Ovation Sales Group)
#10.) The highest response rate of communication with consumers is a text and 97% chance of getting a response. Lesson is to make sure you have the customers cell phone number!! (Source GetResponse)
#11.) Nurtured leads have a 47% chance of making a large buying decision versus a non-nurtured lead. (Source Annuitus Group)
#12.) When communicating or making a sales presentation, Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. Use visuals and don’t tell but show and sell! (Source Neo Mamallian Studios)
#13.) The most memorable part of all sales presentations for the customer is the last five minutes. So always end all your sales presentations with a bang!
#14.) 91% of our current and past customers say they would give a referral to an agent but only 11% of agents ever ask for a referral. (Source Dale Carnegie)
#15.) Each year agents lose 14% of their customers a year. The biggest reason is for not keeping in touch. Lesson is to keep in touch and always be prospecting. ( Source Businessbrief.com)
So there you have it. Some crazy statistics and trends all agents need to be aware of and take action and implement new strategies to buck the trend! I dare you to take a few of these tips and implement and execute them and let me know how they impact your business in 2017?!
A number of states and provinces are experiencing unprecedented low inventory levels. Nothing to buy and demand at an all-time high has caused a new and interesting challenge for the listing and buyer agents in the marketplace. Listing agents can’t get all the marketing they promised the seller they would do completed in time for it to hit the market and it is sold which is putting pressure on listing commissions and the listing agent losing the ability to spin more business off of their listing inventory.
The buyer agents are frustrated with the listing agent moving too quickly and taking an offer too soon and not allowing enough exposure to the market and allowing all buyer agents to write an offer on the new listing even if it is in a competing bid. With these new challenges in the marketplace, we have started to see the coming soon listing strategy being used by listing agents and their listings. So what are the benefits to a Coming Soon listing marketing strategy? It is important you consult with your local board and brokers to ensure you follow what is allowed in your local trading area.
Benefits to the Seller of a Coming Soon Marketing Strategy
1) The marketing is getting done and in place with more pre-listing marketing time
2) Allows more time for market exposure to buyers and buyers agents
3) Increases the chance for a multiple offer bidding situation
4) Allows everyone a chance to bring an offer to the table
5) Saves the seller time with it selling faster
6) Generates the seller more money
So how does this Coming Soon marketing strategy work you ask? So let’s say for example we meet with the seller on a Monday and agree to all the terms and conditions for listing their property. I recommend we take an exclusive listing for the pre-listing coming soon marketing period to ensure the neighbor or competing agents don’t just knock on the seller’s door and sell the home prior to the activation of the MLS listing contract. We place a sign on the property on Tuesday that states the property is coming soon to the market but does not have conflicting messages on the sign like “for sale” or “MLS” while it is being marketed as coming soon property. Then on Wednesday, we post a coming soon announcement to our database and agent peers via email, Facebook, and flyers.
On Thursday I flyer the neighbors and Friday I follow up the neighbors’ flyer with a door knock asking if they know of someone who may be interested. Saturday we host a public and agent open house and Monday morning the MLS listing contract is active and the property hits the MLS system and hope for multiple offers in the next few days. In a perfect world, the seller is patient and the property receives multiple bids and sells well above asking price. Sometimes we hear of buyer agents presenting “bully offers” which are offers that come in prior to the property hitting the market and the MLS system.
We are obligated to present these “bully offers” and the decision to accept or wait is completely up to your seller. My suggestion is if the seller chooses to take an offer prior to it hitting the market and the MLS system you get in writing they chose to accept an offer prior to protect us from it looking like we the listing agents forced the seller’s into an early decision. So the debate of whether the Coming Soon marketing strategy is good or bad is definitely up to you and your client to decide but being aware of how the game is being played slightly different than what we are used to is something we all should be aware of. Reach out and let me know some of your personal experiences with this type of marketing in your own marketplace, would love to hear from you!
Are you the first agent your leads think of when they want to buy or sell a home? I talk to agents ALL the time who are driving down the street and see a house they know sold by another agent or someone an agent knows bought a house from another agent. You CAN stand out among the competition when you follow the 4 Step Lead plan!
What is the 4 Step Lead plan?
It is a simple 4 step plan you can do to stay top of mind with all your leads…
The Top of Mind 4 Step Lead Plan for More Referrals is:
1. Call or Text
You want to connect with your clients every 90 days. Don’t just call to talk about real estate. Bring relevant news, check in, and have it be to the point your database expects your call! Stats say you get a 23% chance of response with email, 43% chance of contact with a call and 97% chance of response with a text! Do you have your leads and databases cell phone numbers?!
2. Weekly Email
Send weekly emails for open house invitations, events, and other updates. Emails need to contain value add and focus on content that offers insight to the challenges in today’s market or something every consumer has questions about. Email is not about spamming but enhancing, pulling and adding value to the leads and thinking that was really great and helpful content you sent.
3. Two Direct Mail Pieces
Send out two direct mail pieces every month. One of them should be a “just listed/just sold” or “we have a buyer”. If you’re new to real estate you can use your company’s stats, listings, sales, buyers (just be sure it says that on the mailer or get permission from the agents. Your other mailer can be: “Curious about the value of your home?” This makes you the expert they think of and you provide them with the information they are looking for.
4. Activate Your Base, the Secret Weapon
Do a Facebook Live video and your instantly connecting with your leads. I even had a client who did a live mention which lead to a listing! He got a response from an old friend who said his mom was looking to sell her house. Show your base you are the local market expert.
4.1 Know Your Unique Selling Factors
There are four things you should know to boost your confidence and swagger. You may not use all of these stats, but you should have them ready when you talk to customers.
1. We sell (x) times more…
2. We sell our homes (X) times faster…
3. We sell our homes for (X%) more on average…
4. We have (X) more five star reviews than any other agent in the marketplace.
When you use these unique selling points you can use a script like this….
“Clients work with us because we have the experience, we sell homes faster, and get our customers more money. We pride ourselves on customer experience and relationships, and we have 7x times more five star reviews than any agent in our marketplace. Our number one aim is to make sure you are our next five-star review and we want to deliver that experience to you. These are my competitive advantages (mention points above) that you can hold me accountable to.”
Remember if you are a new agent, you can use the stats from your office/team. You can leverage their numbers to support more customers.
Are you following the 4 Steps Lead plan? Or are you comfortable having $15 billion being spent from really large companies who want to take your clients and have them go somewhere else? Remember your strategy matters, and now more than ever, your ability to stay top of mind absolutely rules!
There is one thing that has a huge potential to impact your failure or success personally and as a real estate agent… It’s your MINDSET, and if it isn’t in the right place, well, YOU probably won’t be either.
If you can dream it then you can create it. Are you using visualization techniques? Visualization is a tool used by top performers ranging from athletes to business people. Essentially, you are creating a vivid picture in your mind of what success looks like. For example, when you meet with a lead, visualize these three things:
1. What do you need to do to help them get what they want?
E.g. Find the perfect home, help them sell their current property, etc.
2. What does the best case scenario look like?
E.g. They commit to working with you today, you list their property, etc.
3. What objections will you hear?
E.g. “Now is not the right time…” “Will you take a lower commission rate?” “I’m thinking about working with my friend who is an agent…”
Having rehearsed these scenarios in your mind means you can mentally prepare for when they actually occur. Furthermore, having the right mindset in place allows you to take this one step further to develop a plan and solutions ahead of time.
#2: Avoid The Negative Self Talk
Your head can be a scary place to be. The mental chatter that goes on in all of our heads is negative by default. The good news? You CAN change it, and it makes all the difference for improving your mindset. Start by being aware of the negative self-talk and changing the pattern. I do this every day with affirmation statements. Your affirmation statement doesn’t have to be complicated and it could be as simple as saying, “I’m a lean mean appointment setting machine!” These affirmation statements will condition your mindset for success! Positive affirmations and words of gratitude are the defenders of anger and sadness because none of us can be sad or mad when we are grateful or thinking positively.
#3: Enhance Your Environment
In addition to visualization and affirmation statements, changing your physical environment is a fantastic way to reset your mindset. Like Tony Robbins says “Motion creates emotion.” Get up and move around! Breathe! If you’re making sales calls stand up. Move around and breathe deeply to create a state change and physical and mental energy in your sales calls. I’d even recommend keeping a small mirror at your desk. See yourself smiling in the mirror and I can tell you your mindset will change right away! You can also play music in your office. I’d recommend something that makes you happy and keeps you motivated.
So there you have it. It’s Up To YOU. Your mindset is everything. Just taking a few steps to improve your mindset can set off a chain reaction to improve your business, your personal life, and even how you feel on a daily basis!
What steps will YOU take to improve your mindset today?
Let’s face it, the real estate industry is extremely competitiveand has a very high turnover rate and we see new agents entering the market every day. It is so CRUCIAL for new and existing agents to have a road-map of what to do (and what NOT to do!). I’ve seen time and time again there are simple steps and success principles agents can follow to build and maintain a successful real estate business. So whether you’re a new agent or top producer here are 15 Success Principles (split into three top 5 lists) of what you NEED to know…
The 5 Commitments for All Agents
#1 Prospect daily: Stay in touch with your database. Follow up leads. Look for someone buying or selling in the next 60-90 days every day. Your daily hour of power!
#2 Provide “extraordinary” customer service. It is important to create an experience for them to insist “you” and tell your story and not just be recommended. There is a difference!
#3 Respond in a timely manner – “Speed to lead” is crucial. Respond to others the way, tone and speed you would want to be responded to!
#4 Keep your word – high trust relationships are key! Always do what you say and even a bit more. Over deliver and under promise every time!
#5 Get organized with proven systems and processes. Checklists, systems, delegation, help, automation and leverage win the real estate game!
5 Critical Steps For New Agents
#6 Create a Business Plan (and actually follow it). You fail to plan you, plan to fail. Don’t be like most agents and aim for nothing and hit it with amazing accuracy!
#7 Build your database from your Sphere of Influence … then CALL them! We are in the relationships business. 4 out of 5 people would but don’t use their same agent. Find them and keep them!
#8 Do as many Open Houses as possible – I can’t stress this enough! This is one of the few ways in this business where the client comes to you and where we are all at our best, face to face with people!
#9 Write and send hand written notes – the extra effort goes a LONG way. This is a lost art and never underestimate the impact on others of a hand written note!
#10 Preview homes – know your market and be the expert! Know your inventory and pricing and develop the skill of the “Switch” “Hey, I know of another home that might just work for you!”
Once you achieve top producer status your focus starts to lean towards stability and the next step towards achieving mastery is…
The 5 Key Focuses Of Top Producers
#11Focus on Inventory – Know what is coming soon, just listed, expired, FSBO – know your farm. Have the skill of placing buyers with homes and sellers with buyers!
#12Focus on Consistent Lead Generation – consistent is the key word here. Know where your leads are coming from and the ROI. Having enough leads only comes from consistent lead gen!
#13Focus on building your Referral Business. Referrals from repeat and past clients, other real agents across the country and local business and service providers!
#14 Focus on Leverage – what sets you apart? What do I do different? Better? Differentiation is key!
#15Focus on Customer Service – always provide exceptional service. Exceed their expectations. Wow and awe them all. Create the ultimate real estate experience!
So there you have the success principles for new and existing agents and what are the crucial activities to thriving vs. surviving in real estate today. I dare you to take this list and implement and execute some or all of these principles and see what happens to you personally and professionally in 2017!
There was a boy, whose family was very wealthy. One day his father took him on a trip to the country, where he aimed to show his son, how poor people live. So they arrived at a farm of a very poor family, as he considered. They spent several days there. On their return, the father asked his son, did he like the trip. “Oh, it was great, dad” – the boy replied. “Did you notice how poor people live?” “Yeah, I did“- said the boy. The father asked his son to tell in more details about his impressions from their trip“. “Well, we have only one dog, and they have four of them. In our garden there is a pool, while they have a river that has no end. We’ve got expensive lanterns, but they have stars above their heads at night. We have the patio, and they have the whole horizon. We have only a small piece of land, while they have the endless fields. We buy food, but they grow it. We have high fence for protection of our property, and they don‘t need it, as their friends protect them.” The father was stunned. He could not say a word. Then the boy added: “Thank you, dad, for letting me see how poor we are.” This story shows that the true wealth as well as happiness is not measured by materials things. Love, friendship and freedom are far more valuable.
What are the keys to happiness? How can we be happier in our personal and professional “real estate” lives?
It amazes me how much easier it is for me personally to focus on things to complain about than to focus on the things that are good and I am grateful for. So why is that? I think it is like the way it takes more effort to smile than it does to frown and we are always inundated with things that are bad, sad or make us mad rather than things that make us happy, laugh and make us feel grateful. So here are 6 quick tips to living a happier personal and professional life in 2017.
1) Stay positive.
“Bad things happen to everyone, including happy people. Instead of complaining about how things could have been or should have been, happy people reflect on everything they’re grateful for.” Happy people tend to find the best solution to a problem and then move on, refusing to dwell on negative events. To be happier, you have to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth. You’re not happy unless you think you’re happy.
2) Surround yourself with the right people.
You’ll build confidence and stimulate creativity by surrounding yourself with other upbeat people. Negative people, on the other hand, can zap away your energy. Friendship is an easy thing to neglect in our busy lives. We often think to ourselves our friends will always be around, but when we look again, we find the friendship has drifted away. Even more importantly, we get joy from time spent with friends, but because we define such interactions as “important but not urgent,” we often replace them with the “urgent but not important” things in our lives.
3) Exercise more.
Even moving for as little as 10 minutes can help release a neurotransmitter that helps soothe your brain and keep you in control over your impulses. Schedule regular exercise into your daily life. It’s often hard to tackle all the things we want to do in life if we don’t have a high level of energy. If your energy is sapped, it becomes all that much easier to simply take the path of least resistance and simply not work on the important things in life, which of course contributes greatly to a sense of unhappiness. Thus, there’s a great deal of sense in beginning a happiness journey by lifting one’s energy.
4) Slow down.
Don’t be so caught up in a routine where you forget to appreciate the little things in life. Enjoy a conversation or take a step outside to enjoy a fresh breath of air. The days are long, but the years are short. Time is passing, and you are not focusing enough on the things that really matter in your life.
5) Have deep conversations.
Avoid gossip, small talk, and judging others. Have meaningful interactions by engaging with others on a deeper level and seek to build an emotional connection. Find the good in others and take the time to have deeper more meaningful conversations about life and what it is all about. Why we are here? What we are here for? What is our purpose in life and business?
6) Help others.
Employees who helped others were 10 times more likely to be focused at work and 40 percent more likely to get a promotion, according to a study conducted by Harvard University. Those helping employees also were more likely to be happy during stressful times. “As long as you make certain you aren’t over committing yourself, helping others is sure to have a positive influence on your mood.” One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.
So there you have 6 simple and powerful ways to live a happier and more fulfilling life. I challenge you to implement a few of these happiness strategies into your real estate business and see what kind of impact they have on you personally and professionally and let me know how they work!
Can you believe the first half of 2017 is nearly gone. As we approach mid-year, business owners with a formal performance evaluation process in place will launch into the mid-year review. Even if your brokerage doesn’t offer one, give one to yourself. If you’re an entrepreneur, give your real estate business a mid-year review. The mid-year review is an excellent way to get career-focused face time with yourself and your team.
