In case you missed it the other day, I spent 30 minutes sharing what most won't tell you about success in this market and this industry today. I know what it takes because I am on the ground with you, day in and day out, selling over 100 homes per year personally. Don't listen to and buy into all these fools who sold Real Estate ten years ago or even worse, never sold a home at all.
You may ask, why am I so passionate about this? It's because I am sick and tired of watching agents buying into all of these "latest and greatest" ideas and strategies only to find themselves searching for another "solution" 6 months from now. This industry is tainted with "experts" and "coaches" who are just doing everything they can to make a buck off you and I won't stand for it any longer. I have absolutely nothing to gain by sharing this information with you, heck there is not even a call to action at the end to attend one of our events or join our programs.
My hope is that by reading the below, you will be impacted in one way or another for your entire lifetime. Are there actionable items and take-a-ways that you can implement right away? Nope! Just a different way of thinking that will impact your business and sales decisions for years to come, which will lead to profits later.
Spend less time researching models and systems and more time picking one and mastering it…. For at least a year. Stop chasing the magic pill / lead source: Master what you have and get better at what you have before you chase something else. You have to think about the amount of time spent learning something else and the amount of wasted time spent researching every solution.
Spend less time fighting the “brokerage battle” and paying attention to who is going where and instead, more time fighting the “value to clients” war. You didnt get in this business to be a recruiter. Who cares who said what and is doing what - put your head down and get to work. The only thing that matters is results. You didn't get in this business to be a recruiter. Why are you spending all the time recruiting? Why do you think all of a sudden you had some average success at real estate sales that all of a sudden you're going to be an amazing recruiter. I've got news for you, you're going to do a lot better recruiting buyers and sellers than you will recruiting agents.
Spend less time figuring out how technology can help you follow up with your clients so you dont have to, and more time on your sales skills. The bottom line is even if that technology makes our life easier, which we love, don't get me wrong, I love the brokerage that I'm with and the technology that they're rolling out because I don't have the brain to put that stuff out there and certainly couldn't afford to produce what they're producing. So I love it, but at the end of the day, that doesn't mean I can stop what I'm doing over here. That doesn't mean I can give up my sales skills and training. Last time I checked, the goal is to set an appointment to then do what? Ultimately, the goal is to get in front of a buyer and get in front of a seller. Okay, well, what about what you say when you get in front of them is going to improve? How will technology ultimately help you once you are in front of them? You will still need to have sales skills.
Spend less time worrying about your image on Facebook and more time worrying about your bank account. Since when do we get our security from social media? There are so many people chasing online validation - how is that helping your bank account or your clients? Stop getting your security from what other people think. More importantly, how is it helping your customers? You've got friends, you've got family; so, share that kind of stuff with them. Why? What's the point of showing off online? Guess what -- your clients are researching you and do you really think they really want to see that stuff? Your values to your clients, so who's really winning here?
Spend less time trying to figure out the fastest and best way to grow and lead a team and spend more time leading by example and then attract other people who also want to lead by example.
Spend less time making it all about you and instead, more time about making it all about your people. There's three common needs that people need. This includes security/safety, money and recognition. How often are you recognizing your people? How often are you making it about them? I learned early on from one of my first mentors, Mike Ferry. He said, Jeff, if your people are learning, growing, making money and having fun, they'll never leave.
Spend less time chasing opportunities for yourself and more time creating opportunities for your people Now, this is if you're running a business or even have a small team or a large team, why is your focus always on creating opportunities for yourself? Why aren't you focused on creating opportunities for your people? Instead of asking, how can this benefit me? Ask, how can it benefit my people?
Spend less time figuring out how to get “out of production” and more time attracting people because of your production. The production that you produce, the listings that you take and the sales that you have is what causes people to be attracted to you. If you don't have a leader in production setting an example, you will lose people because nobody is there to set the example anymore. It's amazing how many teams are breaking down and restructuring because they forgot that little point.
Spend less time comparing yourself to agents in your office and more time comparing yourself to agents around the country. The biggest mistake agents can make is they look around their office and are content with being the best in their office. I'm not saying you're in the wrong environment and you're at the wrong office. What I am saying is instead of comparing yourself to those agents and to the office, compare yourself to the entire brokerage or the entire mls. Even consider comparing yourself to the entire state and United States. The reality is that there's more people to look up to outside of any environment than there is inside of it.
Spend less time counting your GCI and your Sales Volume and spend more time calculating profit and putting your money away. Somewhere in the last five or ten years there's been so much focus around GCI and sales volume. Well, then what happens? There is no profit. So, why are you spending so much time in the GCI and the Sales Volume when you should be watching your profit? Also, careful how often do you use the term re-invest? Re-invest is a bit of an overused term and if you keep reinvesting without results you will be lead to bankruptcy. Additionally, you have to have a short term memory when it comes to awards and trophies. You earn top agent of the month, top list or whatever it is. That's good. Months over. Let's move on and let's get it again.
Spend less time trying to manage and fix people and more time hiring the right people. This is straight from Gary Keller. Why do you want constant turnover? Take more time and hire the right person. I am all about giving someone a chance if they show potential; but if that is all I am doing; I will constantly have a revolving door. When you are hiring for an Executive Assistant; you hire for traits of an assistant -- well that is great if that is all you want for an EA. If you want a big business; you are going to need an Assistant Executive one day. An AE is someone that can replace you and can make decisions on your behalf whether you are there or not.
Spend less time taking advice from strangers on facebook and more time seeking out a coach that’s a good fit for you Why would you spend time with people who are being paid to promote a product? Do they have real life examples they can share with you? Get out of Facebook groups and spend more time finding a coach that is the right fit for you.
Spend less time with those that have never “done it” and more time with those that are “doing it” I mean, it's amazing to me how many experts there are. You know they read 10 books, they've belonged to the many groups, they've attended this many seminars, they've managed this many people and they're going to tell you how to succeed at a high level. I don't understand it. Why aren't you spending time with the people that are actually doing it? Why would you spend time with someone that hasn't succeeded at something you're trying to accomplish? Makes no sense to me.
Spend less time buying what everyones trying to sell you and more time on selling yourself on what you know you need to do. Spend less time buying what everyone else is trying to sell you and more time on selling yourself on what you know you need to do. It's so easy to go out and buy this solution. Buy this off the shelf and take advantage of that. Let's sign up for this program. Let's buy into why you should spend more time on yourself and what you need to do to get better. Quit chasing all that stuff. It just slows you down.
Spend less time in scarcity and more time in abundance. Who cares if there's not enough to go around? There's always going to be enough to go around. Get over it. Stop thinking and making decisions with that thought.
Spend less time adding prospects to your database and more time looking for leads that actually want to talk to you about Real Estate. I know talking to people is considered high rejection - but the more people you talk to, the more money you will make. If you really believe that the more people you put in your database the bigger business you will have; you are incorrect. Because you're going to lose to all the people that are willing to go out and we're get rejected every single day, day in and day out.
Spend less time impressed by your title on your business card and more time learning how to become a productive person. You’re a Realtor for goshs sakes and if you lead other Realtors your a Sales Manager. Cut it out with this CEO and Director crap -- if you’re a CEO then go ahead and introduce me to your board of Directors that voted you in...if you’re a Director then go ahead and introduce me to the managers that report to you. Exactly. Quit worrying about how “cool” your title is and get to work.
Well, there you have it. I don't have it all figured out. I'm not like Jesus of real estate here. I know that there's definitely things that I can do a better job of. But the reality is, is if we keep getting distracted by all this other crap in the business, we're going to lose sight of what we need to do every day, and that is to go out and find a client and provide great service. The moment you take your eye off that ball, you're going to lose to guys like me. Make it a great day everyone!