I haven’t blogged in how long?!?!

Wow – it’s been three days since my last update? That’s terrible, since I resolved to blog every day. I have been busy with work though, so I don’t feel too bad.

I placed my first print ad this past week, for an open house I’m doing on Sunday (if you’re looking for a spacious 1 br condo with tons of windows, give me a shout!), and I’m working with some buyers looking for a variety of properties. I’ve also been putting in a lot of work at our uptown Waterloo location (located conveniently in Conestoga Mall – come visit!), which is a great source of business if you know how to work it!

Anyways, I just recieved some fabolous ‘Life Advance’ materials form the organization that coaches me, RRi, so later on tonight I will post some life changing strategies!

In unrelated news, I have a wedding every month from june till september – one in Israel, one in Florida, one in Whistler, one in Hamilton, one at a vineyard near Belleville and one at the Tilsonburg Community Centre (or so Sarah says). Love is in the air!

Let the sunshine in

Fear or Pleasure?

Many people have debated the issue of what is a better motivator: fear or pleasure. They used to teach people in Sales that it’s pain, and to drive home a sale you must show the prospect what he or she will lose, or how they will suffer if they don’t buy your product. Nowadays, they tell salespeople to show them how much value your product will provide someone with, and to overwhelm them with service.

When it comes to motivating you – to start working harder, to lose weight, to get better at your work, to be a better friend – what is more effective? Is it the fear of being broke and not being able to provide for your family, getting sick, or not having any friends? Or do you want to do those things so you can provide for your loved ones, be around longer and bring joy to your relationships? Pain or Pleasure?

Are you pulled by pleasure or pushed by pain?

Quote of the Day

You can’t fix a problem by learning more about it.”

– Wayne Dyer, author and speaker

I’m interested to hear your opinions on this quote – I’m still digesting it!

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Jim Rohn says that if you can’t do five pushups, do one until you can do five. As with most things Jim says, there is more to this saying than pushups.

Do you need to close 50 sales this year to meet your goal, and have no idea how to do it? Go out and make one sale – then make the next one. Eventually, you’ll be able to do your 50 a year.

Don’t worry about what you need to do this year, or this month, just worry about what you need to do today.

One of the things I’m working on with my business coach is not focusing on monthly or yearly goals, but to wake up everyday with the goal of booking three appointments with qualified prospects. If I set three appointments a day I will exceed my yearly goal, but it’s a much better goal than say setting 60 a month, for a few reasons.

1. Daily reality check. Everyday, I know if I booked the appointments or not. If I’m working off monthly, or quarterly targets, I won’t know if I’m falling behind or getting ahead until towards the end of the period. There is more personal accountability with shorter timelines.
2. More manageable. For a new businessman in a new city, it may seem tough to close 50 deals this year, but clearly its not that hard to set three appointments in a day. The goal becomes much easier when it’s reduced down to what you need to do now.

What have you been procrastinating starting because it seemed too large? Break it down until you know what you have to do NOW to get started.

As Mark Digiovanni said, ready? FRAME (fire & aim).

Technorati Tags: achieving, goals

Quote of the Day

It’s not about knowing something, it’s about doing something – Mark DiGiovanni

Technorati Tags: action, motivation, success,

4 Lessons from a Child

From Phil Gerbyshak’s fantastic site:

This list of 4 outstanding lessons you can learn from a child

1. Live in the present moment
2. Slow down and focus
3. Don’t let things get to you
4. Stop judging — none of us is perfect, but we’re all unique.

I think everyone would be well served to read that, and reflect.

Technorati Tags: positive, motivational, growth

Learning from disappointment

Many people, most recently Keith Ferrazzi in Never Eat Alone, have suggested that being open about the challenges you face and the obstacles in your life is a good thing. It is therapeutic to share, it endears you to people when they read your personal stories, and as Zig Ziglar once said, if you relive it, you’ll really learn the lesson.

Here goes.

I’m brand new to Real Estate – my license finally came through in mid-December – and I’m living in a new city, where I knew one person who owned a home when I moved here in September. Not exactly optimal conditions for building your average real estate business, but then again I am not average, and I no intention of creating anything average.

I have met many people since moving here and I continue to grow my sphere of influence (thanks for the tips Keith), but it takes time to build a network that will spread my name through the right circles – let alone break into those circles.

Since I don’t know many people in the community, I’ve been focusing on pursuing private sellers (FSBO) – people who have their home for sale, but are selling it themselves (without using an agent) – as well as people interested in growing their wealth through real estate investments. Now, I got my first serious FSBO prospect in early January. I went over, met with them, explained what I could do for them, and probably through a combination of my greenness and the husband’s interest in trying to sell it himself, didn’t close the sale – but left with them complimenting my presentation, and telling me they would call me when they wanted to list.

I kept in contact with them over the next few weeks, sending them articles, dropping off information on homes that they might want to buy, market condition updates etc. While I was ‘pinging’ them, I didn’t get face to face with them as much as I wanted to – but I definitely tried!

These people were never home! I went over towards the end of their Open House – they weren’t home. I went over on a weekend afternoon – not home. Weekday Night – not home. Weekday afternoon – not home. Weekday morning – guess what, they weren’t home!

Every time I dropped something off, I’d get an email of phone call thanking me for it, and I knew that they would be ready to list soon.

Well, I called them last night, and the husband asked if he could call me back. By the time he did, and I got his message, it was past 10:00pm and I didn’t want to call them that late.

This Evening, after getting home from the fantastic Richard Robbins International event I went to in Toronto with Eitan and Ryan, I called them up, to return their call. Things were going great, until he told me things were settled down because they now had an agent. Dumbfounded, I asked who, and was told that they had listed with a top producer in my office (who didn’t know I was pursuing them as well) who also worked FSBOs, and when I called last night, they were doing the paperwork.

I considered getting angry, but that thought dissipated almost as quickly as it appeared (thanks for the positive thinking this morning Mark), and I wished him luck, and sent him an email asking him to keep me in mind for any of his friends or family that might need a Realtor.

Now, I have to tell you, I was upset for a bit. I knew they were going to list this week, and I felt I had provided them with good value while they tried to sell privately. This was my listing! Well, of course I didn’t get it, and I’m trying my darndest to turn this into a learning opportunity – after all, that’s the best use of your past experiences.

Here is what I’ve learnt:

1. Keep prospecting as if you don’t have business, even when you think you have a solid lead that you’ll convert.
2. Don’t do ton’s of work for people who aren’t clients when it comes at the expense of prospecting for new business or servicing clients.
3. If I keep on providing value to people, my business will grow.
4. You won’t get every listing – but if you let that get you down, you’ll get even less.
5. Work harder than you think you need to.
6. I can’t complain and make money at the same time, so I should stop complaining and go make money
7. Instead of losing listings to Riz, I should take him out for lunch and learn from him!

Feel free to suggest some good lessons from this experience – help me learn!

Anyways, I feel much better after writing that, and I can’t wait to get into the office tomorrow to start calling and finding opportunities to provide value to the market.

Let the sunshine in

Technorati Tags: adversity, motivation,, business,, FSBO

Quote of the Day

We can change where we are, and we can change who we are by changing what goes into our mind

-Zig Ziglar, See you at the Top

10 Steps to Achieving your Goals

Step 1
Figure out what you want.

Step 2
Write that down.

Step 3
Come up with a reasonable timeline for each goal.

Step 4
What and who is preventing you from reaching that goal?

Step 5
What knowledge, skills and habits do you need to achieve the goal?

Step 6
Map out who can help you achieve your goals, and make a Relationship Action Plan (read Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi for instructions) to ensure that you develop a relationship with them.

Step 7
Create a plan to take MASSIVE ACTION so you can achieve your goal.

Step 8
DO IT NOW!

Step 9
Visualize achieving your goal and enjoying the fruits of your labour – think as detailed as you can!

Step 10
NEVER give up – FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

There is a direct correlation between how quickly we take action and taking action at
all. – Richard Robbins

This has been adapted from a document I found through Richard Robbins International.

Three Steps to Success

Be – figure out who you want to be
Do – do what that person would do, in every situation
Have – have the things that that person would have

Example:

Resolve to be a healthy person.
Make all your decisions in this new light – when you go to buy groceries, you’ll buy healthier groceries, because now you’re health conscious!
Eventually, after making all of your decisions with this new attitude, you’re a healthy person.