My coaching and training responsibilities allow me the opportunity to interact with a variety of mega agents around the country.  I make sure to ask as many as possible for their success secrets…those power-packed truths that truly make a difference in their business.  When speaking to one of my industry favorites, Team Leader Greg Chaplain in Hampton Roads, Virginia, his response came with lightning speed: “That’s easy! We’re never in the quarter we’re in. We’re physically in this quarter and ALWAYS mentally in the next!”

Folklore quotes Einstein as saying: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know it well enough.”  I think that sums it up for Greg, he KNOWS success and the formula to deliver it consistently. Just that simple truth, offering clarity of purpose and direction, has delivered a mega level of production for himself and everyone he mentors YEAR AFTER YEAR.

Greg continued sharing his wisdom by formulating the image of a surfer physically positioned on the top of one wave but mentally focused on the wave that was approaching.  I could see him sizing up the incoming opportunity for the best results possible … positioning himself to be prepared for it when it arrives … and doing all that was necessary to be ready when it did.

I’ve boiled it down to this … Manage to the Momentum.

 Yes, we must ensure that today’s opportunities and clients experience the best we can deliver.  Our ultimate goal is not to be wiped out by today’s groundswell while we are “staring” towards the future!  This concept of business requires a presence of mind and focus impossible to accomplish in the “auto-pilot” position.  Your first goal? Be intensely present and develop a mindful form of competence that cares for the business at hand while doing all that’s necessary to position yourself for future opportunities. And be assured, the opportunities are coming! Markets across the country are already spiking weeks before their “normal” spring market.   Decide NOW to prepare for what’s incoming and what must be done today to be prepared for tomorrow or risk missing it altogether.  And nobody wants to see their competitor shoot past them on the crest of the wave they missed.

The Hot Leads List

Here’s a practical application of this “momentum truth” that should be part of any team or agent’s business plan. It’s a non-negotiable item for me when building business plans for clients.  I encourage each team leader to maintain a “Hot Leads List”, regardless of which sophisticated lead management system they may be using. This list projects the 30, 60, and 90-day times frames for any solid buyer or seller to be under contract. If the lead management system allows for this modification or subreport, do it today! Existing listings should always be on this list as no one earns anything until the listing sells. Large listing inventories with projected UC dates past 90 days can turn listings into a substantial distraction and emotional drain rather than a major opportunity and may indicate a weakness in the agent’s pricing ability.

Yes, price and markets can change that norm, but you get the gist of the application.  Requiring every team member to assess their business leads on an individual basis gives a Team Leader a quick litmus test to measure just how healthy the approaching wave of business is, both for each individual team associate and the team as a whole.  It’s SO easy for any team to get lost in a sea of leads and develop a false sense of security that the NUMBER of leads indicates the quality and quantity of approaching business.  In my last revision of this particular report, I changed the first column to allow for the date of entry.  As a Team Leader, wouldn’t you like to see when the last date a team associate created a Hot Lead? Is a lead so solid that they expect to have them under contract in the next 30-60-90 days? Isn’t that a much better metric for measuring and projecting their success than how many leads you pushed their way or how many they chose to “cherry-pick” or reject?

“Fire one to save two.” 

This can also allow you to separate your solid agents from the impostors.  If every team member is provided the same opportunities and benefits from the same lead sources, wouldn’t it be quickly obvious that one agent tends to work and convert leads much quicker than the rest?  One of my favorite management mentors always told me …“Fire one to save two.”  In other words, the performance of others can easily be used to set standards and expectations for the rest of your team, whether that is for good or bad depends on you!

So … turn off the “auto-pilot” button and become mindfully present of the next surge of business coming your way. Be physically in this quarter and mentally in the next, then replicate the process over and over. This can be one of your most effective business strategies in 2020 and eliminate the kind of crisis management mode that occurs when we fail to manage to the momentum!