Jason Waugh Real Estate Video Blog

Performance Management and Challenging Our Comfort Zone

jjwaugh@bhhsnw.com (Jason Waugh ) — Mon, 6 Jun 2016 09:39:00 -0700

How is the Real Estate Market? The Answer in 60 Seconds.

I believe when talking about this topic of stretching beyond your comfort zone often times we mistakenly assume it is a bad thing; that we aren’t realizing our full potential because we are playing it safe or conservative. It isn’t a good or bad thing….it just is. It is reality; it is normal.

Let me give you an example, think of the first time that you ever met face to face with a client. Think about the anxiety you had preparing for the meeting and the butterflies as you drove to the appointment and knocked on that door….all very normal. But with practice and repetition you reached a place of ease and familiarity. When we choose to move beyond our comfort zone we are choosing growth over our current circumstances.

Why push ourselves beyond our comfort zone?

Personal and professional growth
A breakthrough
Speed up the opportunity of success

Pushing beyond our comfort zone does raise our anxiety level. That is ok, because research shows performance can be enhanced by some amount of stress. Anxiety improves performance until a certain optimum level has been reached. That optimum level is called your Optimal Performance Zone. The opportunity for peak performance is to find that space – your optimal performance zone - beyond where you are comfortable without taking on undue stress or anxiety.

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Your #1 tool is Bravery….Be brave enough to try because truthfully it just isn’t that bad.

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If you’d like to discuss this topic further, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

13 Behaviors of High Trust

jjwaugh@bhhsnw.com (Jason Waugh ) — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 10:58:00 -0700

How is the Real Estate Market? The Answer in 60 Seconds.

We’re back today with my first video of the second quarter! Today, I’ll be discussing trust.

It came up several times during the Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Sales Convention in Dallas last month. During a seminar, Tom Ferry shared survey results from the question, “What are you looking for in hiring a real estate agent?” 49% said trust. Experience came in at a distant second with 15%. That means half of real estate consumers look to trust an agent before anything else. In our industry, people hire those they trust.

I was also fortunate enough to attend a presentation by Stephen M. R. Covey. You might recognize his name from his father, who wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, but his son is also incredibly established as an author and speaker. His most recent book is called The Speed of Trust, which I highly recommend. His presentation focused on the 13 behaviors of high trust and how it applies to real estate agents. I'd like to share those takeaways with you today. Here they are:

Talk straight. Be honest and tell the truth. Use simple language.
Demonstrate respect. Genuinely care for others.
Create transparency. Declare your intent. Be open and authentic.
Right wrongs. Make things right when you're wrong. Apologize quickly. Demonstrate humility.
Show loyalty. Give credit to others. Speak about people as if they were present.
Deliver results. Establish a track record of results. Get the right things done.
Get better. Commit yourself to becoming a continuous learner. Increase your capabilities.
Confront reality. Take issues head on and early. Acknowledge the unsaid. Address the tough stuff directly.
Clarify expectations. Disclose and reveal expectations. Don't assume that expectations are clear or shared.
Practice accountability. Hold yourself accountable first over others. Take responsibility for results, good or bad.
Listen first. Listen before you speak.
Keep commitments. Say what you're going to do, then do what you say you're going to do.
Extend trust. Learn how to appropriately extend "Smart Trust" to others.

Trust is the number one competency of a successful leader today. We are the leaders of our businesses. Anyone that runs a business successfully nurtures trust in everything they do. Use these tips to ensure you’re fulfilling trust with your clients.

The Two R’s to Sustained Success in Real Estate

jjwaugh@bhhsnw.com (Jason Waugh ) — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 11:58:00 -0700

How is the Real Estate Market? The Answer in 60 Seconds.

Today I’d like to talk about something that I call, The Two R’s to Success in Real Estate. I’ve heard time and time again that our business is simple, yet hard. The hard part is doing simple things over and over again.

Relationships:We're not selling a commodity, we're selling service and expertise. As a result the key to success is maintaining strong relationships. All too often I see in the whirlwind of our day time spent on searching for new relationships while neglecting the people that we already know who trust us and like us. I highly recommend a book titled The Power of Who by Bob Beaudine. The author's position is simple: we already know everyone we need to know to be successful.

Routine: Following a routine provides familiarity and focus to our activities. It brings organization and productivity into our lives. A good routine will help you achieve more balance between your personal and professional lives. If you do not have a daily routine, you need to create one today.

In review, you need to feed your relationships consistently, and you need to build a daily routine of activities that will ensure your success.

Five Mental Habits That Ensure Success

jjwaugh@bhhsnw.com (Jason Waugh ) — Mon, 7 Mar 2016 07:49:00 -0800

How is the Real Estate Market? The Answer in 60 Seconds.

Our brain is our biggest asset, but can also be our worst enemy. When we think positively we will experience success. In order to reach greater levels of success we must believe we have the talent to do so. These five mental exercises will help you reach the mindset you need to succeed on a daily basis.

Owning your outcomes: Focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t do. Don't make excuses or blame external circumstances for underperformance.
Be true to who you are: Your opinion of yourself is the most important opinion. Validation of performance is normal, but don't invest time seeking approval from others.
Believe in yourself: Create a list of affirmations that will boost your confidence. List your skills, talents, and achievements.
Positive self talk: Talk to yourself like a close friend. Negative self talk will bring you down faster than anything.
Measure but don't second-guess every choice: Reflect on the choices you've made, but don't second-guess yourself. Use this as a means to measure performance and outcomes in order to make better decisions in the future.

I guarantee you will perform at a higher level if you follow these five practices. Just remember, success always starts from within.

Inspire Buyers to Work with You

jjwaugh@bhhsnw.com (Jason Waugh ) — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 13:33:00 -0800

How is the Real Estate Market? The Answer in 60 Seconds.

Today, we're going to talk about two quick tips to inspire buyers to work with you.

Talk about real product.

When someone asks you about real estate, that is what they want to hear about. They don't want to hear, "Let me do some research and get back to you." They want to hear about product, homes, land, and the market.

You need to study, understand the market consistently, and preview a lot of homes. That way when you have those conversations with prospective buyers, you can communicate about the market from a position of knowledge. You will do your research and your due diligence, but it is important to make a good first impression in order to inspire the buyer to work with you.

Be excited about the industry!

If you want your buyers to be excited about real estate, you must be excited about real estate. As you go over the properties with the buyers, be passionate. Let them know that you believe they will love these properties! Doing so tells them that you're listening to their wants and needs. They will feed off of your positive energy, and be excited to work with you!

Those two simple tips will inspire buyers to work with you. Let's have a great spring selling season.

Is Your Listing Presentation Serving You Well?

jjwaugh@bhhsnw.com (Jason Waugh ) — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 13:16:00 -0800

How is the Real Estate Market? The Answer in 60 Seconds.

As a listing agent, the greatest weapon that you have is your listing presentation. It's how you win listings, sell homes, earn a living, and build a customer for life. So, is your presentation serving you well? Are you winning listings?

Your presentation should focus on 3 critical elements:

Securing the listing
Pricing the home accurately
Minimizing objections and questions

Your listing presentation should communicate and leave no doubt that you are the subject matter expert. You must be prepared, confident and knowledgeable. This requires a consistent, premeditated process that you use every time. You'll fall into the middle of the pack if you refuse to do this.

Do not misunderstand what I am saying, there is a difference between process and presentation. Your presentation will be and should be unique each time given the unique circumstances, needs and wants of your customer, but your process can be exactly the same each time. Aim for a dependable, consistent and effective process.

Tips for Achieving Your 2016 Goals

jjwaugh@bhhsnw.com (Jason Waugh ) — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 13:53:00 -0800

How is the Real Estate Market? The Answer in 60 Seconds.

I think a lot about performance gap. The principle of the performance gap is relevant to all businesses. The single biggest gap in business performance today is the gap between what we know and what we do.

We all have high expectations of ourselves this year and beyond, and this is a great principle to ask ourselves about throughout the course of the year. Asking yourself those questions will keep you on the path that you started on, the path that will lead you to the results you want to achieve by the end of the year.

Ask yourself this question, "I know based on my strategic plan that I need to be doing X, Y, and Z. Am I doing those things consistently?"

If you are, great. If you're not as consistent as you need to be, that performance gap widens. Asking yourself that question gives you the opportunity to refocus, recommit, shorten the gap, and stay on the path to your year-end goals.

The best way to keep that gap from widening is to focus on today. Focus on your daily progress. Focus on the present. I heard a great saying that you should keep in mind: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That is why it's called the present."

The hard part is not living in the rear view mirror, not dwelling in the past. We get bogged down by what we could've, should've, or would've done to make things different now. You might also find yourself spending too much time worrying about tomorrow.

So live today, focus on the present and monitor your performance gap. My hope for everyone is to give our perfect effort today, and if we do, tomorrow will take care of itself.

Continued Success!

Real Estate 2016

jjwaugh@bhhsnw.com (Jason Waugh ) — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 09:00:00 -0800

How is the Real Estate Market? The Answer in 60 Seconds.

Collectively, we enjoyed tremendous success in 2015. I heard from many that it was their best year ever in real estate. As a company we would not have reached our goals without the individual efforts of each and every one of you. We expect market conditions will continue to be in our favor through 2016 positioning all of us to realize another successful year. Congratulations to all and a HUGE thank you to every employee of BHHSNW for the support they provided in helping us all reach our business goals... We could not have done it without you.

I have a challenge for you all in 2016. I challenge you to be on the look-out for the hidden opportunities that present themselves every day. Sometimes opportunities present themselves in the form of obstacles, but if we’re open-minded and solution-oriented great things happen.