Your Number One Task for the New Year | The Zebra Blog

Your Number One Task for the New Year

As 2009 draws to a close, we are preparing for the “tax credit frenzy” that is to be upon us when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.  With the upcoming busy season in mind, I’d like to discuss the one task that will skyrocket your business in 2010.

In a word, consistency.

The true key to success in real estate is consistency in everything you do—in your marketing, your scheduling, your client care, and in your advertising.  If you make this one change in your business, you can’t help but make money.

When you analyze the most successful agents—as I do as part of my job—the one thing they all have in common is a strict adherence to a code of consistency.  I see it all the time in the offices of the most successful agents.

Many aren’t even aware how much consistency has been their guiding force for years.  I ask them, “What are you doing that’s helped you to become so successful?”

They often respond, “I don’t know.  I guess I’ve just been persistent.”

While persistence is a good quality to have, I usually find a pattern of consistency in their business.  When I point it out to them, they say, “Actually, you’re right.  I have been doing those tasks consistently for years.  That must be it.”

It’s not just one thing.  It’s everything in their businesses.  There is never a moment that successful agents don’t know where they’re going or what they’re doing—because they have consistent plans in place for every contingency.

When I work with an agent, I like to focus in on an area in which they have struggled.  A common example of such an area is follow-up.  If I discover that an agent’s follow-up could be improved, I have them put together a plan.  But not just a simple plan—a plan that they can implement on a consistent basis.  This is the only way to bring about guaranteed results.

Months later, I usually hear from the agent, “Denise, you were right.  I had the tools all along but I wasn’t implementing them consistently.  Now I’m seeing results!”

Consistency never fails to amaze me in its power to transform.  It has always paid off for me.  It is my silver bullet.  It is my magic potion.  It is the key for me being able to help real estate agents to realize success—in some cases for the very first time in their careers.

Want a great example of consistency?  I’m sure you’ve seen (or at least heard of) the television series The Biggest Loser.  Over a period of weeks, overweight contestants are put through a consistent program of exercise and diet.  There is no stopping and re-starting.  From Day One, they have a regular regimen to which they must adhere.

It works!  I’m always amazed at how the power of consistency helps these people melt the pounds away.  They make drastic changes in their bodies and their self-esteem.

So, ask yourself, “In what area of my business do I need to be more consistent?”  If you’re not making enough money, it’s because you’re not consistently doing lead generation.  If you don’t have enough past clients, it’s because you’re not consistently following up with them.  If you don’t have success at your Open Houses, it’s because you’re not consistently doing the things that you need to do.

In 2010, get consistent and get successful.

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

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