From the Pits to the Peak: It’s Up to You
I’ve been in the real estate business longer than some of you have been on this planet. I remember well when we had no MLS, or computers, or hand-held calculators, or realtor.com, or YouTube. As they came into being, all of these things changed the way we do business—and in some cases it made business better, faster, and easier. In the final analysis, though, the success of our business is not about gadgets or inventions or how we feel about them; instead, it’s about what we DO. For most people on this planet the term “real estate” is a noun, but for those of us with real estate careers, it’s a verb. It’s clearly about what we DO.
My career seems to have always been in a recovery mode of some kind. Even now as I write this blog, many of the people that have hired me and recommended me are no longer around: some are gone, some are retired, and some have just vanished. So, I’ve spent some time rebooting myself, and this blog is about some of the things I’ve DONE that have helped me—and they’ll help you as well. I Guarantee It!
1. Focus on buyers. Buyers tend to be “of the moment,” meaning that they’re ready to buy now, while sellers can be more long-term. What you need to energize a career is sales NOW, and the best way to do that is with buyers. Perhaps what you need to Fire It Up is some new names, and more of them. Two suggestions:
- Go to an Open House every week for 6 weeks. You cannot possibly go wrong unless you go to an old, overpriced, under-kept property.
- Consider buying leads from one of the aggregators like Zillow, Trulia, Homefinder, or one of the gazillion others.
New You + New Prospects = More Moolah!
2. Make a call list. You can text, email, write, or anything else you want to do, but nothing motivates another person as much as the sound of your voice or the smile on your face. So, if you cannot go see people, call them—every one of them—and if you’re not going to call them, take them out of your Sphere of Influence and put other people in there that you WILL call. Call every morning from 9-11 a.m. If you don’t have anyone to call, sit in your office and determine how you’re going to find people to talk to! This is what can cause a career to slip and falter: not having enough people in your life.
3. Clean off your desk and add some pictures to your space. I did mine last week. My office is full of fun stuff: a zillion photos, family stuff, fish mounts, books, video cameras, fishing rods, diplomas, banners, awards, everything…and I just love all of it. It’s my place, and I admit that sometimes I take a nap at my desk or on the floor. Love your office, because it’s the place that gives you energy. It’s your launch pad!
4.Take off a day during the week. Not the weekend, but during the week. Oh, it even excites me to write about it! I don’t take many weekdays off during the winter because it’s so yucky outside, but I catch up when the weather gets nice—and now’s the time. (This isn’t generally a good idea in winter because winter is when most people stumble in their careers. It can be hard to catch up, so watch out for that.) Do something fun on your day off: shop, fish, golf, take a long ride. I like the ride and do it often with the radio wide open, windows down, stuff flying out of the car, and only me. I’m somewhat introverted and like being alone at certain times, so being in the car alone (even if it’s not moving) is good for me. This day off can be and will be as refreshing as a week-long vacation because regardless of how bad the other six days were, you have a day off!!!! Take it, I dare you!
5. Have lunch/coffee with someone different every day for 10 days. Oh, how I love to do this!!! People give me a lot of energy, and they’ll give it to you as well. Sometimes, we get into an energy deficit; we hang around the same people so long that it bores us to death—and them as well. New people have new stories and new questions, and they need to see you as much as you need to see them. I have a group of college friends coming to fish with me in a couple of weeks, and I can’t wait to get with them and laugh, cry, tell stories, take photos, talk about things we don’t talk to anyone else about, catch fish, eat, shake hands, and dream about how life was when we did not have as much (or anything). If you don’t have people to do this with, that’s a problem. Without enough people, even a doctor can’t make money, much less a real estate agent—so go join some groups and BE!
6. Attend the sales meeting. Never miss one of these. Sales meetings at the office are like being with your family at the dinner table. It’s a time to get together, learn something, laugh, see who has on something new, hear about new listings and sales, and be a part of something big. Of course, meetings can be boring and inconvenient, but they’re worth it when you make a few friends, pat some people on the back, see some new listings, and feel good about yourself. Go there; they need you!
7. Learn something new. Nothing is as invigorating to the human spirit as learning something new, and REALTORS® have many, many opportunities. Don’t be so choosy that you can’t find anything to take. Just take something useful, and you’ll be amazed at what happens: you unconsciously start using what you learned! THAT is the reason you never stop learning, because learning new things causes you to think differently and helps you stay out of the “I’m getting too old for this” trap. I thought I was old when I turned 40, and now I dream and fantasize about being 40. Be who you are, BUT be what you want to be as well!!
8. Affirmations. If I told you what I’ve seen affirmations do, you might not believe me, so I won’t go into it here…but trust me, they can make a huge difference in a person’s attitude and behavior. Affirmations are a way of validating yourself when no one else does. Most of us don’t get enough validation, especially when we need it the most. Affirming other people is one of the most powerful things you can do for someone else—and for yourself. Here are 5 affirmations I put at the top of my list of 20:
- I was born to accomplish great things.
- Selling real estate comes naturally for me.
- I like myself. (Try to do this one without smiling; I’m smiling while I’m writing)
- Everything happens for the best.
- I expect the best today!
Great Blog Leroy! Lets Go Fishin’ – I’ll have to send you my Striper pic – I caught it at SML this past Wednesday – my smile says it all!!
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