There’s no room for the shy or timid on the seat of a bicycle flying down - or up - a steep hill on a mountain bike.
The stakes are high and if you don’t control the mountain, it controls you.
I thought this the other weekend while I was tackling some lava rock up by our vacation home in Island Park, Idaho. The views and the fresh air from the top are both breathtaking, but the path to get there is lined with big rocks and ruts that will stop anyone in their tracks.
My strategy for getting through the rocks without stopping? Momentum, and lots of it. When I see a challenge in the path ahead of me, it’s critical that I lock in on it and pedal faster. By building that momentum, I cruise right over the big rocks and ruts without getting stuck or side-tracked (and hopefully feed my competitive nature by leaving my 24 year old son in the dust).
Building Real Estate Sales Momentum
So that morning in 1962 I told myself: Let everyone else call your idea crazy … just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop. - Phil Knight, founder of NIKE - “Shoe Dog”
I think to the times that I have had great success in real estate and in business. It seems that, during all these times, one success just rolled into the next. I call this business momentum, a state where we’re both more effective and more efficient in our efforts. In sports, it’s when an athlete is locked in or “in the zone” - everything feels smooth and effortless. Here’s how real estate agents achieve this state.
1. Build your process
Momentum starts with your process. Even if you have nothing going for you - no leads, no buyers under contract, nothing - you can build momentum by creating great habits. You’ll get better at waking up early, time blocking for the most important activities, and performing at a peak state each day.
Set goals for where you want to be, and let these goals drive your process. If you’re in a funk (which happens, even to the best of us) don’t focus on the lack of success, rather, focus on where you want to be. That will help you get out of the funk and start building momentum towards your goals.
For example, set two hours aside each day to contact new leads. Do it every time you come into the office, and don’t miss a day. After a while, it will become a habit and a fundamental building block to your success.
2. Capitalize on opportunity
If you’re doing the right things daily, you’ll start to see opportunities. At first, you might not be able to capitalize on them. My experience working in the industry has shown me that new agents typically take 60-90 days to sell their first home; however, I’ve learned that if agents stick to their process, the second sale comes much faster - followed by a 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. Soon, selling multiple homes in a week is an achievable and realistic goal. I love watching agents build this momentum.
Keep in mind that you never know when your opportunities will come. You could schedule an appointment today with a seller getting ready to list who is also looking to buy a multi-million dollar home. If you’ve been focussed and disciplined, your confidence will show through and you will deliver results when it matters the most.
3. Celebrate success
READ THIS. Do yourself a huge favor and celebrate your success! If you hit your goal of selling 12 houses in a month, at least just take a minute to think about how awesome you are. Seriously, I’ve seen people who do incredible things in real estate and don’t even blink at it.
I’m not promoting an external, show-off, artificial celebration. I’m talking about an internal satisfaction and appreciation for personal growth and progress.
I want to be like my kids, who celebrate like crazy when they win a race in Mario Kart or land a new trick on the scooter. It’s healthy, and it helps you take the momentum from your previous achievements with you to your next challenge.
You shouldn’t have to sell a ten million dollar home to celebrate, although that would certainly be a reason to do so. Celebrate the small things. Take a minute each day to write down the things you’ve accomplished and you’ll find that you’re doing more than you think. Be grateful for the abilities and talents you’ve been given and the things that you’ve accomplished with them. Your outlook and mindset will be one of gratitude and positivity - which will create momentum.
There’s a difference between celebrating success and letting off the throttle. Celebration is about enjoying the results that your efforts have created and channeling them into creating more positive results. In fact, I think it’s the key to maintaining momentum. Every time you celebrate, your brain gives a boost of dopamine. It links the entire process to that feeling, which makes it enjoyable and repeatable.
Letting off the throttle means quitting the whole process. It’s the “go home at 1:30 and watch netflix all day because I already made a sale” mentality, which has the exact opposite effect. That’s like speeding up your car to 80MPH just to smash it into a wall. Instead, we’re talking about using the momentum from that sale to carry you into making another, and another, and another. Don’t let off the throttle once you’ve started building momentum.
And most importantly, work hard, celebrate hard, and celebrate often.
Get Started
The hardest part of my ride was just getting started. The sun was just barely peeking over the mountains and the rocks in the path seemed huge. I took it one pedal at a time, learned the path, and didn’t let up. All I had to do was get in my groove. When I reached the end of the trail, I looked out over the river at the waterfall and took it all in. I celebrated, and it felt great. That’s why I love mountain biking - I associate the challenge with the feeling of success, and the challenge becomes enjoyable. I guess that’s why I love business, tool - as we all should if we understand the process of building and maintaining momentum.
The first step is building your process by tracking the inputs that create the output you desire. That’s what Sisu is for. Sisu tracks each function in the sales process. You can download the app onto your phone and carry it with you wherever you go. Whenever you make a call, list a home, generate a lead, etc., you can log these numbers into the app with the click of a button. Then, you’ll be able to see your results in our Sisu Team online dashboards, optimize your process, celebrate your successes, and carry that momentum into selling even more homes.
You can even compete against others with gamification features, creating a fun, addictive and rewarding work environment. Sisu is the ultimate tool for building and maintaining real estate sales momentum.
