Do you have a great idea on how to build your business and get clients?
Maybe you do, but you have gotten discouraged because it hasn’t gotten you anywhere. For instance…
Failure in Real Estate Business #1
Did you ever wake up in the middle the night because you had such an amazing idea on how to build your business and get new clients? Well, I have. It’s happened to me more than once, which is part of the reason I look so darn tired every day.
The other reason is probably wine… Anyway, back to business. I woke up in the middle of the night back in December and had an amazing idea that I was going to start doing Facebook live videos every week. The idea was born from a seminar I went to at the Triple Play convention combined with wanting to show off the banging new highlights that my stylist gave me. I had outlined the plan while I was in Mexico on what I was going to do for my videos. I had named the details down to the equipment bought and even outfits picked out. I came up with content and even talked to my marketing team about how to distribute it on social media and other sites. I came back from Mexico and reached out to a couple of businesses that I was planning to highlight. I ended up going into one of them and getting some footage and an interview.
At the last minute, I chickened out on going live, but I did package up the email and send it out to my email list. I wanted to start something weekly and gauge my viewership before I took the plunge and went live. I was afraid of low numbers and people seeing what small viewership I had. The very first week was so much work and not a lot of reward. I went out and actually started filming the second week, but once the low numbers came in from the first video, I pretty much decided that it wasn’t working and let it go.
Failure in Real Estate Business #2-4
An agent on my team went through a similar situation recently. He decided that he was going to do some old fashioned farming in the neighborhood where he wants to work. He ordered door hangers and went around and passed them out. A few weeks later he posted flyers on the block and started talking to some of the neighbors. He even went back a third time and did an open house and handed out some business cards.
After that third time, he didn’t get any results, so he threw in the towel and went on to something else. I think it was cold calling and then it was reaching out to friends and family on Facebook. It is now four months after he started and he has zero deals from his efforts. He came to me this morning deflated and feeling hopeless because nothing he has tried so far has worked.
Failure in Real Estate Business #5
An informative and unique newsletter that saw 4 issues and then went away. Since no one bought a house from reading the newsletter, the agent considered it a dead end and dropped it.
Turn a fail into a win.
I do not know if any of the ideas he had would’ve worked or not. All I know is they didn’t, and I know that we didn’t stick with them long enough. Here’s the thing, I totally understand being frustrated and feeling burned out. It’s easy enough to try something a few times and give up when you don’t see results. But that’s not reality. Statistics say that it takes between 5 and 12 contacts with a client for them to interact with you, and that is only if they are in need of your services, longer if they aren’t ready to transact. 5 to 12!
When I casually polled established agents the other night at happy hour, most of them said that they decide it is time to give up when, NEVER. Yup, NEVER! They need to keep doing what they are doing and have faith that the results will happen.
If you are just starting out, it may even take a little bit longer than that. I hate to sound like your mother, but you need to be patient and you need to follow through. If you have a really great idea, plan to stick with it for at least a year. Yup a year! It sounds like a long time and it is, but the time will pass whether you do it or not, so do it.
6 Steps to keep you on track
Go deep, not wide.
Pick ONE thing, just one and give it your all. Once you have it up and running and have committed your full attention to it and it becomes part of your routine, then and only then is it safe to add another. The first step to choosing the activity is to decide what action you are going to take. Here is one idea I wrote about block by block business building in another blog post. Make sure that your plan is specific and measurable.
For example, with the block cleanup idea, commit to how many blocks you will flyer, how often you will do it, and measurable result goals, such as how many blocks you will actually clean up. If you have trouble reaching your result, you might need to increase how many flyers you put out, or increase the intensity, such as redesigning the flyer, or heading out in a group and knocking on doors to let people know about your event. Whatever your result goal is, adjust your plan of action to achieve that goal.
Believe.
In order for the result goal to happen, you need to believe in the idea. You must first be led by something bigger than money, and the money will follow. If you truly want to help and give back and create community in the area you serve, Block Cleanup might be a natural fit for you. If Block Cleanup doesn’t align with your goals, ask yourself some questions about what matters to you and start brainstorming from there. Is there a cause you believe in that needs your help? What is your strength or area of expertise? Once you make that value commitment, the follow through should be easy. Write it down and make it happen.
Schedule it on your calendar.
If you are serious about this project and you really want to see results, then you must act and make it happen. The surest way to do this is put it on your calendar. If it isn’t on your calendar, it won’t happen.
Action Steps–
Create a list of action steps to take that will help you execute your goal. They can be small steps, so long as they are pointing you in the right direction. Don’t get paralyzed by perfection. Keep your eye on the prize and start moving.
Find an accountability partner-
Find someone to support you and help guide you back when you veer off track. A friend, co- worker or mentor. Share your goal with them and let them know how important it is to you to follow through. Ask what their goal is and offer to do the same. Set up regular check ins once a week. Just knowing that you will have to report to them might be the extra motivation you need to stick with it.
Despite what you see on HGTV,
building a successful and rewarding real estate career takes time, patience and hard work. The sooner you start, the sooner you will see results, so grab a pen and start brainstorming now. Get your ideas on to paper and then out into the world. Make it happen!
I’d love to hear your ideas or struggles below. Leave a message in the comment section below and we will do our best to answer all of your questions. For extra support, join our facebook group, Where Do You Want to Wake Up.
