The month of January is one of my favorite times of the year. I always take the time to regroup and think of the best things I learned during the year but also take the time to set up a plan for the new year.
Here’s 19 tips to become a better broker in 2019:
#1 Be Focused
I remember listening to an interview earlier this year about a guy who attended a gala dinner and had a chance to stop by the table where Warren Buffet & Bill Gates were sitting. He asked them the following question: “If you could summarize your success to one skill, what would it be?” They reportedly responded at the same time: “You have to be focused.”
We now live in a ‘distraction era’. Being present is a huge skill. The first thing you need to do to be more productive is to eliminate the things you don’t need to do and spend your time focusing on the things that really matter and produce results.
Remember that: “There is nothing more useless than doing very well that which does not need to be done at all”. As John Jantsh, brilliant marketer and author of Duct Tape Marketing said: “Here is a very big secret- if you get this it will change your life- there is a very, very small amount of everything you do each day that matters. Figure that out, focus on that and you ‘ll never go to work the same way again.”
#2 Be Yourself
Forget “Fake it till you make it”. Your prospects want to deal with real people and will usually always sense if you are faking it. Do not use words you are not comfortable with. Be aware of your body language.
Remember that empathy is one of the most powerful emotions in sales so always ask yourself the following question when meeting a new prospect: “If I was in their shoes today, how would I want to be treated?”
#3 Embrace Rejection
By the time a person is 17, the average teenager will have heard the words “No you can’t” over 150,000 times, versus 5000 “Yes you can”. That is a ratio of 30 no’s to a single yes! As a result, we are all becoming afraid of the word “NO.” We are afraid of saying and hearing “NO”. But getting more ‘No’s’ is the secret to success in sales.
Let’s take the Gold Mine metaphor. When you mine for gold, you don’t actually look for gold, you remove the dirt in the way. Whoever removes the most dirt the quickest, will find the most gold. In other words, the people with the most rejections (the most ’no’s’) get the most ‘yes’. Start comparing your “No’s” to the dirt and your “Yes’” to the gold. The more “No’s” you collect, the more gold you will find.
#4 Become a Persuader
If you have ever had any trouble making a sale, getting a job, finding a date, doing anything that allows you to move forward in your life, you need to focus more on being a student of the art of persuasion. If you want to learn more, check my 20 Ways to Influence and Sell More Boats article.
#5 Get Uncomfortable
Let me share an interesting lesson with you about what we can learn from lobsters. When their shell gets too tight and uncomfortable, lobsters have no other way to grow than to hide below a rock and shed their old shell to make way for a new one. Their discomfort is entirely part of their growing process.
Next time you’re in a period of stress or adversity, think of it as an opportunity to grow. Yes, shedding your old shell will hurt but it will make place for a new you with higher potential. Avoiding discomfort by avoiding it, denial or even masking its effect by consuming food, drugs, alcohol will not bring you anything positive in life.
As well, always remember: if you’re not scared while improving your boat sales you’re doing something wrong.
If you think you suck at doing video of your listings, great, do more of them!
You hate social media? Great, spend more time at it, because you’re not doing it for you, you’re doing for your clients and your family because you want to become a better sales person.
#6 Be Persistent
“Your ‘I Can’ is more important than your IQ”. You can easily reach the majority of things you want in life. It might be hard, it might take time and a lot of trial and errors but be patient and persistent. Remember the marshmallow experiment: the kids who sought instant gratifications always got less than those who applied self-discipline.
#7 Build Systems
In order to succeed, don’t make your objective a goal, make it a system!
Use technology to facilitate the implementation of daily systems that are designed towards achieving your goals. Here is a simple example that will lead to dramatic results in your life: Take your iPhone, press the Siri button and say: “Set me a daily reminder at 8 am.” Siri will then say: “Tell me what you want to be reminded about?” Respond with: “What should I do today in order for me to have a successful day?” et voila.
Every morning at 8am you will be reminded of this magic question.
#8 Don't Be Average
Just like sharks who constantly need to swim to live, keep learning and progressing constantly. Settling and stop working to become better at what you do is a guarantee to become miserable or average. “The average are the best of the lousiest and the lousiest of the best.” It is not very gratifying to be average.
Remember: there is always more competition at the bottom of the pyramid than at the top. The higher and better you get, the less competition you will have. There is no competition for bigger goals while everybody wants to get the same average goals
#9 Make More Time
Save 30 minutes every day and you will get 182 extra hours a year or the equivalent of one extra month of full-time work!
There are a lot of inequalities in the world but there is one thing that we all have in common: the amount of hours we get in a day.
I remember reading an interview of the Ikea founder and billionaire Ingvar Kamprad. When asked what the secret to his success and achievements was, he responded: “I divide my days into sections of 10 minutes. You have to understand that time is your most important resource. You can do so much in 10 minutes”.
While the majority of people divide their week into 7 units of 24 hours, he divides his week into 1008 units of 10 minutes.
#10 Be Curious
Curiosity triggers knowledge and knowledge is one of the most important pillars to success. “Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of self-development. Success is not something you attract but the person you become.” Mark Cuban & Richard Branson spend 3 hours a day reading, Zuckerberg reads a book a week and Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day!
There is no secret: “The more you learn, the more you earn”. So be curious and keep learning. If you want to start 2019 on a great note, enroll in my 7-Days to Boat Sales Transformation.
#11 Be Empathic
I’m sure you’ve heard people say “Live today as if it was the last day of your life.” Think differently. When you meet somebody think as if this is the last day of their life and treat them the way you would if it were the case. Ideally, there are 2 kinds of people in the world: those who walk into a room & say, ‘Here I am,’ and those who say, ‘There you are.’ Become a giver, not a taker. If you are in sales, focus on what customers want to buy, not what you want to sell. Remember that people buy from people and companies they like.
#12 Get Directions
Have you heard of the myth that lost travelers end up walking in circles after losing their sense of direction?
This was confirmed by researcher Jan Souman who did an experiment in 2007 and dropped volunteers into the Sahara Desert a German forest and watched as they walked for several miles, in an attempt to walk in a straight line. GPS trackers revealed that they were indeed going in circles.
It is human nature not to have direction and just like the hikers going around in a circle, it will bring you nowhere in life.
Directions include vision, goals, plans, and strategies. We are generally pretty bad at planning and setting up directions in our lives. Most people spend more time planning their summer vacation than planning their lives. We are often inexperienced when it comes to planning our lives and have no idea why or what to do so let me give you a brief intro.
Vision comes from the heart while goals come from the head. A goal without a plan is just a wish or a dream. Strategic thinking is creating a bridge that links where you are to where you want to be. A plan without preparation, strategy or action will bring you nowhere.
As Mike Tyson said: “Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the face.”
So this is why planning and establishing a vision and strategies are indispensable. Don’t ever feel you’re wasting time when you’re just sitting in a chair strategizing out your plan for the day.
Take at least 1/2 day a week establishing your vision and improving your practice and to become a better broker. While it is good to plan, don’t over do it. Fix yourself one objective and go all in. Remember this advice from Elisabeth Holmes, the youngest female billionaire in the world:
“The moment you have a backup plan, you’ve admitted you are not going to succeed.”
#13 Surround Yourself With The Right People
One of the easiest ways to become successful is to surround yourself with motivated and successful people.
You may have heard that “You are just the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most. Or, “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”
I like to take the example of the Crab Pot Theory.
It is a metaphorical theory in psychology used in reference to people who try to pull others down. Typically, when a crab is trying to escape out a pot, all the other crabs pull it down back into the pot. If your friends or entourage see you growing and becoming a better person, chances are that they will instinctively try to pull you down.
So, don’t be afraid to end relationships if they don’t bring any positivity into your life.
#14 be Accountable
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”
“You can be rich or you can be a victim, but you can’t be both.”
Nothing will ever work out for you if you constantly blame external circumstances. So go out there and get started right now. But remember to start before you feel ready because you will never feel ready.
#15 Remember The Secret To Happiness
Happiness is the ultimate currency.
“Don’t wait until you are rich to be happy. Happiness is free.”
Remember that “Success doesn’t lead to happiness but happiness leads to success.”
You must have goals but your happiness CANNOT be tied to those goals. Be happy before you attain your goals otherwise you will never be satisfied with your life. Practice gratitude everyday (set a daily reminder using Siri like we saw earlier and write down 3 things you are grateful for daily). This little exercise has been proven to increase happiness by 51% within a week!
#16 Invest In Yourself
The truth is we usually don’t have sales problems.
We just have life problems that reflect in our sales or business.
Remember that the way we do one thing is the way we do everything.
If you don’t have any willpower for going to the gym or cleaning your house, chances are you are going to have no willpower to follow up with your prospects.
If you bargain for everything that you buy, chances are you are going to attract clients that will bargain too.
If you take forever and procrastinate making decision, chances are you will attract clients that will always be indecisive.
If you don’t invest in yourself, chances are others will not invest in you, so…
Are you Willing to Invest In Yourself to Get Serious ROI?
If so I’d like to help you implement all of these tips (and more), plus the marketing systems I’ve used to successfully sell boats for myself and my clients.
But, I’m only looking for brokers and brokerage owners who are driven, dedicated, and ready to take their business to the next level.
Those who I consider are in the top 5% (or want to be in the top 5).
Sales professionals ready to make a dramatic shift and experience an accelerated growth in their marketing & sales.
So, if you’re not afraid to invest in yourself to get serious ROI, then shoot me an email and or WhatsApp me.
To your success!
— Vincent Finetti
Founder & Instructor
Yacht Sales Academy
P.S. Try a listing strategy from my FREE Listing ebook here.
P.P.S. I’m doing an exclusive virtual Listings & Sales Workshop with a small group next month to go deep in applying my best strategies to your brokerage business.
Would you like to join us? If so, go here and enter your name and email for more details!
P.P.P.S Check out my client results here.
