Seth Campbell's Blog

I promise to lead generate 27 hours a day so I can buy...

Seth Campbell (Seth Campbell Realty Group @ Keller Williams Realty) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:07:52 -0800

I promise to lead generate 27 hours a day so I can buy buy a 7,000 square foot house in 12 months. Did you write something like that down recently? This time of year there is plenty of focus on goal setting. They say only 6% of Americans put goals in writing and not so coincidently they account for 80% of the wealth in our country.

I know in real estate we really get into goal setting which is great. I'm obsessed with it! Have you ever had a goal or resolution not stick? One of the biggest mistakes we make is simply in how we approach goals, promises and commitments. Our mindset needs to move closer to self-actualization. We tend to speak in terms of "doing" and "having" yet we should be thinking in terms of "being" and "becoming."

Are you goals about what you are going to DO so you will HAVE "x"? (Like the first sentence in this post) What if you looked at it from a lifetime perspective? What if you instead thought about what you ARE and what you want to BECOME? That's the secret to long term sustainable change. It's very difficult for many of us that are result oriented because it seems difficult to measure. I'm suggesting you first define who you want to BECOME. What type of spouse, father, spiritual being, physical being, personality, social impact do you want to BECOME? Then write your goals around that. Make it a journey towards becoming, not a run towards having. It's not about the 20 pounds you want to lose, it's about the more healthy person you want to become. Then tell yourself everyday (a.k.a. affirmations) that you are becoming a more healthy person and believe it.

Yes, your goals need to be written. Yes, they need to be specific. Yes, they should be as measurable as possible (some relationship type goals are not too measurable). But, before you do all of that, stop and do some "being to becoming" thinking and journaling.

There is a big difference between doing towards having and being towards becoming thinking. Focusing on what you want to become not on what you want to have will change your mindset and your life.

More Bad Parenting is What We Need

Seth Campbell (Seth Campbell Realty Group @ Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:00:54 -0700

I have an eight year old son and enjoy teaching him all the things he will hear from everyone else (including his mother) that he needs to ignore. Call me crazy but I believe we are raising a generation of go-with-the-flow, sit in back, don't make waves, don't give your opinion if it will offend someone, use credit to get what you want now and pay later, spend more than you make, instant gratification, blend in, follow the crowd kids. My latest and favorite is, "Don't talk to strangers!"

I'm teaching my son to talk to as many strangers as possible. I believe he/she who talks to the most strangers by the time they die will most likely be the wealthiest. Wealthiest not just monetarily but in relationships, legacy, career, and positive influence. Yes, I tell him to talk to strangers - just use judgement and don't get in a car with one. The best way for him to learn who is good or bad is to talk to a lot of people. I believe whoever talks to the most strangers will sell the most, make the most friends, have the best chance of finding the best spouse, and have more career opportunities even if not in sales. Think about it... if he wants to be an astronaut and talks to enough strangers at some point someone is going to say, "Hey, I was an astronaut and here's what I did to achieve that." or "Hey, my best friend was an astronaut let me give you their number." More strangers equals more opportunity, more doors opened, more chance for success.

Too many real estate agents are frozen when it comes to asking strangers for business or even approaching strangers. One of those strangers might change your life forever. I think we are scared because we were programmed to avoid strangers. That programming is part of what holds us from higher achievement. My son will be programmed differently. He knows to talk to as many strangers as possible. Call me a bad parent but I think I've lifted a mental barrier that would always hold him back otherwise. I've got a whole bunch of these type of "lessons" I'm teaching my son. Maybe we need some more bad parenting like this?

Sometimes You Have to Fire the Vampire

Seth Campbell (Seth Campbell Realty Group @ Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:53:51 -0700

I think as agents we sometimes get caught up in working with everyone that will hire us. Times are tough, right? We need every commission dollar we can find. Prices have dropped, we have to work twice as hard for the same income. When you look at the best of the best you will find one distinct difference. They choose their clients. They don't work with every buyer or investor that wants to see property. They don't take every listing that will sell because maybe it's a not so friendly person. They don't work with every bank that gives out REO properties (I fired two banks today!)

You probably say, "Yes, but they can afford to fire people because they are big producers and won't be hurt by missing those commissions." I say, they are high producers because they walk away from time vampires that force them in to low production. I believe the top producers started firing people before they became top producers. The simple truth is you cannot be a top producer until you are obsessively protective of your time. Time is more valuable than money because not all time is equal. Every hour you don't spend showing 40 houses to write 1 lowball offer is an hour you can spend with someone who is more realistic and profitable. Every hour you don't spend serving a bank that pays 1.something % commission is an hour you can spend serving a bank that pays 2.something%.

You think you will gladly choose those better buyers and sellers whenever they show up and will be happy to drop your time vampires, but I can assure you - they won't show up until after you fire the vampires and are ready to meet them. When you are busy working on the little things you are blind to the big things. It's like a joke the universe plays with us. As long as we stay out of the way of opportunity by filling our time, opportunity will stay out of our way.

Take a risk and fire your vampire. I think you'll be surprised at the new opportunity that comes your way or was there the whole time but you were too busy to see it. Fortune favors the bold.

Leadership from the Sides

Seth Campbell (Seth Campbell Realty Group @ Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 20:50:45 -0700

So last Thursday I was there with Gary Keller in a private mastermind he does with this REO network group I lead and he said something that silenced all of us. He told me, "Seth, when you started this thing you had a 99% chance of failure and I thought you would fail. These types of things don't ever succeed and you guys did it. You guys have done something amazing and have gotten success at a high level." Gary usually doesn't give out those kinds of compliments so we were a bit surprised. Since then the members and I have been blaming each other for the success of the group. Guess that's a good sign that we all are humble. So I started to think about how we were able to accomplish the near impossible and how leadership impacted that.

I think of it like a ball rolling down the hill. If I have to be in front pulling the ball because it won't roll then I probably have the wrong ball (product) because it doesn't roll and it needs to be dragged. If I have to stand behind it and push the ball forward then I probably have the wrong people because they should be pushing. Looking back, I've been more like two rails laid out on each side of the ball keeping it going in the right direction. We have great people in the network that push the ball forward. In fact it's a group full of super high producers that all run great businesses individually around the country. That sometimes can be a problem because of as high entrepreneurial thinkers we have so many ideas that seem awesome but I've had to say no because it would have taken us off course. So sometimes the ball gets pushed side to side and I give it space (as the rails) to bounce side to side but continue forward. Sometimes I've had to get stricter (be more controlling) and move the rails closer together so the ball rolls on a tighter path but faster. Sometimes I see a hole in the road ahead and put the rails together and carry the ball over the hole. Then open it up for more space and ideas later. Looking back there were times that some of those ideas that seemed brilliant at the time would have taken us way off to the side towards another hill even. I think we would have gotten stuck in the grass on the side of the road trying to get to another hill - maybe that's what happens to the other 99%? Not always popular with our members, I believe we should hit the bottom of this hill first and then go check out the other hills.

So I've just been a leader from the sides. Keeping the ball rolling in the right direction flexing in and out giving more space and taking it away. Knowing what to say "no" to has proven to be more important to our survival than what to say "yes" to. Of course the most important ingredient is filling the network with amazing people who are all in culture and have a unified vision. If you are struggling on getting your team moving, stop pushing or pulling and try leading from the sides it might work for you.

Status Quo is a Myth

Seth Campbell (Seth Campbell Realty Group @ Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:30:53 -0700

Status quo is a myth. Things don’t stand still. Not in our business and definitely not in this market. Too many of us get frustrated by feeling like we are standing still – like our businesses aren’t moving forward. I’ve got bad news… you aren’t standing still, you are moving backwards. This was a painful and important lesson I had to learn. I don’t believe it’s possible for us to stand still. If you didn’t lead generate today, if you didn’t take any new listings last week, does that mean you just stayed the same? Don’t believe that! It’s much worse than you think. Think about it like this. On those days you didn’t sign new clients:

· Did anyone take a new listing that day? (yes)

· Was it one of your competitors? (yes)

· Did your revenue increase that day? (no)

· Did someone else’s revenue increase that day? (yes)

· Did you pay for your cell phone service that day? (yes)

· Did you pay for your cable service that day? (yes)

· Did you pay for your mortgage that day? (yes)

· Did all of your bills still continue that day? (yes)

· Q3 again – Did your revenue increase that day? (no)

So then all of your bills still continued, your income didn’t increase – that means your revenue dropped. You went backwards. The world continues to move when we stop. Every day you don’t build your business you aren’t standing still, you are falling behind. Every day you don’t exercise or eat healthy your body doesn’t stay the same it gets worse in age, weight, stress, blood pressure, something. Nothing is static, everything is in motion. Never miss a week of productivity because status quo is a myth. If you don’t step forward you just fell backwards. You can do it – just stay focused.