CR Magazine - Winter 2016

This August, we had a chance to listen to the wise and savvy
advice of three top-producing real estate agents at our annual
Mindset for Success event. Emily Sachs Wong, @properties, Luis
Ortiz, RE/MAX Partners, and Ryan D’aprile, d‘aprile properties,
shared their experience on maintaining a positive attitude in
business and how it was met with success. Their tips were both
simple and doable, and we couldn’t resist spotlighting our favorites.
LOVE WHAT YOU DO.
When you love your job, your business and your industry, it directly
translates to your teammates. Luis recognized it’s not easy, and even
he admits to hiding his blues, but it always comes back to how much
he enjoys his job and how he can see his happiness affecting everyone
around him. The entire team plays a role in company culture. The more
who love what they do, the more positive the culture is as a whole.
Gallup reported that job satisfaction among Americans is notably
higher in 2015 than it was ten years prior, crediting greater satisfaction
with vacation time and health insurance benefits.
But thinking about your job as a REALTOR ® and what it is about the real
estate industry that fires you up may be the best way to swing these stats
higher. This idea of simply loving what you do may feel too idealistic, but
staying vigilant and thinking big picture, as Ryan said, will pay off.
TALK WITH A SMILE (PEOPLE CAN HEAR IT).
Whether you’re face to face or over the phone, smiles go a long way
when spreading positivity. For example, when a client or team member
calls you, have a smile on your face. Emily described it as having a smile
in your voice. “Hearing that makes people want to talk to you,” she said.
Not to mention, forcing a smile has been psychologically proven to lift
spirits and make you feel better. Ryan starts a viewing with clients and
says, with meaning, “This is going to be fun!” Because selling a home
can be stressful, he recognizes his responsibility to lead the experience
in a positive direction, with something as simple as a steady smile.
Making a habit of walking around and smiling naturally breaks down
people’s defense mechanisms. A study in Sweden exposed its
participants to various pictures of facial expressions and monitored
the participants’ facial muscles while they viewed them. The results
demonstrated that the participants consistently mimicked the
expressions they were viewing, even if they didn’t realize it. The first
step to a positive culture starts with the face.
REMIND YOURSELF YOU’RE DOING
THE BEST YOU CAN.
The trick to positivity also relies on reminding yourself of your own effort.
It is a straightforward form of reassurance and accountability. “You have
to know you are doing the best you can, assuming you are doing the best
you can. You have to look at yourself and say, ‘Yeah I have been slacking,’
and you have to be willing to admit that to yourself,” Emily said.
Staying in touch with personal effort and what can and can’t be done
comes in handy when dealing with tense conversations. “I get the
client that calls me and tells me something that’s not nice, and ‘You’re
not doing what you’re supposed to be doing,’ so I call back and say,
‘I’m sorry.’ It’s up to you to relax and just listen to them,” Luis said.
Charging Yo
with Po
26 Chicago REALTOR ® Magazine