“When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.”~ Walt Disney

Introduction

A recent post of ours discussed 5 things you must know to build a Rock Solid Real Estate Career. You can review that post by clicking here or there will be a link below.

Over the next several weeks, I will address each of those 5 things in more detail. Be sure to follow or subscribe to make sure you don't miss them.  In today's post we are going to discuss Knowing your Why.  Most or our discussion will be based on Simon Sinek's best selling book "Start With Why" and how we can apply the principles to our real estate career.

1. Inspiration vs Manipulation

Leadership guru, John Maxwell, says "Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less." And really, being a better leader improves your influence and will help you in your sales. According to Sinek, there are 2 main ways we influence the behavior of people. We either inspire them or we manipulate them. If you are given a choice between being manipulated or inspired to make a change in your life, which would you choose? I don't think I'm going to far out on the limb when I think the vast majority of us would prefer to be inspired.   Many companies would rather choose inspiration as well but think about how often manipulative marketing tactics are employed to get you to make a decision. Limited time offers. Clearance sales. Advertising hype. Manipulation is an effective and popular strategy but it doesn't breed loyal customers. When you employ manipulation, they are only coming to you for the good deal you promised them. They have been incentivised and you have become a commodity.

The alternative is to inspire them. When they are inspired they become loyal and repeat customers. You are more likely to be inspirational when you have a clear understanding of why you are in business. A friend of mine, David, has been a Realtor for over 20 years. He has been very successful and I believe his success comes because of his genuine concern for his clients. They love him and his main focus of his business is providing exceptional service to them. He offers them incredible value and has an incredible record of repeat and referral customers. .

2. Golden Circle

This is Sinek's key concept. Think of a Bullseye. 3 concentric circles with the Why being the bullseye at the very center, wrapped around by second circle the How, and the third circle representing the What.  This idea is contrary to the way many business's are run. Most focus on first on What they do then How they do it. The What is at the core. In the context of Real Estate, the what is we List and Sell Houses. Then the How varies and we try to show our prospects we know How to get the job done for them and our why is often ignored. Now, I believe that having a good plan to solve someones problem is a key factor to your success but I think when we reverse it and put our Why at the core, it changes the dynamic of what we are doing. It gives us another purpose and pushes us past the messy stuff that can weigh us down.

3. Attraction

The Why describes the mission of the business or the organization. Why is it in business and what is it's main goal. When people resonate with your why, they are responding on an emotional level. We are naturally drawn to people who share common core beliefs and values. I recently purchased a Moka Coffee pot. There were lots of choices available but I chose to purchase one that appeared to be higher quality but the main reason I made them my choice was because they were providing clean water in countries who don't have clean water.  Their why was made possible by providing a great product to people who want a great cup of coffee and using some of their profit to fund their why. One way to look at a career in real estate is that it shouldn't become your life, but it should fund your life. That includes things you are passionate about. People who share your passion will automatically be attracted to you and increase the possibility of them doing business with you.

Conclusion

Knowing your why is crucial for success in any career field. It helps to define what sets you apart from others and gives you purpose. Simon Sinek's Golden Circle starts with why for a reason. By understanding the motivation behind our actions we can better tap into what inspires us instead of relying on manipulation which often only leads to short term results. If you haven't found your why, we are here to help. Schedule a free coaching call today and let's get started on building a rock solid foundation for your real estate career!