Are You In It To Win It? | The Zebra Blog

Are You In It To Win It?

By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI

Have you ever asked yourself why you haven’t reached the full potential of your abilities?  You know in your heart that you can be more, but you’re not quite there yet.

Finding out why you’re not requires some deep soul-searching.  Take a few moments right now to ask yourself three questions, the answers to which will unveil what’s holding you back.

  • Do you have a track record of consistency, either in your business or your personal life?
  • What takes up most of your time?
  • Are the things holding you back patterns of bad habits that you’ve repeated throughout your life?

These are very important questions.  They are at the core of what most agents find troubling in their businesses.

Many agents have not reached their full potential.  They want to.  They know they can.  They know they have it within them.  But they just haven’t been able to do it.

There are periods of time in their day they spend with nothing but time-wasting activities.  It’s become a habit for them.

Habits are hard to break.  They become ingrained in our daily patterns like computer code.  A bad habit could be as simple as socializing for the first hour with other agents after you arrive at the office.

While it’s good to have friends and colleagues, too much time spent socializing wastes valuable time that you could use on client communication or lead generation.  The reality is that you are there to make money—and socializing doesn’t help you make money.

Where you put your time is where you put your energy.  Where you put your energy is where you get your results.

Are you putting the time into your business?  Are you putting the energy into your business and getting the results you want?  If you’re not, there is no question that you have to transfer your energy into doing the tasks that will bring about productive results.

Most people are not in it to win it.  Most people are in it to survive it.  That’s not the mindset you need in order to be a true winner.

To be a true winner, you need a plan.  You need rules for your business.  You need to set aside blocks of time for money-making tasks.

For example, Wednesday may be the day you do your lead generation.  Monday might be your client-care day.  Friday might be follow-up.  You devote small windows of time to those activities—on a consistent basis.

You probably have been just surviving it for too long.  If you want to be in it to win it, there are six new behaviors that you need to adopt:

1.  Daily project time.

You need to set aside a block of time every day where you do nothing but sit down to work on projects, plan your week, and formulate strategy.

I call this my “Hour of Power”.  I do it every day.  First thing when I get up in the morning, I dive into my tasks and projects.  I don’t answer the phone.  I shut out the world for this very private time.

It works.  This one little behavior keeps me centered on what needs to get done.  It reminds me of exactly where I am and where I’m going.  I highly recommend that you start doing this today.

2.  Client care time.

You must set aside a time during the week where you do nothing but work on your client care.  Are you truly communicating enough with your clients?  Are you really taking the time you need to give them five-star service?

If you’re not talking to your sellers and your buyers every single week, then you are not in it to win it.  Your sellers need to hear from you even if there is zero activity on their home—in fact, especially if there’s zero activity on their home.

3.  Follow-up time.

Over 98% of all real estate agents do not have a follow-up program.  If you’re in it to win it, then you know that follow-up is one of the most powerful tools in your toolbox.  You need to be in constant contact with your past, current, and potential clients every month.

Yes, every single month you need to send them something by mail.  (Note: When I say mail, I mean United States Postal Service mail, not email.)

4.  Lead generation.

If you don’t have a lead generation system in your business, then you aren’t in it to win it.  Maybe you’ve been relying solely on referrals.  This may have gotten you through in the past, but it’s not likely to continue to do so.

People are taking a lot more decision-making time nowadays.  They are staying still longer, which means that your referral numbers will go down.  This is why it’s so important to find a way to bring in new business.  Lead generation is your answer.

5.  Marketing.

Strong marketing is an “in it to win it” must.  Winners have their own brand.  They have their own identity that shines through on all their marketing materials.  They have a huge marketing toolbox.  Their presentations are in order.  In short, winning agents have their marketing department all set and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

6.  Time off.

There is no car that can run forever on one tank of fuel.  It isn’t possible.  You will run out of gas if you don’t allow yourself to have regular time off, regular vacations, and regular “down” days.  You also need days where you just don’t meet with clients, no matter what.

If you’re in it to win it, you must be rested and you must have time for you.

Are you in it to win it?  If you are, then think about the changes that you need to make in your business today.

What’s one simple thing you can do right now?  I’m sure you know of one thing you’ve been putting off that I mentioned above.

Start today.  Start right now.  Pick one thing and get it up and running.  Resolve to be in it to win it.  Decide today to take your business to a level you’ve never reached before.

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