I coach my son's little league team and unfortunately we are not very good. I guess the draft Gods were not looking down upon us. The kids are 9 and 10 year olds, and they really are a blast to coach.
In trying to keep them in as many games as possible and trying to teach them a little about baseball too, I find myself telling them the same things over and over and over again. I constantly tell them when there up at bat, "to have a good eye first, then swing hard at the good ones." When they're out in the field, I'm always telling them, "to be ready on every pitch because it could be coming to you." And whether I'm encouraging our pitcher or one of our hitters, I also yell "Keep fighting, stay in the game!"
I've said these things hundreds of times during our season, I was thinking about it last night for some reason, and then my thoughts turned to my coaching business and real estate. I started to think how these comments really could be related to our industry.
When I say, "have a good eye first, then swing hard at the good ones," I could easily be talking about prospecting. There are so many systems in this business that you can use, but NO ONE can use them all. So it is up to each agent to look at all the systems available, and then decide which ones they believe are right for them. "Have a good eye first" Then once you have decided which systems you are going to use to generate leads for your business, the next part is to "Swing hard at the good ones." That means to really go after business by actually using the chosen systems. Take your cuts, put your systems in place and let it rip!
The one thing I really hope I can teach my boys by the end of the season, is to be ready on every pitch. That's REALLY hard for 9 and 10 year olds during a 3 hour game. There's dirt to play with, there's hats and gloves to thrown in the air, there's other games to watch and there are clouds and birds to discover!
Being ready on every pitch in a baseball game is the same as being ready for business every day. We never know exactly when our leads are going to come to us, but it is extremely important for us to be ready for it every day. We need to be dressed for work every day that we are working. We need to have all our tools and forms ready every day. We must have our name badges on and business cards in hand. We do not know if we are going to get a lead today, but we must be ready every day because a lead could be hit to us on any pitch!
I am going to brag a little bit now, almost every time I tell one of my boys who is having a good at bat or our pitcher who is battling with a hitter, to "Keep Fighting and stay in the game," they ALWAYS turn and look at me and give me the best tough guy look a 9 year old can give, and more times than not, he gets on base or the pitcher gets an out. Telling a 9 year old to "Keep Fighting" really works!
In this very difficult market, I would like to tell you the same thing. If you have decided to stay in real estate and have committed to having a good business, KEEP FIGHTING AND STAY IN THE GAME! There really isn't any other viable alternative. If you have searched your soul, spoken with your significant other and talked with your company's representatives and have decided to stay in the game, then keep fighting!
Go back to the basics, start again. Pare down your database to your best people. Contact them. Ask for referrals. Begin to distinguish yourself from all the other local agents. BRAND YOURSELF! Start a personal marketing campaign. Revisit your systems for expired's and FSBO's. Whatever your obstacles are for improving your business, you must figure out the answers! Plain and simple, KEEP FIGHTING AND STAY IN THE GAME!
Because if you do these things, your business will get better, maybe not overnight, but definitely in the very near future. So the next time your watching a little league game, listen to the advice being given to the little ones, there may be a lesson or two for me and you! All the best until next time!
Kevin Bungert
Comments(14)