Your Team and Clients Need You to Lead During Uncertain Times

Today, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise, had my morning coffee and breakfast, and thought about how fortunate I am to have shelter, health, a career that I love, kids and family that are safe, and a million other blessings. At the same time, I thought about some things that aren’t so positive: how the global pandemic is affecting our industry and our businesses, what financial implications may occur from that, and whether my loved ones are at risk.

Now more than ever, balancing these thoughts and staying upbeat are necessary to survive and succeed in real estate. Follow these steps to stay positive and effective on a daily basis:

Be Calm: Set yourself right.
I cannot overstate the importance of this. In order to be your best for others, you must take care of yourself. Wake up and take a walk. Read. Meditate. Pray. Exercise. Whatever gives you peace and lets you start your day with a calm and clear mind, begin doing it now if you haven’t been doing it already. Additionally, as your day progresses, take a moment to decompress if the day’s events challenge your nerves. Take a breath. Take a walk. Whatever works for you. Again, being calm and remaining calm yourself is the first step to effectively leading your team.

Be Human: Empathize with others.
Your team and your clients need you now more than ever, and that starts with meeting them where they are at. That doesn’t mean meeting in-person—that means that you need to connect with them and truly care about their situation and welfare, while still getting your work done. Even in a world of social distancing, you can still make phone calls or video calls to connect on a one-on-one or group basis. Do your team members need guidance? Reassurance? Understanding? Whatever it is, take a few moments and be empathetic with them. Do it today if you haven’t already—and keep doing it—so that all of you get through these challenging times together.

Be Successful: We can do this!
Now that you and everyone you work with are mentally and collaboratively ready to be your best…do your best! Keep your business plan and activities going! As crazy as this mixed-up world is right now, we are incredibly fortunate to have the technological tools that continue to make listing, selling and buying homes possible. Be thankful for that, and use those tools to serve your clients and maintain maximum production levels. I’m hearing success stories from all over the country. One client with seven new purchase deals last week, and another with a $2.5 million sale written remotely—they are all reminders and inspirations that we will continue to succeed if we lead the way and stay both adaptable and focused in our current market reality.

There are few things that I enjoy more than helping real estate agents and hearing their success stories, especially when they are the result of overcoming obstacles that they previously thought were insurmountable. We are all faced today with a situation that none of us saw coming. I am certain that we will face it together while remaining positive, caring and effective.

Stay calm. Be human. Keep going and be successful. Take care of yourself and others, and continue to do your best!

For a free copy of my exclusive Lead Generation: Consistent Leads for Constant Business webinar, click here.

Sherri Johnson is CEO and founder of Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting. With 20 years of experience in real estate, Johnson offers coaching, consulting and keynotes, and is a national speaker for the Homes.com Secrets of Top Selling Agents tour and the Official Real Estate Coach for McKissock Learning and Real Estate Express. She is also an RISMedia 2020 Real Estate Newsmaker as an industry Influencer. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching strategy session or visit www.sherrijohnson.com for more information.