After each game, professional football teams gather to have what they call “film day.” Whether they won or got crushed, they study film of the game so they can improve their movements, throws, kicks and overall skills. They study every single game so they can learn from both success and failure and continually push to get better.
Unlike football players, many agents in our industry fail to study their performance at the end of each day. Sales isn’t rocket science; it’s basic math. Did you make enough phone calls in order to book enough appointments on a daily, weekly and monthly basis? It seems simple, but the only way to know those numbers is to track your performance.
For years, I used a paper planner to document all of my appointments and activities. Then technology came along and I had to ditch my planner for a handheld device that wasn’t nearly as effective for tracking my performance—at least for me, anyway (and I know I can’t be the only one who misses the old-school way of getting things done!). But whether you embrace the new technology or prefer to go with the traditional method, the important thing is that you’re recording, updating and reviewing your numbers consistently. Almost every motivational speaker on tour today has some form of planner that they developed based on the activities and behaviors of highly successful people. Just like with football, this is how you improve—by evaluating your performance so you know which problem areas to target.
However, you don’t have to run out and spend a ton of money on a good planner. We have a simple yet powerful tool that we’re offering to you for free. It’s called the Daily Success Habits Tracker (DSH).
The DSH allows you to track each money-making activity you do in real estate, including prospecting calls and emails, handwritten cards, appointments with buyers and sellers, closings, and open houses. Each activity has a point value assigned to it, and the goal is to earn a minimum of 61 points per day.
My favorite part of the DSH is 1MT1MT, which stands for “one more thing, one more time.” This gives you an opportunity to earn an extra point by making one more phone call, knocking on one more door, writing one more personal note, etc. The power of doing just one more thing, one more time compounded over time is massive. It can be the difference between a $1 million producer and a $10 million producer.
I love the saying, “There is no growth without discomfort.” Tracking our performance isn’t a comfortable activity, because it shines a light on the fact that most of us waste more time focusing on non-dollar-making activities than we do on prospecting for new business. Time is the only limit we have. Be intentional, learn to delegate, and focus on getting 61 points per day, and you’ll never wonder where your next commission is coming from.
Sarah Michelle Bliss is a coach with Workman Success Systems. She has been in the real estate industry since 1995 and is a founder at RE/MAX Professionals, where she has been a part of the Nate Martinez Team since 1997. Over the past 20 years, she has taught locally and nationally, and coached and influenced her peers through team management, agent development and training. Bliss is currently the director of Agent Development for RE/MAX Professionals in Glendale, Ariz. For more information, please visit www.WorkmanSuccess.com.
