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Jim Rohn is one of the most effective sales trainers, authors and motivational speakers. His storytelling and quotes have impacted real estate salespeople for more than 50 years.
Following are seven of his most insightful quotes and how they can help you grow your real estate business.
1. Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day
Many agents spend an inordinate amount of time searching for the “magic strategy” that will catapult their business to dramatic growth. The promise of a quick fix can be alluring, but it is the consistency and daily disciplines that lead to success.
Daily disciplines such as time blocking your schedule to make prospecting calls, prioritizing daily follow-up with past clients, generating leads and growing your database are leading indicators of the direction your business is headed. When you focus on the daily disciplines, success will follow.
2. It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind, that determines which way we will go
Market cycles will come, and they will go. Every day creates obstacles and opportunities. The question is not whether the market will change, but rather how you will turn what others see as obstacles into opportunities?
We can all agree that in every market environment there are agents who struggle and agents who thrive. What makes successful agents different? It is their ability to “adjust their sails when the winds change.”
If you are an agent who focuses on buyers, this market is extremely challenging. If, however, your talents are helping sellers and generating listings, this is an extremely beneficial part of the cycle that we find ourselves in.
So how can you adjust to make sure you thrive in this current market environment? Become a student of listing generation. Spend most of your time adding value to homeowners instead of buyers. Develop a clear and concise value proposition for sellers that sets you apart from your competition.
By moving away from the obstacles and toward the opportunities, your business can’t help but grow.
3. Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune
I don’t want to discount the value of a college degree or formal education, but the market is changing at a pace that makes it difficult for educational institutions to keep up with the velocity of change. YouTube and podcasts provide the ability for agents to learn what is working right now in real time.
What are you doing to self-educate? What are you doing to make sure you stay abreast of the latest marketing strategies in real estate? Are you spending time studying the current trends and shifts of the market? Continuous self-education applied in your business is the most predictable route to success.
4. You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight
Real estate operates on a 60-90-day cycle. The work we do today rarely shows up immediately. It takes time to go from lead generation to lead conversion, and it takes time to go from contract to closing. Where you find yourself today is a direct result of the actions you’ve taken in the past. Although we can’t wake up tomorrow to find that our real estate business is completely different, we can change the direction of our business by our actions today.
Most people don’t need to be taught what to do, they just need to be reminded. This is your reminder to focus on the activities today that your future self will thank you for doing.
5. You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour
The beauty of the real estate business is that our income is directly proportional to the value we bring to the marketplace, not to the amount of time we spend at the office. This is completely contrary to the employee model where employers trade their money for your time.
What value do you bring to the hours you work? Are you focused or just going through the motions? Are you bringing your value to the market or hoping your time will suffice? This concept, when applied correctly to your real estate business, can lead to fewer hours worked and more money made. Focus on the value you bring.
6. Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness
This quote is the next achievable level once you understand and master quote No. 5. Now that you are bringing value to the marketplace, increasing the number of people you serve will lead to an increase in your income.
How can you serve more people? That is the next logical question and there are several ways to make that possible. You can become more efficient with the time you have and increase the number of people you serve. You can use video and social media to expand the reach with the information you provide. You can add a buyer’s agent who helps you expand the number of people you serve.
No matter how you choose to serve more people, the results will line you up for greatness.
7. Things that I felt absolutely sure of a few years ago, I do not believe now
If there is one thing we can be sure of, it is that things change. Twenty-five years ago, cold calling was the only way I saw to truly build a database of potential buyers and sellers. Then the internet arrived, and Google ads were the best way I saw to generate leads. Then Facebook came on the scene, and I couldn’t believe how easy it was to generate leads on Facebook.
What is it you continue to believe and do in your business that has now changed or is less effective than it once was? The pace of change in real estate today is dramatic. If you are at a place where you desire to grow, what got you here won’t likely get you there. Be open to change because change for the better always leads to growth.
If you’ve never heard Jim Rohn speak or if it has been a while, I highly encourage you to search for one of his speeches on YouTube. The lessons he teaches are timeless. His delivery is concise. And his message is inspiring. Time spent reading his books or listening to his presentations is time well spent.
