Is your life getting in the way of your real estate career? Health issues, family problems, heavy burdens, elusive confidence, financial strains — it happens.
During these times, we are focused on some of life’s biggest challenges, coupled with keeping our business afloat and moving forward.
I want you to know that my heart truly feels for you! We’ve all hit bumps in the road. Sometimes those bumps are big and painful. Please know that you matter in this world.
Gather your tribe. Find a few good people around you who appreciate you for who you are, and keep moving forward.
When things are tight, stagnant or not quite working at a high level, or if you’ve simply misplaced your mojo, here’s a little business (and personal) advice:
- Get out of your current routine: Sometimes simply breaking your pattern can create movement and momentum.
- Spend less money: Think lean and mean.
- Focus on finding people who need you: They’re out there, and your job is to find them. Ask your sphere: “Do you know anyone who may need my services? We’re already setting appointments for spring and summer.”
- Never talk about your personal struggles with any of your leads or clients: Not even your friend clients. A little compartmentalization comes in handy here.
- Focus outside of yourself: Don’t think about your pain, issues or burdens. This little exercise in focus actually helps alleviate some stress.
Lacking leads? There’s nothing like a new solid lead or two — or 10 — to put a little skip in your real estate step. If you are shy on leads, I can’t stress enough how important it is to:
- Find FSBOs, and follow up three times per week like clockwork: Be the agent who wants to help them, coming from a place of contribution. Follow up better than anyone else.
- Spend less, and find clients who need you: Who in your area is raising his or her hand asking for help? (Right off the bat, I hope you said FSBO!)
- Double-down on what is already working for you: If seven of your last 10 clients came from your sphere or their referrals, then double-down on your sphere; make 30 of those phone calls this week. Or if open houses always result in solid leads for you, figure out how to do four times as many open houses in the next 60 days. Double-down on what is already working.
This is also a formula for increasing the joy factor in your business; and more joy means more energy, which will inevitably mean more attraction power. It all adds up.
And always remember to be a good boss. When you have big challenges on your hands, you still need to keep the basics solidly in place in your business.
Remember when you used to work for someone else, and you had to get the important things done, even when you had challenging personal stuff on your brain’s plate? Be a good boss to yourself, and get the most important things done first every day.
Stay connected, use your game face if necessary, muster up your grit by gathering up a couple friends who personally know your innate grittiness and let them help you reconnect with it, and keep moving forward.
You can do this. Pushing your way through the current challenges will add to your determination and your ability to impact change for someone else down the road.
Julie Nelson is the chief success officer at The Nelson Project, Keller Williams Realty in Austin, Texas, and the author of Success Faster: Quickly Launch or Relaunch Your Real Estate Career. You can follow her on YouTube or Twitter.
