Mark's passion and expertise is enabling real estate broker-owners and team leaders to create the systems, structure, and processes to support their growth. He also enjoys sharing his thoughts on business success on his blog: www.winningtheday.blog
“What do you really really want?” This Is really the second most important question. Say what?! The more important question is: “What are willing to give up to get it?”
Are you willing to give up chill time for gym time?
Are you willing to trade busy work for prospecting, business development, or recruiting?
Write a book? Are you willing to give up what you usually do from 7 to 9 pm and go to the library instead?
I’ll do whatever it takes to get what I really, really want.
I’ll give up whatever it takes to ______ (fill in the blank)
To get _________, (fill in the blank) I’ll do whatever it takes.
When you are willing to do whatever it takes, you’ll earn want you really want.
“Onward and upward” is a mindset that requires a few key ingredients: optimism, empathy, curiosity and action.
Optimism is the ability to overcome adversity despite the circumstances.
Empathy is the ability to understand situations from another’s perspective with no judgment. The ability to choose to respond rather than to react.
Curiosity. To be effective be curious: curious about how people are feeling, curious about why things happen, curious about the future, curious about steps to take to navigate difficult waters.
Action. The winners are the doers. Talk is cheap, action speaks.
When we make changes by design vs. default we can craft a future the supports the growth we deserve.
Perfection is not a standard, progress is.
With 80 to 90 working days left in 2023 I’m opening up 10 slots for “what’s possible” strategy sessions. Because it’s not how you start the game it’s how you finish.
Research by the University of London reveals that our IQ drops by five to 15 points when we are multitasking.
In his book, Your Brain at Work, David Rock explains that performance can decrease by up to 50% when a person focuses on two mental tasks at once.
And research led by legendary Stanford University professor Clifford Nass concluded that distractions reduce the brain’s ability to filter out irrelevancy in its working memory.
So, what do you need to stop doing? Start doing? More of and less of?
One of my lawyer friends quoted Carl Sandburg today:
“If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell.”
My take? Doing the right thing is always the right thing and good business. “Make it right” and “Honor your commitments” is one of the best mantras ever.
Every Monday offers a fresh start, a chance to set the tone for the week ahead. One practice I’ve found incredibly helpful is starting each day with a simple journaling prompt:
“A situation that might trip me up today could be…”
“…and the way my best self would deal with that is…”
This simple exercise helps me proactively anticipate potential challenges and plan how to respond effectively. It reinforces the idea that perfection isn’t the goal—progress is. Mistakes are inevitable, but they can also be powerful learning opportunities.
From Setback to Setup: The Power of Redirecting
We all experience that sinking feeling when we make a mistake. It’s easy to get discouraged, but the key is to redirect that energy into positive action. Here’s a three-step process to transform setbacks into setups:
Accept: Acknowledge the mistake without judgment. Don’t dwell on it or beat yourself up. Simply recognize what happened. This is the hardest part.
Reflect: Take a moment to assess the situation objectively. Ask yourself:
What exactly happened?
Why did it happen?
What can I learn from this experience?
This reflection phase is crucial for identifying patterns and preventing similar mistakes in the future.
Redirect: Now that you’ve accepted and reflected, it’s time to redirect your energy towards positive action. This involves two key components:
Make it Right: If possible, take steps to correct the mistake or mitigate its impact. This might involve apologizing to someone, fixing an error, or adjusting your approach.
Adjust the System/Process: Don’t just fix the immediate problem; address the underlying cause. What changes can you make to your systems or processes to prevent similar mistakes from happening again? This is where true growth occurs.
Example:
Let’s say you accidentally missed an important deadline for a client.
Accept: “I missed the deadline. That’s not good, but it happened.”
Reflect: “I missed the deadline because I didn’t properly prioritize my tasks and I underestimated the time required. I also didn’t set up reminders.”
Redirect: “I’ll immediately apologize to the client and explain the situation. I will also implement a better task management system with clear deadlines and reminders to prevent this from happening again.”
Be Kind to Yourself:
Throughout this process, remember to be kind to yourself. Mistakes are a natural part of growth. As F. Wikzek wisely said, “If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.”
By embracing mistakes as learning opportunities and actively redirecting our energy, we can transform setbacks into valuable stepping stones on the path to success. Make this Monday—and every Monday—a chance to learn, grow, and move forward. And that is how we win the day!
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” – Max de Pree
This powerful quote by Max de Pree highlights the multifaceted role of a leader. Defining reality isn’t about creating a fantasy world; it’s about understanding the current situation, identifying challenges and opportunities, and setting a clear direction for the team.
For business leaders, defining reality often boils down to understanding the core drivers of success. Here are three crucial realities that top performers consistently embrace:
Lead Generation Drives Revenue: This is the fundamental truth of any sales-driven business. Without a consistent flow of qualified leads, there are no appointments, no sales, and ultimately, no revenue. This isn’t just about “moneyball” tactics; it’s about recognizing that lead generation is the lifeblood of your business.
Relationships Fuel Growth: The size and quality of your network and client database directly impact the size of your business. Building strong relationships, nurturing leads, and delivering exceptional service are essential for long-term growth. This requires creative marketing campaigns and genuine connection with your audience.
Consistency is Key: Consistent effort over time is the most powerful driver of success. It’s not about occasional bursts of activity; it’s about showing up day after day, week after week, and consistently implementing your strategies. This consistent effort builds momentum, strengthens relationships, and ultimately leads to sustainable results.
Leadership in Action:
A leader’s role is to define these realities for their team, provide the necessary resources and support, and foster a culture of consistent action. This means:
Setting clear expectations and goals related to lead generation, relationship building, and consistent effort.
Providing training and resources to help the team excel in these areas.
Holding the team accountable for their performance.
Recognizing and rewarding consistent effort and results.
By embracing these realities and leading with a servant’s heart, you can create a high-performing team and achieve sustainable business success. And that is how we win the day!
“What is measured improves. What is measured and reported back exponentially improves.”
This simple principle has a profound impact on performance, whether you’re an Olympic athlete or a business professional.
Consider a study of Olympic-level figure skaters. When they trained on their own, they averaged 60 jumps and spins per hour. But when their coach started tracking their attempts on a whiteboard in real-time, their output soared to 100 elements per hour! Removing the whiteboard caused their performance to drop back down, proving the power of immediate feedback and accountability.
This same principle applies to your business. The single greatest leverage you can use to achieve the success you deserve is increased accountability. It’s about more than just setting goals; it’s about consistently tracking your progress and making adjustments as needed.
That’s why I’m introducing “TAG”—The Appointment Game. This simple 30-day challenge focuses on two key metrics:
Daily New Conversations: How many new conversations about real estate are you initiating each day? This could be through networking, social media, cold calling, or any other lead generation activity.
Weekly New Appointments: How many new appointments are you scheduling each week as a result of those conversations?
Why these metrics? They focus on the activities that directly drive business growth: connecting with potential clients and securing opportunities to present your value.
Here’s how to play TAG:
Track Your Numbers: Each day, track the number of new real estate conversations you have. Each week, track the number of new appointments you set.
Report Your Progress (Optional): Share your progress with an accountability partner, a mentor, or even on social media. Public accountability can be a powerful motivator.
Analyze and Adjust: At the end of each week, review your numbers. Are you hitting your targets? If not, what adjustments can you make to your strategy?
Example:
Goal: 5 new conversations per day, leading to 2 new appointments per week.
Tracking: Use a simple spreadsheet, a notebook, or a CRM to record your daily conversations and weekly appointments.
Analysis: If you’re consistently having conversations but not setting appointments, you might need to refine your qualifying questions or your appointment-setting pitch.
What would happen to your business if you consistently focused on these two metrics for the next 30 days? I challenge you to find out.
TAG, you’re it!
Start tracking, start connecting, and start growing to win the day!
It’s that time of the month… for the real estate market update.
If there were 2 slides out of the 84 from this month’s KCM updates plus 1 from Altos, which ones would I share? … you will see the 3 below, plus a link to all the slides.
Do you want to attract more people to your brokerage, team, or office? Then help your team translate what all the information and data means and how to act on it. We can help, HMU.
Key updates for this month:
247 years later, Adam Smiths’ laws of supply and demand are still working: 99% of US markets had a DECREASE in available re-sale inventory for sale.
Let’s look at 2 markets, for the past 7 and 90-day period
You can type in your own market for real-time results
A supply-constrained market with no relief in sight
Large institutional investors have indicated no reason to sell – residential is providing higher ROI than commercial. Follow the money.
Consumers are unwilling to trade a 3% mortgage for a 6%, opting instead to remodel or upgrade.
New construction is growing – especially in the South – yet not nearly enough to close the gap.
Freddie Mac survey: In the next 6 months = 18% of consumers indicated a desire to buy while 16% of sellers indicated a desire to sell.
While affordability is always an issue consumers have never been in better financial condition
Average credit score the highest in 23 years – 714 Average
For those applying for a mortgage: 765 is the median credit score
Consumers have more access to data, and information YET lack knowledge
YOU are the knowledge broker for local market activities
AFTER speaking with a knowledgeable HYPER-LOCAL agent, 64.5% of homeowners were MORE likely to sell than before.
Creating a conversation with value-added content makes a difference – NO SECRET AGENTS!
A few of the top 20 markets with the most listings sold are in Texas: Houston; San Antonio; Austin, and DFW. Some of the tightest pricing is seen in CA, with less than 12% of listings (the national average is 32%) taking a price decline in cities like La Mirada; Cypress; Fremont; Placencia & Garden Grove.
Enabling Homeowners and Investors with value-added information does create listing opportunities. Especially non-owner-occupied and 1031 exchange opportunities.
16% of homeowners indicated a desire to sell in the next 6 months… that is your opportunity
Sales and Rates Normalizing – housing prices continue to show stronger growth than what was previously expected.
Homebuilders continue to add to supply, but years of meager homebuilding over the past business cycle means the imbalance will likely continue for some time.
Seasonality has returned
Prices rebounding
Confidence is contagious, and so is a lack of confidence. There is plenty of actionable data to be confident about.
PS: Recruiting and retention has never been more important. In all types of markets, we continue to see 10% of agents leave the industry; 10 %to 15% join the industry, and despite an 85% satisfaction rate with their broker 32% switch firms. Need some help? Let’s chat.
