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Real Estate Investors: What Steps Did You Take TODAY to Move the Needle Forward?

Recently I was cruising around YouTube to find a few cool inspirational videos to share with you and ran across one about how athletes can build self-confidence.

It is a TED presentation, and those are usually filled with excellent content and messages. The interesting thing the presenter in this clip says is that to improve one’s skills (at anything) it takes repetition, practice and more practice. Then he adds persistence as being critical to self-improvement.

Who can argue with that?

No matter what we do in life, we’re not going to get it right the first time or maybe even the first few times. In fact, we can be pretty bad at something, but with practice we get better and better until finally we are good at what we set out to do.

We can’t look good and learn something new at the same time.

The presenter says this, and I completely agree. In the video he also points out a few other things that I agree with wholeheartedly. For example, he says that to get good at anything one can’t just bail after the first failure or if something doesn’t go as planned the first few times.

RIGHT!

He says we can’t allow ourselves to participate in negative self-talk and we can’t allow other people’s negative words to get into our heads. I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the jest of what he says. No argument here!

In thinking about how to help new investors do their first transactions in Real Estate, these are the exact things that come to mind. It’s understandable to have fear because doing deals is something new to us. It’s human nature to want to quit when the fish aren’t jumping into the boat. But that is not the path to success… not as a Real Estate Investor and not in anything worth doing in life!

Like the man in the video, I like to “catch the newest investors in our group doing things right.” And I see plenty of it. Some of them get out there and make offers in their first couple of days; some start raising private capital for deals almost immediately.

I feel like a proud papa!

For every success I see made by Cashflow Core Members on our private Facebook group’s wall, I do a little cheer. I’m so proud of those individuals who have fear and do what it takes to get deals done anyway. They take action step after action step, putting one foot in front of the other, until they experience their first success. These are the same people who then experience another success and another and another. That’s the way it goes. I see it a lot… and these people make my heart soar!

For those who tell me they haven’t closed a deal yet, I always ask the same question: What progress have you make toward that goal? If you haven’t hit your marks yet, here’s a quick review that will help keep you on track…

  • Did you make an offer? If the answer is no that’s called a clue. Closing deals requires making offers. Lots of offers.
  • If you haven’t made an offer yet, what progress did you make toward that goal?
  • Did you set any appointment to sit and chat with anyone about how you can help them? You cannot allow fear of the unknown to stop you from making this happen. Once you do it the first few times, you’ll feel more comfortable. You’ll be okay with setting appointments several times a week.
  • If you didn’t set any appointments to chat with people, what action(s) did you take toward that goal?
  • Did you meet anyone new this week? This goes hand in hand with your ability to make offers. You need to get out of your comfort zone and meet people. Real human beings with real problems you can solve that you meet everywhere you go.
  • You need to have conversations with them to find out their pain, so you can provide solutions through Real Estate transactions, but that’s going to be a challenge if you don’t get up out of your house and head out the door.
  • If you haven’t met someone (or several someones) new this week, what progress did you make toward that goal?
  • Did you put your feet on the floor when you got out of bed today? Even that is a small action step toward the first goal and the next and the next.

Every action we take has a consequence or result.

If you get out of bed, have a bit of breakfast and get dressed to meet your day outside your house (and comfort zone), these are positive action steps.

If you grab your laptop, a notepad, pen and your phone to take with you wherever you go, these are small positive action steps. It’s great practice to always be prepared for meeting new sellers, buyers and investors out in the world.

If you put these tools in your vehicle and drive to the nearest Starbucks to set up your mobile office, that’s a bigger action step… and it’s exactly how I built my Real Estate Investing business.

There are ways to grab the eyes and ears of sellers, buyers and investors simply sitting at your laptop in any Starbucks across the land.

Once you’re at Starbucks or any other place where human beings gather and have a little time to chit chat, you need to get comfortable in having conversations with them. Lots of conversations. The more conversations the better.

Once that happens, and you’re talking to them about Real Estate Investing, you have to get comfortable in setting appointments to meet with them again to speak more in depth about some solutions to the problems they’ve just shared with you. (Believe me… this will happen, but only if you talk to people.)

You should also be inviting people everywhere you meet them to something (we recommend a Cashflow 101 game). If you don’t have one scheduled, that’s okay. Do it right then and there. Get good at thinking on your feet. There’s all sorts of locations… including right there in your local Starbucks… where you can host games. They’re fun and people learn a lot about the benefits of investing in Real Estate. (So why wouldn’t you?)

What’s next? More action steps!

Once the appointment is set and you’re sitting with the individual, make an offer. Don’t let the concept of making the offer freak you out. It is simply an invitation to have a conversation. If you want an offer to be accepted, you’re going to have to get comfortable in having the conversations.

Don’t look at this as “negotiations,” but rather just “conversations,” because that’s what is happening. It really is as simple as that. We offer a course on that, too!

The next part you’re going to love. Once you’ve gotten good at having conversations (because you have put in a lot of practice and repeated the process a few times), you’re going to get to close on a deal.

Closing on your very first deal is an experience like no other! It’s thrilling. It’s a total rush! You’re going to want that feeling again and again.

The good news is that you can have it.

To this day I remember how that first successful transaction felt. I wanted to jump up and down, run around the block, and celebrate. But you know what I did instead? I repeated what I had just done.

I got out of bed every day, headed to the nearest Starbucks, held Cashflow games, grabbed the attention of sellers, buyers and investors… and I had lots of conversations. Then I closed more deals faster. In my first four months, I closed a dozen transactions. I kept improving my skills as a wholesaler, then a buy-and-hold investor, then multi-family and then commercial investor.

Truth be told, I’m still learning new information and adding to my skill sets. I figure that won’t ever stop. Being in the mode of continually learning and earning is exactly where I want to be. The difference is that now I get to teach others how to do exactly as I have done (and continue to do).

There is nothing magical about getting to the success and income you desire as a Real Estate Investor or anything else in life.

It takes practice, repetition, persistence, a belief that you can absolutely achieve no matter what others might be saying to hold you back, and continual education. All of this leads to greater self-confidence and stronger skills.

If you’re having doubts that you can participate in Real Estate Investing and make a really great income doing it, I leave you with one simple question…

What have you done TODAY to move the needle toward your goal(s)?

If the answer is nothing… it’s time to start making something happen. All it takes is one tiny step followed by another and another. You won’t be an overnight success. You will actually have to put in time and learn new skills. You will have to talk to people. You should host Cashflow games. You will need to get out of your comfort zone and stop making excuses. And you will have to make a conscious decision to change your mindset to allow success into your life.

If you have questions or comments about anything I’ve said in this article, email me at info@cashflowdiary.com

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