I recently invited you into my “Me vs. Me” struggle when I told you the story of my “Real Estate heart attack” in 2008 and how I battled back to double my business 4 times in 5 years. That story was not meant to impress you, but rather to impress upon you that I had no choice but to “figure it out.” When I discovered my best friends - Google and YouTube - and started to do my research, I realized how little I knew. Each page I read, each video I watched, and each podcast I consumed, I realized I had to play catch up and I had to do it quickly. As I told you, I became obsessed. If I wasn’t with clients, I was consuming content and tinkering with my business. I started to see results. I quickly discarded what didn’t work and tried new things. My guiding principles became clear as I experienced more success, modeling those elite level producers that had paved the path. It was that focus on self-development and the consistent effort that helped me make big strides during that 5 year stretch prior to joining our leadership team.
My personal growth did not end when I started my management career. It actually picked up steam because I focused on “learning to teach.” I learned later that you retain 5 times more information when you learn to teach. By 2016, I had built a huge catalog of content. It became a big strength and also my biggest weakness. There was too much content to teach well. I knew that I needed to start trimming down my approach to everything that I was teaching, coaching, and implementing into my own life. I asked myself, what were the areas that I had had the most success with when I was selling full time and was it consistent with the brokers that I was observing who were actively building their businesses and having breakthrough success.
Over the course of the last 3 years, I trimmed down the list the to a critical 7 areas that I find non-negotiable. The list was 15 items long just a few short years ago. You could use this list no matter what profession you are in. It would work for mortgage brokers, financial advisers, carpet cleaners, or any other type of business.
- You must have a Mindfulness Practice. Your brain needs to be rebooted every day to work properly. I made meditation non-negotiable in 2019 and it has been life changing.
- You need to get your day started on the right path, so having a Morning Ritual is essential. There is not a day that goes by that when I execute on my Morning Ritual, I regret it. I get more done by 8:00 a.m. than I get done the rest of the day. It is, without a doubt, the most productive 3 hours of my day.
- You must have a Task Management System. I have found the use of my Daily Time Management Form to be extremely useful. Get your to-do list out of your head, onto paper, and execute. It’s old school but extremely effective.
- You must know your boundaries and you must have answers to questions before they are asked, or you will make bad decisions based on emotion. This is called your “Hell Yes Filter." It’s a concept that I have started using recently and it has been a game changer for me.
- You have to commit to Continuous Improvement. You must consistently evaluate your weaknesses and seek expertise to overcome those weaknesses. It could be in the form of an audio book, a podcast, a training program. Get really good at your craft. Define a niche and become an expert. Create an accountability group with like-minded people. Whatever it is, don’t stay stagnant. You will only earn at the level of your self-development. I highly suggest you all commit to a NINJA selling program in another market. I’ll post those as I see them scheduled. The goal is to learn from as many people as possible and build your own style of business.
- I don’t care what you use but you must have a database/relationship management process. You need to track your past clients and make sure they are taken care of post-transaction. They are 18 times more profitable to market to compared to going out and procuring new clients. Use social media to build your brand for new business and to strengthen your relationships with your existing database.
- Last, but certainly not least, you must have goals that are specific and have a timeline attached to them. Anything else is a fantasy. If you are not inspired by goals, identify problems that need to be solved. 80% relate to problem-solving not goal setting.
If you execute on all seven of these areas consistently, mathematically, you will not fail. It may not happen overnight, but you will have success in time. The key word in this phrase is consistently. All of these areas gain momentum over time and any break in the effort slows down or stops the process.
You might be asking: Where do I start? First, rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 (not using the number 7) and work to get all 7 areas to an 8, 9, or 10. Take a 90-day period and do nothing but focus on one area! Make it a goal to be significantly ahead of where you are by the end of the year in as many categories as possible.
If you are scoring fairly well in these areas, there is still another level at which you can execute.
Team, after more than a decade of experience, I can tell you without a doubt that these 7 areas are the HOLY GRAIL of success in the real estate business and many other industries. You can learn the ins and out of real estate brokerage or other professions, but these 7 areas are the key to your long term success in any arena.
