Real estate is too simple

Real Estate Is Too Simple

In an industry constantly chasing the next shiny marketing tool, social media strategy, or lead generation system, the foundation of real estate success remains shockingly simple: consistent human connection.

I'm not sure how this keeps evading people, but real estate is so very simple.

The 50 Conversation Reality

One of my 1:1 clients told me this week, “Wow, I made my 50 contacts per week for the last 3 weeks and now I almost have too much business!”

Shocker.

Yet this client, a veteran agent and leader, knew what to do. He simply wasn’t doing it consistently.

Separately, but related, I spoke to a group of over 200 seasoned agents this week. Most of these agents have done the Ninja Installation. What is the key component of Ninja Selling? Have 50 live conversations per week. What were most of the 200 people in that room not doing consistently? Having 50 live conversations per week!

Almost every time I get on Zoom with a new coaching client (as I did this week), they ask me: “What should I be doing?” 

Me: “Talk to 50 people per week.”

Them: “But what else should I do?”

Me: “Nothing until you speak to 50 people per week.”

Them: Long sigh.

The long sigh tells me they are not going to do it. Why? 

The Search for Novelty vs. The Power of Practice

“Actually, the essence of boredom is to be found in the obsessive search for novelty. Satisfaction lies in mindful repetition, the discovery of endless richness in subtle variations on familiar themes.” - George Leonard, Mastery: The Keys To Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

It is not boring to speak with 50 people per week. In fact, that is where the richness of this business lies. However, most people keep looking for novelty and never get anywhere close to satisfaction. In the search for novelty and quick fixes, they end up with worry, concern, and...no results. They are no better off than where they were last year - or the year before. 

When Leonard talks about mindful repetition, he is talking about the movement ‘tai no henko’. During his third aikido class, the instructor said they were going to do tai no henko, and he said to himself “I already know that one.” 

As he remarked later in the passage: “My surrender was definitive: since then, I’ve practiced tai no henko at least 50,000 times.”

Consider most agents are not operating from a regular practice. They keep looking for a magic pill, the silver bullet, the one thing that requires no effort but will fill their bank account. It’s never happened, and it never will.

“Our preoccupation with goals, results, and the quick fix has separated us from our own experiences.” - George Leonard, Mastery: The Keys To Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

An Example

I knocked on over 125,000 doors. One hundred and twenty-five thousand times I had to walk up to a door and knock on it. Over forty thousand times someone answered it and I had a live conversation with another human being. 

“A regular practice not only elicits energy, but tames it. Without the firm underpinnings of a practice, deadlines can produce violent swings between frantic activity and collapse. Oh the master’s journey, you can learn to put things in perspective, to keep the flow of energy going during low moments as well as high.” - George Leonard, Mastery: The Keys To Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

Did I ever “worry” in real estate? Of course I did! But the more I settled into my practice, the more at ease I became. I knew that my evolving mastery put me in a continued position to win in the long run.

Control is An Illusion

The only thing you can control in your real estate business is your actions. That’s it. You have absolutely no control over when people decide to buy or sell, when a property goes under contract, or when a transaction closes. In other words, we have no idea when we are ever going to get paid.

When you focus on external factors, you’re doomed. You worry about things you can do nothing about. Freedom comes when you get clear that the path to your success is your action, and the action that makes a difference is in building and nurturing relationships. Build a weekly process around that, and the business will come. Maybe not on your timetable, but come it will. Plus, you get peace, calm, and satisfaction.

What About You?

“Indecision leads to inaction, which leads to low energy, depression, despair.” - George Leonard, Mastery: The Keys To Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

Maybe you are 100% clear you need to talk to people. The next question becomes, “How?”. I don’t know. I knocked on doors. You are not likely to do that. All successful agents figure it out. They figure out a way to get in front of people, be around people, or reach out to people. Figure out what you will be willing to do, and schedule it. Try it for a week or two. Adjust, modify, tweak. Then try it again. (Can you see why it is helpful to have a coach?) 

If you are committed, you will figure it out. As I have said before, I recommend not doing it on your own. If you aren’t going to hire a coach, find someone else who is also committed. Most people are not committed - success to them occurs as a good idea. Breathing is not a good idea for human beings - it is required to stay alive. Conversely, having 50 live conversations is essential to staying alive in real estate.