“20 Minutes of Successful Niche Secrets – EPISODE 60,”
Where I help you create a 100-Day Plan to completely transform your business
Glenn: Hi! It’s Glenn McQueenie, and welcome to my 25-Minute Success Series Podcast. I’m excited about this one today, because I really want to talk to you about this project I’ve been working on over the last couple of weeks. The project is called the 100-Day Sprint, and there are really two goals of the 100-Day Sprint. Number one is to finish the year really strong. So even if you’ve had the best year ever, it’s to make it even better. And if you haven’t had that good of a year, it’s to get going. You’ll be amazed, when you focus on a 100-day interval, how much business and volume and production you can actually do!
The second benefit of having a really strong late third quarter and great fourth quarter is it sets you up to have two great quarters next year. All of the volume that you’re going to be doing, all the people you’re going to be meeting now – some of them will be actually buying and selling in the next 100 days – but I’ll tell you, the majority of them will be maybe starting their search, and they’ll really be finishing it in the first and second quarter of next year.
It’s so important right now just to focus all of your energy and your activities on some of the key things that you need in order to have the best 100 days ever. And if you want, you can start right now. I’m recording this near the end of August, and you could do the 115-Day Sprint. Or you could go, “You know what? Right after the holiday, or the beginning of September, from September 4th or 5th, I’m going to go all in for the next 100 days, just because I really want to.”
And I’m also a little worried that this market has either shifted, or is in the middle of a shift, and let me tell you why. I really don’t know if the market’s going to go up or down, but all I can do is look at the evidence that’s presented, and try to come up with some analysis of why this is happening, or what it means. And what I’ve noticed over most of North America, in most markets over the last year or two, we’ve started to see a volume shift downwards. So that means that there are fewer sales year over year. 2016 and 2017 really seemed to be a bit of a peak market, and now many Boards are reporting sales are down 20% or 30%, although prices haven’t really started to move. And that’s okay. That’s normal, because a price drop is always preceded by a volume drop, and a price increase is always preceded by a volume increase. In a down market, you’ll see that the volume will pick up first, but the prices stay the same. It’s almost like a stock in a way. Once the volume starts, the activity picks up on it, and if it stays, it increases over time. The price of the stock goes up. It’s the same as the real estate market. Coming out of some of the other shifts we’ve had, you saw volume increase first, but prices were relatively stable. Then prices started to go up, and everyone said, “Oh, wow. We’re in an up market,” when it actually occurred probably 6, 18, or 24 months before then. And I think that’s where we are right now. I think all the data I’m seeing seems to indicate that volumes have dropped 20-30% in most markets across North America right now, and that’s telling me that either we’re at the top of the market, or we’re going to flatten out for a bit, or we could be just ready for a shift, where prices go down.
So what I would like to do, or like to ask you to do, is just look at the sense of urgency, and create a sense of urgency yourself. First of all, begin with this thought, that “You’re not richer than you think.” This is the time when you’ve got to go all in. We don’t really care, I guess, as realtors, if the market goes up and down, as long as the volume stays the same. But when a volume shift happens, you’ve just got more and more agents fighting over transactions, and a lot of crazy things start to occur. So I’m going to ask you to just really focus over the next little while on “What can I do to have the best 100 days ever beginning in September?” knowing that that’s going to set you up for the best first and second quarter you’ve ever had in your life.
So let’s get to some of the key points you should be doing if you’re buying into my argument right now that the market is shifting.
1) I would say that you’ve got to really focus on having more connection, deeper connection, with your clients. That means adding more value, being in contact with them more than you’ve ever been, anticipating what their needs are – really being their champion right now in the real estate market by using your skills and abilities to bring as much value as you possibly can over the next 100 days to all of your current clients, and all of your clients that you’re going to be lead generating and getting to right now.
2) Prepare a list of the people in your company that can help you on your sprint. No one succeeds alone, and I’ve realized that many of us got into real estate as rugged individualists, and that’s why we did it. We didn’t want to have a job. We got in, and “I’m going to control my own future. No one’s the boss of me.” And that’s great, and it really has probably gotten you to where you are right now, but I’ve never seen anyone really succeed at a high level in real estate unless they’ve mastered teamwork, which is a team of people that can not only coach and teach and mentor you, be the champion of you, keep you in your game, get you out of your head, but also building a big allied resource network. Having the best of everything – the best mortgage brokers, the best home inspectors, the best stagers and photographers. It’s about top-grading your talent right now. If you look around, and look at whoever’s coaching and teaching and mentoring and at your allied resources, if you think they’re all about a 7 out of 10, well I’m going to tell you, that’s exactly the level you’re going to be producing at. You’ll be producing at 7 out of 10, which means out of every 10 great, high-qualified leads ready to do something, you’ll drop 3 of them, and you’ll close 7. But when you get a great coach and a great mentor, they can just give you a different perspective. That’s why I currently have four coaches, because like you, I can get into my head many times, and I just need someone to open my skull, lift up my brain, twist it around a little bit, and pop it back in, and then I’m good to go.
3) The next thing is, I would decide what you want to stop and start doing over the next 100 days. What habits are not helping you that much right now in real estate that you could maybe change? What kind of 100-Day Sprint could you do in lots of different areas of your life? Could you do a 100-Day Sprint of going to the gym four days a week? Could it be a 100-Day Sprint of eating better for the next four days? 100-Day Sprint of shifting your mindset? 100-Day Sprint of keeping your word? 100 days of just drinking more water? 100 days of sleeping better? 100 days of just really having the best finish to your year? Make that decision right now. What are you going to start doing? And what are you going to stop doing? Because your current production level is really just a representation of your current habits and current mindset.
4) The next would be scheduling learning and coaching and mentoring over the next 100 days. Seek out the counsel and schedule it in. If it’s not in your schedule, it’s not going to exist. What I’ve learned recently is a great quote that I love that says, “Most businesses fail because they like the old way so much that they could not change.” Let me say that again: “Most businesses fail because they like the old way so much that they could not change.” This is a dynamic market right now, and if you’re attached to your old thinking so much, I’ll guarantee you that your business is going to fail. This is the time to schedule learning, coaching and mentoring in your calendar first.
5) The next one I would say is just diagnose your own current state in thinking and make the changes that are required to get you to a whole new level of success. What’s your current mindset right now? Are you in scarcity? Are you in abundance? What are you thinking about as I’m talking right now? Are you a supporter of this? Are you an opponent to my thoughts? Or you’re just maybe persuadable right now. Just do a gut check of “Where’s my head right now, and is it where it should be in order to get what I want?”
6) The next is to build a growth strategy. Choose to become a hunter for the next 100 days. Set your goals, do the work, set your plan to master the energy that you’re going to need, because you said you would. If you want to Google this guy’s name, it’s Alex Sheen, and a couple weeks ago, I had a chance to hear him talk. He started this whole movement called “because I said I would,” and it was really in honour of his father who passed away when he was fairly young, but he was a man of his word. And he really wants to change the world and make people keep their promises, just because you said you would. So I think that’s a really awesome thing. But it’s this strategy right now of becoming a hunter – about getting out there, getting off your ass, and just going for it. Just say, “Who cares! I’m all in. I’m going to go and do it, because I want to.” Not because Glenn’s telling you. Not because anyone else is. It’s because you’ve made the decision inside that says, “I’m ready to go and be a hunter.” And what you’re really looking for as a hunter, or your activities, is the goal to gain momentum as quickly as possible. This is the juice that you need to keep the commitment to yourself. People only break commitments when they don’t see any momentum or forward progress in what they’re planning on doing. And when you actually gain the momentum, you also gain the energy and confidence that momentum brings, and that’s such a beautiful thing. So the easiest way for you to do it is to focus on the lowest-hanging fruit first. Who are the people right now in your database that you have a relationship with that already like, trust, and respect you? Starting with cold prospects for a 100-Day Sprint, unless you’re so committed to just, “Don’t care what happens. I’m just running forward with new people all the time,” the average person, from when you first meet them to when you close the transaction, is six to nine months. That’s from someone new, someone cold – someone you just met. But if you get referred to somebody, or if you’ve got people right now that you can target in your database and look at the current people you’re working with. Ask yourself, “Who are the two people most likely to do something in the next week or two, that if I did it, I would get the forward momentum and confidence and energy because I just did some transactions with them?” And then also get into alignment with your clients, and focus on getting what they want. I hear many agents say, “Oh, I need two deals.” “I need to get a deal this month.” “I need to get five deals this month.” “I need to get 10.” “I need to get 15 deals this quarter.” Well that’s all you – your ego, your needs. It’s never about that. It’s always about getting in alignment with the person you’re currently working with, and just sacrificing what you want in order for them to get what they want. Because this beautiful thing happens when you get them what they want: you get what you want! And people can feel it. You can feel it. We’ve been surrounded by salespeople all our life. You can tell when you’re in alignment with somebody, and you can tell when someone’s just trying to sell you something. So the more you get into alignment with them and focus on getting them what they want when they want it, that’s when you get what you want.
And also, stay in your strengths and leverage any activity that you’re not good at. The 100-Day Sprint is about really just saying, “Okay. I’m great, I’m excellent, it’s my unique ability at just doing this.” There are a lot of other activities that you do right now in a given week that can easily be leveraged off or hired out. And even if you don’t have any money, barter your time – whatever needs to happen right now. Because when you’re staying in your unique ability, which is your natural strengths, you’ll never procrastinate. You’ll just go to work. People never procrastinate about doing something they love to do, but people always procrastinate about what they just kind of like to do, or it’s okay, or it’s got to get done, but it’s totally not what their unique ability or what their strength zone is. So become a master of staying in your strengths, and leveraging out your weaknesses. I’ve seen a lot of agents just be average because they’re trying to be average at everything, and there’s no market for being average anymore. People are looking for the best. They’re looking for people who love what they do. They’re looking for the confidence that you bring, the energy you bring. You can feel it, and you know that when you’re on a roll in real estate, deals just fall on your lap, because your energy is attracting deals. And the alternative is true, too. If you’re in your weaknesses, or doing stuff you don’t like to do, every client’s a hassle. It’s just a chore. It’s just so soul-destroying, this business. So just stay in your strengths for the next 100 days. Or just move the needle. How about, in the first three weeks, I’m going to spend 20-40% more time in my strengths than I do in my weaknesses?
Last couple of points.
7) Manage yourself first. It’s you who needs to be managed. When someone is self-managed, they’re usually self-motivated, and the world just lines up around them. When you manage yourself first, it’s about keeping focused, about setting clear boundaries with clients and friends (and even your family), to keep you on the 100-Day Sprint. Make a deal with them: “Listen. Over the next 100 days, I’m all in. But I’m telling you why. In seven weeks from now, we’re going to go away for a 10-day holiday. And then I’m going to come back, and I’m going to Sprint for the next six weeks. And then the holiday around Christmas and New Year’s, we’re going to take another holiday.” Get the buy-in from your family. Get the contract with your family that says, “Okay, we understand. This is work time. This is when you have to work. This is when you have to do it.”
I would also just really focus on what you’re saying “Yes” to right now, and I would probably say “No” to a lot of non-core profit growth-oriented activities. It’s about saying “Yes” to growth, “Yes” to mindset, “Yes” to having that positive stuff being thrown into your brain, and saying “No” to all those negative thoughts, or to the naysayers, or to the people who just try to drag you down. This is just about saying “Yes” to growth. And keep your word, and just flat out go out there and get it. And just be disciplined. When you’re working, actually work! And when you’re not working, don’t work as much as you can. Maybe this is the time when you approach somebody in the office and say, “Listen. Can we exchange time, not money? So when I’m working right now, I’m happy to take a look at some of your clients. But when I’m off, will you look after my clients? Or can we exchange time where I’m off every second weekend now, and you just cover anything that happens, and you do the deals? And when you’re off, I’ll cover whatever you want and do your deals, with no compensation?” It’s a real gift to exchange your time for money, and I was very lucky in my career that for 8 or 10 of my last really high-volume years, I had someone that I could always exchange time and not money with. It was really cool.
And the last two are really important.
9) Don’t avoid the tough conversations that you need to have, or the tough decisions that you need to make right now with your clients, with your family, with your friends, with your current brokerage. It’s okay to have the tough conversations. I think it’s our fear of having the conversation more than what the outcome actually is. Maybe this is 100 days of just having some really fierce conversations. And if you want to know more about it, there’s a great book called “Fierce Conversations” by Susan Scott. One of my favourite books (probably Top 10 of all time). Fierce doesn’t mean nasty; fierce means robust. It’s a great template on how to have a great, thorough conversation with somebody, because this is the time. You’ve only got one life. We don’t know how long we’re going to be here. So this is the time to really think, “Is everybody in my environment supporting where I want to go? Do I have the right growth mindset myself? Does my family have the right growth mindset? Do my friends have the right growth mindset to support me? Do I need to just hang out with some other people who’ve got more positive mindsets right now?” Does your broker have the right mindset that’s going to keep you on top and get you going?
10) And then I would just say, finally, commit. Just commit to this 100-Day Sprint. Get out there. Start sharing your vision. Start being the big encouraging agent that you are, and commit to just trying to do whatever it takes to help as many people in a real estate transaction. Focus on their needs. Forget about yours. Just focus on getting them what they want, and when they do, and they love what you did, they become raving fans of your business, and they’re likely to send everyone they know.
11) Final, final, final thought I would just say is that all the business you need right now are people that you already know. I would do a 100-Day Sprint of texting people in your client base, especially your ‘A’ and ‘B’ top clients, a simple text saying, “Hey, do you want to get together for coffee next week?” Just re-engage. They love you. They’re going to fill your bucket. You’re going to go and have coffee with them. You don’t even have to bring up real estate; they’re going to bring it up. But it’s that top of mind positioning. It’s about making sure your clients don’t forget about you, because it’s hard for them to refer people to you when they can’t remember, or they’re just not thinking of you, because life has gotten in the way.
It reminds me of the story of this contractor who I’ve worked with for a long time, and honestly he would call me every six months, and the call would be so simple. It’d be like, “Hey Glenn, how are you doing buddy?” And I’m like, “Good, how are you?” And he’s like, “Fine. What’s up?” And I go, “Not much. What’s up?” And then he’d go, “Alright. Talk to you soon, buddy.” That, honestly, was the depth of our phone call. But then I started to notice that within a week or two of him calling, I would send him three or four clients. And it would always happen the two weeks after he talked to me. And I started thinking, “This guy is an absolute genius.” He just calls, doesn’t really have anything to say. Just calls to say, “Hey, I’m thinking about you. How are you doing, buddy?” and moves on. And guess what? Here I am, within a couple of days, within the hour, sometimes – but for sure within a week or two – sending referrals to him.
So now’s the time to go and focus on your database. Your database is your business. You’ve got to feed it. You’ve got to maintain it. You’ve got to get people involved in it. Plan an event, even where you know people would never come. Plan an ice cream social or something at your office, knowing that no one’s ever probably going to come to it, and even if they do, it’ll be great. But it’s the call to invite them to it, it’s the call to see if they’re coming again, it’s the one to follow up where, really, you get your re-connection with all of your clients. And that’s where a lot of your referrals live. And we all know that referred business is so much easier. It’s people who already like, trust, and respect you, and it’s just such an amazing way to build your business.
So that’s it! That’s my brief outline for the 100-Day Sprint. So stay tuned, because I’m going to be revisiting this once a month, and trying to see where you are, and just try to be that wind beneath your wings, like “You can do this! You got this. Let’s go do it!”
Get the urgency, get out there, and do it.
So thanks for listening! Hope you have a great time. It’s Glenn McQueenie, and I’m out!
Thanks! Bye!
