When you start a new job or take a new position, you often start with a great explosion of positive energy. However, when the activities performed at the outset don't generate immediate results, it is hard to stay focused, to keep on point, and to remain motivated. Here are some tips shared by my business partner, Michelle Silies, with our sales staff:
Develop a Vision and a Plan:
• Ask yourself the basic question - Does your vision and actions determine your success? Or, do you let circumstances dictate your success? Once you accept personal responsibility for your success or failure, you can develop the winning attitude necessary to stay motivated and succeed in sales.
• Develop a vision and a plan for what you want to achieve in 2009. Before you set goals, analyze what did and didn't work for you in 2009. By doing so, you can develop a plan with goals that focus on your strengths and seeks to make improvement regarding your weaknesses.
Look for Progress (Not Perfection):
• After you develop your vision and start working on your plan, establish personal and professional goals in writing for 2009. Goal setting is extremely important. Otherwise, you are letting circumstances such as market conditions dictate your success. By setting annual, monthly, and weekly goals, you take ownership of your success or failure and become accountable.
• Start each week by reviewing your goals. Constantly remind yourself of your goals by writing them on a white board, putting them on a laminated card in your wallet, list them on your PDA, etc. By reviewing your goals, you stay focused on what is important and you achieve greater awareness of what may be distracting you or impeding your progress towards achieving your goals.
• After you have set your goals, create action plans for all goals with specific completion dates. Place these dates on your calendar. Track your progress on tasks, review your plan, and make adjustment.
Change Your Environment:
• Eliminate clutter. Start by clearing your work space or desk of clutter. Develop a filing system whereby you eliminate clutter by placing items in a short term file on your desk for immediate review, file it your file cabinet, or toss it in the trash. When you finish your office, tackle your car and then your briefcase.
• When you feel overwhelmed, stressed or simply have a mental block, get up and out of the office. Walk in the park, get a coffee, or visit with family and friends. Get some fresh air, sleep, exercise or whatever you physically need to rejuvenate you. The important thing is to take a break and then start with a fresh look at the problem.
• Take a look at your work environment. Ask whether your work environment is holding you back. Some people thrive in a loud and chaotic office or can multi-task and work from home while managing kids, dogs, etc. Others need a quiet, clutter-free environment.
Establish Your Support System:
• Ask your sales manager what his or her priorities are for 2009. Don't assume you know what the priorities are.
• Contact your customers and thank them for their business. Ask for referrals. Take an interest in your customers, stay in regular contact with them, and offer your services to them as the life needs change.
• Find a networking, mentor or similar group. By sharing experiences and exchanging ideas and participating in such a group, you develop professional relationship that will give you a sounding board for improving your sales and business skills.
• Don't try to do everything yourself. Outsource small or even large project. Consider hiring a virtual assistant to handle the things that you don't have the time, skills or inclination to handle.
Improve Your Sales Skills:
• Remember that it is physically impossible to be good at everything. Whether it is sales skills, search engine optimization or some other aspect of your real estate business, hire others to assist you in improving your skills. I strongly believe that new real estate agents should invest in their future by hiring a sales coach to guide them through their first year in business.
• Allocate thirty minutes a day to reading or listening about your profession. I strongly believe that new real estate agents should invest in a professional sales library to learn more about how to sell, how to manage their time, and how to manager their business.
Acknowledge Your Good Fortune:
• When you start questioning your success or start to bemoan your personal situation, remember that everyone has faced personal challenges in their life. Review the life stories of historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln and other to discover how they failed before they succeeded. Examine your life and be thankful as there is always someone less fortunate than you are.
With the right motivation, right plan and right attitude, you can take control of your future and be as successful as you want to be. Success requires self-discipline and action. No one ever achieved success without working hard. So start on the path to success today.
PREA Signature Realty is a full service brokerage and consulting firm in Saint Louis, Missouri, providing sales management services to real estate developers and owners. For more information on our sales management services, please contact Ryan Shaughnessy at 314-971-4381 or by e-mail to Ryan@PREASignatureRealty.com.
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