It's amazing how quickly we forget the basics in favor of the "flavor of the month". The following are the 5 basics (not in any particular order) for commercial real estate success:
1. Show Up
How many of you show up everyday at the same time ready to work? This one is so simple. Show up dressed professionally, with your business hat on, ready to work. That's it. Of course you will have to dive in and actually take action steps in order to accomplish something. So many of my ultra successful clients tell me this is the number one secret to their success; and, it's so easy!
2. Return ALL Calls
It is amazing to me how many people in our business don't return all of their calls. Some pick and choose the ones they deem important, some ignore all calls figuring if it's important the caller will try again, some return calls only when time permits.
But really, how rude! How can one possibly know which calls could have the potential to lead to business? And not only should every call be returned but they should be returned with grace and a smile. I remember when I was in college taking a business class and we learned about the habits and characteristics of the typical CEO. When you're way up top apparently you got there because among other things you make sure every call gets returned; either personally by the CEO or his/her assistant.
Let's take a page from the CEO's book - just return all of your calls - please!
3. Take Massive Action
Tell the truth, do you just sit at your desk and wait for the phone to ring? What would happen to your business if you actually took action? How about massive action? Wouldn't you make much better use of your time if you spent 60 minutes taking massive action versus using that same 60 minutes checking your email all day long? The following tip will be worth ten times the price of this newsletter. Each morning write a list of action steps you need to complete before days end. Then, dive in and start checking them off one-by-one. This will only work if you allow yourself a good chunk of uninterrupted time.
4. Implementation Supercedes Perfection
As we get more experienced we seem to get stopped in our tracks more often. The longer we are in the business - the more perfect we feel we should be. What happens then is we almost get afraid to take action steps if they are even one-fraction away form perfection. When we are a beginner, we don't know what perfect is yet so it's easier to just jump in and do it.
Get back into the habit of "just doing it". This doesn't mean things shouldn't be well thought out and professional. It just means good enough often times is good enough. Just look at my newsletters - they are far from perfect. But it's more important for me to get the darn thing out the door in a timely fashion then it is for me to make it absolutely perfect. Plus, you'd be amazed how much business this newsletter brings me!
Bottom line: IMPLEMENT above all else.
5. Continue Sharpening Your Skills
Some of us get so darn complacent; we actually begin to believe we know it all. What a mistake. Being a life-long learner has actually been proven to extend you life. Have a list of every skill you'd like to learn or improve, read everything you can get your hands on that will teach you something, be open-minded and aware of the fact that you don't know what you don't know. You may find some new ways of doing things or strategies for accomplishing more in less time. How about finding out what the guys at the top know and do.
Adopt (or continue) a path of self-development. You will have a few surprises in store as a result!
These 5 basics, if regularly practiced will greatly increase your bottom line. You will put more money in the bank and fewer hours in your work-week - I PROMISE!
1. Show Up
How many of you show up everyday at the same time ready to work? This one is so simple. Show up dressed professionally, with your business hat on, ready to work. That's it. Of course you will have to dive in and actually take action steps in order to accomplish something. So many of my ultra successful clients tell me this is the number one secret to their success; and, it's so easy!
2. Return ALL Calls
It is amazing to me how many people in our business don't return all of their calls. Some pick and choose the ones they deem important, some ignore all calls figuring if it's important the caller will try again, some return calls only when time permits.
But really, how rude! How can one possibly know which calls could have the potential to lead to business? And not only should every call be returned but they should be returned with grace and a smile. I remember when I was in college taking a business class and we learned about the habits and characteristics of the typical CEO. When you're way up top apparently you got there because among other things you make sure every call gets returned; either personally by the CEO or his/her assistant.
Let's take a page from the CEO's book - just return all of your calls - please!
3. Take Massive Action
Tell the truth, do you just sit at your desk and wait for the phone to ring? What would happen to your business if you actually took action? How about massive action? Wouldn't you make much better use of your time if you spent 60 minutes taking massive action versus using that same 60 minutes checking your email all day long? The following tip will be worth ten times the price of this newsletter. Each morning write a list of action steps you need to complete before days end. Then, dive in and start checking them off one-by-one. This will only work if you allow yourself a good chunk of uninterrupted time.
4. Implementation Supercedes Perfection
As we get more experienced we seem to get stopped in our tracks more often. The longer we are in the business - the more perfect we feel we should be. What happens then is we almost get afraid to take action steps if they are even one-fraction away form perfection. When we are a beginner, we don't know what perfect is yet so it's easier to just jump in and do it.
Get back into the habit of "just doing it". This doesn't mean things shouldn't be well thought out and professional. It just means good enough often times is good enough. Just look at my newsletters - they are far from perfect. But it's more important for me to get the darn thing out the door in a timely fashion then it is for me to make it absolutely perfect. Plus, you'd be amazed how much business this newsletter brings me!
Bottom line: IMPLEMENT above all else.
5. Continue Sharpening Your Skills
Some of us get so darn complacent; we actually begin to believe we know it all. What a mistake. Being a life-long learner has actually been proven to extend you life. Have a list of every skill you'd like to learn or improve, read everything you can get your hands on that will teach you something, be open-minded and aware of the fact that you don't know what you don't know. You may find some new ways of doing things or strategies for accomplishing more in less time. How about finding out what the guys at the top know and do.
Adopt (or continue) a path of self-development. You will have a few surprises in store as a result!
These 5 basics, if regularly practiced will greatly increase your bottom line. You will put more money in the bank and fewer hours in your work-week - I PROMISE!
| Cindy Saxman Spivack, CEO and President of Cindy Spivack International, Inc., teaches Commercial Real Estate Professionals 7 Key Strategies for building an enormously successful commercial real estate business in 12 months or less. |  |
