[Reliable vs Unreliable]

“NOOOOO! Not now. Not now.”
“Don’t do this. Please, don’t do this.”
“Come on! Please!!!”

Those were my exact words as I looked at the Spinning Wheel of Death on my computer.

I’d worked the previous 2 hours on an article for a newsletter. It was good. Really good. I had been lost in a flow state. I didn’t even think about saving the document. Noooo!!

The thought of having to rewrite it was more than I could handle.

Hours later I said the same thing AGAIN!

This time it was over a video I was editing.
THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING! I stared at my screen in disbelief.

My reliable computer wasn’t so reliable anymore.

I lost even more time trying to figure out why my computer was torturing me.
I attempted to fix it. Made some improvements, or so I thought.

The next day, I was an hour deep into inputting a new listing, and then BAM!
The Spinning Wheel of Death showed its ugly head again.

I shook my head in disbelief.

My weekend blown. I was already missing out on time with my family to get these projects done. Now I would be missing twice as much.

I felt it all. Rage, frustration, anxiety, despair.

This had to stop. The stakes were too high.

My family was waiting on me. 
My clients were depending on me. 
My colleagues relying on me.

The next day I walked right into the Apple store and spent $2,700 on the best laptop they had in stock.

Yes. That is a lot of money to spend on a computer.

But, I’ve learned this lesson too many times before.
My time is limited, and very valuable.

If there is a tool, resource, or expertise that will save me hours of frustration, pain and misery, then I want it. I’ll take the best one.

BLIND SPOTS
In the past, I would allow something like a beat-up old computer to suck time out of my life, over and over again. I was stubborn. I would tell myself that after the next closing I would upgrade, but then new expenses would fall in my lap, and the next closing didn’t seem the right time to upgrade.

Does this sound like you?
At least with some things in your life?

It’s like we have a blind spot on what is holding us back or causing us great pain.

Our blind spots can develop from stubbornness, loyalty, being so busy, relying on old information. Whatever the reason, they quickly form, cause pain, and stunt the growth of your business.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENSE [HIGH STAKES]
In real estate school we learn the term time is of the essence. In practicing real estate, we learn how important those words really are. It can mean the difference between your clients getting their dream home or experiencing the pain of seeing it fall through their fingertips.

It can mean the difference of you taking home $15,000 to your family or bringing home ZERO dollars, after months of work, with nothing to show for it.

THE PAIN IS REAL
I know you’ve experienced it. Everyone who has practiced real estate for any length of time knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Everyone has experienced the torture of the Spinning Wheel of Death with a computer.

But where else does it exist in your business?
Think about it?

HOW ABOUT WHEN YOU NEED HELP FROM YOUR BROKER?
When time is of the essence and the stakes are high, do you often get the human equivalent of the Spinning Wheel of Death from your broker?

Unreturned phone calls or emails or stuck in a queue with dozens of other agents, hoping and praying for a few minutes to get clarity, advice, or support. Sound familiar?

Watching a deal BLOW UP as you wait for your turn with your Broker is a painful experience.

Equally awful is getting through to them and they’re not able to help you because of lack of experience or having their hands tied because the problem you are having is with another agent in the brokerage. OUCH.

I know this pain. I experienced it when I was at the first brokerage where I hung my license. Help and advice was not there when I needed it.

When I did get advice, it was often bad advice. Often my problem was with another agent in the firm. Beyond frustrating.

When I made the decision to start and grow my own brokerage, I vowed that my agents would have DIRECT AND QUICK ACCESS to help they needed.

When my brokerage grew from 5 agents to over 10, I struggled to keep up with this promise.

This is when I approached Debbi Myers (who had been in this business nearly twice as long as I had as a broker and as an active agent) to step in as our Managing Broker, to help support our agents.

You rarely see a brokerage of our size have two full-time brokers available to support agents.

It just doesn’t pencil. But I made a promise to myself and the agents in the office, and I intend to keep it.

To this day, we work really hard to make sure agents at FSB have direct and quick access to the time sensitive help they need.

We know the stakes are too high.
We know that time is of the essence.

It’s the same reason I didn’t hesitate to invest in a brand new, top-of-line computer.
I want the best for my business.

And I want the best for the agents in my office. That is why I hired Debbi.
She is as good as it gets.

• Don’t let blind spots, stubbornness, being too busy, and being stuck in the loop of waiting for your next closing, cause you to suffer the chronic pain of the Spinning Wheel of Death.

The stakes are too high.

You have options. You can take action.

Cheers,

Mike Turner – Designated Broker
Front Street Brokers

Mike Turner

Co-Founder: Impact Club Boise
Host: Idaho Speakeasy
Collaborator: Value Drive Approach
Founder: Front Street Brokers
Author: Agent Entrepreneurs
Voice: 208-340-8399