Another month is behind us. There’s just 8 months to go until 2012. It’s the perfect time to pull over and check your progress so far.
Dig under the pile of papers on your desk and find your 2011 Business Plan. You did create a written business plan, right?
Are you on track? Have you achieved one-third of your goal for closed transactions? How
about your net income? Did you know that according to the National Association of Realtors Member Profile from 2010, the median number of transactions of all Realtors was just 7 closed units. The median income was $26,600.
You’re not going to be satisfied to be in the bottom half of all Realtors are you? Don’t tell me you kicked off 2011 with the idea that “being an average agent is all I have every dreamed of.”
For Your May to Be Great, It’s Be Great If Your Stopped Saying “Maybe”
Maybe I’ll call some For Sale By Owners this week…
Maybe I’ll contact some of my past clients….
Maybe I should update my data base….
Maybe if I stare at the phone long enough, someone will call me to buy a house.
Make May Your Time To Ship
Last month, I wrote about moving forward and not letting distractions get in your way. I said “don’t let that stop you.”
One of my favorite authors and thought leaders is Seth Godin. In Godin’s best selling book Linchpin, he talks about the “lizard brain.” Steven Pressfield speaks of “the resistance” in his book The War of Art. The lizard brain and the resistance are those voices in everyone’s head that tries to stop you from “doing the work.”
Godin’s speaks about the concept of making things happen instead of just sitting back and fearing failure. In his newest book, Poke the Box, he talks about the concept of “shipping” things.
“What’s the distinction between carrying around a great idea, being a barnstormer, tinkering – and starting something?
Starting means your going to finish. If it doesn’t ship, you’ve failed. You haven’t poked the box if the box doesn’t realize it’s been poked.
…I have no patience at all for people who believe they are doing their best work but are hiding it from the market. If you don’t ship, you actually haven’t started anything at all. At some point, your work has to intersect with the market. At some point, you need feedback as to whether or not it worked.”
I guess what I am trying to say is stop thinking about what you’re going to do and just do it. Stop sitting still when you have got to get moving. Start taking chances and quit playing it safe. Remember, the status quo is comfortable but that’s not where the big money is made.
If you are an agent who needs more clients, it’s time to focus on business development activities.
If you’re a manager or broker, perhaps recruiting should elevate on your priority list today. Don’t leave the office until you have an appointment scheduled with someone who could help your office sell more houses.
If you’re a lender, schedule a time to meet with a Realtor you don’t know and help them understand the changes that are taking place in today’s market.
You’ve got eight months to achieve all of your goals. There’s no sense in waiting.
Just think. When you purposely build relationships, go out of your way to solve problems and look for ways to have fun…Ship Happens.