by markjohnson | Jan 2, 2019 | Best Practice, BluePrint Of Success, Don't Settle, JPAR, Real Estate, Success, Success From Scratch, Sucess Goals, Teamwork, Tips, Top Agent, Top Producer
Today Mike Porter, JPAR Austin, TX shares his secrets to success in real estate sales serving over 32 families to buy, sell or invest in real estate annually. Mike shares how there have been a few times he wanted to “throw in the towel” and how he overcame those ups and downs. Mike uses kvCore to stay organized and accountable. He also shares other secrets he uses – like BuySide Home Valuations and Cole Resources – to stay focused and relevant in today’s marketplace.
Learn more by watching NOW.
“There is always a way to achieve the dream of home ownership!” ~ Mike Porter, JPAR Austin, TX
by markjohnson | Dec 10, 2018 | Coaching, Don't Settle, Dreams, Goal Setting, Goals for 2019, Habits, JPAR, Real Estate, Service, Sucess Goals
I spent some time this week in our Austin, Texas market where one of our REALTOR® team leaders is also a “coxswain” and a rowing coach. He was telling me a story about a new rower, who was placed on a boat with 8 others… he noticed she appeared to be working very hard and sweating profusely, yet her technique was so off it wasn’t helping the team.
Can you relate to a time where you’ve been working hard and not getting the result you intended?
A rowing team – and your business – needs more than just quality, skilled resources. You also need all your resources in the right seats, doing the right things.
Here’s the thing I learned about rowing: in an eight-person boat, each rower has one oar—four on port and four on starboard. If one side pulls harder that the other side, the boat turns. If one side’s oars are raised higher than the other side, the boat tips. In order to find the set and create swing, everyone must work together to balance the boat and have exact timing. Your hands must be at exactly the right height as you slide up to the catch. Every oar has to drop into the water at the exact same time. Everyone needs to pull at equal pressure. All the blades need to come out of the water and release in unison. Any deviation disrupts the boat.
So, what can we learn?
First, have a clear direction, but an easy hand on the steering
The “coxswain” job is to keep the boat on course and steer the straightest line possible. Steering too much means zig-zagging over the course and rowing far more than 2,000 meters, which adds to time. The trick is to keep the end in sight and steer to a center point far down course, not trying to keep coming back to the center every stroke. To do this, the coxswain calls out increased pressure for a few strokes on one side of the boat or the other to correct the course rather than use the rudder, which slows down the boat.
Learning: High-performance teams always keep the end in sight and know the ultimate objectives of their work. Without a clear picture of the goal, teams thrash with process and fail to achieve proper alignment in their activities. Going in the wrong direction as fast as you can doesn’t get you any closer to the finish.
Second, it’s not how hard you work, it’s how hard you work together
It turns out that pulling as hard as you can, without pulling together, actually slows the boat down. Imbalanced power will veer the boat one direction and throw off the timing of the catch and the release. Uncontrolled straining at the oar can tip your weight left or right and toss the boat side to side. A successful team pulls in perfect balance and with perfect timing.
Learning: Successful teams know that performance is a function of collaboration and coordination, not a sum of individual effort. Knowing how your contribution is affecting the final outcome and staying highly aware of what others are doing while staying in sync is critical to delivering results. Reacting quickly, deliberately and in a coordinated fashion allows teams to adapt to changes, handle new information, and stay on target.
Make it a powerful week and looking forward to hearing your success stories.
PS: Are you looking for a playbook that is guaranteed to help up your personal mastery, business mastery or marketing mastery? If so reach out to us at [email protected]
Need a one on one coach? See if coaching is right for you, schedule a complimentary consult at www.jparcoaching.net
by markjohnson | Nov 26, 2018 | Don't Settle, Dreams, Goal Setting, Habits, Holiday, JPAR, Productivity, Real Estate, Thanksgiving, US Holiday
Like many of you, I’m coming off a major Thanksgiving holiday. Full of friends, family and the food coma. A study from 2007 found that eating a meal with a high glycemic index shortened the time it took for people to fall asleep by about 50% when compared to those fed a low glycemic index meal.
But there’s likely more than one reason a Thanksgiving feast can end in sleepiness. A study from 2009 suggests that cross-talk between the gut and the brain after a meal activates the hypothalamus, which indirectly stimulates regions responsible for sleep while simultaneously suppressing regions responsible for wakefulness.
In last week’s blog, I wrote about the Mindset, Attitude, Actions, and Results circle. That’s kind of like the cross talk between your gut and the brain after a big meal, yes!? Here is what we know, the difference between mindset and attitude are clear: mindset is a way of thinking; that in turn drives your attitude which shows up in how you approach things, your language tone and posture. That in turns drives your actions and your behavior which ultimately delivers an outcome or a result.
So, IF your business is in a food coma, or you are being proactive to avoid the holiday business coma, here’s 2 steps to consider.
1. Improve your posture and increase your daily physical activity over the next 4 weeks.
2. Make sure your business plan is relevant and up to date by 12/1. And in that process ensure you:
a. Define YOUR unique value
b. Trouble shoot any issue holding you back
c. Be clear and FOCUS on a clearly defined target market
d. Get in a small group
Move your body MORE
Tony Robbins, consultant and coach to CEO’s and self-help guru believes that what the body does, the mind follows. Wake up your body and your mind is awoken.
Example: what is your posture at this moment? When was the last time you went on brisk walk? How do you carry yourself? How do you dress yourself? How does your face look at this exact moment? Change your physical state: Take a daily walk, sit up straighter, put a smile on your face, dress the part for your industry and see if that doesn’t have an immediate effect on your mindset.
If you’re interested, look into the book “Presence” where author Amy Cuddy explains the science behind all of this and even shows you a couple of power poses. Here is a link to her amazing Ted Talk.
Is Your Business Plan Relevant?
Define your value and remember it’s NOT all about you! Be TOTALLY clear about how choosing you as a real estate agent benefits your prospect. When someone asks you what you do, it can be tempting to list your awards and accomplishments. Try to be mindful about naming specific ways your services benefit sellers, buyers or investors. Benefit-focused value statements resonate with prospects in a meaningful way. For example:
I specialize in helping empty nesters find the luxury downtown condo that’s just right for them.
I am a ninja negotiator with a track record of selling homes at an average of 2 percent over list.
Want to sell fast? Then I’m your real estate agent, as my listings sell in 26 days on average, 13 days faster than the norm.
Troubleshoot any issue holding you back. Unless you are a hobbyist in real estate, you’ll need systems for:
Consistent quality – for you, your clients and your partners.
Simplifying your workload – like a checklist for a pilot before takeoff
Saving time – less time wondering what to do next and more time doing it
Highlighting and eliminating inefficiencies
Growing your business – serve more people, make more money
Do you have a clear TARGET?
When we see agents and teams struggling, too often their target market is just not specific enough. Many agents and teams may have several different types of target markets. Yet, for the purposes of marketing your business, you want to start with a laser focus on sellers and buyers. Your target market profile should be specific enough to answer basic questions like:
Where can you find sufficient numbers of them in groups?
What media do they consume? (How to reach them)
What blog sites, websites, forums do they frequent?
How engaged are they on social media and which platform?
What associations do they belong to?
The power of a small group. If your business is struggling – or you want to avoid the holiday coma – as the business owner, it can be tough to see the forest between the trees. It’s easy to get in overdrive mode putting in more hours working in the business with little or no time left to work on the business. This is where it would be wise to seek expert from like-minded individuals, a business coach or BOTH.
What action will you take to get out of OR avoid a business holiday coma?
by markjohnson | Nov 14, 2018 | Appointment Setting, Best Practice, Coaching, Don't Settle, JPAR, Mindset For Success, Productivity, Real Estate, Success, Success From Scratch, Sucess Goals, Top Agent, Top Producer
Kelly and Tony Snodgrass are my special guest today on Success From Scratch. This team of 9 has helped over 100 families to buy, sell or invest in real estate this year. Kelly and Tony share their leadership philosophy and how they have minimized “technology” and maximized “relationships” to grow an amazing business. By developing standards and grooved processes, these leaders have created a team that outproduces them, with nearly 70% of all production completed by team members. Kelly shares how she has overcome self-doubt to create a powerful and confident mindset.
Learn more by watching the full episode.
“Doing more than what you’re asked and learning to say NO, has been a breakthrough for us.” ~ Kelly and Tony Snodgrass, JP and Associates REALTORS®
Looking for a free coaching session? Sign up at www.jparcoaching.com
by markjohnson | Nov 7, 2018 | Appointment Setting, Best Practice, BluePrint Of Success, Coaching, Don't Settle, Goal Setting, Real Estate, Success, Success From Scratch, Sucess Goals
Today my special guest is Rachel Hoffman from our JPAR Austin market. Rachel operates from a GROWTH mindset and is actually excited about a slight shift in the market which has created more opportunities and options for her buyers.
Rachel moved out of retail and into a real estate career she LOVES. She talks about how “freedom isn’t free” and the disciplines and systems she has in place to consistently helps 26 families buy, sell or invest in real estate each year.
“I want every client to FEEL like they are my ONLY client. I treat my clients as I want to be treated.”
– Rachel Hoffman, JP&Associates REALTORS, Austin, Texas.
by markjohnson | Nov 5, 2018 | Appointment Setting, Best Practice, BluePrint Of Success, Coaching, Don't Settle, Dreams, Goal Setting, Habits, JPAR, Master Mind Group, Mindset For Success, Real Estate, Success
Last week we conducted an amazing business plan session via zoom, and well… we forgot to record it! Human error. Well, our error is your benefit because here is a cliff note version of that session.
Nationally about 3% of agents create 20 or more transactions a year, yet at JPAR nearly, 8% of our agents create 20 or more transactions. Why is that?
Better planning that leads to better execution.
So, what are the secrets of those highly productive agents?
- They don’t wait. They start business planning in October. Face it, residential real estate typically runs in 90-day cycles. If you wait until December to look at your 2019 business plan, the first quarter of 2019 will already be set, done and all but over.
- They are very CLEAR on their WHY, their VISION, and their unique selling proposition… the one thing that differentiates them from all others.
- They rely on more than one source of leads. With a mindset of “always be testing” they have tried and failed, yet over time have created at least 4 different sources of leads.
- They understand the source and cost of all leads… which ones convert, and which ones don’t.
- They understand that trying harder simply doesn’t work. So, they don’t expect to do the same thing and get a different result. You might want to read YOU SQUARED by Dallas based business coach Price Pritchett.
- They break everything down to the simplest terms. A daily number and a daily activity.
Bonus secret? Those highly productive agents that are crushing their goals have surrounded themselves with a mastermind group that meets consistently to discuss the business plan, execution, challenge assumptions and holds each other accountable.
So, there you have it, 6 steps to a better business plan and one killer bonus secret. What will you do to up your business planning game this week?
Looking for business planning templates? Reach out to us via www.exceedingexpectations.info
Coaching? Take us up on a free coaching consult to see if coaching is right for you: www.jparcoaching.com
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