You can have a bad week in real estate…
We’ve all been there right? Life is going a long pretty great, you feel like you’re making headway on a project, you’re finding a good balance between your real estate business and your family and friends, I mean heck you may even be seeing those lead generation activities paying off and have picked up a couple new clients who need your help selling their home or buying a new one. But then something happens….
It doesn’t even really matter what the something is honestly. I mean life happens and sometimes it’s pretty crappy. You lose a client, work demands pile up, relationships struggles appear, your best friend goes into a battle to fight stage 4 cancer. (Yeah that last one was part of my most recent “worst” week)
And sometimes when those weeks happen it can feel like you got punched in the stomach…or maybe the face. It can make you feel off center and if it’s not just one thing but a couple things, then almost immediately you can feel like your world is spinning out of control.
A few months ago I was at a broker/owner conference for NextHome. And during one of the sessions our speaker said something that resonated with me. I have actually never forgotten it and think of it often.
“It’s ok to have a bad week, but you can’t have 2 in a row.”
Keith Robinson
That was so powerful to me that I often use it as my own personal litmus test. But if you think about it, it’s very true. As a single mom and business owner I’m used to having everything in a very organized state of chaos, and if you throw me a curve ball chances are I’m still going to swing at it and get on base.
But when the bad week happens…and it will, how you move through it can be more of a determining factor than the bad week actually happening in the first place.
We are business owners and our business requires us, on almost a daily basis, to interact with people as a trusted resource while helping them obtain their real estate goals. But when you have a bad week that leads to two bad weeks your business will start to suffer. Systems and processes you have in place for customer service and growth will start to unravel without monitoring. Trust you have built with clients due to superb communication and proactive problem solving will lead them to start wondering if “whats wrong” has something to do with their home sale or purchase. One of the biggest key factors in a successful real estate business is consistency.
I tell my agents often, “What you do today, you will see the results from 90 days from now”. For example if you don’t lead generate today, mark my words 90 days from now you will see that show up and probably in the form of a lack of clients.
Also, let’s also not forget we ware parents. Momentary melancholy is ok, but when you are so affected by a situation for a long period of time that energy will also transfer into your home and your interactions with your loved ones.
Of course none of us want this to happen…but sometimes it does. And I mentioned earlier in this post, it recently happened to me. Here’s how I worked through it and I hope maybe a couple of these things will help you the next time you find yourself in a similar place.
Pray: I spent a lot of time in prayer. Not my daily prayer routine but more like an every second I could kind of prayer. Depending on what your facing, sometimes you’ll feel completely unequipped to handle it and for me turning it over to God is not only all I can do but exactly what I’m supposed to do. Specifically I asked for Him to give me the right words in difficult situations, I asked to be placed where I was supposed to be for God to work through me to help others, and I asked for a lot of hope and grace.
Be gentle with yourself: A long time ago a dear friend and colleague of mine gave me this advice. I’m not even sure if at the moment she knew that I was going through something or not, but I do remember her saying “Allison, you must be gentle with yourself.” I’m not sure I knew exactly what that meant at the time, but over the years I have defined it for myself. When it’s a bad day…that’s what I call it.
I give myself permission to feel what ever emotions are attached to it, I don’t blame myself or fill my head with negative self talk.
So many times I’ve told myself things like: “You’re so stupid for not seeing this coming.” “If you wouldn’t have done X then this wouldn’t be happening.” “If you actually had your act together you wouldn’t be going through this.” I mean honestly the list could go on and on!
Don’t do that! Just feel what you feel, be kind, gentle and allow yourself the the grace and forgiveness you give others.
Self care: Yep this phrase has become quite popular lately…but I’m here to tell you it’s true. Especially in the midst of a particularly rough week. What self care means to me though is this. I still try to eat healthy, I never skip washing my face even if I know I’m still going to cry myself to sleep, I watch out for bad habits that could easily creep back in, and I do something nice for myself…even if it’s just lighting a favorite candle or making my own favorite meal for dinner.
Lean on someone: Be careful with this one but it’s also very important. Sometimes you just need to get it out…you need to cry and wipe endless amounts of snot from your nose as you incoherently try to explain the source of your distress to someone who actually cares. Make sure that whoever this person is has earned the right for you to be so open and honest with them. Often we are so desperate to let things out and push the air crushing elephant off of our chests that we turn to the person who is there…and sometimes that’s not the right person. Don’t be afraid to reach out…your people will be there when you need them.
Set a Date: This is a little more difficult to do than any of the rest, but I guarantee you this is the number 1 thing you can do to ensure you don’t have “2 bad weeks in a row”. Set a date for when you will pick yourself up off the floor, wipe up the tears, complete the steps above, and move forward into a new week with the confidence that you can! It doesn’t mean everything will be resolved, but it does mean you’re making the choice to not allow it to control you. It will empower you and remind you of just how strong you are.
You’ve got this! I believe in you and you should too! Cheers to an amazing new week!