In any economic downturn, real estate agents face unique challenges. However, with the right strategies, it’s possible to not only survive but thrive even when the economy is slowing down. Here’s how agents can adapt and succeed in a sluggish market.
1. Embrace a Niche Focus
When the broader market slows, narrowing your focus can be highly effective. Specialize in specific property types, such as first-time homebuyers, luxury estates, or rental properties. By becoming an expert in a niche market, you can better cater to the needs of a more targeted group of clients and stand out from the competition.
2. Strengthen Client Relationships
Building and maintaining strong relationships with clients can be a game-changer. Take the time to understand their needs and offer personalized service. Regular check-ins, valuable market insights, and proactive communication can help you stay top-of-mind and encourage referrals. Remember, a personal touch goes a long way in building trust and loyalty.
3. Leverage Digital Tools and Marketing
In a slower economy, your online presence becomes even more critical. Invest in a user-friendly website, optimize it for search engines, and utilize social media platforms to reach potential clients. Virtual tours, high-quality photos, and detailed property descriptions can attract buyers who are browsing from home. A well-executed digital marketing strategy can help you stand out in a competitive market.
4. Provide Valuable Market Insights
Position yourself as a knowledgeable resource by offering valuable market insights and educational content. Share updates on market trends, investment opportunities, and tips for buying or selling in a slower economy. Blogging, hosting webinars, or creating informative videos can establish you as an authority in the industry and build credibility with your audience.
5. Be Adaptable and Flexible
Economic slowdowns often bring shifts in market dynamics. Be prepared to adapt your strategies based on current conditions. This might involve adjusting your pricing, offering flexible terms, or exploring new revenue streams like property management or consulting services. Flexibility can help you navigate changes and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
6. Enhance Your Customer Service
Exceptional customer service can set you apart in a slow market. Be attentive, responsive, and empathetic to your clients’ needs. Go the extra mile to make their experience as smooth and pleasant as possible. Providing outstanding service not only helps you retain clients but also encourages positive reviews and referrals.
7. Build and Maintain Your Network
Networking remains a powerful tool, even in a slow economy. Strengthen your relationships with other real estate professionals, financial advisors, mortgage brokers, and local businesses. A robust network can provide valuable referrals and collaborative opportunities. Attend industry events, join local business groups, and stay engaged with your professional community.
8. Stay Informed and Educated
Continuously educate yourself about market trends, economic indicators, and changes in real estate regulations. Staying informed allows you to make better decisions and provide accurate advice to your clients. Consider investing in professional development courses, attending industry seminars, or joining real estate associations to stay ahead of the curve.
9. Focus on Long-Term Relationships
During slower economic periods, long-term relationships become more valuable. Cultivate a network of past clients, prospects, and industry contacts. Regularly check in with them, offer assistance, and keep them informed about market conditions. Building a strong network of relationships can lead to future business opportunities and referrals.
10. Embrace Innovation
Innovate your approach to meet changing market demands. Experiment with new marketing tactics, explore different types of properties, or adopt emerging technologies. Embracing innovation can help you stay relevant and position yourself as a forward-thinking agent.
Conclusion
Navigating a slowing economy requires adaptability, innovation, and a proactive approach. By focusing on niche markets, strengthening client relationships, leveraging digital tools, and staying informed, real estate agents can thrive even in challenging conditions. Embrace these strategies, and you’ll be well-positioned to succeed and grow your business, no matter what the economic climate brings.
By implementing these strategies, you’ll not only weather the storm but also emerge stronger and more resilient in the ever-changing world of real estate.
I don’t know about you, but my summer seemed to just fly by, and I cannot believe it is September 2024. We are beginning the last quarter of the year, and for sales professionals, there are only two outcomes. Will you finish in the red, or in the black? Will you finish strong or miss your targets and goals?
Winning near the end of a game, quarter or year is a trait of all the best salespeople I’ve ever met. Closing out strong is primarily the effect of a consistent quarter; there are still a handful of things you can do to strike off checkboxes in the win column to finish Q3 and your 2024 strong.
1. Be Direct – There’s no substitute for being pleasantly persistent and respectfully blunt. Get out there and be straightforward. Acting and getting after it is a choice and work on the high-quality leads and not the low-quality leads.
Ask yourself, “If you were me, would you forecast this listing or buyer prospect to buy or sell this month or in the next 90 days?” Remember, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Being direct will help you get real with your buying and selling customers and align yourself with the true sales cycle. It might also enable you to pull out a quick win.
2. Be Effective – For more than two decades now, I have heard from thousands of top-producing agents, and almost 60% of their business comes from repeat and referral business. Focusing first on the people we already know, like and trust is working effectively and efficiently in this business.
If you don’t have enough people who know, like, and trust you, then get out there and “S.T.P. – See The People.” If you have a list of relationships in place that have not “felt the love,” then get out there and see them and find ways to add value to them. Give them a call, email, text, handwritten note, small gift or even a coffee and just watch and see what happens with your last quarter.
3. Be Face to Face – Sales is a contact sport, and we need to be belly to belly. Any one of us making a large buying decision needs to know that the person we deal with is someone we like and can trust. The only way we can sense if we like or trust someone is meeting them in person.
Commit to the final quarter on sales activities that are primarily face-to-face and belly-to-belly activities like Open houses, door-to-door, kiosk, networking, office duty, coffee, lunch, pop-by, volunteer, client appreciation events or conventions. This is a relationships business so get out there to create and deepen those relationships. We have automated our way out of people’s lives in real estate.
4. Stack-Rank Your Prospects – We will never be able to manufacture more time, but we can manufacture more focus. I recommend looking at your pipeline and grading each opportunity on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being “highly closeable by the end of the quarter.” Then, focus your closing efforts on the 3’s and 4’s ONLY. You don’t have time to waste.
If you don’t have enough 3 and 4 prospects in the funnel then act and increase your marketing plan and daily prospecting, lead generation with planned marketing, activities that bring the level 3 and 4 prospects into your pipeline to finish Q3 strong.
5. Purge Your Pipeline – Almost every sales pro has them. They’re those big opportunities in the pipeline you’ve been working for months. The one deal that constantly disrupts your focus or the need to act. The buyer or seller who is the time and energy vampire, but you let them suck the life out of you because you don’t have anyone else to work with.
Every time you think about punting them, you get a glimmer of hope from them. It’s time……Remove them!! They don’t deserve to be on your radar right now. Coming clean with yourself will open new vistas and invigorate you to add more productive opportunities to your pipeline.
6. Start Planning for Next Quarter – How much revenue do you plan to book next quarter? Exactly how many new deals do you need to earn that amount? Knowing exactly what you plan to earn acts like a magnet to attract business your way. Having this exact number also allows you to project your required activities into month one of the new quarters.
If you’re accurately measuring your deal metrics, you’ll be able to predict with some certainty how many calls, emails, appointments, presentations, or opportunities you’ll need to make it rain. Ask for a review by management. Knowing your numbers is one thing, but to positively affect the business, it’s equally vital to understand your “why”, purpose and goals and have someone hold you accountable to them.
Bonus Tips: What NOT to Do in the Last Quarter
1. Do Not Bring on Bad Fitting Clients Just to Make Your Numbers – Any client outside of your ideal customer profile will complicate servicing, produce a higher likelihood of churn or failure, and ultimately cost you more time and resources than it will be worth. Instead, focus on filling the pipeline with high quality leads for next quarter. It’s never too early to start filling the funnel.
2. Never Give Away More Than You’re Comfortable With – It’s just not worth it. You only have one reputation for your brand and offering; treat it respectfully. Concessions can quickly become a crutch that hides other issues. Sell on value, not on price. Don’t cut your commissions, offer cash backs or any other silly incentives.
The key to closing out your quarter strong is to keep up the momentum that got you to where you are now. If you’re struggling to meet your numbers, it’s a time to embrace new sales insights and start building effective rhythm. Take the last-minute shots on goal listed above but remember to always be thinking about the bigger picture: Your reputation is the product of your past actions. Sales that allow you to produce predictable revenue are the future. Finish the last quarter and your year strong. I dare you!!
Nearly nine out of every 10 agents fail or quit the business? I’ve worked with and studied real estate professionals for 3 decades, and this week I am sharing some of the biggest reasons agents fail. Avoiding these pitfalls will help you join that elusive “Club 13” — the 13 percent of agents who survive and truly succeed in this business.
Being Interested vs. Committed. Just being interested in your real estate career isn’t enough. Liking houses and liking people isn’t enough. When you’re interested, you do things when they’re convenient. Success in real estate is all about being fully committed, which means doing whatever it takes as long as it takes to achieve your goals. Are you all in? If you’re not fully committed, it’s time to reassess your career choice. It is too easy to get in and even easier to get out.
Being Strategic. Can you explain your market trends easily? Do you truly know your market? What’s selling? What’s not? To survive in real estate, you need to look at your marketplace from a strategic standpoint. You must look at the hot sheets every day, the stats every month and know what is trending every quarter. You must own that knowledge and become the knowledge broker in your market. It’s not enough to simply like houses and enjoy working with people. Take a step back, analyze your market and make sure you know it, and you know your place in it. Now the numbers, trends and truth about your local market and share it!
Fear of Making Mistakes & Desire to Look Good. There’s a lot of vanity in real estate, which can lead to people shying away from anything that might paint them in unflattering light. But you can’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are how wisdom is gained. Mistakes are how we learn and grow. Accept it’s okay to make mistakes or not know the answers to everything. Try new things, see what works, learn from what doesn’t, and always keep moving forward. The more mistakes you make, the more you’ll bridge the gap between knowing and not knowing.
No (or Wrong) Role Model. Having someone to look up to, to aspire to, to model your behaviors on is a hugely critical step to help you reach that “next level” in real estate. Far too many agents have no role model for their business. Or they have the wrong one. To accelerate your ascent in this business, find someone who is successful in both life and business and model your behaviors on theirs. We all smell like those we rub up against.
Your Gas Station is Only Open One Day a Week for an Hour. Once a week you try something once and can’t figure out why nothing is working. As a real estate agent, your top priority is attracting customers. It’s not a part-time pursuit. Don’t get me wrong it is not 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Far too many agents do just a little bit of marketing once a week and hope for the best. Lead generation and lead conversion need to be your primary focus. If there was a way to teach every new agent this philosophy and force them to live up to it, that 87% failure rate would decrease dramatically. Focus on the “Core 4″… Database. Open Houses. Geographic Farming. Online Presence.
Job vs. Business Owner. Monday-Friday, 9:00-6:00 Mentality. Being a real estate agent isn’t a job. It’s a business. It’s YOUR business. You need to become and act like a business owner. You’ll get out of it what you put into it. Especially if you’re new, you absolutely must put in the time and effort. All the money is made before 9:00am and after 6:00pm. If that doesn’t work for you, you might be in the wrong business.
No Sales Swagger. Long ago NAR released a report that said most new agents come into real estate with no sales experience, no marketing experience, and no negotiation experience. What are the essential skills of succeeding in real estate? Sales. Marketing. Negotiations. Hmmm. If you haven’t mastered these three skills, you need to be working on them constantly. Put yourself in situations where you learn the objections, get hung up on and gain that experience. Putting yourself in those situations repeatedly will break down those fears of calling FSBOs, expired and the like. I often encourage brand new agents to work with FSBOs and expired to break them in with “the most challenging” clients. When you know what to say, everything becomes easier.
It’s Math. No Goals Broken Into Numbers That Get Measured. When you know your numbers, you put yourself in control. On average, how many leads does it take you to convert one sale? 30? Great! 162? Great! “I don’t know.” Not great! If you know your numbers, you know what you must do. If you don’t know your numbers, you’re just hoping for that winning lottery ticket. Knowing your numbers makes your business predictable. Being predictable leads to success. Know your numbers!
No Schedule, Weak Habits, and Routines. If you’ve followed me for a long time, you’ve heard me say it a million times: “Show me your routines and I can predict your future.” If your schedule isn’t aligned with your goals, instead of achieving your goals, you’ll end up wherever your schedule takes you. The key is figuring out the specific activities that will lead to the achievement of your goals. Then you schedule those activities. The role of discipline in your success cannot be underestimated. Schedule everything and find a way to hold yourself accountable.
Lack of Financial Management. Lots of people get into real estate thinking it’s a low overhead business with an opportunity to make big, giant paychecks. Those days are long gone. This business is so competitive, you need a funding plan not only to survive, but to invest in your business and build it in an efficient way. Make sure you’re managing your money smartly to avoid that 87% failure rate. Profit is not a bad word.
Now that you have a better idea of the causes for failure the next decision is what are you going to do with this information? What action are you going to take? Feel free to comment below what you plan on doing next to ensure you’re a member of the 13% Club!
Is there any competition in your marketplace? You and I both know there are a ton of real estate agents out there! There is this myth that all agents and all companies are the same and do all the same things. The challenge is how to separate yourself from the competition…
Here’s the truth… If you’re not unique, then you’re weak! Be committed to creating a better experience for your customers because you know your unique factors! What unique factors do you have that create a better experience for your clients? What is your value proposition, and how are you communicating it fast?! It is amazing to me how so many agents struggle responding to the questions, so why you? Why your company? Why now?
Let’s talk about Your Super Bowl Commercial. Imagine if you invested $5,000,000 in a Super Bowl commercial! It would be 30-60 seconds long and be seen by 114,000,000 people. What would your pitch be? What would you say about yourself and why should the customer want to work with you? On a smaller scale you are advertising yourself every day… When someone says, “you are in real estate?”, what do you say? Is it unique? Remember if I am not unique, then I am weak!
How Do I Create My Powerful Pitch?
Start with a problem. This is a hook, and the reason a customer should be interested. The goal here is to articulate a problem that connects with the kind of customers you want to serve. When you speak to people through their problems, you are speaking life into them engaging with you.
Amplify a problem. Use quick examples… Say something like “buying a home is easy…” Then list out some of the problems most of your customers might face. Remember to think about this from your customer’s perspective and the types of questions they are asking… Questions like: So, what? What’s in it for me? Can you prove it?
Offer Your Solution. Talk about facts, data, proof, and credibility. You can even use a script. “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 real estate 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 (restate them) that you can hold me accountable to.” Remember, even if you are a brand-new agent, you can still use the facts and data from your office (be honest and disclose that) to offer the solution to your customers.
C.T.A. You’ve got to have some kind of call to action! It could be something like visit our site, like our page, schedule an appointment, or sign the contract. Remember if you don’t close you can’t win!
The Most Persuasive Words. Have you heard of the 12 words that are the most persuasive? They are: You, Money, Save, New, Results, Easy, Health, Safety, Love, Discovery, Proven, and Guarantee.
Think about your marketing presentation; are you using those words? The most engaging agents know the words to say and how to say them, get people’s attention, and stand out! – “Marketing Plan Sell’s Homes For More.” – “I Create Buying Opportunities for my Buyer, Not Wait For Buying Opportunities.”
Sellers want to hire an agent who sells homes, not just list homes; there is a difference. The agent that nets them more money and sell them faster than everyone else in their marketplace. Buyers are looking for the agent who finds and creates their buying opportunity for them, not the agent who sits and waits and watches the hot sheets every day. Buyers want to know that you negotiate more off the asking price than everyone else in their marketplace. Now that is VALUE!!
You and the Competition.
Listen, when you follow all these steps you are creating a degree of separation between you and the competition. When you can articulate your uniqueness and how you can solve problems for your clients you are standing out from the competition! This makes it much easier for your clients to choose you over all those other agents in the marketplace. Take the time to really invest in your pitch and identify what it is that makes you and your experience unique. What are the problems that buyers and sellers are facing today in your marketplace? What do you do to provide solutions to the buyer and seller? You only have seconds to engage, persuade, and differentiate yourself from the competition. I challenge you to work on your power pitch and really stand out from your competitors.
2021 was another great year for Agents Boost thanks to you our readers. Again we had thousands of visitors from countries all over the world checking out our new and seasoned posts. Out of our years of contributions the 10 Ten read post by our agents for the year were as follows.
A mentor of mine said to me “agents aim for nothing and hit it with amazing success!” 2021 is wrapping up and what did you aim for? What did you hit? It is the perfect time of year to aim for something in 2022 and hit it with amazing success! So when 2021 begins to wind down you should not wait until the very end to start planning for 2022. This means having a crystal clear understanding of the successes and challenges of your current year, how it impacts your upcoming year, and developing a vision of what you want to accomplish, and how. Many agents aim for nothing every year and most hit it with amazing accuracy!!
I believe you should always start working on your next year strategy months in advance of the new year. This awards you enough time to make an impact on your final quarter, and lay the groundwork for making sure your next fiscal year starts off on a solid footing. For agents who want to achieve greatness, push the envelope, and grow their business through market share, market penetration, paying down debt, increasing sales, profits and cash flow, I urge you to get going now! The way I see things is, if your business isn’t growing, pushing the envelope, thriving, and maximizing profit, then all you’re really doing is suffering a slow death.
Believe me, your competition is fighting the fight every day, and they didn’t wake up in the morning and say “Gosh, golly, I hope I stay even in 2022.” They want to eat your lunch, take your business, absorb your market share and steal your customers away.
Some people might ask me if they should start planning by looking at their competition, and I say NO. Why focus on the competition, instead of focusing on yourself? When it comes to my business, I don’t care what others do. I care about what I do. Recognize your competition for what and who they are, and then put your best foot forward by pushing the envelope in your business. You should approach the new year as if you are going to battle, and for that you should develop a strategic plan.
Business Plan – a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals. A business plan lays out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational viewpoint.
FACT: LESS THAN 3% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN
FACT: ESTIMATED 3% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN NORTH AMERICA DO 97% OF THE BUSINESS
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Writing a business plan may seem a daunting task as there are so many moving parts and concepts to address. Take it one step at a time and be sure to schedule regular review (quarterly, semi-annually, or annually) of your plan to be sure you are on track to meet your goals. It is that time of year again when we begin to build our plan for 2020 so let’s look at the key areas of the agent’s solid business plan.
Step 1) “Success and history always leaves us clues.”
I began by looking back to identify the clues that have been left for us and the business. I would look at the real estate market first and search for the following clues.
What have the number of sales been doing the last year? 2-5 years? Up? Down?
What have the number of listings been doing the last year? 2-5 years? Up? Down?
What have the average and median prices been doing?
What price ranges are experiencing more activity? Less activity?
What neighborhoods or areas are experiencing more activity? Less Activity?
What property types are selling more? Less?
What buyer types are buying more?
Where are the buyers coming from? Local? Next state or province? Over Seas?
Imagine the targeted and strategic plan you would be able to build for you and your real estate business with this kind of information? Now you are not just winging it. You really know where and what to focus on.
Step 2) Looking At The Present State of Your Own Real Estate Business
What have my sales been doing? Up? Down?
What have my listings been doing? Up? Down?
What is my average price? Can I raise my average selling price?
What is my Gross Commission Income doing?
What is my average deal worth?
Where are my listings and sales coming from? Sources of business?
What types of buyers do I represent?
Where are the buyers coming from? Local? Out of area?
What are my pending sales?
What do I have for potential buyers and sellers?
What is working? What is not working?
What do I need to start doing again? Stop doing?
What if you took the time to really track and measure and reflect on your business at a deeper level and see your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of yourself and your own business?
Step 3) Activity Plans – Take the time to lay out your activity plan calendar a year in advance.
Focus on the activities you know you are good at and you see a return on your invested time and money. I am guessing for most agents it would be your sphere of influence, referrals and face to face or voice to voice activities. Set up a schedule for a month or two in advance of your activities for generating business. What is the activity? When? How? To Whom? Track and measure each of these scheduled activities to help identify the best of the best.
Step 4) Budgeting – Profit is the goal in business.
Knowing what your personal life and your business world cost you monthly is so important. Expense management is just as important as your income and earnings. Have a clear picture of your expenses and measure all of them for their return on investment or if they can be reduced in any way. I understand this my be terrifying for most of us to see what we are spending personally and professionally but it is the foundation of your business plan to know what your personal and professional lives cost and then be able to set a financial target that is enough to cover them both and leave you some profit! So many of us stay away from this and run in a deficit and that is not good practice for any of us.
Step 5) Goals – If your “Why” is big enough the “how” will take care of itself.
What is your purpose? Vision? Values? Mission Statement? Taking the time to know what it is you want and why you want it is a game changer for us all. Nothing gives me more joy than impacting and improving people’s lives personally and professionally every day. I have realized that the driving compelling force in my life is serving others and having the means to create memorable experiences with the people I care about most and nothing else has given me more joy than these amazing WHY’s in my own life.
In my own real estate business, taking the time over the last 25 years to create a business plan has been so incredibly beneficial for me and I know it will for you as well. In today’s post I have given you a brief business plan overview. To help you get going with your own plan I put together a Step-by-Step Real Estate Business Plan Workbook you can download for
1. Treat Yourself with Some Self Care. – One of the most important goals that you need to achieve is Self-care. It is necessary for every professional that they must take care of themselves first, both physically and psychologically. This will help make sure that they are sharp and ready to take on any and every challenge that their work-life throws at them.
2. Reconnect with Old Peers. – When you are working in a professional paradigm, you need to understand that every person that you know, or meet is a potential asset that you need to keep in your arsenal. The best asset is your old classmates and peers from your schooling days. Why? Because they are most likely a part of the professional paradigm as well, and they can help you connect with numerous potential clients, no matter what your area of expertise is. So keep those peers close as they can prove to be quite beneficial business connections for you.
3. Revisit Your Career Goals Every Year. – You must have set your career goals when you were in college, or even earlier than that. This is the normal scenario for a lot of professionals out there, but what will set you apart from all of them is when you would revisit all of the career goals every single year. Many people suggest revisiting these goals every 5 years, but what this year has taught us that you can never wait that long to make some major life changes that actively shape the way you live your work and personal life because it can all change without a moment’s notice.
4. Leverage a Task Scheduling App. – If you want to achieve your bigger work or personal goals this year, you need to start using a task scheduling app, such as nTask. A task scheduler can make your work easier in planning, organizing, reminding, executing, and reporting on the tasks set by you. nTask app is available on iOS and Android devices. It will keep you in the loop of your goals so that you won’t miss anything. The task scheduler app such as nTask will help you create tasks, set due dates, give priorities, get notifications, assign tasks to team members, manage workflows with Kanban Boards, and visualize the progress with the help of a Gantt chart.
5. Maintain a Proper Sleep Schedule. – Sleep is not just for beauty; it is the most important personal trait that you have to gain control over if you want to keep a hold on your sanity while performing so many professional tasks. Maintaining a proper sleep schedule is a prime example of a common entity among personal and professional goals. That makes it a very important work goal that you need to achieve in 2022.
6. Keep Funds Ready for Emergencies. – One of the most important things that the pandemic has shown us that no one’s job is secure. Every one of us is disposable and you can be evicted from the house you called home for so many years, in a matter of days. This is why you must set a personal and work goal to save money whenever possible. That money will help fund your personal and work life in an emergency.
7. Keep a Daily Journal. – Many of us already have this amazing habit where we document every happening, or write-up the most relevant of happenings from our day into our personal Journal or diary. This helps us keep a record of what our shortcomings and positive aspects have been over a long period and can help us to make different personal and work-life decisions in the future. The majority of experts recommend journaling for 5 minutes in the morning and at night, but most of us cannot do that even once in the day. So, if you cannot get yourself to do the daily writing, you can try doing it weekly, but the problem with that is that you cannot remember so much from your day when it has been 6 days. So we would recommend doing it daily and maintain consistency.
8. Travel More. – One thing that you MUST do is to travel. Our lives have been made quite stagnant by our work priorities, even without the help of the pandemic, and the only way to liven things up is to get out of your normal routines and travel to different locations where you are bound to learn some new things. These new things can be beneficial to both your work and personal life, in addition to throwing you into an effervescent state known as ‘Holiday High’.
9. Keep a Healthy Diet. – Since you are working from home right now and even when you go to the office after this nightmare is over, you need to make sure that you keep a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, and meat if you are into it. This diet will provide you with all of the different nutrients and elements associated with physical and mental health, which will strengthen your immune system and make you more active and healthier for the personal and work challenges you face every day.
10. Keep a Gratitude Journal. – We have already talked about keeping a Journal but that was to write-up all of the different happenings in your day. This journal is establishing a more positive outlook on your life. A gratitude journal is a great way of recalling different aspects of your life so that you can have a more positive attitude while tackling the different challenges that you face in your personal and professional life.
11. Maintain a Morning Routine. – Whenever we look at the most common traits among all of the successful entrepreneurs and businessmen people around the world, the first thing that pops up is their morning routine where they wake up early and start their day way before anyone else. This is because the most productive hours in your day are when you wake up and when those hours are in the morning, you get to enjoy the peace and serenity of the morning before the hustle and bustle of the day consumes you. This is why maintaining a morning schedule is an excellent work and personal goal that you have to achieve in 2022.
12. Read More. – Reading has always been an amazing personal trait. It enhances your vocabulary and helps stuff your mind with some amazing facts about life and work, and also many other things depending on the books that you are reading. Experts suggest that you should read at least 12 books, one for each month. Some people already read more than double that, but it is a good start for people who are not habitual of even reading a single book in a whole year.
13. Arm Yourselves with More Skills. – The professional paradigm is a war. You and every single one of your peers is competing with each other, and just like in war, victory is always given to the people who have the best arsenal under their command with the mind to wield it. This is why you need to arm yourselves with more skills because, in the professional paradigm, the best weapon to be victorious is a diverse skill set.
14. Drink More Water. – The next item on the list to keep yourself hydrated. You do not need us to tell you how important water is, so we’ll skip the lecture. Just remember that keeping yourself hydrated is useful for keeping your mind and body fresh, which will help you defeat all of the challenges that your personal and professional life put in your way.
15. Workout. – Fitness is a drug that is universally accepted as the salvation for the human race – i.e. if we want to defeat the rampant obesity that is all around us. For many of us, that reality is not clear enough and they are still prone to left swipe the option to choose a healthier life for them. When this is the case, then workout might not be for them. What they can do is that they can do other activities that can keep them fit and healthy like meditation or hiking. Something to keep them moving and keeping them releasing those endorphins so that they can have a fresher and healthier personal and professional life.
16. Maintain a Clutter-Free Environment Around You. – One of the best things that you can do to keep your mind away from distractions and also keeping the environment around you pleasant, is to make sure that the everything around you in perfect symmetry, and if you’re not prone to OCD cleaning then you can just keep your surroundings clutter-free. This will keep your mind away from all of the distractions that a cluttered workspace or home can fester in your mind. Declutter your home, be happy.
17. Spend Less Time Online. – The Internet is everyone’s friend/ enemy in the 21st century. It is a complicated relationship that can only be fixed when you can control your urge to being online 24/7. You need to try at-least to distance yourself from the internet because the constant flow of information has made us all immune to all of the stuff that is happening around us in our lives. To do that, you need to spend more time outdoors camping or doing some physical activities with your friends and family that will not only keep you happy but also keep all of the people in your life happy, who have been avoided by you because you were busy on the internet.
18. Get Rid of a Toxic Habit. – The next item on the list is removing a toxic habit from your life and let’s face it, we all have something attached to is that we want to get away from. It can anything like smoking or sleeping a lot, and we understand that you have tried to get away from it but failed to do so. Just remember that life isn’t fair to anyone and you have to keep trying and trying until we get exactly what we want. Don’t give up and one day you will succeed.
19. Maintain a Monthly Budget. – If you are reading this article, then you are someone who is independent and wants to keep their boat from capsizing in the ocean of bankruptcy. To do that, you need to maintain a monthly budget and take control of every little expense in your life. This will make sure that everything you earn and spend is documented and you don’t empty your pockets while spending money on unnecessary things that provide no benefit to your personal and professional life.
20. Join a Club. – You need to make a list of all of the different interests and hobbies that you have and find out which of them is your favorite. When you have done that, find a club whose workings match your hobby and join it. Joining a club is a great way to meet people who have the same interests as you, which can help you grow meaningful connections and make sure that you have a safe space to talk about your thoughts and hobbies. It also helps you make some amazing new friends with whom you can do a lot of fun activities in your free time.
21. Create a Work-Life Balance. – Last but not the least, you need to make sure that both aspects of your life, work, and personal life, are balanced out and either one of them doesn’t smother the other one. Doing so will assist in removing all the burdens that you are currently carrying in your work life or your personal life, and ensure that you are of the sound of mind to tackle any challenges that your life throws at you.
22. Improve your time management skills. – Time is everything — you have to live and die by it. There are a lot of different people in the industry who will fill you in on different solutions to all of your problems. Especially if those problems are related to deadlines, completing milestones, and such other things. If you don’t have the skill of time management in the bag, you really can’t save yourself from the fast-moving storm that is going to swallow you whole. Make everything count. Do a retrospective of yourself and see where it leads.
23. Improve your emotional intelligence. – If you want to approach anyone, whether it is a potential partner in life or a potential client, you need to up your EQ game. EQ is emotional intelligence. What it does is that it makes you a little more responsive and accommodating about your emotions and the emotions of the people around you. The next time you want to sign a client or invite someone to coffee, make sure that you understand their emotions and answer them with the same depth and gusto as they do unto you.
24. Always find new challenges to complete. – Finding new challenges is a great way to make any job role exciting and fulfilling. It is a great way to make sure thatyou don’t have a boring day at the office. Ever. The problem is that finding new challenges and facing them head-on is not possible for all of us. Many of us have problems interacting with the challenges that are already in our lives. We understand that. That’s why we recommend that you take things slow and find out what your strengths are. Once you’re done with that, you will be aware of the things that you can do and what challenges you can take on. This will help you and your organization to flourish beyond belief, whenever there is a change in the wind. Finish 2021 strong and start 2022 new and alive!
Have you ever felt like you weren’t enough? That no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t silence the negative self-talk that stops you from chasing your dreams and your goals for your real estate career? You might experience imposter syndrome, a nagging feeling that makes you doubt your abilities. Escaping that mind state isn’t easy, but millions of people have done it—and so can you. It starts with identifying who you want to be and letting go of the perfectionism crippling your journey in real estate. I personally struggle with self-doubt and feeling like I am enough more than I would like to accept or admit it. What I have learned from this feeling is we don’t reach success or our full potential until we become the hero of our own life! This week I want to share a few tips to help us all including myself battle the self-doubt, self-worth battle in us all.
1. Envision your best self. – All personal growth in ourselves starts with one question “What does my best, most powerful self, look like?” It’s a challenging question because you can’t use someone else as a reference point. It’s not as simple as responding, “I want to be exactly like my mentor or an entrepreneur on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.” Upgrading your life is a deeply personal task. Every little tweak should be intentional enough to move you in the right direction. Instead of modeling your life after someone else’s, identify what makes other people successful. Is it their confidence that propels them forward? Do they have more discipline than the average person? Whatever those superpowers are, write them down. Keep the list close by so that each day you can work on adopting those traits. In the meantime, be patient with yourself. It can take years to identify all the changes you need to make and master new habits. No matter what happens, know that each failure—and they’re bound to happen—isn’t the end of the world. You still have time to correct those mistakes and get better each day. Even if you want to be a nicer person—let’s just say that to keep it easy—you don’t wake up, and all of a sudden, you’re nicer. It takes time, effort and energy from repetitiveness to become that.
2. Stop chasing perfection. – Did you know that perfectionism has more to do with ego than wanting everything to be perfect? Most people know that life has its flaws. But the ego has a self-serving agenda and tries to convince us otherwise. It pushes us to believe that if we try a little harder, everything can be perfect. It’s impossible to grow with this mindset, especially when you’re facing self-doubt. The good news is you can beat perfectionism with flexibility. When facing a difficult challenge, reframing the situation stirs those rigid, unproductive thoughts. I [went] from spending two days feeling bad about myself, letting a negative voice come in and hold me back, to the point where now, in real-time, I can say, “ How do I want to respond to this based on the person I want to be?” Here are four steps to reach that point:
Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Real growth happens when you’re pushed outside of your comfort zone.
Have a learner’s mindset. Take some pressure off of yourself by admitting that you don’t have all the answers. If you’re feeling like an imposter in a room of experts, ask questions. Give yourself permission to grow.
Don’t create deadlines for your growth. Becoming your best self doesn’t need to happen by a specific date.
It’s a lifelong process, so focus on the journey, not the destination.
3. Manage your emotions. – Before you get stuck in feelings of self-doubt, try to regulate those emotions. Ask yourself one question: “What are the things I need to do right now to show up? That could mean you speaking up in meetings, even when you are immobilized by fear. I found being in those meetings extremely detrimental to my self-esteem…. You’re in a room full of people, and you have no idea what they’re talking about, and I felt bad about myself. Then I said, Ok, you have a choice. You can keep coming into this room feeling bad about yourself, you can stop coming into this room or you can admit that they’ve got 15 years on you, and now you can start putting your head down and learning instead of focusing on the emotion you feel badly about. Another part of emotional regulation is taking care of yourself. No matter how busy you are as an entrepreneur, eating well and exercising are two ways to stay in control of your emotions. It’s hard to make good decisions when tired or hungry, so creating healthy routines is vital. I lift weights with my trainer (after resting well), and do my best to be mindful of how certain foods affect my body. Everyone has different needs, though. Be sure to learn your body so you can have an emotionally successful day, stay in control and slowly conquer the self-doubt that’s holding you back and know you are not alone.
In the book “The OZ Principle” they have an image that shows this invisible line in the world and where some of us live above that line and the rest live below that line. Above the line is the people that take ownership, action, responsibility and learn and grow. Below the line is the people that live in blame, denial and excuses. Making excuses is a natural human response – we are social animals, and we care what others think about us and we want to fit in. Rather than face uncomfortable conversations and feelings, we make excuses and avoid responsibility. People who make excuses may feel happy in the moment, because they’ve avoided a bit of pain. In the long-term however they will be less fulfilled and can feel anxious or depressed. So why do people make excuses? And how can you stop making excuses and start going after your dreams instead? Making excuses can almost always be traced back to one of three reasons: fear, uncertainty or lack of purpose. To stop making excuses, first determine which one(s) applies to you.
As human beings we all have Six Human Needs that drive our decisions. One of our most powerful needs is certainty: we are driven to avoid pain and seek out things we know will bring us pleasure. That’s why it’s so tempting to stay in your comfort zone or pick up bad habits. When we face a situation we’re not certain about, our brains prefer making excuses over dealing with uncertainty. But you can override these natural impulses and stop making excuses.
LACK OF PURPOSE
People who make excuses also often come across as lazy, uninspired and apathetic. Yet it’s more likely they haven’t yet discovered their purpose. As Tony says, “People are not lazy. They simply have goals that do not inspire them.” Focus on finding your passion and living a life of meaning, and you’ll naturally stop making excuses.
HOW TO STOP MAKING EXCUSES
Making excuses is normal from time to time – we’re all human after all. But if it’s starting to interfere with your life and prevent you from reaching your goals, it’s time to learn how to stop making excuses.
1. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY – The first step to stop making excuses is always to realize you alone control your destiny. As Tony puts it, “The past does not equal the future unless you live there.” No matter what has happened to you in the past, your future is up to you.
2. SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE – When you take responsibility, you begin to see problems are opportunities, not obstacles. Life is happening for you, not to you. Everything that has happened in your life brought you to this moment – and you can either transform your life or keep making excuses.
3. UNCOVER YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS – People who make excuses likely have certain limiting beliefs that are holding them back. These are the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. If you believe deep down you’re not deserving of success or you don’t have the inner strength to overcome failure, you’ll continue making excuses to avoid going after what you really want.
4. CHANGE YOUR STORY – Once you’ve identified your limiting beliefs, you can change your story and stop making excuses for good. Do this by identifying negative self-talk and replacing any limiting beliefs with empowering ones. When you change your words – and your story – you change your life.
5. FIND THE LESSON – People who make excuses don’t bother to look closely at their mistakes and determine what went wrong. They blame others and never learn the valuable lessons failure can provide. Successful people always look for the lesson and apply it to future decisions.
6. STOP OVERTHINKING – The path to success is to take massive, determined action. The ability to make tough decisions is a top trait of great leaders and an essential skill for everyday life, but many people who make excuses suffer from “analysis paralysis.” To stop making excuses, you must stop overthinking, let go of the past and take massive action.
7. DEFINE YOUR VISION – Do you jump out of bed each day with excitement and vitality? If you’re wondering how to stop making excuses, the answer is likely “no.” So how can you start? Go back to the drawing board and examine your blueprint for your life. What do you really want? Create a powerful vision you’ll be proud to follow, and you’ll never make an excuse again.
8. SET GOALS – Discovering your purpose is valuable, but setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Working toward actionable goals force you to stop making excuses and start creating a compelling future. Start small and set achievable SMART goals. As you build confidence, set bigger and bigger goals.
9. GET SUPPORT – The key to stop making excuses is to hold yourself accountable for your actions – but this isn’t always easy. Get support from a trusted friend or your significant other. Better yet, find a mentor, join a mastermind group or connect with a coach. They’ll have the experience and training needed to keep you accountable and productive.
The human mind cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is not real. Think about the fact that Fear starts within your own mind, which means that your mind can help you overcome them if you give it a chance. If you want to move beyond your fear, you have to learn to discipline your mind. Whether in your personal life or in your real estate business your mind can be your biggest enemy or your biggest asset—it’s truly up to you. If you want your mind to be your friend, you’ll have to take control of the way you think. Many people aren’t intentional with their thinking; they allow whatever thoughts bubble up into their minds to have priority, as if they have no control over what they think about. I fully believe that your mind is something you must protect and take charge of; in the Bible, the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippian church that we must take control over what we think.
Paul put it this way: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things” (Phil. 4:8).
Notice what Paul says we should think about: things that are good, noble, right, pure, lovely— it’s essentially the original call to the power of positive thinking! The content we think about has the power to transform our minds, something that Paul wrote about in his letter to the Romans when he said, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). If you’re tired of thinking negative, self- defeating thoughts that are darkened by fear, then you have to turn your thoughts to good, noble, and right things in order to renew your mind. It’s a challenge, because for some people, the power of positive thinking is really just the power of denial of negative thoughts. But denial doesn’t help you grow; denial doesn’t renew your mind. Only turning your thoughts to things that are good and healthy can do that.
Learning to renew your mind this way is crucial because, in my experience, there are plenty of people who will go out of their way to challenge your thinking and make you doubt. This has happened to me before some of my walks. People always focus on the potential negative outcomes, the possibilities of my failing and falling. I understand why they ask—they simply cannot imagine doing what I do because they cannot imagine overcoming what I’ve overcome. Their minds go only to the dark and negative places, and that’s where they expect me to go when they ask questions. But negativity is a vacuum—it will suck you in and hold you there, a trap that will disengage you from your visions and goals. That’s why I always encourage people to remove anyone and anything negative from their lives. You can’t live in the negative realm and overcome your fears, which means you can’t be around people who live there. Negative people will always want you to be negative.
Disciplining your mind will require sacrifices, but it will give you freedom. Start by writing down your thoughts so you can examine them. Take an hour and write down everything that comes into your head, without filtering it. Then, after the hour is up, take a look at what you’ve written down. Is it mostly positive or mostly negative? Full of doubt or full of faith? Look at the pattern because you’ll either need to break it or encourage it, depending on whether or not it’s building you up toward what’s good.
When you discipline your thoughts and where you allow them to go, you begin to move in the direction of your dreams. This discipline is crucial because it is the foundation for your future, and when you have a firm foundation, even if you fall, you get back up that much quicker. Build a firm foundation by surrounding yourself with positive people and positive things. Fill your mind with positive music and messages, positive words and images. Avoid putting destructive or hurtful junk into your brain, because what you put in you’ll inevitably get out.
