37 Times Better: The Long and Effective Way to Become a Better Agent and Grow Your Business

You have probably heard this before, but success does not happen overnight. Three of the best examples are Amazon (founded in 1994), Apple (founded in 1976), and Google (founded in 1998). They are now some of the most valuable companies in the world, and this wasn't because of one or two actions—it took time. Amazon, Apple, and Google are three of the most valuable companies in the world because of taking constant action and years of work.

So, what is the secret to becoming a better agent?

It's simple really—as James Clear in Atomic Habits writes, "The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding. Here's how the math works out: if you can get 1% better each day for one year, you'll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you're done."

37 Times Better

What would your real estate business look like if it was 37 times better?

I can only imagine what this would look like for you and your company. In October 2018, I bought Atomic Habits for the first time. It changed my life. I went from being over $20,000 in debt to wiping out that debt in less than two years—all due to making tiny improvements. But how does it work?

Simple:

• Stop trying to make giant changes
• Start with making small changes
• Build on those small changes
• Understand the power of 1% growth
• Understand what a habit is
• Learn Habit Stacking (You will have to read the book to learn this)

What Is a Habit?

Before anyone can make changes, they first need to understand what a habit is. There are four parts to a habit: cue, craving, response, and reward. An example of this is waking up (cue), craving a cup of coffee (craving), going to the kitchen and pouring a cup of coffee (response), and drinking that coffee (reward). It's that simple.

How to Change Your Habits?

Start with one habit. Let's say you drink too much coffee. Your doctor has prescribed drinking less coffee for one reason or another, but when you try to quit cold turkey, you find it impossible to quit. It's so hard to quit because you have a habit of drinking coffee when you wake up.

Instead of trying to quit drinking coffee when you wake up, instead replace the craving/response. Change coffee for water. You have the same habit of drinking something when you wake up, but instead of coffee, it is water. That change in the response is the key to changing your habits and improving yourself over the long term.

How Can I Change My Real Estate Business by 1%?

Question everything, every day. Ask yourself, what small changes can I make?

For your real estate business, it could be asking for referrals. You know that you are supposed to ask for referrals, but you always find it weird to call your clients out of the blue to ask for them. This makes sense to me because I have the same problem.

What if you made a small change to your habits when you interact with clients? When it is time to end a conversation with a client (cue), you change your response from saying "goodbye" to instead asking for a referral (response) before you actually say goodbye. This way you have a built-in referral engine.

Did it take a lot of work to make this change? Maybe at first, but as you did it, the easier it became.

How much business could you bring in by making this small change?

Now It's Your Turn

Take a minute and buy the book Atomic Habits; it will change your life. (This is not a referral link.)

Sign up for James Clear's newsletter, "3-2-1 Thursday by James Clear."

On a daily basis, find yourself a 1% improvement for yourself or for your business. Do this every day. One day you will reflect on these changes and realize you have developed a growth mindset.

Check back next week to learn about my favorite feature of CRMs—it might not be what you think.

If you have 1% improvements you would like to share with RE Technology's readers, please send them to me, or if you have suggestions for other articles, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.