The demands of the current market environment require us to be a highly skilled professional. The higher our skill level, the more leads we’ll generate, and the more income we’ll earn. Oh, by the way…we’ll have clients so satisfied with our services that they’ll become advocates for our business. So the skills we develop are the tools of our trade. It’s true in other professions also. For a carpenter, it’s a hammer and saw. For a painter, it’s a brush and roller. For a pianist, it’s their fingers and keys. For us…it’s what we say, and how we say it. Using the right words at the right time with a seller is the difference between a sold listing and an expired one - a frustrated client or an advocate. The ability to master our dialogs and phrases is what makes a professional. So a word to the wise: use your words to build up; not tear down. Use phrases that inform; not infuriate. And most of all, be mindful that the words we use each and every day are often the difference between failure and success. It’s a good life!
Brian
Currently rated 4.7
Pessimistic, optimistic, cynical and satirical people all have one thing in common; when it comes to our schedule, we’re all overly optimistic. We overestimate what we can get done and underestimate what it takes to get it done.
The biggest problem with this is that we set ourselves and others up with false expectations. With our schedules so tight it’s easy to be constantly late for appointments. With so much to do we often don’t execute very well on the task at hand. I’m all for optimism, but I’ve had to learn the discipline of developing a healthy skepticism for my own schedule.
What helped changed my perspective on this subject were the words of a late mentor of mine by the name of Dr. Alex Lackey. He shared that “Every time you’re late, Brian, you make a small withdrawal out of your clients’ trust account.” When we break promises at home, we do the same thing.
I still struggle with this on a regular basis but if I find myself stretched to the max, I need to choose realism; not optimism.
It’s a good life!
Currently rated 4.9
Humble pie is the pastry that’s never tasty. I don’t know where I heard that but I like it. The word humility has its roots in the Greek word, humus. Humus is the soil that is 6 to 9 inches below the surface. Typically this soil is nutrient rich and extremely fertile. That’s why when a farmer goes to plough his fields, the blades on the plow will dig 6-9 inches deep and turn the soil. This way, the most fertile soil is now on the top ready for planting, fertilizing and optimal growth.
Personal humility seems to operate the same way. When we’re in a state of not having all the answers, not feeling completely confident or if we are full of ourselves, it seems we are then most primed to grow. Sometimes we do things in life that bring about a humbling experience. Sometimes circumstances conspire together and turn our world upside down. Whether self-inflicted, or a consequence of circumstance, know this; coming to the end of yourself can be the best place to be.
I’ve been on both sides of this equation. Today, my mindset is to try to put myself into a state of humility so that I’m constantly learning, questioning and growing. I must admit, humility has never been a natural state for me. But as I like to say, be humble or get humbled because that’s the only way to truly grow.
Currently rated 4.2
You’ve heard this expression many times before but in owning your own business, this may be the difference between success and failure. There’s always something to do, tasks unfinished, deadlines to be met and opportunities for improvement everywhere. And as a trainer, I’m often guilty of pointing those areas out. However, sometimes we’re so busy in our lives that we forget to have one!
At our corporate HQ at Buffini & Company, we have this beautiful 87,000 sq. ft. building which sits atop the famous Carlsbad Flower Fields – a spectacular display of nature’s repertoire of colors with row upon row of red, yellow, orange and white tulips. As you stand there taking in the view of the fields, your sprits are lifted by the additional backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and buoyed by its fresh breezes.
As fantastic as that sounds, I had a conversation with a staff member the other day who in the four years we’ve been at this location has never once taken the thirty yard walk across the street to take it in. “I’m just so busy and I have so much to do.” As his boss, I’m glad he’s working hard, but I know one simple truth: by May 1st, the tulips are gone and his opportunity of seeing them again won’t come for another ten months.
There are seasons for everything in life – whether it is kids’ or grandkids’ ballgames, weekend trips, vacations or just five minutes to take a break and smell the tulips.
Currently rated 4.8
Recently at a Turning Point, one of our cameramen, Mario, gave me a couple of containers of his home-made honey. He gave me a colorful description of how his bees fly miles and miles every day, flower to flower, to gather the pollen…how they bring it back into the hive, and then the extraordinary process of how their labor over time yields one of nature’s greatest foods. For the size of the bee and the amount of work, it’d be the equivalent of running a marathon every day and then lifting weights for six hours.
Thank God we don’t have to work that hard to provide for our families! But this noble insect is a role model for work ethic. It’s time to bee busy so you can bring the money home to your honeys.
That was the phrase I heard most growing up as a child. My mother was consistent and relentless in encouraging me to believe in myself. As a young boy, I was very small and slight for my age. (I’ve filled out nicely in recent years!) I was also put into school early and I was typically a year and half to two years younger than my classmates. My mother didn’t want me to know I was small or young or had any other potential shortcomings or excuses. She just consistently championed me to believe in myself.
A funny thing happened. I guess it worked! I can never remember a time when I didn’t believe in myself. In fact not having many pictures of my youth, I don’t ever remember being small or thinking of myself as small. Today, one of my youngest children is very small and slight, but I’ve kept up my mother’s winning ways by telling him he’s unstoppable and there’s nothing he can’t do. At every turn, his stature is an advantage to him. When he plays basketball, we remind him of the diminutive Spud Webb who at five foot seven was an all-star in the NBA.
Maybe you didn’t have a cheerleader growing up, but there’s nothing to say you can’t be your own cheerleader today. Not only that, but I have found it even more empowering to become other peoples’ cheerleaders. A word of encouragement spoken at the right time can be life-changing for someone.
The words we say to ourselves and others can make all the difference in the world. Make sure you’re building up; not tearing down, encouraging; not discouraging, strengthening belief and not causing doubt. You can do it…
Currently rated 4.5
With the news media in full throttle, using terms such as “MELTDOWN”, “CRISIS” and “RAVAGED” to describe our industry, it’s easy to understand why buyers and sellers feel a little skittish. With terms like "recession", "stagflation" and "global slowdowns", it’s easy to understand why so many people lack confidence in the market.
News flash! More millionaires are created in downturns than upswings.
Bulletin! The goal of economic gain is to buy low and sell high.
This just in! While your competition is shrinking and pulling back, this is the time to strategically grow.
At times like this, you need to lean into the most innovative and creative parts of your nature, let out your inner entrepreneur and build a plan for success.
Nelson Rockefeller was, in his time, the wealthiest man in the world. He stated that the time to buy real estate was when the blood was flowing in the streets. That was as true for the turn of the 20th century as it is today in the 21st. This is what opportunity feels like; lean into it, embrace it and conquer it.
With two adults and six active kids, you can imagine how much laundry there is to wash at our house. Sometimes we miss a couple of days, the baskets in the kids’ rooms overflow and when all piled together, the mountain of clothes looks like an overwhelming task with no end in sight. We have a choice at that time; clean clothes or go shopping for more.
As grown adults when we get behind on our lead-generation activities such as writing personal notes, making calls or doing Pop-Bys to our favorite clients, it’s just like a pile of dirty laundry. The thought of catching up seems overwhelming, the notes begin to pile up, and rather than sitting down and dutifully going through these one at time we let our minds drift: “Let’s run out to the Realtor® store and buy a talking house sign”, “Let’s go buy some internet leads”, “Let me do anything other than chip away at that big pile of unfinished tasks which will ultimately allow me to get my financial house in order.”
Very few people allow their dirty clothes to pile up for weeks on end, but in my experience, many small business owners will allow their lead-generation activities to pile up. Allowing your laundry to pile up is not the most hygienic thing to do… and if you put it off long enough, you’ll have nothing to wear. Putting off lead-generation activities isn’t too healthy for your business either and eventually will leave your financial cupboard bare!
It ain’t sexy but it’s simple enough: take care of your business before your financial challenges become your personal dirty laundry.
The American breakfast provides a great analogy for commitment. Just like bacon and eggs on your plate, the chicken is involved but the hog is committed!
I’ve met a lot of people involved in their businesses but not committed to them. They put in 70 hours a week but they’ve never really made the commitment to their career.
Now I'm not saying you need to know what you want to do for the next 25 years, but I am saying that you need to be fully present in what you’re doing today. Who knows where life will take you…you may well be doing this for a very long time, perhaps in a different capacity or by working fewer hours, but when you’re not committed to your business as a career, you know it and so do your clients.
So what’s it going to be? Eggs or bacon?
Currently rated 4.1
That was what my old high school coach used to shout to me on the field. That was his clarion call to increase the level of physical play on the field. It seemed to work as he led us to a National Championship. One thing I know is that principles don’t go out of style. And if you want to win a championship in your business, it’s time to step up your physical interaction with your clients.
In the colder climates, people have been cocooned in their homes with fewer people interactions than normal. Now that springtime is here, get out amongst your people. See them at work, at home, at events, or at business networking meetings. Attend seminars, classes or take in a show or ballgame together.
Visibility is key; especially with all the negativity in the media about the marketplace. Knowing that you’re active and out and about deepens your hold on being their trusted advisor. When the going gets tough, the tough get out and visit people.
So, get in your car and Pop-By! Visit, or break bread with your favorite people. And for goodness sake, let ‘em know you’re there…for them!