of Colleen Barry.
In thethird and final installment
ofour exclusive interview with Ferrara, the professional
philosopher, executive coach, and leadership trainer shares
hisrecommended daily habitsand expands on the underutilized
marketing tool amongreal estate agentsboth seasoned and new to the
game.
GSIR: What are 3 habits you would recommend to
agents for working productively?
MF:My top three recommended habits are as
follows:
- Visualize yoursuccess every morning. Begin
every morning by asking, What one or two things must I do today to
fulfill my mission of helping my clients, my industry and myself be
a little better? Visualize those activities right down to the
conversations, the meetings, the social media interactions you
might have. Then, begin your day. - Use the Formula of Fives. Contact five people
every day who you can helpthree people in your sphere of influence,
such as past and current clients; one person in your marketplace
who clearly needs your help, such as an FSBO or Expired; and one
real estate peer who you can help make better with a kind word or
suggestion. Take ten minutes on eachunder one hour in totaland
youll build a powerful network of influence that will drive your
entire career. - Read something deep once a week. Theres a lot
of headline news in this industry, but its important to get deep
into the data, the trends, and the conversations if you want to
understand how to navigate the opportunities over the long term.
Take one hour each week to slow down, read an article or market
report slowly, and then ask yourself what two or three things you
learned that you can apply to your service going forward.
GSIR: Is there a marketing tool or practice you
think agents are underutilizing?
MF: I think this tool social media.
Essentially, everyone is trying to use social media to go viral
with marketing rather than as a research tool to improve their
interactions, both online and offline. My approach is to watch my
friends and clients on social media to retrieve insights into whats
happening in their lives, so that I know what to bring up when we
have a conversation. If someone in my sphere of influence is
feeling excited about something, I tap into that when I speak with
them. If they are anxious about something, I try to find and
provide a solution to them. Simply picking up the phone and having
a better conversation or sending the right content in an email or
text message will make you better. Social media is such a powerful
listening tool. Agents who can slow down and take a pulse of whats
on the minds of their sphere of influence will usually be far more
effective in deciding what to share.
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. A two-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.