Mysteries & Hard Truths

Life is not as mysterious as I once believed. Perhaps more accurately, life is not as mysterious as I once hoped. What I’m talking about it is a specific kind of mystery that we use to mask a hard truth. Have you ever heard someone say, “I just can’t lose weight; I’ve tried everything”? Can that possibly be true? The reality is that if you try everything, you will eventually come on a winning formula. In the case of weight loss, it comes down to three basic factors – food intake, activity level, and medical conditions/prescriptions. Systematically address all three of those categories, and you will find a strategy that works.

So why do we use the language of mystery? Because doing so removes a layer of personal responsibility for accepting an unwanted or undesirable truth. If the answer is beyond our control, then it isn’t our fault. There is short-term comfort in that which comes at the cost of long-term success.

Commercial Real Estate, and sales in general, is no stranger to hard truths masquerading as mysteries. It would be nearly impossible to share all the ways in which I see people running from hard truths, but it is very practical to share with you five of the most common issues we avoid in brokerage. In no particular order…

1.      Database – it is exceptionally rare to see a broker succeed beyond the quality and size of their database. Many brokers were not taught how to properly build a database in the first place, and of those who were, even fewer were taught how to maintain it over time. The result is a broker, even with the best intentions of regular prospecting, who simply doesn’t have enough quality contacts. Why is this such a hard truth? Because building and maintaining a database is tedious work. It’s hard enough when you are new and have nothing in the pipeline. It can feel impossible when you are a busy senior agent. To the senior agents out there with insufficient databases, it will never get easier. Start today!

2.      Business Investment – I may never get used the sight of a broker arriving to work in a luxury car and bespoke suit who then proceeds to complain about the company not paying for an assistant. Another common sight is the hiring of a commission-only junior agent whose talents are misused in technical and administrative duties. As brokers, we are susceptible to this because of how we started. Most brokers create a substantial business built on courage, a phone, gasoline, and shoe leather. At some point, however, growth is constrained when the broker is unwilling to make capital investments in their business.

3.      Constructive Criticism – we all have things in our business style that can be improved. We all have blind spots. And the thing that should be obvious about blind spots, but often isn’t, is that they are nearly impossible to self-diagnose. If they were easy to see; we’d have to call them something other than blind spots. Successful agents run an extraordinary risk, over time, of developing a positively biased feedback loop. Failure is a better teacher than success. Whether it’s a manager, mentor, partner, or coach; we all need people in our world who can help us see ways to improve. One of my favorite quick tips is to interview every client after you lose an opportunity. What tipped the scales in favor of your competition? What could you have done better? You do this with absolutely zero pressure to the client and respect for the decision they’ve made.

4.      Time Management – it is an unfortunate norm in our business that most of us run around all day like our hair is on fire. We live in a very reactionary state. I wrote about this back in 2017 in my Five Time Management Truths post. Take a look at that post if you are a person who believes there isn’t enough time to do everything you need to do. In this post, I want to add two points even if they stir a little controversy. What are the potential hard truths hiding in the mystery of effective time management? Living in crisis management mode serves two powerful purposes. First, it helps us avoid doing other things that scare us. Second, it feeds our need to feel significant.

5.      Prospecting – you knew this was coming! I have a seven-step process I use with my coaching clients to determine the sustained level of prospecting they need to achieve their goals. Everyone’s number is different. But do you want to know what has NEVER happened when I’ve finished that process? Nobody has ever said, “oh, that’s less than what I’m currently doing.” There are legions of people and businesses out there preying on our desire to run from this hard truth. Loud voices proclaim, “Cold Calling is Dead!” or “More Qualified Leads than You Can Handle!” Don’t run from prospecting. Embrace it and learn to do it well.

When I look back over my career thus far, the most memorable people are those who helped me face my hard truths. Full disclosure: I was sometimes very unhappy with what they had to say in the moment. Fullest disclosure: it still happens today and makes me grumpy. Often I have to let the wisdom of their words sink in over time. To all those men and women, thank you for making the world a less mysterious place.