I received a call from a winner who was worried about his fluctuating results. Having known this person for many years, I know that he is a winner and there is no doubt in my mind that he knew what needed to be done to reverse his slump.
In such circumstances, it is easy to jump straight in and talk about the actions he should be doing. Actions and results go together, so if the results aren’t right, the actions aren’t right. Everybody in real estate sales and leadership knows this.
But actions are a symptom. While the symptoms give an idea what the ‘disease’ might be, the symptoms themselves are not the ‘disease’. In medical terms, symptoms can indicate different diseases. In real estate sales terms, symptoms such as erratic actions and results can also be caused by different problems.
Leaders tend to think that it’s fear, laziness, call reluctance or low motivation. They nearly always go for one of those and salespeople do too. But my winner did not suffer from any of these and so I didn’t talk about them, nor did I talk about his actions.
I talked about something more important: I talked about him.
Talk about the person
As a real estate trainer, when I talk to a person whom I believe genuinely wants to win, who is motivated and trained, but not producing results, I do not talk about results; I talk about the person.
If you are going to achieve the success of your dreams, you have to get yourself right first. This is your success journey and you have to be fit to take it.
Success begins with YOU. Success is a case of YOU FIRST.
If your life isn’t right, your results never will be. So before you look at the symptoms, look first to diagnose the disease.
Look at ‘disease’ this way: DIS-EASE.
The uneasy feeling that something in your life might not be right nags at you, distracting you from doing the actions necessary for success. And until you fix the personal problem, forget about consistent actions in your business life.
“Your business life isn’t connected to your personal life?” If you say that, please tell me what mountain you are sitting on and I’ll climb it to seek wisdom from the guru!
If you doubt that your business life and your personal life are not intricately entwined, I have two words to say to you: TIGER WOODS.
Please don’t misunderstand me – I am not taking a cheap shot at Tiger Woods – my point is that here was a person at the top of his game, but when his personal life unravelled, so too did his professional life. At least that is how it appears to me – perhaps it might be a coincidence… perhaps.
You are important. Your life is important. Get it right and your business life will fall into place.
Sometimes you have to be a little selfish. Women struggle with this more than men, but the rule applies equally to both sexes: if you don’t put yourself first on occasions, you will not deal with the issues that require attention if you are to lead a happy life – both personally and in business.
Are you happy with your partner? If not, seek couples counselling or end the relationship.
Are you in debt? If so, seek debt counselling and work toward a solution.
Are you in the throes of a divorce? If so, be firm but fair and don’t buy into the ‘blame game’.
These are examples only, and I will say that solutions are easier said than done, but wallowing in the problem is not the answer either.
You first – get you right and let your business queue up for a while.
When your life is right, your business will fall into line.