Success = SHARING

Monday Morning Match is a quick post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.

Winston Churchill said it best…

“We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give”

In a business like real estate that is built on cooperation, it is always good to sharpen your skills at sharing. Last week I was lucky to be able to attend two real estate events in Nashville, Tennessee that revolved around sharing by the presenters and attendees alike. The first was the National Association of REALTORS Broker Summit and the second was the Real Estate BAR Camp (#REBCNASH) hosted by the inimitable Brian Copeland.

Broker Summit, a more formal and planned out event, was hosted at the Country Music Hall of Fame in a fabulous setting overlooking the blossoming skyline of Music City. The REBCNASH was the 9th iteration of REBCNASH, a gathering of the best and brightest people in and around the real estate industry from all over the country was hosted at Rocket Town in Nashville for the 6th year in a row. I was honored to have been a panelist at NAR Broker Summit and thrilled to facilitate a few sessions again at this years REBCNASH event with good friends Jeff Chalmers, Steve Jolly, Matt Dally, Gloria Cannon, and Laura Fangman along with new friends Brad Copeland and Bobbie Noreen.

Who Will You Be SHARING with This Week?

In your efforts to become better this next week, will you be trying to tackle the world on your own or will you seek to collaborate, cooperate and work in conjunction with others? Are you more focused on “what’s in it for me?” or helping others succeed? As the late, great Zig Ziglar once said, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”

I truly think we can all build more relationships, solve problems and have fun if we focus more on sharing. Last week in Nashville proved it to me…

Success = SHARING

S is for “Showing up.” The NAR Broker Summit sold out in less than 48 hours and the room was packed. REBCNASH “sells out” every year (it’s a free event thanks to amazing sponsors) and the room is packed from the 9AM kickoff until the last sessions at 4:30 (and I might even have first-hand knowledge of some attendees turning the trip into “NashVegas” – a full weekend of engagement, entertainment and other “business expense-worthy” efforts to enjoy one of America’s coolest cities.

H is for “Heart.” Brian Copeland is one of the most loved and respected people in our industry because he leads from the heart. Copeland alone is the reason so many people attend his even every year. This year saw many of the top leadership faces in NAR make the effort to stay for REBCNASH including Elizabeth Mendenhall, NAR 2018 President, John Smaby, NAR 2019 President, Kenny Parcell, Nobu Hata, Rob Reuter, and Heidi Henning to name a few of the all-stars to make it to middle Tennessee. So many people that volunteer and participate in events like last week do it because they truly love the real estate industry and helping their fellow Realtor, lender, title agent or other affiliate and they are all trying to make the industry better so that homeownership has more value and relevance.

A is for “Ask” – I like to say “if you want more engagement on social media, use more question marks and less periods.” Encouraging people to respond is critical if you want to get other people engaged and involved. Another thing I like to say is “the best salespeople are the best question askers” because I know when I get other people talking, I have more to listen to. When I have more to listen to, I can identify more of the wants, needs, and dreams of the people I am talking to and if I can fulfill their wants, needs, and dreams, I have a chance of them not only repeating their business with me but possibly referring me.

R is for “Respect” – I love REBCNASH because it’s not a series of lectures presented by instructors or speakers, it’s a day full of conversations. Copeland’s relationships with some amazing industry leaders allow him to put some “Hall of Fame” worthy people in front of the room for each and every session. These people have earned the respect of the attendees but more importantly, they have learned to respect the attendees even more by engaging with their questions, soliciting input and trying to involve everyone.

I is for “Inquisitive” – The people who came to Nashville all came with open minds and blank notebooks. Everyone attended these events seeking to gain some insights, ideas or inspiration they could take back to their business, offices, companies, or boards to become better. Sharing is as much about “getting” good stuff as it is about “giving” good stuff. What is something you need to learn more about this year?

N is for “Networking” – One common theme I heard from several facilitators at REBCNASH was “do not sit next to someone you came with. I heard Jeff and Gloria and the amazing Alexis Bolin from Pensacola encourage attendees to expand their network of peers and connections in their real estate community beyond the people they already know. I had a great time attending the event with two rookies from Central Ohio (Greg and Andrew) but also enjoyed connecting with top agents and industry leaders from all over the country. Those connections have already and will continue to pay off in terms of referral opportunities and new relationships.

G is for “Giving Back” – I think I heard Brian Copeland mention in his opening message that if you took the standard speaking fees of all the facilitators and instructors at this year’s events in Nashville, it would have been close to $300,000 of investment. That’s just for speaker fees alone! That doesn’t count the vendors and hundreds of staff members and volunteers who helped make last week an amazing event in Nashville. Sharing is all about giving back some of your knowledge, time, experience, services or support to someone who stands to benefit from it.

Time to Share

I hope you’ll be inspired to do some sharing this week…or the week after that…or the next week too. It’s how we all can learn, grow and become better at what we do. Whether it’s online or in real life, when we take the opportunities to build relationships, solve problems and have fun…and can do it in a sharing way, that’s a good day.

Here’s to some good days in your week ahead.