<p>I’m more or less self-employed (real estate), though I am affiliated with a major national company.</p>
<p>I’ve been lucky as well as good and have had a pretty good 2009 and was recently asked to share my “secrets” at an office meeting. Just ran across my talking points and figured there might be an audience here.</p>
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<li><p>Many streams combine to form a mighty river. Look to nurture several different streams of business. Identify multiple sources and work them all; if one or two are running dry, others may be going well and over time they may combine to produce a nice volume.</p></li>
<li><p>Find your evolutionary niche. Look at what everyone else is doing and then do something different. (In real estate, the current buzzword is “short sales.” There are so many people trying to work short sales, it’s a very overpopulated niche.)</p></li>
<li><p>Know <em>something</em> better than anyone else. If you don’t, why would anyone want to use your services?</p></li>
<li><p>You’re on stage. Act like it. In other words, you have to be always “on” for your clients. You never know when someone is evaluating you as a professional. Even when I’m out ‘off duty’ wearing “grubbies” I’m neat in my appearance and have my business card holder in my pocket.</p></li>
<li><p>You don’t need to pay for any motivational seminars. Look at your bank balances, look at your bills, look at your alternatives. Oh my goodness…look at the time. Next case.</p></li>
<li><p>Believe in yourself. If you don’t, nobody else will.</p></li>
<li><p>You’re never off-duty. If you’re not actively working with a customer, you can be building either added value or building relationships. Have no clients at a given moment is not an excuse to sit on your butt.</p></li>
<li><p>Tomorrow will become today. Yes, I need a sale now but I will need one next year. Don’t be impatient about those things which may not pay off for quite a while.</p></li>
<li><p>Four-year-olds are right. Know <em>why</em> you do everything you do. If you don’t, stop and ask yourself if your time could be better spent.</p></li>
<li><p>Write it down. It’s hard to keep track of everything in your head. A written business plan is good. But don’t confuse a to-do list with a strategy.</p></li>
<li><p>Alternatives to Open Houses. (This is real estate specific and one of my managers swears by them…I disagree.) Working with Buyers, working on Business Development, or just some R&R with the family are fine alternatives. Don’t be a slave.</p></li>
<li><p>Today is the first day of the rest of your life. And it always will be. If you have a lapse in control or focus, you can start over. It’s a bit like dieting. You just can’t have too many “oopsies.”</p></li>
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