Let's Try Something Simpler

You don't need a secret formula for growth. Plus some reader questions and answers

What can you do to prepare for next year, outsmart competitors, stave off lawsuits, and enjoy your work? It’s simpler than you think.

---

Always Inspiring is supported by readers like you. Treat yourself to an upgraded subscription and 🎁 give a gift subscription to someone special featuring 70+ articles, videos, recorded and live webinars, upcoming Masterminds and ebooks.

---

During our recent webinar (watch the recording, grab the ebook), the dialogue was so much fun, I thought it would be helpful to share the Q&A for readers who couldn’t attend.

But first, a little inspiration!

If you, like me, are seeing lots of end-of-year ads for “secret guides” and “ultimate lists” and “incredible AI prompts” promising to help you lose weight, generate tons of leads and otherwise rule the universe, here’s something to reflect on:

Try something simpler first

Take out a sheet of paper and write your best answer to the following (non-artificially generated) prompts:

• Describe in 1-2 sentences how you help friends, family and clients grow

• List three ways they are "better off" with help from YOU

• Make a list of 20 people who would benefit from your help immediately

• Write their phone number and email next to their names

• Turn the paper over. Write a single sentence to spark a meaningful conversation. Something like (you can copy it):
  
  ”Hello, I’m calling because you mean a lot to me and I’d like to help you reach your goals.”
  

• Establish a mutually beneficial amount of money to fulfill your offer

• Finally, write the date and time you’re going to start having those conversations

Reflections, by Matthew Ferrara (Salem, MA)

No secrets needed, really

In the ebook I published last week, I offered 40 different ways you could add value to your career next year. If I’m honest, you don’t need 40 different ways. You need one.

But I’m an overachiever. I love to give friends options, hoping something resonates. Truth is: You’re prepared to make a difference now, and the simplest prompt is all you need.

Focus on your difference-maker. Reflect on what you bring to the table. Spend more time with people who can benefit from it. The rest will fall into place.

All you need is a one page plan.

You have everything else: data, charts, checklists, spreadsheets, procedures, systems, training, management, colleagues, and more. They’re ready. You used them yesterday.

Next year’s plan is to use them - more.

---

---

Now, let’s look at 10 growth questions and answers from our recent webinar.

1. How can I support clients and colleagues in positive ways next year?

Two things come to mind: First, make sure your attitude is optimistic, strong and consistent. Before you can help others, reaffirm your belief you’re ready for anything, that challenges have solutions, and things will work out for the better. That mindset provides support without doing much more than showing up people’s lives.

Second, become an intentional supporter. Start by suspending the urge to fix everything right away. Double-down on listening without analysis, correction or resolution. That will expand the kinds of support you can offer. If someone needs direction, you’ll make more meaningful suggestions. If, on the other hand, they need reassurance to lighten their worries, you’ll have reserved an opportunity to offer encouragement instead. By listening without “instant solution” you increase the depth of support for others.

2. What advantages can we find in the REALTOR lawsuits?

Start with this: The lawsuit isn’t your to litigate. Don’t waste energy trying to argue the case (to yourself or others, especially online). Rather, discover what can be learned from it. My perspective is threefold:

a) The lawsuit is a signal for innovation, not resistance. If future buyers want more options, then let’s get planning, experimenting and refining. When airplanes were invented, entrepreneurs didn’t respond by reaffirming horse-drawn-carriage methods; they added hot meals to upgrade people to first-class in the sky.

b) Start talking to people who already figured this out. If contractual buyer compensation isn’t a strong skill at your organization, find people who have done this for decades. Pick up the phone, get on a plane, attend classes, collect every best practice you can find. Whether you copy them or improve them, recognize this problem has already been solved successfully by many people.

c) Get involved. One of the silver linings of the lawsuit is the increased desire to get involved across the industry. Too many professionals “went along” with trends in the past (Oh, the portals! Oh, disrupters! Oh, all the other lawsuits!) Now they realize the best way to predict the future is to become part of the people building it.

3. What are some of the biggest opportunities in real estate in 2024?