This issue Jet Xavier looks at the mindsets of some of the top real estate agents in Australia.
I have interviewed some of Australia’s best agents, and in this article I am going to show you five of the key mindsets to their success.
EFFICIENCY
Top agents have a ‘Formula 1’ racing car mindset. Every detail in their business is measured for efficiency, effectiveness, and performance. Nothing is left unchecked and every effort is put into making them perform at the highest level they can. Top agent Chris Gilmour, who is also Australia’s 2011 F3 racing champion and record holder for fastest lap around Bathurst, says the precision and discipline in racing he applies to his business. Efficiency is the key. The more efficient you are, the more effective you are.
To achieve efficiency, top agents have systems in every area of their business. They leverage virtual assistants, personal assistants, and the latest technology. They only work on their strengths and delegate anything that takes them away from dollar-producing activities. They are highly organised with databases, strategies, and clear goals. Rob Matheson, Number 1 in transactions worldwide for LJ Hooker, lives by his ideal week religiously for maximum efficiency. Aaron Shiner has set up coaching and speaking arms to his business and has products to also create passive income streams that build efficiency for success.
One top agent from NSW has such an efficient online lead generation strategy he gets enough appraisals to dominate his market, make a high income and surf whenever he wants, doing around 20 hours of work per week. In comparison, most agents have a rocking horse mindset. They are very busy doing lots of work and expending lots of
energy, time, resources, and money never getting anywhere. Top agents strive to work smarter, not harder.
COMPETITIVE
Top agents have a Michael Jordan mindset. They are ultra competitive. Michael Jordan says, ‘There is no I in team, but there is in win.’ Award-winning agent Danny Hayes from Victoria left a major agency brand with nothing and within a year was outselling all his rivals, such was his determination to succeed. These agents are driven to be at the top. They have a ‘never say die’ attitude. They don’t like to lose and take pride in winning. They refuse to not compete or be the best at what they do. They are high achievers who excel in most things in life; they set very high standards for themselves and have a hunger to succeed. As Chris Gilmour puts it, ‘failure is not an option’. They also understand the price they have to pay and the sacrifice they have to make for greatness every day. Muhammad Ali said, ‘the fight is won and lost long before I dance under those lights,’ referring to the effort put in behind closed doors to compete and win at the highest level.
FOCUSED
Top agents have a mindset that is so sharp it could cut through steel. They are single-mindedly focused on their purpose, goals, and outcomes. They do not care or take much notice of what others are doing, thinking, or saying. As one agent said, they do not compare; they just do. They are almost blinkered in their pursuit for success, such is the energy they put into their focus. It is obsessive. Their language about where they are going is clear, non negotiable and succinct. They know what they want and they know how to get it. And nothing will stop them. There is a certainty about them; they are concrete in their resolve to achieve what they want. They do not waiver in their self-belief that they will achieve their goals. Arnold Schwarzenegger was like this. He always believed from a very early age he would be a movie star and get into politics, despite being told he would never do it.
LEARNING
Top agents have a sponge mindset, soaking up everything they can learn. Like children wanting to find out everything, they are curious, enquiring, inquisitive, and not afraid to make mistakes or ask dumb questions in the process. Self-growth is a key determinant to their success. They are always looking at how to be better. They have coaches and mentors, read books, listen to CDs and attend seminars.
This enables them to be successful because they embrace challenges to learn from them, rather than avoiding them because they might fail. Obstacles and effort are seen as the way to self and business mastery, instead of roadblocks to achievement. Feedback and critique is always welcomed as it helps to avoid making big mistakes. They view others’ success as inspirational and a way to learn and model behaviour for their own success.
OPTIMISM
Top agents have a ‘law of attraction’ mindset. Because of this they are optimistic and operate more from their left frontal lobe. This enables them to neutralise negative emotions more rapidly and effectively, allowing them to recover quickly from the emotional roller coaster that is real estate. Their state of mind, moods, and attitude are constantly engaged in being solution-focused, positive, and motivated. This keeps them in a peak performance state. Mat Steinwede takes it deeper. He embraces the law of attraction and has built his success on creating consistent flows of positive energy, thought and vibration on how he wants his business to be. In simple terms, he says your most dominant thoughts create your most dominant emotions, and then you experience the reflection of those in your reality.
