A LETTER FROM CHRIS SUAREZ
THIS ISN’T WORKING
“This isn’t working.”
“It doesn’t work like it used to.”
“That doesn’t work.”
This week I heard these statements one too many times. All three of those statements were said to me in one conversation. My usually filtered response came out fairly unfiltered. I quickly answered: “No. YOU are not working. IT definitely does.”
In any industry, when the results we were once getting seem to change, we can tend to believe that what we used to do doesn’t work anymore. Often times we are quick to blame the work itself, instead of looking at ourself. We become convinced that a strategy no longer works. We are sure that an activity won’t get the results that it used to get. We are certain that what we are doing just doesn’t work.
So we decide to make a change. Some make small changes. Some larger changes. Others decide to make life changes - they leave an industry, quit a job, sever a relationship. Some change is appropriate and at times called for, even necessary. But before we change the external, it is important to review whether an internal change would do the trick.
It’s expected that some 30% of real estate professionals will leave the industry altogether. I’ve begun to see that happen. I’m committed to prevent that. Before you add yourself to the casualty list, instead of making statements like, “This isn’t working,” why not start with a question. Ask yourself: “Am I working.”
Have you really committed to doing what you know it takes to succeed? If you are unsure of what it takes to succeed, have you committed to figuring that out by finding the right mentor and asking the right questions?
A real estate agent I know called me this week to let me know that they would be leaving real estate to get a job. There-in lies the problem. At what point did we let ourselves believe that being a real estate salesperson or agent wasn’t a job? At what point did we convince ourselves that we could give this career any less effort than we will need to give the next job?
Imagine your surprise when you get hired for a “real job”. Your work day starts at 8. Your work day ends at 5. You have a 35 minute commute each way (on a good day) so you leave your house before 7:30am every day and get home a little before 6:00pm. Before you give that effort to someone else, ask yourself, “Did you give that effort to yourself.” Before you give your best to someone else, ask if you gave your best to yourself. When was the last time you left for the office at 7:30am? When was the last time you headed home after 5pm? If most answered honestly, it rarely happens. And it definitely doesn’t happen every day. We like to say real estate is a 24/7 job. But most of the over two million agents in the country aren’t even giving themselves a focused forty hours. Not of real work. Not of focused work.
I am not suggesting an 8-5 schedule. I'm not suggesting leaving your house at 7:30 and leaving the office at 5. I am suggesting that before we say “This isn’t working,” that we take an honest look at whether or not WE are working. What would your business and life look like if you showed up for yourself the same way you might end up choosing to show up for someone else? You are not quitting a job. You are quitting on yourself.
Chris Suarez