The Zentrepreneur As Realtor...

Written by John Murphy Posted On Thursday, 03 October 2013 11:52

When I listed my first house for sale, it sat on the market for over a year. We then listed with another realtor. The house sold within two weeks without any reduction in price. When I listed my second house ten years later, a similar pattern emerged. The first realtor attempted to sell it for a year with three price reductions and no success. We found another realtor and the house sold within a month. No price reduction. No coincidence.

I was intrigued by this pattern. Why does one realtor struggle selling a property that another realtor sells very quickly? It is the same house in the same market! It seems some realtors seek to find things wrong with a property or the market in general, putting very negative energy into the equation. Others see beauty and potential in it. They choose to love the property and the opportunity to sell it. They trust there is a good match somewhere and they approach it with optimism.

Welcome to the insights of a zentrepreneur- a positive thinker who translates good ideas into great results. Put simply, zentrepreneurs operate from love, not fear. We all have a zentrepreneur inside us. It is our soul. It is our creativity. It is our hidden genius. It is our intuition and our imagination. It is our fearlessness. It is our connection with one another. It is our innate desire to grow, to expand and to express ourselves in this world. It is our Spirit, desiring to be free.

The zentrepreneur selling real estate sells more than the physical property itself. The zentrepreneurial realtor sells good ideas along with the property. This is what differentiates one realtor from another. Zentrepreneurs sell solutions to individual problems and latent needs. We go beyond the obvious to the hidden interests people have, desires many do not even know they have yet. We sell peace of mind. We get to know our audiences at a deeper level and appeal to their souls. We sell reduced stress. We sell user-friendliness. We sell imagination, creativity, productivity and potential. We sell a compelling vision that inspires people to act. The zentrepreneurial realtor sells success, packaged as a property.

Zentrepreneurs create advocates and promoters in the market, people who willingly spread the good word about the stellar service they receive. Essentially, this translates into a form of branding - good or bad. Good word can spread very fast and create new leads, just as bad word can spread fast and cost business. Stop and ask yourself: What does the market honestly think of me and my firm? What is the message on the streets? Am I perceived as positive, creative and results-oriented? How do I know? What evidence do I have? Do I get meaningful things done efficiently and effectively? Am I a problem-solver? Where is the proof? Or, am I known as an excuse maker, always blaming the economy, the pricing, the market, the property or the seller as the problem. What is my essence?

Zentrepreneurial selling yields measurable results - increased sales, more generous commissions, steady referrals and a truly branded identity - results that remind brokers they can navigate temporary limitations and fluctuations of the economy. Positive results build confidence and momentum, ultimately transforming belief. On the most practical level, brokers should contemplate: How can I, as an independent agent or as an executive in a company, take charge, actualize my ambitions and avoid the common mistakes that plague people - such as ego, doubt, procrastination, excuses, blame, denial and resistance?

These are questions every zentrepreneur asks. What can I do differently to deliver different results? The Law of Attraction reminds us that we reap what we sow. We attract into our lives that which we hold to be true. We become what we dwell on. If we approach the day with fear and doubt and pessimism, we will find things to be afraid of. Our perception becomes our reality!

Exceptional realtors differentiate themselves by thinking outside the box and behaving outside the norm. Many will blame a sluggish economy for all manner of problems, both legitimate and imagined, but this tactic does not produce a single new client, engage a landlord or tenant, or serve as a model worth emulating when the next crisis appears. The zentrepreneur thinks and behaves otherwise. Every crisis is an opportunity in disguise. Every problem is a solution awaiting discovery. Every mistake is a lesson calling for attention. Is the glass half-empty or half-full? Ask a zentrepreneur and we will suggest you look at it differently. What is in the glass? Is it positive? If not, how long have you been holding on to it? Perhaps it is time to let go. The amount in the glass can be misleading. The essence and context is what matters.

Sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves and our clients is get out of our own way. It is easy to complicate things. It is easy to add. It is easy to come up with excuses. "If only we had more time or if only we had more money...?" Let it go. An oak tree doesn’t have to try to become an oak. It just does. It just is. It is its essence. It is in the DNA. It is in the acorn. It is destined to flow. So are you. Let go and let flow!

John Murphy, the founder (1988) and president of Venture Management Consultants, Inc., a firm specializing in creating lean, high performance work cultures as well as the author of: Zentrepreneur: Create a Culture of Innovation and Fearlessness
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