by Rick Davidson | Nov 14, 2018 | Appointment Setting, Best Practice, Coaching, Don't Settle, JPAR, Mindset For Success, Productivity, Real Estate, Success, Success From Scratch, Sucess Goals, Top Agent, Top Producer
Kelly and Tony Snodgrass are my special guest today on Success From Scratch. This team of 9 has helped over 100 families to buy, sell or invest in real estate this year. Kelly and Tony share their leadership philosophy and how they have minimized “technology” and maximized “relationships” to grow an amazing business. By developing standards and grooved processes, these leaders have created a team that outproduces them, with nearly 70% of all production completed by team members. Kelly shares how she has overcome self-doubt to create a powerful and confident mindset.
Learn more by watching the full episode.
“Doing more than what you’re asked and learning to say NO, has been a breakthrough for us.” ~ Kelly and Tony Snodgrass, JP and Associates REALTORS®
Looking for a free coaching session? Sign up at www.jparcoaching.com
by Rick Davidson | Nov 12, 2018 | Freedom, Mindset For Success, Productivity, Real Estate, Service, Veterans Day
In today’s blog, we honor our veterans, those that have served us in preserving the freedoms we enjoy. President Franklin Roosevelt spoke about four freedoms: the freedom of speech & expression; the freedom of worship; the freedom from want and the freedom from fear. I’m reminded on this Veterans Day, that all the freedoms we enjoy don’t come without a cost.
What can learn from those that serve and how can we apply those learnings to our real estate practice? American Express, in their Open Forum, interviewed 18 veteran business owners who shared the lessons they learned in the military that has led to business success. They are summarized here:
1. The Power of Intense Focus
2. Teamwork
3. Adaptability
4. Superior Decision-Making Skills
5. Resourcefulness, Flexibility, and Persistence
6. The Ability to Harness Processes and Procedures
7. Extreme Discipline
Focus
The ability to silence distractions is a critical business skill that allows us to quickly assess situations and identify solutions that yield positive outcomes.
Teamwork
In order to achieve a mission, the military teaches that it takes a team watching each other’s backs while doing their individual best.
Adaptability
In the military, if something stays the same for too long, it starts to feel strange. You’re constantly moving to a new base, changing roles and deploying to different locations. In private business, change is also constant, especially in companies like ours that strive to be ‘innovative and growth-oriented’ and continuously look to improve.
Superior Decision-Making Skills
All leaders would love to make decisions with perfect information, but that never happens. In the military, you learn to trust your ability to make decisions under pressure using what information you have available. Then you adjust as the situation warrants. Situational awareness is a skill learned in military service.
Resourcefulness, Flexibility, and Persistence
Veterans learn to pivot on a moment’s notice from plans that aren’t working to plans that are. When you are faced with the challenge of getting a job done without access to the resources that would ideally be available, one of the greatest skills you gain is an uncanny and nearly unparalleled ability to independently solve complex tasks with little to no guidance.
The Ability to Harness Processes and Procedures
In the military, everything is built on the fundamentals with a process and a procedure. We would never be able to progress to conducting night live-fire exercises if we weren’t able to shoot, move and communicate during the day. You don’t just hop into a plane and take it off the ground. There are many checks and safety inspections that have to be done, and a responsible pilot has to be accountable for all of it.
Extreme Discipline
Starting and running your own business is the most all-consuming thing you can do. Running on little sleep, having a no-quit attitude and preserving until the end is all attributes I can trace back to the military culture and training.
There you have it, 7 key skills that we can learn from Veterans. Which ones can you apply today to #WinTheDay.
by andrew | Oct 3, 2018 | Appointment Setting, Best Practice, BluePrint Of Success, Don't Settle, Goal Setting, Mindset For Success, Priorities and My Time, Productivity, Real Estate, Success, Success From Scratch, Sucess Goals, Top Agent, Top Producer
In this weeks episode, Cassie Samons from JPAR Justin, Texas shares how she and her three teammates approach the market.
After being solo in real estate, Cassie shares how she recently hired a coach to help her and her young team grow.
Free coaching consult? www.travisrobertson.com/JPAR
“It feels really good to help people.”
-Cassie Samons, JP and Associates REALTORS®
by andrew | Oct 1, 2018 | Best Practice, BluePrint Of Success, Coaching, Don't Settle, Goal Setting, JPAR, Mindset For Success, Productivity, Real Estate, Success, Sucess Goals
The focus of my coaching is to help team leaders and agents just like you not just sell more but to learn how to think more like business owners, more like the CEO of your operations. So, you have a business that runs vs running you.
What’s the number one way to crush it in real estate? Build a scalable business and manage your time like a Jedi master. Earlier I wrote about a system that will produce 50 transactions a year, you might want to review that again.
One of the largest differences I see between agents that are CRUSHING IT and those that are inconsistent is that CRUSHERS are masters of time management and of creating scalable processes.
So how can you be more productive and stop doing the things that aren’t important, so you can focus more on money-making activities (MMA’s)? You see, we all know it is so easy to spend each day playing “whack a mole” and constantly going from one problem to the next. Or we can make another choice, and create systems, structure, and processes to minimize those problems from occurring, to begin with.
Getting systems and processes in place to handle your daily work lets you handle more volume where it matters and prevent the issues that spark the fires. Whether you’re a solo agent or the leader of a team, you need these. They are not optional — unless your goal is to be mediocre and spin your wheels every day. There are technologies to help automate things like customer relationship management (CRMs) and transaction management tools. Your online and digital marketing strategy can move you from frequent door-knocking to having leads coming to you. The client management side of your business can be simplified by creating productive methods and checklists ahead of time.
Utilize a system that helps you manage a large number of contacts without dropping the ball — that’s your CRM. Optimize platforms that allow you to generate leads without having to buy each one — that’s your marketing. Use tools to help ensure that your contracts and files are precise and correct every time — that’s your transaction management system. Build a strong team of players whose skills offset and augment your own, but never outsource your own core competency – which typically is becoming a hyper-local expert (the HUB of your area), prospecting, lead generation, appointment setting, and negotiation. Those that are crushing it don’t try to do everything yourself. Pay people to do the things that are important but that you’re not good at — e.g., errand runners, photographers, copywriters, transaction managers, graphic designers. Schedule time with each on a regular basis so you’re working with them proactively and not just when there’s a fire to put out.
I understand the challenge: You’re so busy running the daily tasks that you simply feel like you don’t have time to step away. No time to step away, no time to look at the big-picture things, if that is how you are feeling you might want to watch this. Here is what I know, if you block off one hour to focus on one thing that moves you off of the hamster wheel and onto the road, that hour will pay you back in multiples. An hour setting up workflows in your CRM will help keep your future deals on track. An hour writing a checklist for your photographer will save you time on every future listing. An hour training your assistant (transferring skills) to handle something that isn’t the best use of your time frees you up every time they handle that task from now on. You might want to look at the white paper we wrote on the value of your time… complete that exercise now.
Think about it, if you don’t block off time to systematically work toward running a scalable business, you will be chronically stuck in scramble mode. You’ll never feel caught up, you’ll never be able to see what’s possible for you outside the daily grind. A big difference between agents who shine and the ones who struggle are that the former is incredible at managing their time and staying focused on what really matters, and the latter isn’t.
We’re all limited to the same number of hours in a day. Let’s all use them wisely this week.
by andrew | Sep 10, 2018 | Appointment Setting, Best Practice, BluePrint Of Success, Priorities and My Time, Productivity
There are 80 working days left in 2018. Depending on how many days you work, how many holidays you celebrate and so on, you have about 80 days to wrap up 2018. 80 days…
How do you want your bank account to look like on January 1st of 2019? Do you want a bigger bank account or a smaller one? I suspect a bigger one… so let’s get to work.
Whatever your goal is, NOW is the time to make that happen. The next 45 to 55 days will be critical for setting yourself up for strong close to 2018 and a fast start to 2019. What you do in the next few days and weeks will determine the size of your bank account on January 1.
Let’s face there are two types of agents today… hobbyists and CEO’s. This blog is not intended for part-time agents or those that work real estate sales as a hobby. For those of you that run your business like a business, those of you that know your daily number and know what it takes to generate one sale… this article is for you.
How many families or investors do you want to serve between now and the end of the year?
How many contacts do you need to make to drive that number? One rule of thumb is 40 to 1.
What systems do you have in place to create the result you desire?
Write down the number of sales you’ve made so far this year.
Write down the source of those sales.
This is your system… a system will produce what a system will produce, nothing less nothing more. If your system is not producing the expected result, it’s time to update your system.
A couple of things to consider
- Decide Now. Decide now how many days you will work, how many days you will be off and how many “flex days” you’ll have between now and the end of the year. Decide if you will create an investor campaign to take advantage of year-end investment buyers. And, decide now how many listings you will earn between now and the end of the year.
- Diversify your lead generation sources. Too many of you rely on ONE maybe TWO lead sources. 4 to 6 sources of business is a minimum standard. Don’t add them all at once, start with one get it working and stable then add another until you reach 4 to 6 sources. In any market, more lead sources will serve you better than fewer lead sources. Relying on 100% of your business with one lead source in a shifting market is a formula for disaster.
- Up your CRM game. At JPAR you have a world class CRM kvCORE as part of our base package. You also have Top Producer and Commissions Inc. at a preferred rate. So, there is no excuse for not having your CRM update date and working for you.
- Delegate. Is it time to find some help? An office or virtual assistant. Your highest and best use is prospecting.; lead generation; going to appointments, and negotiating contracts. Everything else can be delegated. Scared? Get resourceful, many new agents I know are sharing a fractional assistant to split cost yet keep them fully employed.
- Target Market Clarity? Any market rewards the hyperlocal expert. Are you an expert in a community? Are you an expert in a profession like Nurses, FBI agents, CPA’s? It’s probably time to expand your targets and diversify.
- Real Estate Play Book. Complete our JPAR real estate playbook ASAP. It is full of practical ideas you can execute immediately.
So, I’ll leave you today with three more things:
1. Cash… cash is king. Are you building your cash reserves? Reducing bad debt? Investing in marketing? (Hint: You can do all 3.)
2. Knowing what you know now, what immediate adjustments do you need to make?
3. Have you started a small weekly accountability group with like-minded, goal-oriented CEO’s like yourself? If not, what are you waiting for?
#WinTheDay
by andrew | Aug 6, 2018 | BluePrint Of Success, Freedom, Goal Setting, Independence, Master Mind Group, Priorities and My Time, Productivity, Success
As a coach, as a leader both in the military and private enterprise, I’ve often wondered why do people say they want to change yet never do? It seems from my experience, it is our human nature to rely solely on willpower in creating change in our business and our lives…but what if we are thinking about it all wrong?
In Willpower Doesn’t Work, Benjamin Hardy explains that willpower is nothing more than a dangerous fad – a fad that is bound to lead to failure. Instead of “white-knuckling” your way to change, he suggests we need to instead alter our surroundings to support our goals. JP wrote a great outline of how to “alter your surroundings” in the blog article: 7 Steps for Success in Real Estate Sales. Each of these 7 steps is a practical way to alter your surroundings, create confidence and crush your goals.
You see, working with so many of you… I know you want something bigger for yourself… I do, you do, your loved ones do. You want to feel more in control, you want more transformation of your business. If you are relying solely on willpower, here’s what I know: “willpower alone simply is not an effective approach to change.”
Spiritually, I’d rather rely on my higher power than my own power.
Motivationally, I’d rather rely on my WHY power than my willpower.
Behaviorally, I’d rather create environments of positive stress and high demand vs. staying in the status quo.
The story of John Burke… John was nominated for a Grammy for the best new album. One of the songs on this album was titled Earth Breaker. Here’s the interesting thing, Earth Breaker was a song Burke didn’t even know he could write or play when he started it. When he composed the music it was beyond his current musical ability. Yet that is exactly what he wanted. He wrote a song he couldn’t play and then took immediate action to practice and practice, over and over until he mastered it.
Writing a song beyond his skill level was as a “forcing function” for Burke. It created conditions with more advanced rules than he was accustomed to living. He had to GROW into the environment he created for himself. The moment Burke decides he is going to pursue a new project he immediately decides and takes 7 decisive actions.
- He decides when the project will be completed and by when it will be released.
- He works backward from the release date, mapping out all key milestones.
- He calls that day to schedule studio time.
- He pays up front to ensure he gets his preferred studio date and time.
- Organizes his personal calendar and schedule to support the project.
- He passes on other opportunities that would be a distraction from his main project.
- He declares his new project publicly, creating an expectation and accountability from others.
Burke CREATES conditions that force him to succeed by taking immediate and decisive action.
So what’s holding you back?
What action can you take NOW?
If you are not in a weekly mastermind group, I’d encourage you to create one TODAY.
Are you role-playing with a partner the most common questions, the most common objections, and the most common tripwires daily? If not find a partner and start TODAY.
Here is what I know… “the business world rewards action, not thought.”
If you need coaching and accountability… either in a group setting or one on one basis, schedule a consult today at www.travisrobertson.com/jpar
#WinTheDay
