with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 50:

The Main Focus

with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 50:

The Main Focus

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
I was reminded through the process of rewriting the 12-week Target Book, that setting attainable goals is as crucial as proclaiming them. When you take on a task in its entirety, it can be overwhelming and usually a step towards giving up on it. Taking a different approach to checking a task off of your list includes not biting off more than you can chew. Eat that elephant one bite at a time, and your success will release you from the burden of unfinished business; GET IT DONE!
Missed it by that Much
  • ​I am feeling pumped up for the first official week of 2020. I know some of you haven't been at it yet, waiting for Monday to come around to start that diet and trust me, we all go through that. 
  • ​When I hear a podcast or listen to an audiobook, I try to look for a revelation. Today, if something resonates with you and you have a revelation, I want you to type it out and then decipher that thought. Why was that a great revelation for you? That can be a content post for you later today. 
  • ​Two weeks ago, I confidently proclaimed that the new 12-week target book would be done by the end of the week; we are on week three, and it is still not done. We all have proclaimed what we will get done only to realize there are a hundred steps beyond it. The main goal was to get it done, but I didn't take into consideration how many changes were going to happen. 
  • ​Here I am scrambling to finish, and I have put so much pressure on getting it done that I am not even close to completing it. I am starting to see the light, but I needed to revise the explanation, I needed to do the intro, rewrite the daily journal items, redo the weekly targets, and even the re-design and layout. Those were all revelations of the significant components of finishing this project. 
  • ​Many do this and make the proclamation, and with all that is involved beyond the proclamation, it becomes unrealistic and overwhelming. You start to leak power because now you are out of integrity; I made a proclamation to be done by the end of the week, and I didn't even come close. 
  • ​We need to realize; we are moving towards the target, moving towards the goal. What would be worse is if I never did anything at all. We have been working diligently, daily, weekends, and nights, revising, re-reading, and redoing. I don't feel as defeated; even though I didn't hit my target, I had to readjust my target.
  • ​I want to talk about this today; The Main Focus. You need to start realizing what a win for the week, the day, the quarter, and the year is. To do that, we need to be specific about what we want to accomplish. I failed because I bit off more than I could chew because of my overconfidence. There is nothing wrong with confidence, but it needs to be achievable and attainable. I don't want to have another item tacked on to the list of things I need to accomplish and never get close to doing.
How Do You Eat Your Elephant?
  • We have had autoresponder classes, where we build together an entire autoresponder system. Once we hit a specific goal and we have clear objectives, how easily it can be done. The majority of you, for the most part, finished the process; you had your videos, your write-ups, and your email campaigns completed. 
  • ​It shows you that if you can take a big project and chunk it down. If I had told you that you needed to record eight videos, pick an autoresponder system, wrote all of the emails, and send it out to your clients you would have been overwhelmed; but we chunked it down into miniature items and the things you needed to learn how to do. How to edit, use a green screen, and we had mini time frames for you. Even then, it became overwhelming because we didn't consider the distractions that can come along with it and the learning curve for most items. 
  • ​When I went through the target book, I miscalculated how many things needed to change the process. There is a famous quote by a gentleman from South Africa named Desmond Tutu. He said, “How does one go about eating an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time.” Most of us have heard this quote but don't understand the context of where he was coming from. 
  • ​You need to understand who he is first and the size of the obstacles he had to overcome. He gained world recognition as the opponent of apartheid in South Africa. The system of government was against what he wanted to achieve, and many people questioned why he was so adamant about the road he was going down, pointing out he may not be able to witness the change in his lifetime. It was too big to overcome, and they didn't believe he would get there. 
  • ​That is where it stems from: How does one go about eating an elephant? One bite at a time. Desmond realized change, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and became the first ArchBishop of South Africa. He was only going to take it a step at a time, a day at a time, and a bite at a time, and he accomplished the impossible goal he set for himself. 
  • ​Many of us wonder how we will become a 10 or 20 million dollar producer? Where we are standing, the obstacle is too big, the system is engineered against us, and the competition is too big. You ask yourself, how can I get a 10 million dollar business, or how do I make a 20 million dollar business? It seems almost impossible, just as it did for me when I started this brokerage. I wondered how I would recruit and retain agents, how I would continue to build on the agency.
  • ​Five years ago, it was nearly impossible for me to imagine myself where I am today. Where I have the systems, processes, support, environment, training, motivation, systematization, and automation, this is beyond what I thought was possible for me; I was living day-to-day, but I had to get clear about my objectives. I also needed to understand that it would not happen overnight. 
  • ​The 12-week target book was not going to happen overnight, and your CRM will not happen overnight; hiring employees will not happen overnight. This is where things need to change; I was stuck in a place of “I will never get there,” versus, “What is the thing I can do today, what is my main objective, and the main focus for the week?” What would my quarter look like if I were to add this simple building system into the brokerage? What would it be like if I hired one employee for my accounting department? These are things that I needed to chunk down, but I was overwhelmed by the overall goal, and I got stuck. 
  • ​The vision was clear of what I wanted, but then I was overwhelmed by it; I had to take it a bite at a time, a step at a time, and a day at a time. Now, I have a fully functional process where I can now run multiple businesses. Many of you have been stuck on the same goal for many months, if not years. You're going to get your CRM up and running; your follow-up is going to be amazing this year. This is the year that monthly newsletters will happen, farming to your past clients and friends. You are going to hire a Transaction Coordinator; the vision is clear, but then you overestimate what you can accomplish.
Overestimating What You Underestimate
  • There is a well-known quote used by many people, including Bill Gates, “Most people overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can do in a month. We overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade. 
  • ​This business ten years ago, even a year ago, doesn't look the same. This quote has been used by many people and said many different ways, but we overestimate what we want to accomplish. You say you are going to get your CRM up and running at the end of the week; you are failing to see the one hundred steps it takes to get there. How about if you attack it five steps at a time? Then you continue with the process, so maybe by the end of the month, you will have your CRM system completed. 
  • ​Instead, we want it by the end of the week, and nothing happens; a year goes by, and we still don't have a system or a process. We are going to talk about how we can chunk this down, and utilize the system I created and live by. Sometimes I forget, and I overestimate what I can accomplish in a week. However, it gives me a clear guideline so that I can backtrack, and I know what needs to happen for me to get this done by the end of next week. 
  • ​The project that was supposed to take a week is now going to take a month, and I am okay with that: why? Because I am moving forward, I am progressing daily. I'm not letting the amount of work that needs to be accomplished, overwhelm me. 
  • ​We need to ask ourselves what a win looks like? Your win might be that you want to find and hire an employee; that happening this week is highly unlikely. There are too many steps in that. If you push it back and declare that it will happen by January 31st, you are more likely to do it. But how long have you been thinking that you need to employ a Transaction Coordinator, and you haven't pulled the trigger? There is a lot of work to accomplish that, and instead of getting the Transaction Coordinator, we convince ourselves we can do it all by ourselves. 
  • ​So you do it by yourself for the 12 months in 2019 only to realize that you got the same results as the year before; you didn't grow your business as much as you thought. You took on that burden as opposed to giving that burden to someone else that you could hire. 
  • ​That is the job of the Transaction Coordinator and not yours; lets chunk down how to get your employee, and database by the end of the month, or by the end of next month. I need you to be aware that this is the first week of 2020, and I need you to begin to think about what 52 wins would look like this year? Fifty-two processes, by chunking things down; what does that look like by the end of the year? It will look like an incredible year for all of us because we are taking steps to what we ultimately want; systems, processes, automation, profitability, and predictability are all great things.
Break It Down
  • Let's break this down:
  • ​1. Be specific about what you want. Simply saying, I want to get a CRM up and running is not specific; it is general. Healthwise, if you say you want to lose weight and get in shape, that is not specific, it is very general. You say that you are going to understand what the different functionalities, and know what five of those items are. Understanding how to upload people into the CRM, how to automate their email systems, and how to customize it. The system allows you to do all of those things, so learn five things about that system. Maybe by the end of next week, you will have your people uploaded and ready to go. To say it can be accomplished in only one week is too much. Saying you want to lose 12 pounds is too much, but if you have a target a pound this week, to eat less, exercise more, and get your blood checked, that is specific. 
  • ​2. Is it achievable? It goes back to the quote about where we overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can do in a month; we overestimate what we can do in a year, and underestimate what we can do in ten years. If you understand what the goal is, the goal will always be in sight; you only need to chunk it down. I know what I need to accomplish to finish this book; this week, we are going over the insights and revelations. We are also going to number the pages, and spell check the document. There are so many steps to make sure we can deliver a quality project. I can't get stuck on the mindset that it needs to be done this week; it's not going to happen. 
  • ​3. It needs to be measurable by setting benchmarks. If you say you want to create your CRM if you don't even have one, how is that achievable? It isn't measurable. You don't know how to upload into the system, so what is measurable? I want to load ten people into the CRM; you can't decipher through 300 contacts in one day. If you say that, you will get ten people deciphered, making sure that they go into the right buckets, people who engage with you, people who have bought from you, and people who don't know you. If you break it up, you are closer to getting your CRM up and running; it needs to be measurable. Why is it important to add this system to your business? Adding an autoresponder will do amazing things for your business and will help you automate. You must have clear targets and use that to your advantage. When you allow yourself time to flourish, you will become a Top Producer in a shorter time frame. We want the lifestyle, predictability, and profitability; those are all reasons why. Not having a system to follow up with your clients is only a hustle. It will limit all of us from knowing what we can achieve in our businesses. Start to think about why it is important. This multi-layered system can be overwhelming, but chunking it down and not being so hard on ourselves for not accomplishing overnight by setting small benchmarks will move us forward. You need to make sure that it is measurable by writing out five emails by the end of the week, one a day, for your autoresponder system. Then you can learn about how to track your client once they open the email, so you can send them another email about where they are at. We are chunking it down to measurable items to complete, and by the end of the month, you will be up and running. The same is true for hiring an employee; some of you need an employee right now, but you are overwhelmed with thoughts of how to pay them, or what they will do. You are looking at it from a general standpoint when by weeks end, you need only write down ten things your employee can do. Write down the qualities you are looking for, and maybe by the end of next week or by the end of the month, you will have your employee. It's about chunking it down; start thinking about what you want to accomplish for your business and then chunk it down. 
  • ​4. Set a hard deadline. This is the only way any of this will work. You need to set a hard deadline because it puts things into a state of urgency. It becomes urgent for you to accomplish it. Those that went through the two-week process of setting up their autoresponder, and I gave you a hard deadline. Most of you finished it, but there were a couple of people that were overwhelmed and didn't complete the process.They prioritized other things and became too busy. When you don't finish the things you say, and you don't return to it, it will weigh heavy on you because it remains unaccomplished, and you are out of integrity. You said you were going to do something, and then completely left it to sit there, with the statement that you will get back to it. It's been two weeks, a month since we finished the training; you aren't going to get more powerful when you leave things undone and unsettled. If you were part of that training, get it done. If you are trying to get your CRM up and running but got overwhelmed by the process, you are leaking power right now. That was your commitment. Imagine all of these commitments that we have made and have not accomplished. You are dragging that around like a big bag; it will be difficult for you to move and maneuver through your business as opposed to those that are checking off the things they said. What is it that you have left unfinished? Let's get back to that. Was it the automation system? Let's get it done. Was it the CRM? Were you going to hire an employee, but then you got discouraged? Did you have an appointment set up with a Transaction Coordinator, but then stopped the communication? Let's get back to that because subconsciously it is slowing you down. It is draining you, and you are leaking power; get back to that. The same things that you talked about at our business planning meeting get back to those things. At our Mid-year review, many of you said that you were going to do these great things but only got 20 % into it, some of you got 80% into it. It's what is left that counts, and allows you to put a stake in the ground and proclaim domination over it. That is where the game happens, and the fun starts. What is it that you have unfinished and lets chunk that down. It was overwhelming before, so let's get to it. If you can get a win this week, and subsequently each week after that, the big targets set during the business planning meeting will be in the bag and will happen. If you only have the big goal without measurable items on how to get there, it will be a tough road. 
  • ​Things to think about; If you started something, get back to it. This time you are going to take a different approach. Don't try to get it all done this week, chunk it down. There will be distractions and other action items you need to take care of. If you are breaking down your 300 people on your list, it doesn't have to get done this week; but maybe you can get 20 people taken care of. That is a win, and you are not allowing it to sit there again. If you are looking for an employee, putting out an ad is a step in the right direction. If you have considering farming, merely going on the USPS website and learning what “Every Door Direct” means is a step in the right direction. Chunking down the process is what it is all about.
Constituting the Win
  • The way we are going to give out the books this year is at a special meeting we are going to have. I am going to go through the entire process, so you can go through the book and make it the most efficient and profitable year of your life and your business. 
  • ​If you haven't signed up for our ignite event on January 24th, do so now. It will be an awards ceremony and a night of celebration. We already did our targets last month, so this will be all about celebration and recognition. We have a deadline, and it will be a lot of fun. 
  • ​When you condition yourself to win the small wins, it gives you more confidence, more certainty, and you will have more respect for yourself; when you can chunk things down and realize a win in a day, a week, a month, per quarter and in a year. We all got together last month, and we knew what we wanted to create for 2020. Now it's a process of chunking it down, and that is your responsibility. You broke it down for the quarter, now break it down for the week and the day. What constitutes a win today? 
  • ​If you have 200 people in your sphere and you send out one email per week, you are touching your database 800 times; can you say that you are doing that? You aren't sending out 800 emails; you create four emails that touched 800 people. There is a process, a learning curve; you need to learn a system. You will get frustrated and make mistakes, but you need to get it up and running. That is how a foundation happens. 
  • ​Who do you think will win the Battle of the Listing Appointment? When someone has been communicating with them consistently, they not only see the emails, but they also get text messages once or twice a month. They get a phone call and see them all over social media. Who do you think will win? That is what you need to think about. We need to keep our current market share and go after somebody else's, and to do that takes being ruthlessly committed to the consistency to the things you know will work. Emails, texts, follow up, and marketing is what works. 
  • ​When you leave things unfinished, it makes you feel smaller, because the burden of unfinished business is much more significant. Some of you can't be seen because you have left so much on the table. If you haven't finished the autoresponder system, I’m not mad at you; get it done. I was trying to hold your hand and hold you accountable through the process, and that wasn't enough. It will never be enough, no matter the coach you have, the mentor, the company you go to; if you are unwilling to hold yourself to a greater responsibility than the other person, it will never work. 
  • ​Please don't wait for someone else to force you to get it done; get it done. It is your business, and it will be your results. Systems are daunting; automation is burdensome and sucks. There's a lot of work to do, but you need to look at the flip side; doing all the work sucks and creates a bigger burden for yourself, your family, and your profits. 
  • ​The third week in January is tentatively set for our next autoresponder class. The class size will be smaller and I need people who are totally committed. This last class had four or five participants that didn't complete the process; I feel that it is unsettled business. It's not me, though, and I understand that my priorities are to continue to offer the class; but if you commit to it and not get it done, it will only affect you. If you are the one that didn't finish, get it done. If you need help, reach out to me, and I will explain to you what is going on. I am going to be shutting down the class soon, so let's get it done. 
  • ​Eat that elephant one bite at a time; what have you left unsettled? What have you committed to that you haven't taken the appropriate steps to complete? Start attacking that. If it's hiring or firing people, or CRM’s, there are so many different elements to building a business. If I acted like that guy who thought I couldn't figure it out, I would still be lost; a five-person team and not the 140 strong that we are. It's only going to get bigger because the systems are being implemented, and my commitment is insane. I have respect for myself, and I live in integrity.

More Episodes

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
I was reminded through the process of rewriting the 12-week Target Book, that setting attainable goals is as crucial as proclaiming them. When you take on a task in its entirety, it can be overwhelming and usually a step towards giving up on it. Taking a different approach to checking a task off of your list includes not biting off more than you can chew. Eat that elephant one bite at a time, and your success will release you from the burden of unfinished business; GET IT DONE!
Missed it by that Much
  • ​I am feeling pumped up for the first official week of 2020. I know some of you haven't been at it yet, waiting for Monday to come around to start that diet and trust me, we all go through that. 
  • ​When I hear a podcast or listen to an audiobook, I try to look for a revelation. Today, if something resonates with you and you have a revelation, I want you to type it out and then decipher that thought. Why was that a great revelation for you? That can be a content post for you later today. 
  • ​Two weeks ago, I confidently proclaimed that the new 12-week target book would be done by the end of the week; we are on week three, and it is still not done. We all have proclaimed what we will get done only to realize there are a hundred steps beyond it. The main goal was to get it done, but I didn't take into consideration how many changes were going to happen. 
  • ​Here I am scrambling to finish, and I have put so much pressure on getting it done that I am not even close to completing it. I am starting to see the light, but I needed to revise the explanation, I needed to do the intro, rewrite the daily journal items, redo the weekly targets, and even the re-design and layout. Those were all revelations of the significant components of finishing this project. 
  • ​Many do this and make the proclamation, and with all that is involved beyond the proclamation, it becomes unrealistic and overwhelming. You start to leak power because now you are out of integrity; I made a proclamation to be done by the end of the week, and I didn't even come close. 
  • ​We need to realize; we are moving towards the target, moving towards the goal. What would be worse is if I never did anything at all. We have been working diligently, daily, weekends, and nights, revising, re-reading, and redoing. I don't feel as defeated; even though I didn't hit my target, I had to readjust my target.
  • ​I want to talk about this today; The Main Focus. You need to start realizing what a win for the week, the day, the quarter, and the year is. To do that, we need to be specific about what we want to accomplish. I failed because I bit off more than I could chew because of my overconfidence. There is nothing wrong with confidence, but it needs to be achievable and attainable. I don't want to have another item tacked on to the list of things I need to accomplish and never get close to doing.
How Do You Eat Your Elephant?
  • We have had autoresponder classes, where we build together an entire autoresponder system. Once we hit a specific goal and we have clear objectives, how easily it can be done. The majority of you, for the most part, finished the process; you had your videos, your write-ups, and your email campaigns completed. 
  • ​It shows you that if you can take a big project and chunk it down. If I had told you that you needed to record eight videos, pick an autoresponder system, wrote all of the emails, and send it out to your clients you would have been overwhelmed; but we chunked it down into miniature items and the things you needed to learn how to do. How to edit, use a green screen, and we had mini time frames for you. Even then, it became overwhelming because we didn't consider the distractions that can come along with it and the learning curve for most items. 
  • ​When I went through the target book, I miscalculated how many things needed to change the process. There is a famous quote by a gentleman from South Africa named Desmond Tutu. He said, “How does one go about eating an elephant? You eat it one bite at a time.” Most of us have heard this quote but don't understand the context of where he was coming from. 
  • ​You need to understand who he is first and the size of the obstacles he had to overcome. He gained world recognition as the opponent of apartheid in South Africa. The system of government was against what he wanted to achieve, and many people questioned why he was so adamant about the road he was going down, pointing out he may not be able to witness the change in his lifetime. It was too big to overcome, and they didn't believe he would get there. 
  • ​That is where it stems from: How does one go about eating an elephant? One bite at a time. Desmond realized change, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and became the first ArchBishop of South Africa. He was only going to take it a step at a time, a day at a time, and a bite at a time, and he accomplished the impossible goal he set for himself. 
  • ​Many of us wonder how we will become a 10 or 20 million dollar producer? Where we are standing, the obstacle is too big, the system is engineered against us, and the competition is too big. You ask yourself, how can I get a 10 million dollar business, or how do I make a 20 million dollar business? It seems almost impossible, just as it did for me when I started this brokerage. I wondered how I would recruit and retain agents, how I would continue to build on the agency.
  • ​Five years ago, it was nearly impossible for me to imagine myself where I am today. Where I have the systems, processes, support, environment, training, motivation, systematization, and automation, this is beyond what I thought was possible for me; I was living day-to-day, but I had to get clear about my objectives. I also needed to understand that it would not happen overnight. 
  • ​The 12-week target book was not going to happen overnight, and your CRM will not happen overnight; hiring employees will not happen overnight. This is where things need to change; I was stuck in a place of “I will never get there,” versus, “What is the thing I can do today, what is my main objective, and the main focus for the week?” What would my quarter look like if I were to add this simple building system into the brokerage? What would it be like if I hired one employee for my accounting department? These are things that I needed to chunk down, but I was overwhelmed by the overall goal, and I got stuck. 
  • ​The vision was clear of what I wanted, but then I was overwhelmed by it; I had to take it a bite at a time, a step at a time, and a day at a time. Now, I have a fully functional process where I can now run multiple businesses. Many of you have been stuck on the same goal for many months, if not years. You're going to get your CRM up and running; your follow-up is going to be amazing this year. This is the year that monthly newsletters will happen, farming to your past clients and friends. You are going to hire a Transaction Coordinator; the vision is clear, but then you overestimate what you can accomplish.
Overestimating What You Underestimate
  • There is a well-known quote used by many people, including Bill Gates, “Most people overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can do in a month. We overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade. 
  • ​This business ten years ago, even a year ago, doesn't look the same. This quote has been used by many people and said many different ways, but we overestimate what we want to accomplish. You say you are going to get your CRM up and running at the end of the week; you are failing to see the one hundred steps it takes to get there. How about if you attack it five steps at a time? Then you continue with the process, so maybe by the end of the month, you will have your CRM system completed. 
  • ​Instead, we want it by the end of the week, and nothing happens; a year goes by, and we still don't have a system or a process. We are going to talk about how we can chunk this down, and utilize the system I created and live by. Sometimes I forget, and I overestimate what I can accomplish in a week. However, it gives me a clear guideline so that I can backtrack, and I know what needs to happen for me to get this done by the end of next week. 
  • ​The project that was supposed to take a week is now going to take a month, and I am okay with that: why? Because I am moving forward, I am progressing daily. I'm not letting the amount of work that needs to be accomplished, overwhelm me. 
  • ​We need to ask ourselves what a win looks like? Your win might be that you want to find and hire an employee; that happening this week is highly unlikely. There are too many steps in that. If you push it back and declare that it will happen by January 31st, you are more likely to do it. But how long have you been thinking that you need to employ a Transaction Coordinator, and you haven't pulled the trigger? There is a lot of work to accomplish that, and instead of getting the Transaction Coordinator, we convince ourselves we can do it all by ourselves. 
  • ​So you do it by yourself for the 12 months in 2019 only to realize that you got the same results as the year before; you didn't grow your business as much as you thought. You took on that burden as opposed to giving that burden to someone else that you could hire. 
  • ​That is the job of the Transaction Coordinator and not yours; lets chunk down how to get your employee, and database by the end of the month, or by the end of next month. I need you to be aware that this is the first week of 2020, and I need you to begin to think about what 52 wins would look like this year? Fifty-two processes, by chunking things down; what does that look like by the end of the year? It will look like an incredible year for all of us because we are taking steps to what we ultimately want; systems, processes, automation, profitability, and predictability are all great things.
Break It Down
  • Let's break this down:
  • ​1. Be specific about what you want. Simply saying, I want to get a CRM up and running is not specific; it is general. Healthwise, if you say you want to lose weight and get in shape, that is not specific, it is very general. You say that you are going to understand what the different functionalities, and know what five of those items are. Understanding how to upload people into the CRM, how to automate their email systems, and how to customize it. The system allows you to do all of those things, so learn five things about that system. Maybe by the end of next week, you will have your people uploaded and ready to go. To say it can be accomplished in only one week is too much. Saying you want to lose 12 pounds is too much, but if you have a target a pound this week, to eat less, exercise more, and get your blood checked, that is specific. 
  • ​2. Is it achievable? It goes back to the quote about where we overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can do in a month; we overestimate what we can do in a year, and underestimate what we can do in ten years. If you understand what the goal is, the goal will always be in sight; you only need to chunk it down. I know what I need to accomplish to finish this book; this week, we are going over the insights and revelations. We are also going to number the pages, and spell check the document. There are so many steps to make sure we can deliver a quality project. I can't get stuck on the mindset that it needs to be done this week; it's not going to happen. 
  • ​3. It needs to be measurable by setting benchmarks. If you say you want to create your CRM if you don't even have one, how is that achievable? It isn't measurable. You don't know how to upload into the system, so what is measurable? I want to load ten people into the CRM; you can't decipher through 300 contacts in one day. If you say that, you will get ten people deciphered, making sure that they go into the right buckets, people who engage with you, people who have bought from you, and people who don't know you. If you break it up, you are closer to getting your CRM up and running; it needs to be measurable. Why is it important to add this system to your business? Adding an autoresponder will do amazing things for your business and will help you automate. You must have clear targets and use that to your advantage. When you allow yourself time to flourish, you will become a Top Producer in a shorter time frame. We want the lifestyle, predictability, and profitability; those are all reasons why. Not having a system to follow up with your clients is only a hustle. It will limit all of us from knowing what we can achieve in our businesses. Start to think about why it is important. This multi-layered system can be overwhelming, but chunking it down and not being so hard on ourselves for not accomplishing overnight by setting small benchmarks will move us forward. You need to make sure that it is measurable by writing out five emails by the end of the week, one a day, for your autoresponder system. Then you can learn about how to track your client once they open the email, so you can send them another email about where they are at. We are chunking it down to measurable items to complete, and by the end of the month, you will be up and running. The same is true for hiring an employee; some of you need an employee right now, but you are overwhelmed with thoughts of how to pay them, or what they will do. You are looking at it from a general standpoint when by weeks end, you need only write down ten things your employee can do. Write down the qualities you are looking for, and maybe by the end of next week or by the end of the month, you will have your employee. It's about chunking it down; start thinking about what you want to accomplish for your business and then chunk it down. 
  • ​4. Set a hard deadline. This is the only way any of this will work. You need to set a hard deadline because it puts things into a state of urgency. It becomes urgent for you to accomplish it. Those that went through the two-week process of setting up their autoresponder, and I gave you a hard deadline. Most of you finished it, but there were a couple of people that were overwhelmed and didn't complete the process.They prioritized other things and became too busy. When you don't finish the things you say, and you don't return to it, it will weigh heavy on you because it remains unaccomplished, and you are out of integrity. You said you were going to do something, and then completely left it to sit there, with the statement that you will get back to it. It's been two weeks, a month since we finished the training; you aren't going to get more powerful when you leave things undone and unsettled. If you were part of that training, get it done. If you are trying to get your CRM up and running but got overwhelmed by the process, you are leaking power right now. That was your commitment. Imagine all of these commitments that we have made and have not accomplished. You are dragging that around like a big bag; it will be difficult for you to move and maneuver through your business as opposed to those that are checking off the things they said. What is it that you have left unfinished? Let's get back to that. Was it the automation system? Let's get it done. Was it the CRM? Were you going to hire an employee, but then you got discouraged? Did you have an appointment set up with a Transaction Coordinator, but then stopped the communication? Let's get back to that because subconsciously it is slowing you down. It is draining you, and you are leaking power; get back to that. The same things that you talked about at our business planning meeting get back to those things. At our Mid-year review, many of you said that you were going to do these great things but only got 20 % into it, some of you got 80% into it. It's what is left that counts, and allows you to put a stake in the ground and proclaim domination over it. That is where the game happens, and the fun starts. What is it that you have unfinished and lets chunk that down. It was overwhelming before, so let's get to it. If you can get a win this week, and subsequently each week after that, the big targets set during the business planning meeting will be in the bag and will happen. If you only have the big goal without measurable items on how to get there, it will be a tough road. 
  • ​Things to think about; If you started something, get back to it. This time you are going to take a different approach. Don't try to get it all done this week, chunk it down. There will be distractions and other action items you need to take care of. If you are breaking down your 300 people on your list, it doesn't have to get done this week; but maybe you can get 20 people taken care of. That is a win, and you are not allowing it to sit there again. If you are looking for an employee, putting out an ad is a step in the right direction. If you have considering farming, merely going on the USPS website and learning what “Every Door Direct” means is a step in the right direction. Chunking down the process is what it is all about.
Constituting the Win
  • The way we are going to give out the books this year is at a special meeting we are going to have. I am going to go through the entire process, so you can go through the book and make it the most efficient and profitable year of your life and your business. 
  • ​If you haven't signed up for our ignite event on January 24th, do so now. It will be an awards ceremony and a night of celebration. We already did our targets last month, so this will be all about celebration and recognition. We have a deadline, and it will be a lot of fun. 
  • ​When you condition yourself to win the small wins, it gives you more confidence, more certainty, and you will have more respect for yourself; when you can chunk things down and realize a win in a day, a week, a month, per quarter and in a year. We all got together last month, and we knew what we wanted to create for 2020. Now it's a process of chunking it down, and that is your responsibility. You broke it down for the quarter, now break it down for the week and the day. What constitutes a win today? 
  • ​If you have 200 people in your sphere and you send out one email per week, you are touching your database 800 times; can you say that you are doing that? You aren't sending out 800 emails; you create four emails that touched 800 people. There is a process, a learning curve; you need to learn a system. You will get frustrated and make mistakes, but you need to get it up and running. That is how a foundation happens. 
  • ​Who do you think will win the Battle of the Listing Appointment? When someone has been communicating with them consistently, they not only see the emails, but they also get text messages once or twice a month. They get a phone call and see them all over social media. Who do you think will win? That is what you need to think about. We need to keep our current market share and go after somebody else's, and to do that takes being ruthlessly committed to the consistency to the things you know will work. Emails, texts, follow up, and marketing is what works. 
  • ​When you leave things unfinished, it makes you feel smaller, because the burden of unfinished business is much more significant. Some of you can't be seen because you have left so much on the table. If you haven't finished the autoresponder system, I’m not mad at you; get it done. I was trying to hold your hand and hold you accountable through the process, and that wasn't enough. It will never be enough, no matter the coach you have, the mentor, the company you go to; if you are unwilling to hold yourself to a greater responsibility than the other person, it will never work. 
  • ​Please don't wait for someone else to force you to get it done; get it done. It is your business, and it will be your results. Systems are daunting; automation is burdensome and sucks. There's a lot of work to do, but you need to look at the flip side; doing all the work sucks and creates a bigger burden for yourself, your family, and your profits. 
  • ​The third week in January is tentatively set for our next autoresponder class. The class size will be smaller and I need people who are totally committed. This last class had four or five participants that didn't complete the process; I feel that it is unsettled business. It's not me, though, and I understand that my priorities are to continue to offer the class; but if you commit to it and not get it done, it will only affect you. If you are the one that didn't finish, get it done. If you need help, reach out to me, and I will explain to you what is going on. I am going to be shutting down the class soon, so let's get it done. 
  • ​Eat that elephant one bite at a time; what have you left unsettled? What have you committed to that you haven't taken the appropriate steps to complete? Start attacking that. If it's hiring or firing people, or CRM’s, there are so many different elements to building a business. If I acted like that guy who thought I couldn't figure it out, I would still be lost; a five-person team and not the 140 strong that we are. It's only going to get bigger because the systems are being implemented, and my commitment is insane. I have respect for myself, and I live in integrity.

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A.Z. & Associates Real Estate Group - 2019