Take it to the Next Level!

As we head into 2016 Business Planning season, we’ve all often heard—and likely even used—the phrase “take it to the next level.” Generally, we assume that phrase means some form of increase in effort/energy/commitment to yield an expected improvement of impact or result. So far so good, but usually we toss out that phrase as more of a marketing ploy than a genuine plan of action! Indeed, what are we actually planning to do to “take it to the next level?”

And even more basic, exactly what is that next level we’re so committed to achieving?

Well, we’re on our own for most things, but Tom Ferry, the well known Real Estate Coach and Educator, actually takes it to the next level (sorry!) and provides us a roadmap for The 8 Levels of the Real Estate Business—and how to avoid the dreaded plateau.

Here are Tom’s 8 Levels:

            Stage One: Stability is the goal

Level 1 - No Business Plan & No Proactively Generated Leads = No Income! There is an 87% failure rate in the business!

Level 2 - Diversify Lead Generation & Create a Plan versus the bumble bee or the shotgun approach; leverage your database! Remember, a good financial advisor doesn’t put everything in one stock!

Level 3 - Consistency and Conversion = momentum at last = Stability

            Stage Two: Success is the goal

Level 4 - Hire an Assistant: the huge differentiating step! Are you ready? Hire the RIGHT assistant to handle day to day tasks to allow you to leverage your time and energy

Level 5 - Grow Your Team & Operationalize (Install Systems): you now have a business and your role changes to leadership not just sales

Level 6 - Team Out Produces You: you now have a machine and you’re only as successful as your team!

            Stage Three: Significance is the goal

Level 7 - Extend the Cash Cow: you take your business to a level of significance and you make more money than you can plow back in

Level 8 - Exit & Succession Plan: your business has a life of its own and the value is in your database. Sell to the next generation.

So, where are you in your journey in the Real Estate Business? Tom Ferry recommends we take the following steps if we want to “take it to the next level:”

1.    Get honest about where you really are! Have you been in the business for years yet still have no Business Plan and No Proactively Generated Leads? Or are you giving new ideas a try but bouncing from one shiny object to the next? Or are you now solidly Consistent and feeling some Momentum but have no idea what to do grow further—you’ve plateaued! Be honest with yourself.

2.   Write a detailed business plan and set deadlines! Remember, a goal without a deadline is merely a dream. And folks who have a detailed written plan—in any endeavor—are far more successful than those who wing it.

3.   Implement Accountability and Alignment: Your commitment and your behavior must align!

4.   Be sure to Track and Measure: If you want it to count, you have to count it! Tracking and accountability foster that alignment of commitment and behavior.

So, at which level are you in your Real Estate career? Have you plateaued? As you focus on our detailed planning for your business for 2016, take some time to put together your own plan to “take it to the next level!”

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development

That Nasty Eleven Letter Word

Most of the time, we hate to say it aloud, especially in mixed company. A word that can strike fear into the heart of agents with huge SOI’s, or weaken the knees of agents with years of repeat clients and consistent referrals. Shhhhhh!

But if we want to optimize our business and not miss opportunities, maybe it’s time we spoke the profane aloud:

PROSPECTING

There, I said it. Hopefully, the kids aren’t reading this!

Yes, basic prospecting, that element of Real Estate 101 we tend to put on the back burner—or totally forget—when the market is strong and we are getting a decent flow of referrals and repeat business. But we all know that generating leads is what makes our business grow, and our marketing program is only part of the formula. While most of us now have our own websites and maybe a program of advertising and direct mail, those marketing tools can’t take the place of an active prospecting plan and working that plan consistently. Remember, Big Rocks First!

Of course, a major goal of our prospecting plan is to contact those targeted folks we don’t know yet, and to convert them to clients and members of our sphere so they can help us generate more leads and more referrals. Yes, we’re prospecting when we hold an open house or contact those members of our Sphere and remind them how much we value their referrals. But one of the most lucrative targets for prospecting is also one of the toughest, and one we often tend to avoid! FSBO’s and Expired’s, remember, are folks who already WANT to sell their house, so potentially a fairly quick trip to the closing table IF we can develop a successful plan for converting these owners.

While the Peak Producers approach focuses more on long term relationship building in order to optimize our stream of repeat business and referrals, we want to make sure our coaching and training programs also cover the more basic—and for many, more difficult—cold calling techniques and prospecting tools that can help you generate more business.

So, we have invited Mitch Morales, who joined our Zionsville office this year, to share with us some of the old fashioned prospecting tips and techniques he has successfully used in converting those FSBO’s and Expired’s to closings. Mitch has for some time taken training and coaching from the Mike Ferry organization, one of the best-known training companies along with Buffini and others, and has put that training to great use. Mitch will be leading our Wednesday Wake Up training session next Wednesday November 11, at 9am at the 82^nd Street office and via our usual Go To Meeting webinar.

Don’t miss this opportunity to get some great insights into one of our business’s more challenging—yet potentially highly rewarding—strategies, so tune in for our next Wednesday Wake Up training and get ready to turn up your business!

David M. Hassler

VP, Business Development

Time Management & Productivity: Don't Forget to Manage Your Energy!

We’ve addressed Time Management and Productivity in The Coach’s Playbook before—and it’s still one of the most important yet least consistently implemented ways a person can improve their business and their life. Specifically, we’ve recommended David Allen’s great book, Getting Things Done, as a simple, practical guide to organizing our days and our task list. If you haven’t given Allen’s methods a try yet, log onto Amazon right now and download a copy. We’ve also talked about the Peak Producers’ approach of working on those Big Rocks First, that is, the activities that help you build your business for the long term—those calls, handwritten notes, coffees and, yes, even those “pop-by’s”—while filling in the pebbles and sand of returning client phone calls, reading emails, and doing the paperwork that keeps our clients delighted with our service. (You don’t play CandyCrush, do you?)

Most of these discussions and ideas for time management and productivity, though, don’t address what’s probably the most important element of how we handle and process our daily activities, both business and personal: our energy levels.

First of all, there are five “wells” of energy from which we draw each day. The five wells are: Spiritual, Family, Business, Financial, and Personal. It’s a good idea to take a few minutes and consider whether our tanks are on full, three-quarters, half, or even on Empty, and how that impacts our attitudes and abilities.

It’s also important to remember that our energy is a dynamic resource—it wants to move and flow rather than sit idly in the tank. If we don’t control our energy and its flow, it will go somewhere anyway! So, give some thought to the following ENERGY DRAINERS, ENERGY GIVERS, and ENERGY SUSTAINERS:

ENERGY DRAINERS

            Fear—False Evidence Appearing Real! The best counter: have a detailed plan!

            Worry—how do you approach problem solving, both short and long term?

            Indecision—does it take you a long time to reach a decision? Do you overthink things?

            Drama—so much of this is available to us in this business! As Dr. Phil might say: what’s in it for you?

            Personal Conflict—how is your personal life complementing or interfering with your business?

            Poor Physical Condition—remember Gino’s M.E.D.S!

            Lack of Direction—do you have written goals—both personal and business—and are they S.M.A.R.T. goals?

ENERGY GIVERS

            Associations—the folks you hang out with and the things you do have a huge impact on your energy levels. Choose wisely!

            Mental Intake—the books you read or the games you play

            Taking Care of Yourself—again, remember Gino’s M.E.D.S!

            Alignment of Values—does your life and work reflect your personal values?

            Written Goals—yes, those with written goals are statistically far more successful than those without them!

ENERGY SUSTAINERS

            Tracking Your Progress—yep, in detail so you know where you are and can celebrate success or add course corrections

            Visual Anchors—consider a vision board with photos of your BIG WHY—why are you doing all this? Retirement in five years? Send the kids to Harvard? Tour India and China or buy a new carbon fiber bike? Put it on your wall and keep it as a shiny carrot!

            Consistency—the tortoise ALWAYS wins the race. ALWAYS!

            Taking a Break—daily, weekly, annually, take a break to recharge your energy level so you can knock it out of the park when you’re “on”

            Accountability—yep, again tracking your progress toward those written goals—and that vision board—and remembering it’s you who is in charge

So how are your energy levels? Remember, our energy will absolutely go somewhere . . . Make sure YOU choose where it goes!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development

Leadership Lessons from the Dugout, Courtesy of the Cubs' Joe Madden!

After watching the Cubs beat the Pirates Wednesday evening, I’m convinced the curse doesn’t exist! Then, I noticed an IBJ reference the next morning to a great article about the Cubs’ manager, Joe Maddon, in Crain’s Chicago Journal and I realized where they got their magic. Joe is a wonderful inspiration for great leadership and, of course, in our business, we’re not only leading our own “team,” we’re also leading our clients through an often difficult and problematic process. So, take it from Joe and see how his leadership wisdom can help you improve your business and enjoy your life and family even more! Here’s the article:

Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon isn't the epitome of a hard-charging, harsh-talking baseball field general. During games, he typically watches from the corner of the dugout in an observant yet relaxed manner. After a win or loss, he responds to the media's questions in a calm voice, providing tutorial-like explanations of runs, hits and errors.

But don't let that cool and collected demeanor fool you; Maddon, with his signature thick spectacles, white hair and beard, is a tough and determined leader who's committed to winning.

Maddon is something else you may not immediately realize: a role model for managers competing in the business world. Indeed, corporate titans, mid-level executives, project managers and entrepreneurs can learn and profit from the Cubs skipper's philosophy.

Check out his managerial starting lineup:

Instill a smart, upbeat attitude. Maddon brings an uncanny ability to remain positive, even amid the toughest defeats or slumps. Should a relief pitcher blow a save or a hitter strike out with men on base, Maddon chooses to highlight what his young players gain by competing in such high-pressure circumstances. That was a playoff game situation, he'll say, and experiencing it now will benefit the team later.

Stay loose and productive. “Don't ever let the pressure exceed the pleasure,” Maddon said when he took over the Cubs' helm last November.

That means baseball is a serious business, but it's also a game, so enjoy! As skipper of the Tampa Bay Rays, Maddon famously brought in dogs, penguins and snakes to lighten the clubhouse mood. As the Cubs postseason awaits, he's orchestrated more purposeful madness—players taking a night flight in their PJs and the turning of Wrigley Field into a literal zoo of exotic animals.

Be old- and new-school. In an era when baseball teams either slavishly embrace "Moneyball"-style computer analytics or cling to traditional techniques, Maddon opts for a little of both. While data-driven, he also goes with his gut and lets the right players (at the right time) swing away, play multiple positions, steal a base or pitch longer.

Avoid being the center of attention. While Maddon does the occasional TV ad and charity function, he consciously is not the star of the team or “the story.” Chicago loves its big sports personalities, but Maddon opts for a lower profile. Many bosses would gain from tapping into his good-natured respect for colleagues and collaborators. Too often, human dignity is a workplace casualty of the "Get it done faster!" or "No excuses" management mindset. (Hello, Amazon?)

Maddon demonstrates that playing it loose reaps its own rewards. There's a time for seriousness and all-out effort but, honestly, few company situations are so life-and-death that managers can't afford to lighten up. It's called perspective and a little of it can go a long way in getting the best out of a team. So chill the Maddon way. Good business managers often have deep experience. A great manager has a strong background and something else: an instinct to go against the grain when the right opportunity arises. More than any other baseball manager, Maddon mixes up his batting order and shuffles position players around the field. So far, it's paying off. Experience, coupled with flexibility and creativity, is a dynamic combo.

Yes, baseball is not your typical job or working grind. Most employees don't earn millions annually and there's compactness to a sports season that defies the long-distance running of a company. But a manager who gets the job done while being respectful, supportive, modest and creative is an All-Star.

We all know the Cubs have a long way to go (so let's not jinx it by saying anything more). But, when it comes to being an effective team leader, Maddon already is ahead of the game and worth following.

Crain’s Chicago Journal

So, are you ready to step up to the plate and drive in some runs for your business? Take it from Joe!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development