Are you disciplined enough to run on the treadmill every day?

The Benefits of a Steady Routine

Short sale sellers frequently leave the moving and the packing until the very last minute. As a result of that, short sale listing agents sometimes have to get involved in the move. Sometimes, I get lucky and am rewarded with a few leftover potted plants for my own garden. Last May however, I hit the jackpot. The seller left me a dog. I like dogs, so this was great. But, this particular dog was a bit wild. Three years old, he had only lived outdoors on a 5 acre plot of land with no training and little contact with humans (lots of coyote contact, however).

It took about six months of some serious tough love and a diligent routine, and we finally got Charlie up to speed. He can now do all sorts of things (including running on the treadmill), and is a great family dog. When we brought him home, he was truly wild, unfocused, and distracted. But the rigorous and disciplined daily routine changed him, and he rose to the occasion.

Why am I sharing this personal story?

Well, it is the same with Realtors®. If you use some “serious tough love” and create a diligent and disciplined routine for a period of a minimum of six months, you will see success.

One of my colleagues has taken all of the motivational real estate courses offered from all of the top name coaches. He says that they all work—if you do ‘em. And… that’s the key. We can complain all that we want about the trials and tribulations of our job, but maintaining self-discipline and a daily activity regimen should trump all problems.

For me, my daily routine involves blogging, checking my websites and social networks, and responding to emails throughout the day. It also involves calling lenders on short sales and following up with clients and prospects, preparing advertising materials and newsletters, and working with the agents in my office.

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To be a successful short sale listing agent, you need to put together an organized file for each and every short sale. I actually recommend two files: one for the short sale negotiations, and one for the transaction itself. The short sale negotiation file needs to contain a copy of the short sale package that was sent to the bank(s), a log that includes all of the seller’s pertinent information at the top, copies of the mortgage statements, and a copy of the property profile or preliminary title report. Each and every conversation needs to be logged with the name of the individual you spoke with, what they said, their contact information (if available), and a date on which you will be following up in the future.

If you are managing multiple files, use an electronic calendar or a desk calendar in order to note when you need to follow up on each file. Make it a rule to follow up in the mornings, since some banks are in other parts of the United States and customer service departments may have different hours of operation than your own.

If you create an organized and disciplined short sale routine, you will definitely have success. That success will come fast and furious. If I could train Charlie to run on the treadmill, than negotiating the short sale should be easy.

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