“Everyone thinks greatness is sexy. It’s not, it takes hard work. Usually required to be done when no one is watching, while your dreams are so far off they seem ridiculous.” - John Wooden
I recently read Dave Asprey’s book Game Changers. Dave is a researcher, bio hacker, thought leader and podcaster best known for his company, BulletProof. He surveyed his podcast guests - a who’s who in terms of the best in performance. Creating good habits came in at #3 as the most important, even more so than education. To create new habits, you must create new neuro pathways. The power of creating bio rhythmic habits where your body and instinct take over without thinking is extremely difficult to achieve. It takes repetition in a very consistent fashion. But the results are worth it – effective, efficient neuro pathways are so important because these types of habits clear space in your mind for bigger thinking.
In order to create a habit, you must be consistent for 21 days. In order to create a bio rhythm, you must be consistent for 90 days.
The best way to stay consistent is to place great value on the end result and track the actions necessary to build a habit.
Health coaches have you track things like your caloric intake. New apps like NOOM are a huge success because they help people track their food choices. Personal trainers have you track your reps, etc. It’s about discipline and being honest with yourself about what you do AND where you deviate.
If you are going to be successful in sales, you need to identify your most important and profitable activities and track them - truthfully - each day to make sure you are staying on course.
You’ve heard me talk consistently about the book by Darren Hardy called The Compound Effect. He basically breaks down the process which I have followed for years.
He urges you to create a vision based on your ‘why,’ develop a plan, keep it simple, and execute on it daily. The ‘compound’ effect of these consistent actions over time will reap serious results.
There are so many ways that you can track your own activity:
- You can use the “Weekly Rhythm Register” he created for The Compound Effect.
- You can set alarms on your phone to remind you to stay on track.
- You can build spreadsheets or create Google Docs to highlight what and when you are going to work on your revenue-generating activities.
- Use can use project management tools like Asana, Basecamp, and Trello to build your processes and track them.
I recently heard a story of a successful salesperson in the world of finance. He was freshly out of college, in a new sales job trying to learn the products and acquire new clients for the firm. His father gave him a tip that he used when he was building his successful sales career. His father would take 2 glasses and fill one with 100 paperclips. After each sales call or touch, he would move a paperclip over to the other glass. It was his goal not to go home on Friday until all the paperclips had been transferred to the other glass. The son took his father’s advice and within two years was one of the top salespeople in the firm. It was the consistent tracking of his sales calls that catapulted him into the upper echelon of the company.
This year’s business building session during “Championships are Won in the 4th Quarter” will focus specifically on this concept of tracking what is important. I’ve created a “Customer Service Plan” that you can use weekly to track the important activities necessary to grow your business. It’s quite simple but also extremely effective for you.
As your coach and mentor, it’s my job to editorialize and boil down what is important and effective in the world of real estate brokerage so that you don’t have to. What you have to do is identify what is non-negotiable in your business, do those things consistently, and track your daily effort and success.
