If you haven't noticed, we are in an exciting but difficult market. Many experienced agents that I speak to have said to me repeatedly "I've never seen a market like this." Most properties that are single entry or small condo projects that show nicely and are priced well are seeing multiple offers. Those financing their properties have to compete against cash buyers waiving appraisal contingencies and inspection requests. In resort and other high demand markets, due to inventory levels and demand, if you are not cash, brokers are starting to recommend to those buyers to sit it out for a couple of months until some normalization comes back. Like I said, this market is really challenging. All the while, your high rise condo sellers have a difficult time understanding the lack of demand for their properties (that market will improve this summer). So yes, it's crazy town right now and it creates a different challenge from a mindset standpoint. I've been hearing a lot of statements like:
"I'm tough on myself. I don't feel like I'm doing a good job." - this came from a broker with 3 years in the business
"I've plateaued. I'm just not feeling it" - 15 year broker producing over 30M a year
"I had amazing momentum last week. This week is slower. It's got me kinda freaked out." - 10 year broker doing 15M+ a year
"I'm behind on the pace from last year. I can't take a step back. I need to keep hitting my numbers." - 8M broker, 4 years in the business
"I know that you told me that it would take 12-18 months to create some momentum, but I need to see some results." - New broker in the business 3 months
"I had a good year last year and now I feel like I have to start all over." - 10M broker in the business 8 years
"My pipeline is full, most of my listings are under contract and I've got a bunch of buyers but I haven't closed anything in 2 months. Ugh." - 15M producer, 6 years in business
Do any of these phrases sound familiar?
Well, it's because you're a "deal junkie" and most brokers need that constant drip of dopamine that's created when a contract is accepted, a property closes or a commission hits the bank account. Honestly, this is the root of what creates the "transactional" broker: the chase for deals.
There is a better way where you've got full control over the outcome without the mental anguish.
First, you have to make a major shift in mindset based on the "Law of Cause and Effect." The above examples are of those that are fully focused on the "effect." The mindset shift occurs when you shift your focus to the "cause." You've heard me use the phrase "You plant in the spring and harvest in the fall." The cause in this statement is "plant in the spring," the effect is "harvest in the fall." This is nature. All good things start with the energy that surrounds "creation." The focus then should fully be on those things in your business and life that are the "cause" that create the "effect." Not every day is going to a home run full of wonderful "harvest," in fact, most won't be so you need to set that expectation with yourself.
So, as these agents all expressed these statements, my message was the same. Today, I want to give everyone a more detailed reminder of the shift that needs to occur for you to break out of the rut of unproductive thinking. I grew up listening to Zig Ziglar call it "stinkin'thinkin."
So taking you back to some of the key components of "Take Flight" as just a reminder:
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Identify your high impact activities (the causes) that have created opportunities for you. (Your top lead gen, top relationship management activities.)
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During a time of "transacting" like we are in right now, limit those high impact activities to no more than 3.
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Fully commit to maintaining these processes accompanied with a full mindset shift to celebrating the wins around the "causes."
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Remind yourself daily that some days and weeks are going to be full of the "harvest" and others will not. It's just how it is.
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Plan and track your high impact activities daily.
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Trust the process. It has treated you well in the past.
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Repeat. Don't stop even when the "harvest is abundant."
I learned the importance of this concept early. I jumped on the "cause and effect" train almost as a way to self medicate my stress level. What became increasingly clear to me is that the more effort I put on the front end of the equation, the stronger and more solid my pipeline became. So, I jumped on because I had no choice. The rest is history.
This concept works for everything not just your business. The effort you put in, normally through creating a winning mindset and developing strong habits, will drive your desired result.
I want you to read a quick excerpt from "Atomic Habits" written by James Clear (one of my top 3 all time reads).
"It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis. Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. Whether it is losing weight, building a business, writing a book, winning a championship, or achieving any other goal, we put pressure on ourselves to make some earth shattering improvement that everyone will talk about. Meanwhile, improving by 1% isn't particularly notable - sometimes it isn't even noticeable - but can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make is astounding. Here's how the math works out: If you can get better 1% each day, you'll end 37 times better by the time you are done at the end of the year. Conversely, if you get 1% worse each day, you decline nearly down to zero. What starts as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something much more".
Team, my advice to you as my 2021 Market: Survival Tip #1, set the expectation for yourself that it is going to be a challenging market, fruitful, but difficult in ways we have not experienced before. Do not take the losses personally nor get to too high with the wins. Once you're done setting that expectation with yourself, set it with your clients, your partner, your family and your inner circle. If everyone knows the playing field, the lows will not be near as low. Once you've established that, go through my list of 7 things that I discussed earlier and set a flight plan for now until the beginning of the fouth quarter, October 1. This plan will allow you to get 1% better every day while executing in this market.
Once you're done setting expectations and adjusting to your new plan, sprinkle both with a lot of gratitude. Gratitude has a way of always bringing things back into perspective.
