If you are feeling like you are 5,000 miles past your last oil change this time of year, you are not alone. Sometimes life can change so quickly in a year. You may find that as you approach a new chapter, you are uncharted territory. Setbacks and failures will happen, but its what you learn from these valuable mistakes that allow you to continue to grow into the next version of yourself. This New Year’s, I’m not making resolutions, but pausing to reflect on what I’ve learned in the last decade.
Here are three common areas I see agents struggle with, especially when they feel like they are feeling like they are set back and need to pivot their business.
You moved brokerages
Changing your office brings not only a change of branding but typically a change in policy and procedure. Most agents will need at least 90 days to start feeling comfortable and reset their pipeline. You may also miss certain things about your old office, the few pros that made you pause before you left. The change that you were seeking the move will not be instant. Most changes will add more stress to your life before it takes some away.
Pro Tips: Check to make sure your digital presence is up to date. Sometimes new office changes do not translate online well. Make a lunch date with someone from your old office that you miss. Maintaining relationships with colleagues in the industry is one of the best-kept secrets for finding success in your local market.
Growing pains
Your career or your team grew too quickly, and now chaos runs your life. You may find yourself fantasizing about a time when you had less responsibility and fewer clients looking for you. Real estate has a way of spinning out of control quickly, especially when you are still hungry to grow your business, and you have not reached your personal financial goals yet.
Pro Tip: Call a team meeting and “air the grievances.” Ask everyone what is working for them and what is not working. Strive to improve communication across the board. Delegate to everyone’s strengths. Make sure that there is regularly planned downtime for everyone. Especially support staff. Rotate showings on evenings and weekends if you can.
Failure turns into A call to action
Deals will be lost; clients will leave a terrible review. Contracts will turn into transactional management nightmares. You will fail spectacularly. This is something that will happen to even the most talented and successful agents. Why? Because there are too many variables to maintain control of at all times. Some clients will go rogue and not show up to closing. Others will sabotage their financing. Expect the unexpected. That’s life, and sometimes it will be a beautiful mess.
Pro Tips: Take a moment to reflect on the sticky situations that occurred in 2019. Write out what happened, and then write out the advice you would give to another agent about how to handle it in the future. Did you know that writing things down can help imprint new habits into your memory more easily? Keep a “work” diary where you take notes. The act of physically writing helps your mind make connections that you can recall more quickly in the future.
One thing I want to encourage everyone to do is to make appropriate room for error. One of the first things I usually identify as a problem in consulting is too much room or lack of room for error. Too much room means that you have poorly planned, you are running behind, and preparation is not a factor in your work habits. Too little room means that you are too hard on yourself and that you might have analysis paralysis. Measure out your workload and start making room for organization and forgiveness in your work life.
I challenge you to reflect before you resolve. The answers you are looking for to make 2020 better might just be staring you back in the mirror.
By day, Rachael Hite helps agents develop their business. By night, she’s tweeting and blogging. Feel free to tweet her @rachaelhite
Are you ready for what the industry holds in 2020? Inman Connect New York is your key to unlocking opportunity in a changing market. At Connect you will gain insight into the future, discover new strategies and network with real estate’s best and brightest to accelerate your business. Create your 2020 success story at Inman Connect New York, January 28-31, 2019.
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