by Leah Turner on March 8, 2010
“Spring or not, it is time for some spring cleaning of your values. Time has past, you have grown, changed, etc., and yet you probably have kept many of the same values, ideas, etc. that you always had. Take some time to think about what really matters to you now, and compare it to what you thought 5 years ago. Chances are you will find some areas you have new opinions on, and yet you may still be acting in ways that do not match these new values.”
– Edward W. Smith, Sixty Seconds To Success
It’s almost spring time! And spring represents a time of re-birth, a new beginning, and a chance to get organized and focused. In some ways, it is an opportunity to start anew! For those of you who live up north, spring time also means the weather finally gets warmer and you just naturally feel better when you can get outside and enjoy! Flowers are blooming, the grass is getting green again, and the days last a little longer…it is enough to get ANYONE feeling better! [click to continue…]
by Leah Turner on February 23, 2010
Do you ever have days when the world may seem a little crazy and out of control? Of COURSE you do, we ALL do. The past few years have been unpredictable, to say the least. The real estate market has experienced challenges and changes like never before! Words like short-sale expert and foreclosure are now all too common place in our vocabulary and conversations.
The business has also become much more emotional. As real estate professionals, we are continually navigating our clients through some pretty unclear waters these days. We are standing on the sidelines as people are struggling with being upside down in their mortgage payments, anxiously awaiting news from the banks about offers being accepted, being forced to sell their homes, and in some cases losing their homes. Crazy stuff!
All of this can add to our stress levels. In fact, it can make us feel as though we have no control over any of the circumstances and situations in our business. Feeling like we have no control can leave us feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed and even depressed.
These are the times I encourage my coaching clients to take a deep breath, step back from the situation for a moment and look at the things we do have control over. We can’t control the national economy, the health care situation, or even the number of short sales on the market…..but, what we can control is our *internal* economy. By this I mean we can control our thoughts, our words and our actions.
Let me give you an example of what I mean. I am on a diet and am working with a weight loss coach to insure my success. Each week I go into the weight loss center and get on the scales to determine my progress from the previous week. Last week I had a triumphant week. I lost 3 lbs! I was so excited that I told the doctor that next week I was going to lose 4 lbs! While she was proud of my enthusiasm, she said to me: “Leah, you can’t control the numbers on the scale. What you can control are the actions you take to decrease the numbers. So instead of making your goal to lose 4 lbs (which you can’t control), your goal should focus on what you do have control over…..watching the calories and carbs you intake, drinking more water, and exercising every day.”
WOW. This simple statement made me look at things in a different way and really embrace the importance of letting go of the outcomes that I cannot control. Instead I am focusing on the action steps that I can control.
I challenge you to look at your business from this perspective and clearly set goals and action steps that will propel you towards the outcome you would like to achieve, and to let go of those things that you have no control over. Remember, you are in total control of your *internal* economy!
Guest Blogger: Leah Turner
email: Leah@CreatingYourMasterpiece.com
website: CreatingYourMasterpiece.com
407.709.6816
by Kathi King on February 11, 2010
Today in my in-box, my daily e-mail from ClickZ caught my eye – Social Commerce 101: Leverage Word of Mouth to Boost Sales by Sam Decker. Social networking and social media are the current, sexy, shiny topics at business and marketing conferences in the real estate industry. Are we using this new marketing venue correctly? Probably not.
In his column, Decker asks these two questions: “What does the ’social’ moniker mean for your business?” and “How does the customer voice really impact bottom-line sales?”
I know that most brokerages are working an angle with the social media platforms, but have they answered these two questions? If your brokerage has, we would love to hear your comments. [click to continue…]
by Leah Turner on February 9, 2010
It is a Saturday afternoon, and I am stressed! Yes, even life coaches get stressed out occasionally. Why am I stressed, you ask? Well, I am looking at my calendar for next week and it is pretty crazy. I will be in Ft. Myers for two days giving a presentation to a large group of Realtors and then I will be in Atlanta on Thursday and Friday of that same week presenting to the Atlanta Homebuilders Association Sales & Marketing Council. Whew….So, I am diligently trying to pre-plan, pre-pack, and pre-anticipate any last minute challenges that might arise.
If you have been following my blog, you know that I am a BIG proponent of being PROACTVE rather than REACITVE in all areas of my life. My husband would probably tell you that I can be quite anal about doing so, but that’s a topic for another blog. Anyway, that is why I am spending some extra time this weekend working to insure that all flows smoothly next week. [click to continue…]
by Diana Hathaway-Timmons on February 1, 2010
Conquer Procrastination Now (Not Later).
I confess that I’ve had a long-running love affair with “to-do” lists. I probably created my first list in elementary school – most likely in pink or orange crayon.
Most people believe they’re either a “list person” or not. The non-listers are often unimpressed with the static nature of a list, or they see it as another demand on their busy schedule. In the years since I wrote my first list, I’ve become more and more aware of that static nature the non-listers complain about. When we’re trying to reach a goal, the first task we take on is to break the goal up into manageable tasks and make a list to complete the tasks. So far that sounds pretty reasonable. [click to continue…]
