by Damon Wyler, Executive Vice President, Branch Manager

Last week, our office manager told me a story about a concert that she had bought tickets for by the group, Axis of Awesome, at an intimate venue in Los Angeles.  The comedy rock trio hails from Sydney, Australia and has recently become an internet sensation and YouTube favorite, with their hit, “The Four Chord Song,” she explained.  It turns out that a shockingly large number of pop music hits are composed of the same basic four musical chords.  The songs span from Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” to Jason Mraz’s  “I’m Yours,” from The Beatles “Let it Be” to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” among many others, which Axis of Awesome play pieces of in their now infamous medley.  Specifically, the chords are E, B, C (sharp and minor), and A. 

How amazing is it that through generations of different music genres and an incredibly wide diversity in music styles that four basic chords make up the world’s most commercially successful songs?   It caused me to wonder that in the business of commercial real estate,  (despite the constant changes in the economy, unique geographic locations, the different product segments and areas of specialty, characteristics of the brokerage company one works for), are there but just a few basic elements that create success for us as well?    What if we used the same basic chords to play our songs of success?  If that were the case, then our chords would be:

E = Envision your success

B = Be the success you envision

C = Consistency

A = Appreciation

Envisioning what you want to accomplish is the starting point for your Goal Setting.  By clearly establishing your goals and committing them in writing with deadlines, you’ve set up your target.  If you don’t plan your business (or your life, for that matter) you are spinning in circles with no means to receive feedback to see whether you’re on the “right track” or not.  Visualization is an often mentioned but rarely used tool, to allow your subconscious mind play a role in your success.  Even Einstein would visualize the solutions to his most perplexing problems, including the famous story of how he pictured himself riding on a beam of light, to come up with his theory of Special Relativity, but he’s not a broker, so I digress.

Being the end result of your goals from the moment you set them, is often termed “fake it until you make it.”  I’ve watched some of our region’s most successful brokers do just that, on their way to becoming what they are today.  Tommy Lasorda, the infamous former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, recently commented on a local radio program:  “You’ve got to THINK like a Champion.  Then if you think like a Champion, you’ll ACT like a Champion.  If you act like a Champion, you’ll PRACTICE like a Champion and then PLAY like a Champion.  And if you PLAY like a Champion, well then you BECOME one.”

Consistency is critical on your way to becoming a world class broker.  The most important thing that you can be consistent with is CANVASSING.  The brokers who are consistently filling their sales pipelines are the “luckiest” brokers I know.  In addition to your prospecting though, is being consistent in controlling your thoughts (see above) and your communication.  Your consistent communication to your marketplace through marketing and to your clients as well, is ever important.  Consistency also means to never cut corners, especially in your documentation and file keeping.

Appreciation is maybe the catalyst for making the other ingredients work.  Appreciate your longtime clients and strive to “win” their business every day, by never taking them for granted.  Appreciate how lucky you are to have such a great “job”, one where there is no limit to the amount of money you can earn or freedom you can enjoy.  By appreciating your prospects and what they wish to accomplish, you gain the necessary perspective which will lead you to the ways where you can best serve them.