blog

09-07-2018

By: 2018 PSAR President, Jan Farley

On a daily basis, REALTORS® are required to make a variety of important decisions affecting themselves and others, including clients, lenders and other agents. There seems to be no shortage of ideas about the decision-making process for real estate professionals of all kinds.

Perhaps the biggest lie I’ve heard about decision-making is: “If it feels good, do it.” The fact is feelings can get us all in trouble. It can be easy to get swept off our feet by some emotion. Sometimes, “If it feels good, I probably shouldn’t do it.”

There are basically two kinds of decision-makers in this world. The first kind is someone who is extremely confident they can handle the consequences, whatever they might be. So, they go with their instinct and, sometimes, will suffer from making decisions too quickly. The other decision-maker is someone who thinks a lot and goes through all the options before finally settling. I’ve learned there are hazards with each approach.

Here are among the best pieces of advice about decision-making for real estate professionals that I’ve learned throughout my real estate career.

1. Gather pertinent information.
2. Don’t make decisions out of ignorance. Do the proper research on the property and parties involved. It’s been said that 95 percent of the decisions we need to make will become obvious if we collect enough facts, while the other 5 percent are judgment calls.
3. Make sure the information is “pertinent.”
4. Sometimes, we can complicate decisions, often factoring in information that really isn’t important. The result can be to play out every scenario, stressing over countless “what if’s.” Don’t let your mind run wild. Instead, manage your mind because your thoughts control your life. An unmanaged mind leads to tension, conflict, and stress. A managed mind leads to tranquility, confidence, strength, and serenity.
5. Control your thinking with new ways of thinking.
6. We are not a victim of our thoughts. We have a vote. We have a voice. We can exercise thought prevention. If we’re in a bad mood, then realize it’s an emotion that we permit. You can’t always control your circumstances, but you can control what you think about. That’s always your choice. And if you change the way you think, it can change the way you feel, and that will change the way you act. Don’t listen to yourself when your mind is bombarded with doubt. Reject thoughts like, “it’s not going to turn out in my favor,” or “I’m not going to have a great year,” or “I’ll never going to be as successful as somebody else.” Those are old ways of thinking that you should get rid of. It’s time to get a new vision for your life, it’s time for new thinking. Let go of the old and embrace a new, positive, optimistic mindset.
7. Keep the client informed about the decisions.
8. I can build trust with my buyer or seller when I take the extra time to explain the transaction process with bottom-line facts and figures, including recommendations from the lender and mortgage options. This effort can transcend rapport and a firm handshake and can certainly help when problems arise (which always seem to happen).
9. When I get stuck over a decision, focus on priorities.
10. One thing that will create stress is when you are indecisive. Often we’re afraid of making the wrong decision. Sometimes it’s best to avoid making a decision impulsively. It’s better to slow down and pull over. Also, make sure your thinking is based on verifiable facts and priorities. You don’t have time to do everything, so you need to learn the difference between the important and the urgent and the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency is doing things right, effectiveness is doing the right things.
11. Be willing to seek advice.
12. Remember, it’s better to admit your ignorance than to prove it by your experience. You’re going to appear foolish if you don’t get the right advice. So, go ahead and ask and be teachable. Leaders are learners. When you’re starting out, you may know a little about some things, but you definitely don’t know a lot about everything. Be smart enough to realize that you can’t become the best version of yourself without a little help along the way. Also, ask those closest to you how they perceive the decision at hand. After all, they’re the ones who care the most about you. If they feel good about it, then it will greatly improve the odds that you’re making the right decision.
13. Be willing to take risks.
14. If you want to move forward in your real estate career, sometimes you have to let go of the past. Being successful requires the guts to take a chance every now and then. Just because you experienced failure in the past doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a risk again. What’s happened in the past is over and done. You may have been through some disappointments; you may have tried and failed, or things didn’t work out. If at first, you don’t succeed, then you’re normal and just like the rest of us.
15. Don’t give up.
16. Most people don’t find themselves becoming an overnight success. It’s a lot of work and it takes intestinal fortitude. You’ve heard that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” but it’s so true. You’ll never accomplish your goals if you give up. You have to keep pushing while keeping your eye on the goal. The difference between successful REALTORS® and unsuccessful is the unsuccessful give up at the first sign of difficulty. Successful people keep on keeping on. They are determined, diligent and persistent. They don’t know how to quit. Tough times will improve our persistence. Sometimes it just gets to you and we just want to give up. Do you know how a little acorn becomes an oak tree? Answer: An oak tree is just an acorn that refused to give up.
17. Do it now.
18. There comes a point of decision where you’ve got to stop talking and start acting. You’ve got to begin. Once you’ve decided it’s worth the risk, you need to go for it.