In my last blog I wrote about getting off track and how to recognize when (or hopefully before) you hit the ditches. Today I want to discuss with you what to do after the crash occurs…
The first thing I want you to do once you realize you are off track is take at least 2 days off from real estate …go somewhere you can relax and get away from it all. During these two days I want you to reflect on the things you feel led you into the ditch. Nothing feels good about laying in a ditch …(another word for ditch is just a grave with both ends opened up). So you need to find a fast way out before they start throwing the dirt in on top of you.
During these reflections I want you to reaffirm why you want to be in real estate, what you like about your career, and reassess your short and long term goals. Write down what your goals are …Include anything relevant to you such as …the income you want to make, the number of listings you want to take under contract, and any other goals you feel are important to you. Write down goals that you feel excited about accomplishing and also feel that you CAN accomplish through climbing out of your ditch and giving your best.
The next thing you will need to do is determine which activities will you need to perform in order to make all of this happen by the end of the year? For example; if your goal is to earn $150,000.00 in income over the next year, approximately how many new listings will you need to be taking every month? How many new buyer leads per month will you need to obtain? How many transactions will you need to close per month? Write this information down in a 'per month' format.
Once you have all of this information written down, write down the activities you need to be doing on a weekly basis in order to accomplish the monthly goals …Identifying these weekly and monthly goals and activities is very important for staying on track to accomplishing the results you want to accomplish in your real estate career over the next year.
You need to block out time on specific days to make all this happen ...Consider this time to be as important as any other appointment!
And now for one of the most important parts of getting out of the ditches is incorporating a self feedback system into your routine! What you want to devise is a method of checking in with yourself along the way to make sure you are on track to accomplishing your goals. Getting feedback on how you're doing allows you to recognize if you're getting off track …(before you hit the ditch again).
Without feedback you will just continue to drift off track, blindly hoping you will somehow reach your goals without even knowing that the things you are doing are steering you in a completely different direction. It is critical to check and revise your plans if you see what you are doing is no longer working!
As an example, when a jet is flying from the mainland United States to Hawaii, the jet is off course approximately 50% of the time. However, the inertial guidance system in the jet is constantly providing feedback and correcting the course of flight, resulting in a timely arrival at the desired destination (goal).
In the above example, it's the jet's system of constant feedback and timely correction which allows it to achieve its goal in the scheduled amount of time. Unfortunately, if the jet used an average REALTORS feedback system …the jet would probably land in the water somewhere between Hawaii and Australia.
To assist you in staying on track schedule reminders in your calendar to check in and see how you're doing along the way. Schedule reminders to reevaluate how you're doing every 2 weeks to one month. Ask yourself, 'What's working effectively for me and what's not?' If you're falling behind in achieving your goals, this should be a signal to you that what you are doing is not working effectively.
When this happens revise your game plan. Ask yourself, 'What will work more effectively for me?' If you feel that a large part of the problem is that you simply haven't been doing the weekly activities that you said you would, ask yourself, 'What do I need to do to make sure that I get these activities done each and every week?'
In addition to all the above …find a “slump-buddy” you trust to give you feedback and help successfully guide you back on track when he or she notices a wayward track.
Staying out of a ditch takes hard work and commitment to your goals … The best way to avoid disaster is to look in the mirror every night before you go to bed and honestly ask yourself if you gave 100% towards your career goals today …if you can answer yes to the question …sleep well …if you can’t ….well, remember what the other word for a ditch is????
Eddie Brown ©2011
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