Maintaining your peak performance is not just about making sure you meet your daily or weekly goals, but is a carefully crafted strategy that encompasses everything you do – at work and play.
Mat Steinwede admits many people look at where he stands in the real estate industry and want what he has, but that picture is a result of the work he has put in over many years. His methods have evolved as his needs and goals have changed, but his strategy has always been simple to follow.
“I’ve worked harder than everybody else. You can’t lead the pack and hang with the pack; you’ve got to do a little bit more than the pack,” he said.
Mat uses one sheet to record his daily activities, documenting all his numbers and notes for:
“Nothing beats the notepad. Things can quite easily get lost in a computer, whereas at the end of every night you do a bit of a quick revision, make a list for the next day and then away you go,” he explains.
An ideal week is the hallmark of a peak real estate salesperson – and for good reason – but Mat stresses that they have to be realistic. His ideal week includes time for himself first and foremost, and then follows a tried and tested routine that stipulates no appointments before 10.30am because this is preparation time. His days look like this:
“If you don’t schedule it, everyone else will control you and you’ll have no time to actually create momentum for yourself. They’re your foundation for building your real estate success,” Mat advises.
Servicing a database of people who include past, present and pipeline clients is a reality for most real estate agents, but there will always be a select few who drive most of your business. These are the key people you should spend more energy building relationships with. For Mat they are the 100-150 people who refer him business.
“These are the ones I send Christmas presents, lottery tickets or personal note cards to, and I’ll spend a lot more time nurturing these relationships than I will with the thousands of others in my database,” he explains.
Mat has used mentors throughout his career to help boost his performance. He uses his mentors for simple tasks like keeping him accountable by reporting his daily figures to them, but also expanding his knowledge and looking at alternative methods to get the job done.
“Curiosity will quickly propel you where you want to go faster than anything else because if you keep learning, keep being a sponge, keep finding out, it’s amazing how much you can learn,” Mat says, adding listening to the radio in the car was a waste of time, but trying audio learning CDs or motivational tracks would do more for your mind. “You can get a whole university degree on life just driving around in your car.”
One mentor and friend was a fighter and told Mat something that has stuck with him: “One thing he said to me a couple of times was, ‘It doesn’t matter how good a fighter you are, you’ve got to be very careful cause there’s always someone better’. I didn’t think there were any better fighters than this bloke, but to hear that from him; I think about that a lot today.”
Taking more of a business approach and leaving his ego behind has helped Mat maintain his performance at its peak. A manager runs his team, directing staff, including him, to complete tasks. This allows him to take time out and recharge, which is an essential component for high achievers. “I understand and value time off, and time at work as well. It’s taken a lot of pressure off,” he says. Professional development is vital in keeping abreast of changes in the industry, but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t action what you learn. Instead of coming away from a seminar or an audio lesson feeling inspired but then quickly forgetting about it, Mat suggests implementing one or two small things. “If you do that 20 times, you’ve implemented 40 different things.”
Now it is time to think about yourself, because you will inevitably burn out without investment in you. This investment includes scheduling time to switch off and do whatever energises you, watching your diet and factoring in exercise.
“If you don’t have the right energy, you can’t perform right. When you don’t turn off, you become anti-productive and just run on adrenaline,” Mat says, speaking from his own experiences, explaining that now, “I wake up sometimes so excited about what I’m going to achieve for the day, I’ve got butterflies. ”
Part of managing your performance is acknowledging there will be times when it is harder to make those targets, but being willing to work through this and learn from the experience. “I don’t think a lot of people realise it’s not all gloss; it’s not all tinsel; it’s not all ‘you’re writing all these massive figures’. It’s a lot of commitment,” Mat says. He suggests using these times to work out what it will take to push your career to the next level.
Strategy is essential, but to ensure your performance is maintained at your peak one more ingredient is needed – enthusiasm. “The thing that carved me early on was a burning desire to be better, to be very frank with people. Sales is a transfer of a feeling. There’s no magical formula to this; it’s transferring a feeling.”
Mat Steinwede The Real Estate System includes Mat’s tried and tested strategies with letter and report templates, the order tasks should be completed and tips on achieving peak performance. For more information on Mat Steinwede The Real Estate System visit: www.realestateacademy.com.au or call 1300 367 412.