Reporting to Whom?

As we get ready for football season—even though temperatures have only now hit the 90’s—most of us remember our high school and college days with some fondness and nostalgia.  Of course, in our nostalgia, we often forget the main reason for attending those beloved institutions:  to learn and grow.  On campus, the focal point for most of us, at least some of the time, was all those classes we took and hopefully enjoyed, even when we had tons of homework.  And yet, somehow we managed to do it and it paid off.  Now we’re striving to maintain and increase our success in our own real estate businesses in a competitive market.  Of course, one of our benefits, as independent agents, is that we report to no one but ourselves, so we enjoy great freedom and flexibility.  But that coin has another side—a potential lack of accountability. 

And now back to the campus.  Can you imagine how much we would have learned if the profs had assigned all that homework but said that turning it in was optional?  Would we have made all the prospecting calls we needed?  Would we have updated our Exact Target list regularly?  Would we have sent out all those closing anniversary cards and added new entries on our blogs?  Maybe.  However, studies show that we are generally more successful in completing tasks when we have to report the results, but as independent agents we have no such requirement, other than to ourselves.  So how do we report to ourselves? 

Do you have a solid system in place for holding yourself accountable, not only for meeting an annual volume goal, but for handling all those monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly tasks needed, step by step, to meet that volume goal in your annual business plan?  If not, chances are you have the potential to improve your business results considerably--and probably to also reduce your stress level.  Your management team and your coach can help you develop your own unique ways to make sure you’re doing all the little things you want and need to do to meet your goals and insure that ongoing success.  Now back to the game!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching