The Pareto Principle says 20 percent of your actions create 80 percent of your results. And, of course the corollary to this is that 80 percent of you activities are producing only 20 percent of your results.

In a study done by NAR, the average agent is spending 80 percent of their marketing budget to produce only 18 percent of their results. But letting go where we have an investment already is a painful call. For instance, when you have invested three whole days with a buyer only to recognize they aren’t as motivated as you thought at first, you will keep working with them. This unfortunate choice comes from a scarcity mindset, where you think the one in your hand is the only one there is and then you continue to pour time and energy into these folks. You are wasting your precious, valuable time that you could be spending on that top 20 percent of actions to produce 80 percent of your results. Know when it is time to move on, to refer or to give a lower level of service to a less motivated customer. The sooner you can let go, the sooner you have new opportunities for other new business.

An important exception

In building your name recognition and branding yourself, the repetition and consistency are the linchpins of success. Most agents get bored and change this area of their business thinking without giving it the time it needs to produce results. Using any method of advertising for less than six months, is probably money flushed down the toilet. Don’t start. Don’t try something out. Commit to what it will take. Usually it takes 12-18 months to see consistent results from farming or prospecting efforts. But, this doesn’t mean that at the end of a pre-set time, you don’t re-evaluate which of your actions are producing the results. Give it time to work before jumping on the bandwagon to the next great idea.

Use crisis for change

That sounds so nice, but when it is borne out of crisis, it also can be very difficult to do. The Chinese character for crisis includes the symbol for opportunity reminding us to look for what we can do rather than stew about what can’t be changed.

Author Wayne Dyer says "Become aware that there are no accidents in our intelligent universe. Realize that everything that shows up in your life has something to teach you. Appreciate everyone and everything in your life."

Sometimes, the circumstances of our lives and businesses deal us surprises and crises that look devastating. Today, the air I am breathing has an acrid smell of smoke. The fires on Mt. Lemmon outside of Tucson that have devastated 65,000 + acres and burned to the ground most of the 350 homes of our Summerhaven community. How could anyone be grateful for this? I have been inspired listening to the interviews with several of the residents who are talking about the rebuilding and what they will do next. Certainly they deserve a mourning period for what they have lost, and it is necessary and beneficial to experience those emotions as a chapter of their life has come to an end. But it is important to not get stuck in “what might have been”. Looking forward to the new opportunity brings power and freshness.

A few years after the fires in Yellowstone National Park, I drove through the park. The new growth had begun and was flourishing and beautiful, even though many burned trees stood sentry to the past. The Rangers talked about the natural and beneficial renewal that the fires bring. The nutrients that came from the fires enabled the new growth to thrive. Our difficult lessons in life are often the most powerful in making us who we are.

In business, maybe it would be good to have a wildfire sweep through and give us no choice but to change. The new agents coming into the real estate business these days are approaching it with fresh ideas and perspectives. They will be bringing new life to the landscape. To be a winner, learn to recognize the times persistence serves you and the times that it is resistance to change and persistence. Know that when life gives you a roadblock, you should look for the new road to take!