In part two of our interview with
Ferrara, theprofessional philosopher, executive coach, and
leadership trainer explores the essential personal and professional
habits fora fulfilling real estate career
Planomatic
GSIR: You recently
held a training exclusively for Gibson SIR agents, where you taught
criticaltechniques to supercharging their business. From all that
our agents learned from you thatday, what one lesson do you hope
they take away?
MF: The agents I
worked with grew especially excited when I reminded them of their
role as marketleaders. As market leaders, they have two important
functions: leading their buyers and sellers,and serving as
community leaders for the real estate industry itself. On a local,
national andglobal scale, the real estate industry looks toward our
agents as trailblazers of our communities.Gibson SIR’sagents are in
the position to positively influence this business and help the
entire industrybe properly perceived for the good it brings to
peoples lives. One of the philosophies I teach isthat making money
is easy, being a successful dealmaker is relatively easy, but
becoming aleaderusing ones career to generate positivity for the
entire industryis what sets you apartfrom the rest. Agents must ask
themselves, How can I help improve the industry? rather thansolely,
How can I help improve my business and my company alone?
GSIR: Are there better ways to
grow than solely focusing on how to achieve more
business?
MF: Absolutely. The
difference between high-performing firms and others is that they
understandthere isnt one secret to success and they dont simply
copy their competitors. Growth can beexciting and is a measure of
validation for our ideas. However, firms that dont
carefullyconceptualize their growth plan first may run into
unexpected problems. They may end up in aposition where they dont
like how fast they have grown, or individual agents may lose
precioustime with family or sacrifice their health as a result of
growth at any cost. Instead, firms shouldfirst consider how any
idea, system or tool for growth applies to their unique mission
andpurpose, and maintain an unrelenting ambition to do what they
think benefits their agents andstaff.
Matthew Ferrara is a professional philosopher, keynote
speaker, executive coach, and leadership trainer who has served as
a speaker and advisor to salespeople, managers and executives
across the globe. This year, Matthew joined the Gibson SIR family
as the in-house thinker for strategy, connecting the dots between
disciplines and applying creative and critical thinking to the
personal and professional lives of our agents and staff. Today,
Matthew delivers keynotes, workshops, and retreats in multiple
languages for professionals in real estate, sales, marketing,
technology, and product organizations. Atwo-time cancer survivor,
he has discovered that the most important thing in life is doing
noble workgiving his audiences a chance to express their deep inner
beliefs through their careers. To learn more about Matthew, visit
www.matthewferrara.com.
Stay tuned for Part III of our exclusive interview with
Ferraraas he provides insight into carefully and ethically managing
company growth and development. . .