Minute by Minute.
Perhaps I shouldn’t care so much but one thing that really gets my blood pressure rising is misattributed quotes. Even more when someone rips off another’s work as their own. And most of all when it’s my work! But if the message is helpful and of benefit then I suppose it doesn’t really matter sometimes if the true origin of a quote or an idea can’t be easily found.
Which is why I’m going to quote Marcus Aurelius, well probably not as I can’t find it in the collection of his works in my library, so maybe Oswald Spengler instead, but either way a quote by one of these two, (or maybe someone else), that I feel is worth considering:
“The secret of all victory lies in the organisation of the non-obvious.”
Last Sunday, I had a conference call with Josh Phegan, Australia’s top estate agency coach, and his number one client, Alexander Phillips, who listed and sold properties in 2017 that earned him $10million in commission. We discussed Josh and Alex’s presentations on 11th October at EA Masterclass and 12th October at EA Masters and Alex said, “how about I run through my weekly plan for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and highlight what I do every day and also what I do specifically on each?” And this brought the quote to mind. Here’s the world’s most successful estate agent and his “secret” is to have a detailed plan for every single day which he then executes relentlessly. And you can do the same too, because actually it’s not a secret, or if it is then Alex will share it with you – and as a taster here’s one idea you’ll learn.
Most diaries are split into hours which causes many people to work in these units of time. However, most tasks don’t neatly fit into 60 minutes so instead think about your time in 5 minute increments. I can write an email or make a call in 5 minutes. I can have a catch up in 2 x 5mins, a conference call in 3 x 5mins and so on. Many days, my work pattern is to structure my time on a 45/15 basis. I spend 45 minutes, (9 x 5 mins) writing things such as four-i or working on a presentation or an upcoming coaching session and then have 15 minutes, (3 x 5 mins) to make three calls or respond to 3 emails. Observing Alex at work, which I did on a speaking tour across Australia in 2016, I noticed that he works in even shorter increments of time, often just 2 minutes. His calls, and he makes over 100 a day, are all quick and to the point. He might on occasion get close to being curt and rude but rarely crosses that line, instead I imagine the clients he’s working with understand that this is someone on a mission with no time to lose. And if that mission is to get their property sold or let then I’m sure they will be happy with that.
Many people don’t have a plan for their time. They allow the day to be dictated by the next call or email with maybe a handful of appointments randomly scheduled in their diary. Better operators have a ‘To Do List’ and tick things off as they complete them. But the very best treat their time as sacred and don’t waste a single minute. Every day is mapped out with the emphasis on the important things and allowing the trivial to pass them by.
You can learn from the world’s most successful estate agent and his coach by coming to EA Masterclass on 11th October &/or EA Masters on 12th October. Both these events are in London at the O2 and Intercontinental O2 – details here and make sure to watch the 2 minute 10 second video with Alex & Josh. (In case you’re wondering, the extra 10 seconds is down to us adding contact details for the events. As you would expect, our request for a two minute summary resulted in a video exactly two minutes long.
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