How to have a f*cking great day in Real Estate

I was inspired to write this when I read a post today by a dude I came across on LinkedIn called Jack Kosakowski . So inspired that I thumbed it out on my phone on the tube from Canary Wharf to Finsbury Park on Tuesday night. 1600 or so words in just under 40 minutes. Sorry in advance for the spelling mistakes which I have tried and probably failed to correct (and constant swearing…I got pretty into it).

I don’t know Jack, Jack doesn’t know me. But his post about the bullshit ‘thought leadership’ he was seeing on LinkedIn hit a chord with me. I’ve been publishing my own thoughts on LinkedIn for a while now. Was I part of the problem?

I decided to take his advice (thanks, Jack) and put down some real life examples of what I teach, which is simply what worked (and works) for me.

Below is pretty much my ideal day in real estate (you could substitute real estate for any job, or just life really). Take from it what you will, but when I follow this pattern consistently, I’m happier, I’m healthier and I get results beyond my goals.

How to have a fucking great day in real estate

Get up early.

I’m talking some time between 5:30 and 6am. Anytime after that and it’s not only that you can’t get anything done before work, you’ll actually be more tempted to sleep in. If you plan to get up early and end up sleeping in, you’re going to have a woeful day because you’ve already let yourself down before you even got out of bed. Think about that next time you hit snooze.

Before you do anything else, drink some water. If you do nothing else, do this. You’re whole body will work better for you later on.

Take a cold shower.

Straight out of the Tony Robbins playbook. This is going to suck. That’s kind of the point. Grit your teeth, tell your brain it’s happening and do it. This will absolutely be the worst part of your day. Which is fantastic. It’s not even 6am yet and you’re day can now only get better. How good is that!?

Workout.

I don’t mean doing 100 burpees and 400m hill sprints to destroy yourself until you vomit (feel free to do that thought, if you want – you psycho). But do something that makes you sweat. Sweat keeps you healthy. You’re literally rinsing your body of all the bad stuff. Imagine your body is a wet towel and you’re wringing it out. That’s a really bad (but somewhat accurate…I think) way of describing sweat.

Go for a walk, run for 2 mins until your coughing up the cigarettes from the night before (hitting too close to home for some?), and walk some more. If you’re in a couple you could even get super creative with that extra hour (and you’ll be extra awake after that cold shower). Just make sure you sweat .

Eat something healthy.

It doesn’t have to be a green smoothie and it probably shouldn’t be an a?ai bowl (what I like to call expensive sugar) but get a decent meal in. I eat overnight oats every day. Oats, cinnamon, sultanas and almond milk. It takes 2 minutes to prepare the night before and it’s a complete no brainer the next morning. Eggs and toast, bacon (I am always about bacon) and some spinach. Who cares about the finer details, just get something in you that you’d tell someone who’s fat and sick yo eat to get healthy!

Get dressed.

Here’s where you can take your time. Believe it or not but appearance matters. But maybe not for the reasons you think.

Get dressed for you.

Dress However makes you feel like a fucking boss. If you’re into the double Windsor knot and pocket square then rock that every day. Girls, it’s hard for me to speak from personal experience here but I think you’ll get where I’m coming from.

Look your best for you. You’ll walk out of the door with your head higher.

Leave for work early.

How shit is that feeling of being in the car on the way into the office (or worse, an appointment) and you hit traffic. You feel it grow like a pit in your stomach. Give yourself time for the traffic to fuck your timing up. Then laugh as it happens.

You’ve won another battle for the day and it’s not even 8am.

Call someone you love in the car.

I am such a huge believer in calling in the car. Other than putting your favourite band (or the one we’re all too embarrassed to admit) on full volume and screaming the words at the top of your lungs out (great for the soul), calling your friends and family in the car is the next best thing. Especially in the mornings.

Calling these people means two things happen. One, they know you care. That’s huge. For you and for them. Imagine all the good things that will happen in your life when people know you actually care about them. In a world where hitting like on Facebook is accepted as communication, calling goes a long, long way.

And two, you’ll walk in to work in the best fucking mood everyday. You will literally be radiant. People will wonder what you’ve been up to that morning (maybe you’re one of the lucky couples I spoke about earlier too as well). Make the call. Trust me

Make (not buy) a coffee. Coffee, even instant coffee, is awesome. Enough said.

Don’t open your emails. Seriously. They’re like bills, once you open them they become real. They’ll still be there in an hour or two.

It’s 8:45, time to work.

10 before 10.

Aim to speak to 10 people before 10. Its been my rule in business for nearly a decade that if I talk to 20 people a day, my life takes care of itself. If I can knock 10 of them over before 10am, my chances of cracking that’s manic number (and probably more) DRAMATICALLY increase with another 8 hours or so to go.

Once you’ve hit those 10, give yourself a self-five.

You’ve done a lot today and it’s not even morning tea time! Anyone you don’t speak to, make a note of their names in your diary or notebook (more on this later).

Check your emails. It's 10am and you’re opening Outlook and somehow, the world hasn’t burned down. Congratulations.

Next up, keep it real simple. Close those emails down and get back on the phone. Give yourself a real chance and go hard for another hour. No Facebook, no office chat about the air-conditioning temperature or what’s for lunch, no second coffee (no one like talking to a jitterbug).

12noon.

A good morning on the phone sets your whole afternoon up. You’ll find after a few days of doing this you won’t have to worry about calling anyone else in the afternoon because you’re too full with appointments (wouldn’t that be nice?).

Once you’ve finished your hour, go back to that list of names who didn’t answer (and who hopefully you left short and sweet voicemails for). Email them with an equally short and sweet message. Say Hello, tell them why you called (always have a reason, humans do not have a physical base to touch – cut that shit out of your vocabulary), leave your mobile number to call you back. Even if it’s in your email signature, write your mobile number again. Count the amount of calls you start getting back. Send said emails and;

Have lunch.

My favourite part of the day. Treat yourself to something that’ll keep you going on all those appointments this afternoon. Even better if you brought something from home. Half the way to crushing a life in sales is knowing where to save money.

Afternoon appointment time. Get all your shit together for ever appointment you might have. Brochures, flyers, offer forms, anything else. Put them in order of first to last. Gather keys as well (if you can).

The more organised you are, the more confident you’ll be. Your buyers (or tenants for all you Lettings legends reading this) will love you for being organised. Much better than the person they saw earlier who was late, forgot the keys (and their names), and smelt like a mixture of a double quarter-pounder and chewing gum. Not to stereotype…

If you’ve got a quiet afternoon then I’d still recommend getting out into your market. Walk, don’t drive. Why? People might see you and it’s good for your health. Make a call or two while you’re walking, see how your conversations improve. The is the best practice you’ll ever do.

It’s hard to pinpoint how the rest of the day will go from here. It’s kind of up to you now. But if you’ve done everything above, even better if you do it consistently, I’d wager that you’ll be rising up the ranks quicker than those who roll in with five minutes to spare, three coffees (all bought) down and spend the next 15 minutes whinging about traffic, Love Island and all the people they “wasted time with” yesterday (if any…).

My point is not to preach at you. This is my experience, it's all I can share. Maybe it'll work for you, maybe it won't. You got this job for a reason and you won't know if you don't try.

Give it your best shot.

I can say first hand that when real estate (and probably any job) sucks, it really sucks. But when it’s great, it really is the best job in the world. You help more than you sell, you can to peer into people’s lives and really make a difference. Give it a month and let me know how it goes

PEACE

Sam

PS. Whoever your most important client is, either call them first thing or last thing in the day. Always in the car where it’s just you and them and you’re not tempted by emails, texts, cute dogs outside the shop window or any other distractions. They need to know they’re important to you too, remember.

Go hard