What's Made 2011 so Successful?

Have you asked yourself that question recently? Now's a good time to think about it since it is the halfway mark. My real estate coach (Michael Friedman, Real Estate Inner Circle) asked me that the last time we spoke and 4 things came to mind right away. Would you mind if I shared them with you? 

1. Leverage- After years of fear (no assistant since 2008) I hired Bridget last July. Yes it was a commitment of monthly dollars regardless of my production and yes I was worried about not having enough to do to keep her busy, but once I got over those obstacles my production has increased and I've been able to accomplish my big dream of living by the ocean. I couldn't have made that happen without a great assistant. Remember the phrase, "That which you fear the most means you should probably do it," because that's the quote I used to convince me that now was the time to pay for the kind of help I needed. 

2. Coaching- I had never paid for coaching before and now it's been over a year and it was an excellent investment. Weekly accountability plus some great advice, ideas, tools of the trade, scripts, etc makes it worth the money. Again, fear at the beginning because it's expensive, but now looking back, it was well worth it. I highly recommend Michael Friedman AND my wife Dana Whittaker for amazing results. 

3. Business planning early- I taught a class in September of last year for a few agents in the office. It forced me to do my 2011 business plan by the end of September which is the earliest I had ever done one. Usually I wait until December but with short sales taking lots of time and deals in general longer than they used to be, the business plan is critical for a productive new year and early is good. In fact, we're talking about doing 2012's by mid September.

4. Morning with Mo lead generation challenge- Mo's visit last October was critical for my push into 2011. She challenged the ALC to lead generate in the bullpen for 30 business days (6 weeks) which started November 1st and went into the holiday season. It was the push I needed to get my business flowing. So much so that I plan to do the same challenge with myself starting September 1st of this year. 2 hours of lead generation in the office M-F from 9-11 until Mid December. If you want 2012 to be different than 2011 start now.

                                                       My Vision Board

I encourage all of you to consider slight tweaks to your business right now to have a better and different 2nd half of 2011 and 2012. I firmly believe it starts with goal setting. If you mess this up, it'll throw you off for the year. I'm an expert in goal setting and am still on track with my 2011 goals which I set last September. If you want my help, reach out to me. All the best to you and your career in the 2nd half of this year. You still have time to reach your potential.