THIS BLOG POST FIRST APPEARED AS AN ACTIVE RAIN CONTEST ENTRY
Why Ben Kinney should consider giving me a complimentary subscription to Brivity. People who believe that fortune favors fools have in me their poster child. Systems are vital to business success, but my ability to focus, earn money, fix problems, satisfy and increase customers is increasingly challenged in our rapidly expanding information age.
Try as I may to keep pace in the face of new-age demands on my time and processes, I feel more disorganized and ineffective than ever. I am getting tired of winging it as entrepreneur and want my business activities to be purposeful. My continued reliance on unmanageable task lists, post-it notes, gut instinct and dumb luck to keep my business moving, my service consistent and my clients satisfied that I am doing everything possible to change their futures as I promised is simply not working - well, barely working.
The truth is, and I'm both loathe and humbled to admit it, I am one hell of a persuasive lister but a lousy administrator to which my boxes of leads, to-do items and fogotten scraps of paper will attest. I used to be able to handle many things on the fly, but today business has too many moving parts, or perhaps I"m slowing a bit. Yes, I keep in touch with my clients but I rarely discuss the things I do for them on a daily basis because it usually doesn't occur to me. The tasks of my routine are like trees falling in forests when no one is around - they make no sound.
In reading the posts of my fellow AR contestants, one inescapable theme emerges. We all have lists. But unlike me, my competitors seem quite satisfied with their list-based activities. This is not at all a criticism when I say it; actually it comes from awe when I write that everyone whose terrific posts I've read seems satisfied with their own processes.
I haven't read a single complaint (or plea for help) about a process list being cumbersome, inefficient and silent with regard to its public relations value. So why do these good people need Brivity more than I? Who was it who said, "it is not those who are well who need a physician but those who are sick."?
Honestly, I don't mean to be hard on my AR friends and I don't want to give everyone the impression that I am crabby and inept. I mean, I do hold a broker's license. I am a graduate of the REALTOR Institute and I am a certified buyer representative, just like a lot of my fellow Rainers.
I do have a prescribed way of doing things. Like the others, I, too, have a presentation-to-list plan; a list-to-contract plan; and a contract-to-close plan - if any of these things can truly be called "plans." Whatever it is, it totals nearly 200 points on the sell side. Unless I'm reading my list every day, I am prone to errors, omissions, failures.
It's a process that's unwieldy and almost impossible to manage on a day-to-day basis. Plus, my action plan has no beneficial payoff . My clients simply don't know what I'm up to when I am working to help them buy or sell a home. I won't bore everyone with my nine-page list of "to-dos", but if you're interested in knowing why I want to try Brivity, check out my process here: AGENT SELLER/BUYER PROCESS GUIDE
In closing I argue that my detailed approach to getting a home sold doesn't set up a management system so much as it is a bow tied to my finger: It reminds me of the many things I need to do and have forgotten to do. Also, it does not lend itself well to self-promotion. So much is taken for granted in the process of buying and selling homes.
There have been times of late, when I actually miss the place, post and pray days of residential real estate sales. But, then, I know there's no turning back.
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