Success Strategies for Savvy Real Estate Professionals with Speaker Todd 
Robertson
By Julie Escobar
I heard recently that an old friend and dynamic speaker Todd Robertson was stirring up some great things for real estate professionals not far from me so I thought I’d tap him on the shoulder and find out what he was doing to generate such terrific results!
Here’s what I learned…
Q: Hello my friend – good to chat with you again! You’ve been busy these days I hear – changing the course of careers and lives in less than a month. Would you care to share with me a little bit about what you’re doing and why your Real Estate Rehab is making a difference?
A: Of course! Great to talk to you as well! It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve had some exciting results. After working with agents and conducting seminars for the past 14 years, I’ve certainly learned a few things. Watching some training programs succeed and many fail, I realized that many were either not attended – because they were too expensive – or not learned from because people have done what we’ve all done a time or two — bought books and tapes and CDs and DVD’s and yet never REALLY followed through. That’s when I decided to offer up a challenge.
Two years ago after conducting a one day workshop for 85 Realtors, I laid down a dare for everyone in the room. I said “If everyone in this room was on a call with me every day for the next 21 business days and we broke down everything you learned, and you had to participate and report back via email with your homework and assignments, would you change? If you could get rid of habits that don’t support either you or your goals and instead put in place strong and productive money making habits—who here would be more productive, make more money – do more business?” Well that day I scared them a little, had them ask themselves some hard questions, realize what could be. The result? They loved it and I knew we had something.
Q: I love the idea of shedding bad habits and unproductive mindsets! You and talked a little before about internal vs. external motivation and how that plays a role in making those changes. Can you give me the inside scoop on how agents need both to make the difference in today’s competitive world and some ways they can make that happen?
A: Sure, great question and so overlooked. Left to our own initiative, we human beings are lazy by design. The real estate industry by design has little structure and agents are independent, meaning the reason the whole reason they got into this business, (be their own boss, set their own hours, etc.) could be their demise. Internal motivation means that those professionals hold themselves accountable by keeping their word (to themselves as well as others) and doing what they say they will do. External motivation is for those agents who need an outside source to keep them on track such as a broker, accountability partner or a coach. So, for agents who are really eager to hit their goals (consistently and for the long haul) – they’ll have a better chance of success if they make sure they have both of types of motivation in place.
Q: Very interesting! On that note of motivation – you’ve certainly had you fair share of powerhouse mentors in your life. Anthony Robbins, Floyd Wickman, Mike Ferry just to name a few. How do you infuse what you teach with all that you’ve learned from some of the best minds in the sales business?
A: You know, you’re right. I’ve been very blessed in my life to have some incredible people mentor me along the way. What that’s taught me is that that people need two things from any coach or speaker. They need to know that you sincerely care about them and want more for them – and two—they need for you to challenge them. Combine those two things and magic can happen.
Floyd, Tony, Mike – they all said the same thing but in different ways. They all shared that if they could turn back the clock and do it all over again – they’d think BIGGER thoughts. I challenge everyone to do the same. Agents have the choice right now to think BIGGER. To look at this time and market for the opportunities it holds – lower rates, lower prices, less competition and seize those opportunities for success. Decide right now if you want to embrace this market and get excited about playing at a higher level or if you just want to be like the cork in the river and let it take you where it will. The successful agent charts their own course.
Q: Great advice and I love to see sales professionals and entrepreneurs embrace those mentor and protégé relationships in their lives. Your thoughts?
A: It is exciting to see when that happens. You know, so many people who have accomplished great things are EAGER to help the next in line. Most that I’ve found are extraordinarily generous and gracious and not only willing to share but happy to play that role in someone else’s life. It’s a great way to give back – and that feels good all the way around –right?
Really there are two ways to go through life. School of hard knocks – which costs a ton of time and money or find someone that you like, trust, respect and look up to and ask them to mentor you. That kind of accelerated learning will not only get you to where you want to go quicker – but you’ll have a much better journey along the way.
Q: Good stuff Todd! I thought it was very interesting when we spoke about “sourcing” listings so agents can best know where their business is coming for and then WISELY put their time, energy and resources on those areas – can you tell me a little more about that?
A: Sure, there are 3 ways an agent can get business 1) Wait for the business – by doing open houses, floor time etc. 2) Buy the business – running ads, buying radio time, cutting your commission etc. 3) Put systems in place to attract it such as Conference calls to FSBOS, direct response mailings to people facing possible short sales, developing a “Mover and Shaker list” of small business owners, etc. Tackling the Just listed and just sold, but not just sending post cards but with real follow-up with phone calls and a personal visit. This market dictates that if an agent is going to do 30 plus closings in a year, 70+% of their business needs to come from putting systems in place and pro-actively seeking out the business. We really stress this during the “21 Day sales Challenge” and the agents really love it because they become more profitable and their business becomes more predictable. That’s a winning combination.
Q: You and ProspectsPLUS! have a long history – can you tell me why you still believe that their concept of building a viable (and salable) book of business is even MORE important today than it has ever been?
If an agent is serious about dominating and not just surviving in this market they cannot spend any time designing, editing, cutting and pasting marketing materials. It’s simply not a smart use of their time. A great agent in this market realizes they need to streamline and just do two things every day – prospect and go on appointments to present. We all know the number one reason agents fail is that they either hate to prospect or just don’t know how. What I love about ProspectsPLUS! is it gives them at LEAST 103 new, unique, profitable ways to prospect. In terms of building a book of business that’s just a smart tool to have.
Q: I agree! Any last advice?
A: I guess I’d just say that for those agents committed for the long haul and real success – you have to remain a student of the game – and a student of life. Continuous learning and skill building is a tremendous differentiator. After all – you know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results-right? If you want to be the kind of sales professional that’s closing 30, 50 or 100 transactions per year – stands to reason you’re going to have to do some things differently. We know it’s easy to get stuck, easy to buy in to the news and the negative – but the true student of life knows it’s also easy to keep getting better. Attend seminars, read great books, fuel your life and your mind with great information and put some accountability vehicles in place to make sure you’re hitting the mark effectively and consistently.
Todd – as always, a pleasure! Great information on changing gears, mindsets and habits to align yourself with real success strategies! If you want to learn more about Todd Robertson and his “21 Day Challenge” call them today at 702.683.1767 or visit them online at www.salesrehab.info. If you want to learn more about ProspectsPLUS! and what systems you can use to grow your book of business contact us at 866.405.3641 or visit www.prospectsplus.com! Now – go make some great habits work for you! Good luck!
