Day #89 - First Summit of the Year

Today was our monthly company get together called "Summit". This is where we get all sorts of insight and inspiration from our bosses and others. This month there was a 6 agent panel - I loved hearing from them. My boss had prepared questions for each of them and they took turns answering and I want to recap a few of their thoughts here (these are in quotes, but they are paraphrased - I didn't actually memorize the questions and answers):

Q: "What keeps you motivated throughout the entire year? You closed over 50 houses in 2012, but when I called you the other day you were out knocking doors...what makes you do that?"
A: "It is important to know what you are working toward. I have goals...I have one big goal, one life's goal and purpose that keeps me motivated - this is the thing that involves your emotions, revs you up, makes you cry because it is so meaningful. If you don't have something like that in your life, you will not be focused. I also have smaller goals that I work toward along the way and this keeps me motivated and looking forward, while experiencing smaller successes along the way."
A: "Every day I start from 'zero' - it doesn't matter how many deals I have under contract, I start at square one each day and that keeps me focused."

Q: "What are some of your work habits? You obviously have a process you follow; what is it and what advice would you give a new agent in the business?"
A: "I get up at 4:45 a.m. every day." Audience gasped and groaned - I might have been the loudest. "I used to get up at 5:15 a.m. until I realized 30 minutes doesn't make much difference in sleep, but it makes a huge difference in my day. Now, I wake up and walk across the room to turn off my alarm with the understanding there is no crawling back into bed once that alarm is off; I mediate on all my life goals, I chant affirmations on my way to the gym, I take care of myself, I get to work by 7:30 a.m. every morning and I am on the phones by 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. every day. If I get these first few hours of the day right, the rest of the day works out, if I mess those first hours up, I don't get as much done and I am not as productive."

Q: "What do you think has been the biggest thing that has helped you succeed?"
A: "Coaching. There were a few months a few years ago that I committed to coaching. It cost me more money than I thought I could afford, but I also felt I couldn't NOT afford to do it. I quickly ran thru 2 credit cards and was on the verge of running up a 3rd when things started to click. I had to trust the process, I had to learn from those who knew more than me, I had to be committed to go the distance. I still have a coach and I feel I always will."
A: "Learning my craft has given me the tools I need to succeed. I know what our market is doing. If a client or investor calls me, I am prepared with bullet points of information for them. They understand they can call me anytime and I will have the answers they need. I spend a lot of time on this. I also continue to learn about other streams of revenue. When the market crashed and half my appointments turned into no sales because of upside down mortgages, I learned about property management and now I have an additional revenue stream each month and I remain in contact, providing a valuable service to clients who WILL sell when the market improves. If I run across something I do not know...I learn it."
A: " I read books. I commit to reading 10 pages a day from a book that someone may have spent 10 years of their life writing - in just 10 pages a day, I get to learn all about this thing or subject that this other person did all the work compiling for me."
A: "I had 18 deals fall out in the first 3 months of last year...EIGHTEEN! I learned 18 lessons on what not to do, how to do things differently and what I do and do not have control over. I ended the year with 49 sold transactions because I kept going despite the frustration, I kept my mindset on moving forward instead of on the set backs."
A: "The habit must become stronger than the results. No matter what happens, how many rejections you get, the trick is to trust the process and persevere - no matter what."

The more I write the more I remember and the more I could share. What I loved about today, was the very different approaches each agent had, the amazingly different reasons they had in their lives for working as hard as they do, but they have all been successful and continue to improve year upon year. Pretty amazing group of people.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?” -- Ernest Hemingway