Recovering Addict

by Kris Berg

Realtor, Associate Broker

Author website

>Do I really need single-property websites?
>Which is better, Postlets or VFlyer, or why can’t my website template provider just give me a darn feed to my property pages so I can avoid the whole mess altogether?
>Does Dustin have a ponytail? (I like to think so, but it is hard to tell conclusively from his thumbnail photo).

These are the things that weigh heavily on me this morning. So many thoughts, yet I don’t know where to begin. Writer’s block? I have come to the conclusion that this is not so much a condition in which you have nothing to say but the symptom of a loss of focus.

Real estate, unless you operate a finely tuned machine in the Russell Shaw spirit, is a highly cyclical business. Over the years, I have found the cyclical nature of the work and, yes, the paycheck to be the most difficult part of what we do.

Just Say “No”

Life, too, is cyclical. I have been living blog-free for the better part of two weeks. We have joked about the addiction, and an addiction it is. Much like the addict who chooses abstinence to cure the compulsion yet finds himself consumed with the very thought of the “abuse” every moment of the day, I too have struggled with the “I should, but I can’t” demons. The difference is that my abstinence wasn’t a choice.

Life happens, and an event in my personal life recently sapped my every ounce of energy and demanded that I instantly realign my priorities. Enter loss of focus. I suspect we all get somewhat derailed from time to time, and the true challenge is finding your way back, is in not letting your paralysis linger. Don’t get me wrong; it was just a bump in the road, but the tendency in the aftermath is to focus eyes on the pavement while denying yourself the awe of the distant views.

>Why does the sleazy local agent, possessing such an underdeveloped frontal lobe that he undoubtedly signs his contracts with an “X”, get so much business?
>Should I go to the Inman Conference this summer? (That might answer my Dustin question).
>If I do go to Inman, will Kevin Boer teach me how to make those really cool Zeesource mashups?

I am not without material. I just don’t know where to start. One thing I know for sure – Doing nothing will do nothing to reverse the down cycle in my personal life, much like doing nothing proactive during your down cycles in real estate will do nothing to reverse that trend.

The Cycling Road Trip

During business “slow times”, Steve and I have always joked that it is time for a road trip. Many years have taught me that, while this is a fun, feel-good concept, it is absolutely wrong and that the consequences can be devastating. Agents should all strive for consistency, for the sake of cash flow and the sake of sanity, but true consistency will forever elude most of us in this business. Whether it be due to outside influences (market driven, personal issues) or because of a flaw in the business plan, doing nothing will all but assure that history repeats. Or worse, it will assure that history doesn’t correct.

Cramps that come from cycling can lead to paralysis. I see too many agents falling into the paralysis trap these days. After years of coasting downhill, the terrain has changed. Is business slow? This is precisely the time you should be focusing on house cleaning, not the dust-bunny kind, but the business kind. Improve your systems and services. Can’t afford to market? This is when you can’t afford not to. Take the time now to invest in yourself and make the necessary adjustments in course to best ensure that you never find yourself lost in this place again. Consumed with who is getting the business while you are not? Get over it. Greg so eloquently reminds us that we alone are responsible for our successes and, yes, our failures. Another’s success does not diminish your own, but preoccupation with their success just might.

So, I am ready to “use” again.

>How is it that I have not made a single blog entry in the past two weeks yet my hits have gone up?

Hmm… so many questions.