Steve Shull has some important advice that applies to me from time to time. Like now , where I'm spending too much time with "Someday buyer's", shaky preapprovals and in areas I don't usually work. They like to look at many homes though. Evenings and weekends too. It may be time to refer them! Enjoy,
Via
Steve Shull (Performance Coaching):
URGENT VS. IMPORTANT
This may be the most important battle you face in your business each and every day. To successfully conquer this battle it is vital to start with the understanding that:
1. Time is limited
2. Opportunity is unlimited
These two statements are fact. Unfortunately most Realtors operate their business as if the reverse were true. Namely that time is unlimited and opportunity is limited. Your perceptions of time and opportunity have a HUGE impact on how you organize and prioritize your day!!
First, let's define what we mean by IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT is all the activities that are related to generating a new deal TODAY. We call this being in "the hunt". We call this Vending Opportunity™. We call this looking for a deal. Doing WHAT'S IMPORTANT includes:
1. Making your career just this week. Acting as if today is the only day you have to sell a home.
2. Talking to lots of people..... ABOUT REAL ESTATE!!
3. Asking lots of questions, going deep and wide, and beyond the surface "NO" to find the deal. Opportunity is everywhere and your job is to recognize and exploit it.
4. Getting to the truth with everyone you talk to. What CHANGE is taking place in their life and does it relate back to real estate in some way? And what about the people they know. Where is change taking place and how does it relate back to real estate?
5. Vending Opportunity™. This is the action of giving people an opportunity to do business now. To vend opportunity effectively you must identify Propportunities™ in your market. A Propportunity™ is an opportunity property. A Propportunity™ is a property that is not going to be on the market for more than a week or so because it is such a deal or such a unique value for someone.
Doing WHAT'S IMPORTANT is all about having a NOW, or TODAY ORIENTATION in your business.
Most agents if they are being truthful........ spend the majority of their day working on:
1. The possibility of FUTURE BUSINESS tomorrow.
2. Managing or administrating an escrow.
3. STUFF - all the things that don't directly lead to a paycheck TODAY!!
This leads us to the discussion of WHAT'S URGENT.
URGENT is defined as anything that distracts you from doing what's important. The things that are typically IMPORTANT are usually uncomfortable. The things that are typically URGENT lead to some type of INSTANT GRATIFICATION.
Take a moment to think about your day today in business. What are the things that felt URGENT?
Phone calls?
Emails?
Showing property?
Setting appointments?
Contract negotiations?
Appointments?
Property research?
Database management?
Paperwork?
Marketing deadlines?
Contract deadlines?
Inspections?
Problem solving?
Were any of these things related to doing a deal TODAY?
Were most of these things related to doing a deal TOMORROW?
Did most of these things eat up your day leaving you without time to do WHAT'S TRULY IMPORTANT as defined above?
Every day my coaching clients give me convincing stories (in their minds) of why they don't have time to do what's truly IMPORTANT.
AND EVERY DAY I GIVE THEM THE SAME ANSWER!!
I ask them.....
"If I booked a legitimate listing appointment for you each day between 10am and 12noon, would you be able to go on the appointment?"
The answer is always YES. Somehow there is little or no time to VEND OPPORTUNITY however there is almost always time to go on a listing appointment!!
If you want to do more business on a regular basis you MUST learn how to balance both the IMPORTANT and the URGENT. More IMPORTANTLY....
YOU MUST LEARN TO STRUCTURE YOUR DAY AROUND WHAT'S IMPORTANT!!
When you make WHAT'S IMPORTANT the number one priority of your day.....
No matter how busy you are....
You WILL most always figure out a way to get the URGENT things done.
Conversely when the URGENT things are your number one priority......
WHAT'S IMPORTANT will generally be pushed to side for another day.... MAYBE.
And when you keep moving WHAT'S IMPORTANT to TOMORROW.....
YOU ARE DELEGATING YOUR PRODUCTION....
And sooner or later....
Your pipeline will dry up and so will your checkbook!!
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING THE BATTLE OF IMPORTANT VS. URGENT!!
If you have a moment I would love it if you would take the following VERY QUICK survey http://www.micropoll.com/akira/mpview/407783-160221
TODAY IS THE DAY™!!
Steve Shull
Performance Coaching
http://www.100daychallenge.ning.com
424-704-5030
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