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New Day One: Drive + Passion + URGENCY + Innovation + Stamina
I hope you all had the opportunity to read the article on PASSION I sent out a few weeks ago– the second attribute in the recipe for success in this industry. The third ingredient is URGENCY and I think, as you read the article, you will not only realize how important it is to go about your daily activities with purpose and planning, but also realize that if you are not implementing these important structural parameters, it is so easy to start TODAY. I think this attribute is key to our industry and if you can make the conscious effort to implement it, we will all be that much more inspired to make the changes needed to help us in our quest for a successful life. So without further adieu, I give you…
Success Ingredient #3: URGENCY
Time is one of the most crucial elements of this industry. Your ability to manipulate it and manage it is key. You always hear phrases like “strike while the iron is hot” and “no time like the present”. This industry will not hunt you down and ask you to be accountable. It is built on people who have an internal boiler that is always bubbling over. Passion naturally leads to urgency. When you are passionate about something, you want it to happen RIGHT NOW. You need it, you crave it, it consumes your thoughts and actions and invades your life. This emotion naturally leads to ACTION. The action is the force landing and putting your passion into practice. This is where urgency comes into play.
People don’t respond to even tones. Notice how, when you are angry, your voice changes pitch. When you are excited, your heart-rate quickens. These are unconscious things that people expect and take notice of. I think it is an unspoken law that when you contact people and leave messages saying “Call me back”, people assume there is a respectful timeframe. “Doesn’t sound important — I’ll call by the end of the day…If I get to it.” The problem is that in this industry, changes can happen anytime. Offers can be made, homes can be sold in an instant from under you and thousands of dollars can be compromised with a minor mistake. The particulars in this industry are always changing at an alarmingly rapid and inconsiderate rate. Remember that the one consistency is, they will not stop for you.
You want to instill urgency in others and how can you do it? By creating that urgency within yourself. Start with your business plan. How effective are you? How close to your numbers are you consistently performing? How effective have you been at prospecting? Remember that the urgency starts with you. Clients are only responding to non-urgent calls if they think something might be wrong. This isn’t the sort of urgency you want to consistently be instilling in the people you are responsible for and communicating with. But if you are beginning at the basic level– to be urgent in your approach to your daily tasks, then you can start seeing that spread into other areas of your business. Your confidence will grow if you are succeeding, no matter how minor the success.
Don’t start by saying “I will sell 100 homes this year and make 4 million dollars!” If this is an unachievable goal, you are setting yourself up for failure. Instead, create large goals (of course!) but also smaller, more immediate, achievable goals that you can see your success in right away. Approach these goals with urgency — “what can I do to make these things happen now?” There are some goals that are very easy to accomplish. Start by creating your business plan. Organize your day with the most urgent things getting done first and if all those are accomplished, move on to your secondary list of importance. Remember that an important factor is training your mind. Don’t think of things that might be accomplished secondarily as things that are unimportant or less important. They are not. There is nothing in this business that is considered “busy work”. All of the work is equally important and requires and deserves your urgent attention.
Additionally, the urgency you impart to your clients is key. Not only do you need to make promises that you can keep (most of which will require you to be consistently performing in an urgent manner), but you need to inspire your clients. People will sign with you because of your passion, but they will give you referrals or end up becoming repeat customers because of your delivery. If you can promise to do something in half the time of someone else, then it just makes sense that people will sign with you. But now you have to actually do it!! Your promise to your client was urgency — “I will get this done now!” So now you have to be equipped with the skill-set and ability to make it happen. Do not be afraid to promise big things to your clients. Be afraid if you cannot deliver.
Performance is key in this industry and your success hinges on it. You can promise everyone the world and have the passion to convince people you can get the job done, but if you are unable to live up to those promises, you will have a very short career! Creating a plan is key. Having a schedule that maps out your day/week/month is crucial. Checking things off your list gives you a sense of accomplishment and helps propel you toward your next goals. Minor successes inspire major success and urgency fuels efficiency. These are seemingly obvious attributes of the industry, but it is baffling how many people lack the foresight to plan and thus sabotage their own ability to get things done.
The good news is that even if you haven’t been consistently performing in an efficient and urgent manner, you have the ability to change the course of your own destiny in this business right now. If you have found yourself uninspired, sluggish, overwhelmed, lazy, or unmotivated, this concept will speak to you: New Day One is about taking each opportunity for what it has to offer. Forget about your performance over the last 3 quarters. Forget about your abysmal 2013, if that’s what it’s been. Forget about your inconsistencies and your lack of dedication and determination thus far. This moment is the moment all that changes. Start dreaming and start living your destiny today. You can always find drive, passion and urgency — these characteristics exist in all of us. So why NOT you and why not start today?? Find your inspiration. Find your passion that attracted you to this industry, and start performing up to the standard that we all know you are capable of. Your past does not define your future. So if you want something, go get it! It takes a lot of hard work to achieve the kind of success we are talking about, but it is possible. It is all up to you. Choose you. Choose success. Choose today to be your NEW DAY 1!
After working with, and for, many different real estate firms, it became apparent to Harout that there was a major disconnect between what consumers needed/wanted and the service that was being provided to them. It was upon this realization that Harout founded and opened JohnHart Real Estate; and as the CEO/Principal Broker he has continued to break from the norm and redefine real estate with an insatiable appetite to give his clients the service and attention they deserve.
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