For what are you willing to rearrange your schedule, budget and comfort? The newest tech gadget? Your favorite celebrity? A sick family member? You favorite team going to the national championship?
You have probably seen others do it: camp outside for hours to purchase the newest iPhone or see the latest blockbuster movie, spend several hundreds of dollars to see a sports team play at a championship game that it may ultimately lose or become a borderline “stalker” to connect with a celebrity.
Some may call these people crazy, but I understand that they will do anything for their priorities — anything.
Will you?
As a real estate coach, I am honored to connect with thousands of people across the globe. From many of them, I hear, “I want to close 50-plus deals this year, and I will do what it takes to make it happen!”
But when I look at their lives, I see:
- No consistent plan for lead generation
- Months without them learning anything new
- Follow-up only once or twice
- No tenacity if a prospect isn’t ready or responsive today
- Complaints about how far they have to drive for a client, class or other business growth opportunity
- Appointments with clients, vendor and coaches/mentors missed
- Inconsistent and sporadic use of technology
- Not getting prepared to meet with a prospect until something is actually scheduled
Saying you have a goal, a resolution or an expectation is great because you have to start most journeys with an affirmation, but our actions must speak louder than our words.
Many real estate agents could take a page from the fanatics I mentioned at the beginning of this post. Here are five things they can teach us:
1. Plan like a maniac
The best fanatics plan their fanaticism so they don’t lose jobs and alienate family or friends. Ask yourself:
- How does my schedule need to change to be consistently effective at lead generation, follow-up and transaction management?
- What distractions need to be eliminated, given away or postponed?
2. ‘Stalk’ the news
Don’t you dare quiz fanatics on their prized possession or favorite events because you know they’ll know every detail, no matter how useless.
- Do you know anything and everything concerning your goals?
- Do you know where the latest classes are and what designations are key to have?
- Do you know what your broker and other industry leaders project as trends to watch?
- Do you have Google alerts set up for the keywords of your business and market?
3. Get coverage
Because fanatics are “in the know,” the release date is no surprise to them, and they get help to keep their responsibilities and commitments. Ask yourself:
- Who can help me handle my other responsibilities while I go all-in?
- In what automation should I invest?
- Are there any commitments that I need to forego and give proper notice to resign?
4. Show-up early and ready
Notice fanatics arrive before they anticipate others showing up and they bring tents, coolers, lawn chairs and whatever else needed to arrive early and stay late.
Will you be the “early bird that gets the worm” by not waiting until something is in front of you to prepare for it?
For example, how will you prepare for your next listing appointment before you have it? This may mean role-playing a lot, getting a second set of eyes on your listing packet or hiring someone to add pizazz to your presentation.
5. Don’t go home until you’ve got it
I have seen true fanatics barter and form alliances with people in front of them in line to make sure they leave with what they came to get. Think about:
- What will your strategy be to follow up with leads, sphere of influence and past clients? Following up once or twice means you will not have very much business on a consistent basis. Get off the sales roller-coaster!
- How often will you evaluate what you are doing to focus on your strengthens and giveaway/outsource your weaknesses?
- Who will be your “sounding board” to help you stay on track?
- Do you need to start forming more alliances (with vendors, contractors, other real estate pros and mentors) to get more deals closed?
Be that person who won’t let anything get in the way of his or her goals. If people put this much forethought into getting the newest iPhone, you can put even more effort into real estate.
Make today the day you become a fanatic about your career.
Lee Davenport is a licensed real estate broker, trainer and coach. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google+, or visit her website. This post comes from her book, Profit with Your Personality.
