My mind was racing last week and after one of my morning meditations I started to think about the importance of patience and how I’ve noticed that some agents are so focused on the here and now and are not looking far enough out. For the record, that is a normal fight or flight mindset and you do have to put focus on today, but not at the expense of the future. Meaning, you overestimate what you can do in immediate time frames and underestimate what you can do over the life of your business. In fact, today’s message was going to be on the importance of being patient. The more I thought about it, I realized that patience is just one “ingredient” needed to be an elite level producer. Success really is like a recipe and that’s why the cliché “Recipe for Success” is used often. After some thought, I’ve decided to spend May and June discussing in detail the characteristics of an elite level producer as I see them.
I’ve identified 7 characteristics that I see consistently with those that produce at a really high level. Let me remind you, first and foremost, my definition of how I view success. When I say “produce at a really high level,” that means that the agent is “executing on their well-defined set of goals or problems they want to solve.” The key part of that phrase is “their set of goals,” not mine, not the industry’s, but their goals. We all have different priorities and that is 100% okay. That is why you don’t hear me discuss production levels or GCI that much as a scoreboard for success. It is broadly used to track success but not by everyone. Profit per hour is becoming a metric that more and more elite level producers are using. You’ll hear me reference an elite level producer as the 3%. This is the 3% that are constantly focused on being great. Now back to those 7 characteristics I’ve identified that I see in those who are consistently meeting or moving towards their goals:
- Clarity. They know what they want. It is clearly defined. They spend a lot of time thinking.
- Awareness. They know their strengths and weaknesses. The have answers to questions before they are asked. They seek guidance since they’re aware they don’t know everything.
- Commitment. They run a business, not a hobby. They want to be great. They are uber focused on meeting their goals and solving their problems.
- Consistent. They have success as a lifestyle in all areas of their life. They show up every day and get after it.
- Skill. They are focused on improving in all areas of their life and business. They have self-development goals to improve their skills and mindset.
- Innovative. They see where “the puck is going to be” in their business and their market. They adapt to meet the needs of their clients.
- Patient. They “plant in the spring and harvest in the fall.” They realize that anything worthwhile takes time and they are willing to wait.
I will build on today’s call and dedicate a #MMPT to each of these characteristics over the next 2 months. You’ll find that during these calls, the 3% realize what they know and what they don’t know, they seek guidance and instruction, and they model success. This will not be regurgitated content on these topics. You’ll notice that my language and vocabulary has changed slightly and I’ll point that out over the coming weeks. In 2019 and up to and throughout this COVID pandemic, I’ve spent lots of time thinking, stress-testing my ideas and concepts. I will verbalize many of those over the coming weeks.
Just like a chef might follow a recipe that was handed down through the generations, you will go into the 4th of July with my updated and fully defined “Recipe for Success.”
