Spirituality
“Believe in something larger than yourself.”
-Barbara Bush
In the previous article we mentioned the value of stability. Perceived or actual instability on our part will result in a sucking chest wound to not only the confidence your clients have in you, but also the confidence you have in yourself. If you’re easily shaken, it will show. We’ve found that the best remedy for maintaining a sense of stability and strength is to worship a “Higher Power”. You must absolutely lean on something bigger than you. It’s difficult to make money in real estate, much less prosper. And in seasons of lack, whether it is performance or answers, we become all too aware of the fact that depending solely on ourselves is a fruitless endeavor. Not only that, we also learn that although we need others, no one down here can serve as our savior. All of us need certain things that our fellow humans are unable to provide. Embrace God, and you’ll not only feel the effects in your life, you’ll see them as well. We’ve found that the primary benefits of leaning on your Creator are:
1) Personal Integrity: All of the world’s major religions have a moral code of some sort. Whichever one you choose, it needs to be rooted in love and selflessness with integrity at its core. Make no mistake, if you lack love in your life than you have nothing. If you lack integrity, then you are nothing. No matter what you accomplish in life, no matter who you become, anything rooted in anything but the truth is worthless. Everyone lies, but few of us admit it later. That’s integrity. Everyone takes things from others (time, opportunity, etc.) but not everyone offers to compensate. That’s character. Your integrity will allow you to adhere to your code. Your code is the key to your character. And your character is your destiny.
However, honesty is only part of integrity. Being good at what you do is equally important. Whatever you do – do it well, because others are counting on you. If someone places their most precious asset (usually their home) in your hands, then what you’ve been charged with is no small thing. Do everything possible to excel, for the sake of your clients as well as your company, and you’ll not only experience material success, but a sense of personal fulfillment as well. And most importantly, if you can’t accomplish what you’ve been charged with, admit it and refer it out to someone who can. The rewards won’t be immediate but they’ll be worth the wait.
2) Recharging: Before I chose to seek God, I would often suffer burnout alone and when I mustered enough energy, I’d immerse myself in hobbies or worse, eat in front of a television. When I was finished with the futility of this approach a friend of mine asked; “When was the last time you went to church?” Although I passed on the suggestion at the time, she certainly planted a seed. Months later when I decided to give it a shot, I found that each week I went I walked away with more self-confidence. I discovered that it’s safe to be emotionally vulnerable around others. There’s something very liberating in that. Worshipping with others allows me to give up my burdens to my God in a responsible way. I’m now able to remain present and work with unpleasant circumstances because I know there’s a higher purpose to my problems. I now understand that whatever I’m going through isn’t just about me, but also serves a purpose for everyone I’m connected to. It’s good to know that I’m not alone and it’s even better to know that Someone is watching out for me. With that said, after years of anxiety, I’m finally comfortable in my own skin.
3) Selflessness: In a market filled with difficult transactions and even more difficult people, it may seem like a tall order for you to give even more ground. It’s a challenge to put others first. Do it anyway. If you put the client first, everything else falls into place. Please trust us on this one. Clients who’ve never even written offers have referred us to others who did, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars for our company. This happened (and continues to happen) because we treat each client and prospect with the utmost respect. Whatever the projected profit may be, everyone receives the same level of courtesy, due diligence, and professionalism. If you make it a habit to put others first, you’ll see that “paying it forward” will eventually pay off.
4) Guidance: Your business will also benefit immensely from divine guidance. Tea leaves, so-called “psychics”, and mysticism won’t cut it. We need hard answers. The most useful answers are ones we don’t like to hear, but we need to hear nonetheless. You’re not going to get that from psychics with neon signs in their windows. Your own research no matter how comprehensive, won’t cut it either. In the so-called “Information Age” we’re more confused and ill-informed than we’ve ever been. The so-called “Information Superhighway” has resulted in a dead end, that is, unless you have limitless time to surf on the internet (which hopefully you don’t). “Googling” anything more general than “Pre-World War I Underwater Welding” will result in hundreds of thousands of hits (even something that ridiculous yielded 15,400 results). Either way, we’re almost too informed, and the information we do have, no matter how useful, is incomplete. We also have to remember that although our problems aren’t unique, we certainly are. How an agent should handle a certain listing is different than what another agent needs to do with the exact same listing. We need guidance from a Source who knows us, loves us, and wants to see us do well. Finding a good model, asking others for advice, and quality research is a good start. But at the end of the day there are no formulas. Only the voice of God can guide you along the path you need to take. If it is from God it will not only serve your best interests, but also those of everyone involved.
Spirituality is a touchy subject to address. There’s a long tradition of freedom of religion in this country, in fact it’s the First Amendment to the Constitution. But there’s a reason why our national motto is “In God We Trust”. This country’s fought very hard (and continues to) for what we have. As a people we know that we’re insufficient by ourselves of achieving any lasting sense of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. If we’re the bottom line to our existence, if our personal motto is “The Buck Stops Here”, then we’ll never live beyond ourselves. We’ll never experience the finer things in life such as love, wisdom, and a legacy of charity. We can’t take anything with us when we die, but we can sure leave things. For most people it is debt or other unfinished business. Be different. Be remembered. Be more than yourself.
We did a composite of our Mastery Coaching clients through our proprietary business analysis tool which we do annually to track our client’s business (and our success or failure as coaches). We found that the average client that had a “prospecting focus” (they spend 10 hours a week or more actively prospecting) closed an average of 16 transactions with an average volume of $7.8 million. Their average GCI (gross commission income) was $180k. Not bad given the market conditions the last 12 months.
It’s boiled down to their focus. What they focused on allowed them to develop into their magnificent obsession. While the first group got really good at scripts dialogs and overcoming objections, the second group developed great ads and mailers that made the phone ring, the SOI group became obsessed with being thoughtful and providing delightful surprises to their people. 
A quick, effective and easy form to plan out and evaluate your yearly marketing plan for your business.
I’ve asked this question countless times to agents across the country and I am constantly astonished with the answers I get. Some reply that they give great service, some always wear a hat, some do coloring contests in their geographic farm. But most, just look like a deer in headlights, shrug their shoulders and stare at their shoes and mumble “I don’t know.” 
It is very important to determine this before you start your marketing campaign. Most agents jump into the business and start pumping out whatever the office says to – usually farming clubs, teams or groups are set-up to share the idea of the week and soon you find yourself shelling out gobs of postcards and such with coloring contests, quotes, or whatever else strikes you at the moment. 