It’s Time to Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable - Episode #223
You read that right—you need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. I recently heard this phrase listening to Jen Sincero’s book “You Are a Badass at Making Money” and found it inspiring. What are you doing in your business that is preventing you from breaking through because you aren’t moving outside of your comfort zone? Listen to this episode of Agent Rise as I break down how to break through your discomfort.
I often talk about how you need to be playing to your strengths in your business. But always playing to your strengths doesn’t help you grow. Doing things that push you out of your comfort zone will. For many agents, following up with leads is something they hate.
Throwing an open house and meeting with people is easy. The conversation is easy.
But following up on the lead leaves many agents uncomfortable because it’s awkward. They don’t connect with them the next day and feel like they’ve missed their moment. I don’t want you to let embarrassment or discomfort get in the way of doing what you’re good at. So how do you remove the discomfort?
There are two things you need to consider about a potential client:
Stop overthinking things! Make the uncomfortable comfortable by removing the parameters you have set. There is no magical timeline that you HAVE to follow.
Another common thing agents find uncomfortable is calling their sphere of influence. The friends, family, business owners, clients, etc. that are important to you. You may feel you have nothing to say, so it’s uncomfortable making that call. There are a couple of ways to remedy that.
Firstly, you can follow an “A-Z” method. The first week, you call everyone on your contact list under the A’s, then call the B’s the following week and so forth. In this way, you’ll call everyone in your sphere of influence twice in one year.
My favorite method is to call your sphere of influence when you put on an event. For example, I enjoy hosting “I love Madison” events. I’ll call up my sphere of influence and invite them. If you host an appreciation event a couple of times a year and invite your sphere of influence, you knock out something that makes you uncomfortable!
Keep listening to hear my advice on some other scenarios that make you uncomfortable, and how to overcome them.
I believe you won’t truly find abundance until you start doing things that make you uncomfortable. Some part of what you excel at will always be a little uncomfortable, right? I want you to make it part of your goals in 2020—
What is making you uncomfortable? What can you do to get comfortable being uncomfortable?
Is it something you can let go of? Is it something that makes you nervous, such as launching a YouTube channel or a podcast? I want you to think about what is preventing you from having a breakthrough moment in your business.
Then head on over to the Agent Rise Facebook group and let me know—what is making you uncomfortable? Let’s talk about it.
Recommended Resources
Connect with Neil!
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Agent Rise podcast on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes)
If you don’t set boundaries in your business, your clients will walk all over you. It’s a simple truth and one that I’ve learned all too well. If you begin to implement boundaries, your clients will start to respect you. They’ll sing your praises and you’ll start to get referrals. So how do you begin to set boundaries with clients if you haven’t from day one? Listen to this episode of Agent Rise and I’ll give you some strategic ways you can set boundaries with your clients.
I had been taking some Sundays off here and there, but I wasn’t being consistent. If something came up with a client I would go running. One Sunday I was tucking my daughter into bed and she thanked me and said we had such a great day together.
When I said goodnight, she said: “See you next Sunday”.
The weight of her words sunk in like a punch to the stomach. I had become so immersed in work that I had neglected my family. My daughter only expected to see me one day a week. I knew at that moment something needed to change.
I started implementing boundaries in 2011 and it changed everything for me. I’d meet with a potential client and at the end of the conversation I’d phrase it like this:
My family is very important to me and to spend time with them I will not be able to show homes on Sundays and most weekday evenings. I want to make sure that will work for you?
I’ve only had one instance in the last nine years where a client said he only had availability on Sunday to see homes. So I referred him to another agent I knew worked weekends.
Unfortunately, she said he was the worst client she’s worked with. He was demanding and disrespectful of her time—because she didn’t set boundaries. He had zero reason to respect her.
So what do you do if you’re already working with a chunk of clients? How do you break the news that you need to begin focusing on what’s important—your family? Call every single one of your clients, now.
Let them know that in 2020, you’ll only be available at specific times, and that evenings and weekends will be devoted to your family. The majority of your clients will respect your decision and think more highly of you.
Keep listening for some other tips to set boundaries with people who aren’t even your clients yet.
People are often worried that setting boundaries in their business means they will lose clients. They worry about what people will think of them. Guys—let go of the disease to please. Focus on your family and what matters most.
When you do, I firmly believe that you will get busier. People respect men and women who set boundaries and know where their priorities lie. It builds respect and trust, and those people will send you referrals. And the referrals will send you referrals.
You’ll gain a reputation as someone who is trustworthy and stands by their beliefs. It won’t be easy at first, but it is 100% worth it.
Recommended Resources
Connect with Neil!
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Agent Rise podcast on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes)
What matters most in your business? How do you regain focus? As we are nearing the end of the year and entrenched in “shiny object season” it’s easy to lose sight of where you’re supposed to be. In this episode of Agent Rise, I lay out 3 strategies to help you focus on what matters most.
Are you so worried about what everyone else thinks that it leaves you paralyzed? Are you operating every day out of fear? If you can’t function because you’re afraid of what other people are thinking, stop now.
The enemy is trying to rob you of joy. Fight it!
Eliminate the disease to please. What matters most is the ability to push through and let go of the fear. Change your mindset from one of fear to one of freedom. I used to worry about every little thing, but I’ve learned how beautiful freedom is.
Claim it: I will no longer be held captive by the disease to please.
Your vision is your clear plan. Where are you going? How are you going to get there? When you start working towards your vision, your needs will be met. It’s a little scary, right?
On the flip side, if you’re working according to your needs, you begin to spiral. You start doing things you shouldn’t be doing and experience switch cost.
Ditch your needs. They will be met as you stay focused on your vision.
A clear and simple plan always begins by focusing on the basics of your business. Make three calls a day to new leads, your sphere of influence, and more. Focus on your attraction, chase, and sphere of influence pillars and what you’re doing for each. If you don’t have a plan, you won’t know what to say ‘no’ to. Remove shiny object syndrome—make it a thing of the past!
We have let so many things matter more than what matters most. Gaining clarity on that can be difficult. Are you ready to narrow down what truly matters? If you don’t have a clear plan or vision for your business, head on over to AgentOnTheRise.com and check out my masterclass. My goal is to help you simplify your business to amplify your results!
Recommended Resources
Connect with Neil!
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Agent Rise podcast on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes)
Selling homes in the winter is a difficult beast to overcome. It’s typically cold, and no one wants to move when there is snow on the ground. So how should you utilize the slow season? How do you combat shiny object syndrome? This episode of Agent Rise is all about answering YOUR questions about the slow season in Real Estate.
What do you do when everyone wants to start looking for a home in the Spring? Here’s my three-step plan to reel in the hesitant home-buyer:
You need to respect their schedule and timeline while providing value. But if you can show them the house of their dreams, odds are they will move up their timeline.
Preparing for the holidays can leave you completely distracted. I get it. So what can you do to combat the seasons? Get back to the basics (which I talk about in detail in this episode). Keep it simple and make three calls a day. If it’s three calls more than you’re already making, then it’s a win.
Make Match-making calls. Call someone in your sphere of influence and wish them happy holidays! Call someone and let them know you’re thankful for them in this season. These conversations may drum up some referrals. But more than that, it keeps you moving forward.
Don’t let winter drag you down!
I cannot emphasize this enough: stay the course. If your chase pillar is open-houses, don’t change your strategy because you’re in a slow season. You may not get a lot of visitors to your open houses, but you may get some unrepresented buyers. Perhaps the neighbors will come by and you can get to know them.
It also allows you to have better conversations with the people that do come by. Take advantage of the time you wouldn’t normally get and connect with buyers. Even if the house you’re selling isn’t their perfect match, maybe you can help them find the right one!
Don’t be discouraged. Seasons come and go. Take the slow season to get back to the basics, and prepare for the busy spring season to come.
Recommended Resources
Connect with Neil!
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Agent Rise podcast on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes)
We’ve been talking about trimming distractions from your business and getting back to the basics. But what does that mean? How can you move from spinning your wheels to moving forward? If you find yourself doing things that aren’t moving your business in the right direction, it’s time to take a step back, re-evaluate, and get back to the basics.
During the off-season, most sports implement a sort of spring training (or training camp). It’s all about getting back to the core of the game and practicing the basics.
In baseball, they have batting practice as well as working on stopping ground balls, fly balls, etc. In football, they run plays, focus on weight-lifting and conditioning, and prepare for the next season.
So why shouldn’t it be the same for agents? It’s important to take a step back, look at the big picture, and focus on perfecting the basics of the game. So what does that look like? Keep listening!
Making three calls a day is a simple way to begin building promise momentum. You make a simple promise to yourself, then keep that promise to yourself. If you’re spinning your wheels and you feel like your dignity has taken a nose-dive this is a great way to get back on track.
Make 3 phone calls 5 days a week.
It can be as simple as calling a friend to catch up. Call a potential client with a lead. Work on match-making and call someone with a home that fits the criteria they were looking for. You can even call an influencer in your community and make a connection.
Do you have a back-log of leads that have piled up that you haven’t had the time to follow-up on? So often, agents lose sight of what’s already in front of them. Reach out to the leads that you haven’t touched, or didn’t devote enough time to.
If you have 100 leads, send them an email simply asking if they’re interested in buying a house in the new year. Even if you get a 5% response rate, and only 3 of those people are interested—those are 3 cold leads that are now promising!
Keep listening as I talk about a few other ways you can connect with old leads and create new ones!
80% of your business will come from your sphere of influence, so it is imperative you stay connected with them. Send a mailer to them once a month. Call them at least twice a year. Invite them to happy hours or appreciation events. Continue to cultivate the relationships you have.
If you’re stuck, focus on choosing a chase pillar: open houses, running Facebook ads, hunting down FSBO’s, and more. Doing all of the above will work, but I advocate choosing one as your main focus. Then you can begin to perfect your craft and move towards excellence in that pillar. You don’t want to be a jack of all trades, but master of none.
To hear my thoughts on the attraction pillar and why it doesn’t need to be your focus, listen to the whole episode now!
Recommended Resources
Connect with Neil!
And connect with me on ANY of the following social channels. I LOVE social!
And finally, if you would be so kind - leave a rating and review for the Agent Rise podcast on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes)