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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Saying Yes to Business and No to Busyness

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Services for Real Estate Pros with Napa Consultants DRE00893924

 

"A 'no' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble." Mahatma Gandhi.

We keep hearing from the majority of luxury real estate marketing professionals that they don’t have time!  And given the condition of the market, they feel they need to do more.  Life is out of control. They don’t have time to work on their business (meaning focus on promoting new business) they are so busy working in their business. Many take calls while eating lunch or dinner and are going to bed with their cell phones on their night stand ready to answer regardless of the time the phone rings.

In a recent Harvard Business Review Blog, Tony Schwartz points out that we don’t take time to prioritize our lives, and have a tendency to say “yes” to requests and not mean it.  “Think of it as a madness loop — a vicious cycle. We react to what's in front of us, whether it truly matters or not. More than ever, we're prisoners of the urgent…Truth be told, there's also an adrenaline rush in saying yes. Many of us have become addicted, unwittingly, to the speed of our lives — the adrenalin high of constant busyness. We mistake activity for productivity, more for better, and we ask ourselves "What's next?" far more often than we do "Why this?"

Prioritizing our day’s work and our lives takes time.  In the face of all the things we have said yes to, we don’t have time to do that.  Every to do becomes “urgent”.  Recently, we were contacted by a firm who wanted to set aside a day for time out and have a mini retreat to reflect on their leadership and create a fresh marketing plan for the new year.  They had to postpone this as every one of their clients wanted something that was deemed urgent, and they could not take a day off to reflect, nor could they see time available in their first quarter. 

Even though they are fully cognizant that their pipeline needs to be filled, they feel trapped by all the “yeses” they have committed to.   The other aspect of this is that they cannot see the opportunities that are in front of them, and are apt to easily dismiss the very things that would assure their success.  They are out of focus!   This firm does have time to follow up on referrals or take on new business, which is absurd because it is the antithesis of their revenue goals.

Getting off the yes wagon begins with setting aside time to reflect on the scope of work for the day.  Prioritize on a daily basis.  The result will be getting more done in less time, and having time to enjoy your lives.  Say “yes” to business and “no” more often to busyness.

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Comments (12)

Don Sabinske
Don Sabinske, Sabinske & Associates Inc. - Zimmerman, MN
Sabinske & Associates Inc.

Alexandra and Ron, I often say no to requests.  Sometimes from buyers, sometimes from sellers, sometimes from attorneys.  If it means that I will be doing something FOR them that they are quite capable of doing themselves or if it is premature, I will say no frequently.  

This is a great post and should be featured.  

Jan 26, 2012 06:20 AM
Debb Janes
Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA
Put My Love of Nature At Work for You

Suggested by me. It's an excellent reminder. My name, and variations of Deborah, means "bee" in hebrew. I know when I get to buzzing - it isn't good. Busy is very different than busyness. Have a great Thursday.

Jan 26, 2012 06:22 AM
John McCormack, CRS
Albuquerque Homes Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Honesty, Integrity, Results, Experienced. HIRE Me!

Suggested!  We just took a class at Church about saying yes too much.  When we say yes to one thing we are really saying no to many other things that are probably more important than the one yes thing.

Jan 26, 2012 06:53 AM
Suzanne McLaughlin
Sabinske & Associates, Inc. (Albertville, St. Michael) - Saint Michael, MN
Sabinske & Associates, Realtor

I need to be a little more aggressive in saying no.  There was a time when it was much easier.  

You should get a Feature from this post!

Jan 26, 2012 07:21 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Don.

Thank you for offering excellent advice to all of us.  Saying "no" is hard for many people.  Saying "no' when someone wants you to work for free is also great. Thanks for the feature suggestion, we appreciate it. A

Jan 26, 2012 09:45 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Debb,

Yes, I did know that your name means bee in Hebrew.  The wonderful thing about bees is that they are busy creating honey, and there is no busyness involved.  Thanks for the suggest. A

Jan 26, 2012 09:47 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

John,

Thanks for the suggest.  I love that your church had a seminar on the subject.  And you make a very good point as to being selective to what you say yes to.  Thank you for enriching the conversation, we appreciate it. A

Jan 26, 2012 09:50 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Suanne,

We know you can do it, you are an amazing individual.  Thanks for the feature comment.  All the best, A

Jan 26, 2012 09:51 AM
Kevin J. May
Florida Supreme Realty - Hobe Sound, FL
Serving the Treasure & Paradise Coasts of Florida

The differences between the two are becoming more and more difficult to identify.  I always appreciate when business can transform into busyness however it's quite inefficient when vice versa.  

Jan 26, 2012 12:43 PM
Jeff Ragan
Ming Tree, Realtors Real Living - Eureka, CA
Luxury Agent, Northern California

Stephen Covey, in his classic book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says that "It's easy to say 'no' if you have a bigger 'yes' burning inside of you."

Jan 26, 2012 04:09 PM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Kevin,

I agree, and I think that a lot of the busyness is in spending time on Social Media without a strategy!  One needs to know why there are there and what they hope to accomplish.  Yes, it is true that business turns into busyness such as transaction coordination, which can be handled by another party. A

Jan 27, 2012 04:17 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Jeff,

Thank you for bringing that wonderful book up, and for bringing up that concept of a bigger "yes".  A bigger "yes' is a function of intense focus.  Athletes such as Olympic athletes look like they are saying no to so much by spending 6-8hours practicing for that gold medal.  That is their big Yes.  Thank you for enriching the conversation. A

Jan 27, 2012 04:20 AM