Good morning all of our Mike Ferry TV viewers. Today we are at the week of December 23rd. As you can see, we have a minor technology problem, so there’s a picture of me on the screen … but the message I have for you is very important so listen carefully.

First of all, we want to say “Thank You” to all of you that have participated throughout the course of this year. It’s been a great year for Mike Ferry TV. Our response has been the highest we’ve ever had … so thank you for your participation.

Second, we hope that whatever type of celebration you’re going to have … we hope it’s a great celebration for you and your family over the course of the next few days.

Third, of course, is we hope that your business plan is prepared … your goals are set … so on January 2nd, you can hit it hard. It’s going to be a great year for those of us that are working.

About 6 or 7 days ago, our Coach Larry Kozak sent me a message and he said, “Mike, this is a recap of a message that you sent to all of our coaches about 10 … 12 years ago … and I’m believing, in my heart, that it still applies 100% today.” The message revolved around the fact that … why do so many of our great Coaching Clients … our great clients … maybe like a lot of you that attend our events and use our ideas … why do they succeed at such a high rate when so many agents struggle?

I think you all know … and I think you’ve heard me say time and time again that the division between those in Real Estate today, as we finish 2019 and move into 2020, the division between those that are succeeding at a relatively strong rate and those that are not is probably the widest it’s ever been in Real Estate for many years.

About 10-15% were Top Producers … 15-20% were new to the business, coming and going … and the balance in the middle were good, solid people that were doing 5 … 10 … 15 … 20 deals a year. Well, that seems to … over the last 8 or 10 years … disappear … evaporated … gone away.

Today, we have about 10-15% that are doing 80-85% of all the business and the question is … what’s the difference? Today’s message is really an answer to that question … because, you see, in today’s Real Estate business, there is a small group of agents … and I’m hoping that each of you watching and listening is one of them … that is doing the majority of the business. A lot of those agents, a good percentage, are Mike Ferry trained people.

There’s 11 things that these people do differently that I want you to make a note of … I want you to listen to this message time and time again … and enjoy the message for today.

Here’s number 1 …

1. The agents that are most productive focus on generating new business every day.

In essence, what happens is most people get a lead … they get an appointment … they get a transaction … and they celebrate … and they stop working … and of course that is a disaster and it’s a sure way to keep productivity down. A lead really has no great value until you have an appointment. An appointment has no great value until you get a contract signed … and getting a contract signed has no great value until there’s a closing for a Buyer or a Seller.

The key to long-term success is the ability to be involved in generating new business every day … knowing that the celebrations always take place, but also knowing that the rejection you receive in the process sometimes is not a lot of fun.

The second thought on this list, which is very important …

2. The people that succeed at the highest level prospect early … early … early in the day.

Now, there’s many reasons why this is the case. Probably the most important is your energy is higher … you’re more enthusiastic about what you’re going to do … there’s less distractions in your day and your life early in the day … there’s less competition early in the day … there’s more people that will answer the phones, answer their doors early in the day than as the day progresses … so it’s really to your advantage to look at number 2 very carefully and to say, “The earlier I start, the better chance I have.”

3. The great agents are prospecting to get appointments.

They’re not prospecting to make a contact … they’re not prospecting to get a name to put in their database … they’re not prospecting to get a lead … they’re prospecting with the intention of getting an appointment. When you talk to somebody on the phone from your database and they say, “Well we’re thinking of doing something … ” how do you respond?

Do you respond with, “Good, what day this week should we get together and discuss this further?” Or do you say, “Great, I’ll be following up with you in the next couple of days to the next couple of weeks?”

If you’re trying to follow up, then you’re just generating a lead … if you’re a professional Real Estate agent, you’re closing for the appointment.

1. Focus on generating new business every day.
2. Prospect early in the day when your energy’s highest.
3. Prospect for appointments, not just leads.
4. Track and monitor everything that you do.

You have a schedule for the day … and if you don’t, you should have a schedule for the day. How often do you follow your schedule? How often are you taken off your schedule? Are you following it very carefully? Are you tracking what you do? Did you talk to five people from your database today? Did you follow up on your leads today?

By tracking what you do … you learn your habits … both good and bad. By tracking what you do … you learn your weaknesses and your strengths.

Number 5 … and in this market, number 5 is critically important …

5. The great agents are very, very strong on pricing and when they take a property overpriced, they go back quickly to get a price reduction.

Two biggest challenges in 2020 every great agent like you faces … getting properties priced properly and getting paid a fair commission. We’ll be talking about both of those in January.

6. They review their business plans every week … assuming, of course, you have a business plan to review.

Why do you review your business plan? To keep yourself on track.

7. They work to perfect their scripts every day.

Great agents are always practicing, always thinking about how they’re going to preform at the highest level. Now, if you’re a salesperson by nature … what I’m saying is normal. Very few Real Estate people are salespeople by nature, so it’s a change in behavior … it’s a change in attitude … it’s a change in habits. The perfecting of your scripts gives you the confidence to do your job at the highest level.

8. They stay on a productive schedule at all costs.

That’s a tough one. Great agents stay on a productive schedule. A productive schedule would have, of course, your lead generation time … your lead follow-up time … your prequalifying time … your preparation for appointments time … going on appointments … etc. This thought on staying on a productive schedule is vitally important.

9. Great agents always maintain high standards for themselves.

For example, they start and finish at a certain time each day … they have a set commission that they are attaining and are working to attain … they offer the highest level of service to their clients. See, standards allow you to improve … standards allow you to measure.

10. They do not get emotionally involved in their transactions.

There’s no positive side to being emotionally involved. It’s a business transaction … it’s a listing you’ve been hired to sell … it’s a Buyer you’re representing in the purchase of a home.

11. They have a plan in place that always includes accountability … and hopefully some role-play partners and a good coach to keep them on track.

As we look at this week of Christmas … as we look at this week of Hanukkah … or whatever you’re celebrating individually … let’s remember that there’s still certain things that we have to do this week, next week and in 2020.

This list, although I published it probably 15 years ago, certainly applies today … so let’s have a great, great holiday season and I look forward to talking to you with a message next week … and I’m hoping our technology works.

Mike Ferry is the global leader in real estate coaching and training. Watch Mike each week as he discusses a variety of topics to help real estate agents and brokers. Grow your real estate business by improving your mindset, developing your skills and creating a plan of action to increase your production!