How potty training can double your production

In the majority of my adult life, I'm realizing that I've historically been a pretty negative thinker.  I always thought we, "the human race", in our quest for excellence are supposed to never be happy with the status quo.  To me, being content was a death sentence... because if you're content, you will never have enough reasons to force change and improvement and you're just existing and becoming more "blah".  So it's always been hard for me to celebrate successes without following them up with some sort of qualifier when they happen, because I felt like it just lead to a contented doom of no growth, no joy, no life improvement... until I had my daughter. 

Potty training life lessons:

My baby girl is 19 months now, and we're just starting to potty train.  Being a mommy has been quite the education that has greatly improved my perspective both personally and in business. Some of the more valuable lessons I'm learning right now during our potty training endeavors: 

1. How important it is to get back to basics and focus on each step... in order.  (Like pull your pants down BEFORE sitting). 
2. It's equally important to celebrate the "tries" as well as the actual moments of glory (like seeing little drops in the toilet). 
3. Happiness breeds future success.  The more comfortable and celebrated you are, the more you won't shy away from new challenges

Me, the perpetual student: As a real estate technology trainer, I'm a constant student of what separates those agents that see great success in their business, and those that are either scraping by, or are doing well despite significantly unbalanced work/life schedules. 

I recently hosted an interview with Bobby Dean*, a successful agent out of Dothan, Alabama who came out of retirement to do what he loved... serve others.  Since joining Market Leader tools (by Trulia), Bobby has doubled his transactions every year... previously averaging around 12-15, and now is expecting over 40 for this last year.  So what's his secret?  From my seat, looks like he's following the potty training recipe!

Bobby's tips to double your production every year

1.  He gets back to the basics to build his business.  He earns over $3 Million in transactions just from passing out business cards (aims to hand out about 3,000/year).
2. He follows a very consistent routine to follow-up with any leads/new business opportunities, puts them on automated campaigns, listing alerts, etc and supplements with lots of personal touches.  He doesn't focus on the attempts.  He celebrates what's in his control: his consistency in reaching out to leads as well as his work ethic.  When leads do pan out into real, live clients, he doesn't react with an exasperated sigh thinking "finally!".  Instead, he expects these results and celebrates them as the natural outcome of his efforts.
3. He values the relationships with the clients he builds and puts them and their desires above his own.  His happiness and their happiness with his services breeds more referrals, more success.

Be like Bobby: watch his interview and download class notes.

Bobby and my daughter are two very special people.  And while it's probably not a good idea for me to share my daughter's potty training journey on video with step-by-step instruction... you will get a LOT out of hearing directly from Bobby Dean and downloading the class notes that includes tips and examples of how he's consistently doubling his production every year in a way anyone can replicate.

Enjoy everyone-- and have a wonderful, prosperous holiday season and new year getting back to the basics.  Take this time to reflect on all the things you've done right... you deserve a pat on the back for all your hard work!  I'll try to do the same :)

 

*A big thank you to Mr. Bobby Dean for his time and generosity in sharing his best practices with his fellow real estate professionals.  Bobby is a full time agent for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Showcase Properties, based out of Dothan, Alabama.  Connect with Bobby here: http://activerain.com/profile/bobbydean or here: http://www.dothanrealestate.us/about/