Post Written by Rob Minton
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In one of the meetings with my team several years ago, I was explaining a new marketing strategy I wanted to test. One of my top selling agents seemed to disagree with my desire to test something new. I could tell by the way he was sitting and his non-verbal communication that he wanted to leave things the way they were.
Finally, he let loose and said, "What we are doing right now is working. Why would you change it? As soon as we figure out something that works, you immediately want to change it."
His comments were sincere. I realized that I didn't take the time to see things from his perspective. He was happy that things were working well. Heck, he was selling 10 to 12 homes a month. He didn't want to risk messing up our successful approach. I couldn't blame him after seeing things how he saw them.
I decided to share my thought process with the team. I went on to explain that if we continue to do the same things month in and month out, they would soon lose their effectiveness. That we must prepare for war in times of peace. This means we are required to constantly test new marketing and lead conversion systems within our business.
In reality, I was sharing a deep down belief I had about building a business. I believe that an entrepreneur (you) must always be working at a frantic pace. There are several reasons for this belief and mode of operation. Here are a few:
1. Advertisements that once worked, will eventually stop working.
2. Lead conversion systems that once worked, will eventually stop working.
3. Lending partners and other professionals that we counted on would eventually drop the ball.
4. Great employees or agents will eventually go bad. (Dan Kennedy taught me this and he was right.)
4. Other real estate agents in our marketplace would eventually start to copy us making it harder for us to stand out in the prospects mind.
5. If you're not growing, you're ultimately falling behind.
Building and running a business, any business, is a daily uphill battle. From my perspective, it should never get easier. If things get easy, something is wrong. You're about to fall behind. Yes, you might call me paranoid. I would rather be paranoid and proactive then reactive and desperate.
If you truly want to build a great business, you must realize that it will be challenging every day. You'll have to constantly push yourself and everyone around you to make things happen in your business. More importantly, you'll have to act with a sense of urgency, especially when others feel that it is okay to coast.
When I coach and consult with real estate professionals, I'm constantly amazed by the lack of urgency. One might tell me about something they tried that worked well in their business. I'll ask "What have you done to leverage this further?" In many cases, the answer is "Well, I plan to…."
Plan to?
What the hell?
You can't build a business planning. You build a business doing.
You don't have the luxury of waiting around. If something works, you have to kick it into 5th gear right now. You have to run up hill today, tomorrow and next week.
After giving my rant to the team, my top agent said, "I never thought about it that way. I guess your idea is like an insurance policy for the business." He then went on to share how he had noticed other agents copying us in our market place.
Bottom-line: Do not be patient with your business. Let your competitors be patient, not you! Act with urgency every single day.