Coach your state of mind to unbridled real estate success

Tim and Tanja also discuss how you can be part of Tanja’s two-day leadership summit, Inspiring Greatness, to be held on 27–28 March in Melbourne. Click here for more information.

You will also find out:

• The six fundamental practices of real leaders
• What you can do regularly to ensure continued growth
• Why great leaders embrace mistakes

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Full Transcript:

Announcer: The top 100 agents are the best of the best, listing and selling more than any other agent in Australia. These are the practises, actions, and beliefs of the most successful agents in Australian real estate. Raw, honest, and completely uncut.

Tim Neary:    How's everyone? It's Tim Neary here. I'm Editor Real Estate Business and host of the Secrets of the top 100 Agents podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Look, we're very pleased to welcome on the show today Tanja Jones. Tanja is a speaker, coach, and author, and the driving force between TMJ Coaching, which specialises in leadership and mindset coaching for real estate leaders and teams. Hey Tanja, welcome to the show.

Tanja Jones:  Thank you Tim, thanks so much for having me.

Tim Neary:    Now, I really wanted to get you on the show today because we talk a lot to real estate agents at the top and the top 100, so those at the top of their game.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    There's like a common theme that comes up, and that all of them ... and I was quite surprised by this, all of them work with coaches, 'cause I had thought that it was just those that are up and coming that did, but it's not. At the top, and they tell me over and over again it's about continuous improvement and never resting on their laurels.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    Now you would agree with that wouldn't you?

Tanja Jones:  I would. I think people that succeed in any field or industry always engage in someone that helps take them to another level. We were talking off air about that great quote, "Success leaves clues." So, whether you're an athlete, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, or a successful real estate agent or leader you'll only ever reach your results of your level of consciousness at the time. And a good coach will take you above what your current state of awareness is. Having a look at what's going on in the background, what your subconscious beliefs may be, and what your skill gaps are to help you get to that next level.

Tim Neary:    And I really love that quote, "Success leaves clues." And there's a lot of research around there isn't there? So, we know a lot about that success and those clues.

Tanja Jones:  This is true. We've just completed 12 months of extensive research with Core Logic, it's called the Real eState of Leadership. We now have a 44 page report that completely deconstructs what are the desired futures, current realities, and gaps within the industry? And one of the greatest statistics for me is we've found that 27% of real estate businesses are experiencing super growth, which is constituted by 10% plus. The rest are either having marginal growth, flat lining, or declining. The other interesting point is out of those 27% of businesses that are having the super growth, the majority of leaders have had some kind of business training, coaching, mentorship, or leadership training.

Tim Neary:    It's an important point isn't it? Because we know in the real estate industry that there are people that their earnings are phenomenal.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    There's a high bracket. We also know that at the bottom end are those that don't succeed and they fall out of the industry, but there's a big band in the middle of people that are really keen, really good real estate agents, that are there or there abouts and it's those people that would benefit, wouldn't they? By some coaching and experience.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

            Look, I think as we were talking off air, I think all of us can benefit from some kind of coaching. And one of the things that a coach provides, one of the things I work with certainly is the three steps for success. So, a coach helps people establish, what are your standards? What are you saying you want to make? So, whether it's $250, $550, be a million dollar agent, get really clear on what you want to make. The middle piece is, what are your strategies, and keep them really simple. However, Tim the most important piece I believe is the state, what is your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual state like? Because this is counter intuitive industry, meaning as human beings we desire certainty, security, instant validation, and instant gratification. You're in a world of rejection where you're going to get knocked back and noed and the Roy Morgan image of trusted professions showed real estate agents are still the third least trusted profession, so people aren't running down the street going, "Yay you're a real estate agent, come and have a cup of tea."

            So, there's a lot of resistance. And a coach can help those new, or middle, or even top performing agents rise above the world of resistance and not take it personally, because what the most successful agents and leaders don't do is they never collapse failure with, "I'm a failure." They never say, make no mean I'm not good enough, but our human desire is to be liked. So, you've gotta master your mindset to really succeed in this game.

Tim Neary:    And I want to talk a little bit about mindset a little bit later on when we get to it.

Tanja Jones:  Sure.

Tim Neary:    But this is an important part now we're talking about, this resistance that people put out towards real estate agents, and it's often unfair isn't it?

Tanja Jones:  100% I mean, the unfortunate thing is if a vendor, buyer, landlord, or tenant has a bad experience, a negative experience with any service provider, but we're talking about real estate agents specifically, unfortunately Tim what happens is they tend to kind of put that brush stroke across everybody. So, they put all real estate agents in that box. You would know from all the podcasts you do, and all of your audience, as I've come to learn over the last three years there are whole hearted change agents out there that love what they do, that are serventhood oriented, and work their patooties off to make a difference. And I think it's a real shame. And one of the things that I think REB does beautifully is showcase ...

Tim Neary:    Thank you.

Tanja Jones:  ... best practise, and what are the top qualities of agents that are really being of service and making a difference. And it's also something that I'm waving my pom poms about of, "Let's reveal what best practise is from a leadership, agency, and client experience."

Tim Neary:    It's so true you know, and you talk about what we see at our REB and there's definitely that ... I don't know what you would call it, that staple or that filter that needs to go through in terms of vendors, and the general public around real estate agents is this immediate resistance as soon as they hear the world real estate agent. And then when they work with a real estate agent, and they get to get the benefit, they get to get the experience of working with a good real estate agent, their whole mindset just changes, and it's unaticky.

Tanja Jones:  It is.

Tim Neary:    And they go from like being nonbelievers to being absolute disciples.

Tanja Jones:  I love that I love that you say that. My philosophy around that Tim, and I think we share this from when we spoke last time, I really do believe that people buy people not products. So, even though you represent a brand, your vendor doesn't buy your logo, your brand, your collateral, your marketing campaign, they buy you first. They actually buy you, and how you show up determines the success of the outcome. Unfortunately because of the nature of this business, because it's commission and it's highly competitive a lot of agents unconsciously, you know people are kind of meaning well but not knowing where they're coming from, I think a lot of agents are being transactional and those agents that are successful are relational. They lose themself in service of their client, and their clients feel it, and that's why they engage with those agents.

Tim Neary:    And that's a common denominator that we see with the top 100 agents, those that are at the top of their games, is that they have this relationship with not just the clients that they're working with but their entire databases.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    And with anybody and everybody that they're feeling and interacting with.

Tanja Jones:  And in their community.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  Like really great agents are the ones that are using video and TV to go out and hang out at Mario's Café and say Mario's been here for 25 years, he makes a killer cappuccino, and they actually interview their businesses. I mean look, it's a great business strategy, but I feel like they, great agents see themselves as guardians of their patch or like little mayors of their town, and they position themselves as that key person of influence.

Tim Neary:    Yeah that's cool.

Tanja Jones:  But it's not just one on one in the lounge room. You know I have a philosophy Tim of how you do one thing is how you do everything. And character is who you are when nobody's watching.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  So, it's no point being a great agent at a listing consultation or a great leader in a team and then you're at the local supermarket and someone takes your car park and you flick them the bird.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  Right? 'Cause you are your brand.

Tim Neary:    That's exactly. And I love the way that you say that, who you is what you do when nobody's watching you.

Tanja Jones:  Yep.

Tim Neary:    That's kind of like the acid test isn't it?

Tanja Jones:  True.

Tim Neary:    And also you know you talk about the agent is the guardian of their patch, and we see that also over and over again.

            Tanja you're the expert in leadership and coaching, let's talk a little bit about what is leadership, and then we'll talk a little about mindset as well.

Tanja Jones:  Sure.

Tim Neary:    And how the two weave together.

Tanja Jones:  From the research we've done with Core Logic, we've really distilled the fundamentals of success in leadership. And the things that great leaders do ... and look if we just back track a little bit, many real estate agents work for a brand and think, "I can do this better," or "I want to open my own office and my own brand." And then they go and get the bricks and mortar, they get the tables and chairs, and they get these things called people and go, "Whoa. Now what? I don't have the skills."

            So, we go in with the best intention but one of the things that we know works really well in all industries, and especially real estate is the six fundamental practises, which are envision. You must have a vision. You must have a reason why people walk into your office and your agency every day. What is your why and is it client centric or just self centric of, "We want to sell x amount of homes"? Well, that's not necessarily going to fuel your fire every day.

Tim Neary:    That's a bit transactional, isn't it?

Tanja Jones:  It is very transactional.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  I spend a lot of time training agents and teams around building rapport. And international leadership expert Simon Sinek talks about people buy people not products, they buy you do what you do. If you don't tell the vendor why real estate for you, it's a massive missed opportunity. Most agents say how they do what they do and what they do, but they don't say why. So, great leaders really instil this clear why, and they encourage their agents who are leaders within the business to have a clear why for themselves. And those that have a client centric why I think you would agree the top 100 have very client centric why's. You need to have a clear financial outcome. I believe our financial scorecard at the end of the financial year is just a reflection of our energetic output, and how much service we delivered, how many lives we changed along the way that year.

Tim Neary:    And the scorecard just reflects that.

Tanja Jones:  It just reflects that, right?

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  I think that's a great philosophy.

            The other step that leaders do is they really beautifully engage consistently with their people. They have inspiring sales meetings that the agenda encourages and fosters continued growth. They asset map their team, meaning that they showcase best practise and they encourage performance. And Tim, those great leaders also embrace mistakes. They cultivate a safe space to stuff up in the arena of real estate, and share the learnings, which I think is critical.

Tim Neary:    So glad you brought that up, because mistakes is part of it, isn't it?

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    And it's to have that safe space to make mistakes without going like dump.

Tanja Jones:  There are five steps to confidence, the third step is where you're developing competence.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  That's the place where you practise. That's the place where you stuff up.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  Now, archaic leaders want to kind of minimise risk and not take a chance on their people. Serventhood leaders cultivate a great space, they encourage you to give things a go within the boundaries or the values of the business, and great leaders are also vulnerable enough to share where they stuff up. And share it with the team so there's that shared learning.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  So, we minimise that. So, engaging with your people is important. And then how do you engage with your clients and also stakeholders and the industry? The third step in leadership is embody. This is probably one of my favourites. You don't believe the message unless you believe the messenger.

Tim Neary:    True.

Tanja Jones:  So, if a leader has vision and values written on paper on a boardroom wall, and I've said this before, I think a boardroom is boring, right? That's why it's called a boardroom because nothing happens in there, right?

Tim Neary:    B-o-r-e-d. Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  I think they should be a called a creative room or something.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  If you as a leader don't embody your vision, if you don't embody the values, how can you breathe life into your people and inspire them to show up every day despite what's happening at home, despite what's going on in your bank balance, or with your health? Embodiment of top qualities is critical. And this is not something you do when you feel like it. This is an art. This is a practise. It's something I'm very passionate about.

            The next one is empower. What are you doing as a leader to consistently empower your people? Now I think that this is what the real estate business platform does. You share best practise to educate or inspire and empower people to replicate what people are doing. We don't want to replicate their personality because we want Tim to be Tim and Jason to be Jason and Adam to be Adam, but success leaves clues. Go and replicate someone that's already achieving the financial scorecard you want because you don't have to reinvent the wheel, but a leader must consistently empower their people. And a big missing in the industry at the moment is we don't do enough quality regular one-on-one's. We're not really clear on why people rock up every day. We aren't putting the quality time into performance development plans. We don't have a clear understanding generally speaking of their skill level, the gaps, and whether they're willing to apply them consistently.

            So, a leader must also do the fifth step, which is evaluate. How are we going? Are we on track? What's our feedback? What's the feeling in this office like? Are my people alive? What's their physiology telling me? Is this a great place to be?

Tim Neary:    And I'm getting also that, that sort of sums up a lot of the other steps along the way because that leader then has the foresight and the intuition to understand if something is not evaluating to what they're looking for, then they can change it and they can make changes.

Tanja Jones:  100%

Tim Neary:    Because they're in touch with the people.

Tanja Jones:  100%

Tim Neary:    Because they've been in touch with the people all the way through.

Tanja Jones:  Exactly.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  And you know peak performance coach Tony Robbins talks about the key to happiness is progress. If people aren't progressing, even if it's a millimetre a day, they're more likely to leave. And it's a very expensive exercise replacing people. Unfortunately leadership takes a backset because many leaders are on the tools, so they're balancing being in the business and on the business.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  And many leaders, and we're seeing this in the research, haven't effectively planned their in and on the business time. They then have an open door strategy, which means they're getting pulled from pillar to post, and they can't get in flow and complete tasks. So, it can be very stop start. And even when it comes to working on the business like the majority haven't had the training to go, "What do I even need to do? What does a business plan look like?" Those businesses that are doing great, super growth, 10% plus, they've got that stuff nailed.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  And then they do the sixth step, which is encourage, even when times are tough, even when we're not doing well, even when we're struggling. The leader stands in the vision, never wavers, and constantly encourages their people to rise and shine. And they never blame their circle of concern, the market, the weather, the government, things out of their control, for their results. 'Cause a really good leader knows there's two things Tim, you can either have reasons or results, you can't have both.

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  And a leader listens, especially in their one-on-one's for, what are the reasons their agents or team are giving them as to why they're not performing? And the reasons are typically resources, time. "I don't have time." Well, time is a resource.

            I did a coaching session with one of my clients she goes, "I don't have time to do that." Within five minutes Tim we looked at her schedule, I found 11 hours. So, that's what a coach can do, help you see beyond the mirage that you might be in.

Tim Neary:    And I like that sixth one where you say encourage because it ties back to the first one where you were talking about having a vision.

Tanja Jones:  Yes.

Tim Neary:    So, if you have the vision and you believe in the vision, even when it gets tough, and it's going to get tough, then you still believe in the vision, you still see the vision, and you keep encouraging the vision.

Tanja Jones:  100%. You know, I see a lot of leaders, and again, I say everything in this podcast with deep love and respect because we're all working with the best intentions. And some leaders walk into their sales meetings, and they say, "Listings are lower, the markets really tough." And we're just describing, explaining, and justifying the current reality. We're talking about the past.

            A great leader when they communicate, they create new realities, they create new futures. They make requests of people, they say, "Let's shift our focus on not talking about stuff we can't change, but for new realities we can create. So, what do we need to do?" And we get our sleeves up, and we put some music on, and get the butcher's paper out and hack into, what can we do? Those leaders that spend more time talking about for positive change and progress rather than blaming, justifying, and describing why they're not performing, I think everything gets created inside of communication.

Tim Neary:    And I think a lot of that has got to do with the definition of what a leader is.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    If the person that is forward looking, and looking forward is leading.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    The person that is looking back, and looking for excuses, and looking at the dust that's not a leader that's I don't know what you would call that, but that's looking the wrong way, isn't it?

Tanja Jones:  Well, we do need to evaluate. You don't want to lead and constant be looking in the rear vision mirror, because that's the past, but we do need to evaluate, to asses.

            You know it's like a pilot, that's the metaphor I always use. A leader must know where they and their crew, and their co-pilots are flying. The passengers are their clients. So, we've gotta know where we're flying. We need to have what's called positional awareness. Where are we now? You gotta have a really solid understanding of where you are, and the figures will give you a clear determination of that. And then, you can get a clear flight path so you can set your coordinates. A pilot once they've set their coordinates in business terms, done your business strategy, right? Know what your prospecting activity is, and your rent roll BDM strategy, and all of those things, once you've got your business strategy, or your flight path done, a pilot is on auto pilot 95% of the time when they fly a plane. Only when the external conditions change, do they manually fly. So, I think a great leader has a clear vision, their people know.

            But here's the thing Tim, sometimes I see the leader is flying the plane, and then they're out serving the orange juice in the cabin. And we're like, "Who's flying this plane?" And then I don't even know if you're on track.

            And I'll say, "So, ill say to the client as the coach. I don't know that I'm going to fly team airways right now because you're not flying this plane. You don't know where you're going."

            So, knowing your numbers like in the marrow of your bones, from a distinction of, "This is how many lives we've changed. This is how many people we've served in the community."

            Not, "How much money have we made?"

Tim Neary:    Yeah.

Tanja Jones:  When we have that as our definition I think that's what yields the greatest success.

Tim Neary:    You said something a little earlier, which maybe resonated with me you said, "The happiness is progress or it equates to progress."

Tanja Jones:  Yes.

Tim Neary:    And I think that's a terrific truth. And it leads me into perhaps our final point of discussion, which is mindset. And let's talk a little bit about mindset, and the kind of mindset that works best.

Tanja Jones:  Human beings are hard wired to take everything personally. So, if you want to succeed in this industry, you must master that. It's not personal it is professional. So, when stuff happens as it will on the pathway to success, never collapse failure with, "I'm a failure," or no to, "I'm not good enough," 'cause that's just going to drain your mojo and you're to be out. Which, is the reason I believe most agents leave within their first year of staring, 'cause they have this grand plan of, "I'm going to make a lot of money." And then they enter this counterintuitive environment. So, you would have seen your top performers really master their mindset. And one of the best ways to do that, and I know many agents, and they do their own podcasts around this, is the way you start your day will influence the way it ends. So, you must to succeed have a strategy to begin your day putting yourself in a great state, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. This is an energy game and if your financial scorecard is a reflection of your energetic output, we've got to using the plane analogy, give ourselves the oxygen before anybody else.

            One of the best tips I can give your audience is get a book called, The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, he deconstructs a morning programme called SAVERS an acronym S-A-V-E-R-S.

            It means, whether you do this practise for six minutes or 60 minutes, you start with silence, so a bit of meditation to clear the mind, Head Space is a fantastic app you can get on your phone to do that.

            A is for affirmation. Affirming who you are. You know I'm a successful real estate agent. I'm a successful leader changing lives every day making a difference, so whatever it is for you.

            V is for visualising. Visualising people connecting to your business. Visualising your team performing well. Visualising the bank account that you want to see and the market share you want to grow.

            E of course is for exercise. Shifting your biology and physiology to be in peak state, because how you do one thing is how you do everything.

            R is for reading or listening to great podcasts like the ones that you produce. And then the final S is I believe the most important, which is scribing. And that is having an attitude of gratitude. The most successful thought leaders, philanthropists, game changers like Richard Branson, Opera, Steve Jobs, all talked about being in a frequency of gratitude even if you feel like you've nothing to be grateful for. Like, be grateful for the road you drive on, the toothbrush you brush your teeth, you know like the fact that your brain and heart are helping you breathe and be alive, and you don't even have to think about it. Having an attitude of gratitude will elevate your state, and there's a brilliant app called The Five Minute Journal that you can get on your phone that takes literally now time at all to keep that distinction, that place.

            If leaders and agents started their day like that, it'll see a dramatic increase in their state of mind, which means they're clear thinking, effective problem solving, they don't have a lot of funk when they show up to a listing appraisal or a listing consultation, and they're just clear. And then inside of that clearing if you're a leader your people can really show up. Or if you're a real estate agent your vendor can really show up 'cause it's not all about you, and your agenda, and your outcome.

Tim Neary:    Tanja it's been a real pleasure to have you on the show today, and I can just sense that enthusiasm of yours. And you talked about it being a passion of yours earlier, and it really comes through. The things that you talk about make so much sense. Just intuitively they make a lot of sense to me. I tie back to those discussions that we've had with those agents that are at the tops of their games. And all of the marks that you talk about they talk about, and they are doing. To me that's cause and effect. It's clear and so, if we do anything on this podcast and reach out to those agents that are in the middle and building their careers and starting out, then this is very valuable for them.

            And I know that you've got an event coming up so let's just talk a little bit about that event and how people can connect with that.

Tanja Jones:  Sure. And so, I want to start by saying, thank you because you guys are great supporters and our media partner for inspiring greatness, which is a two day empowered leadership summit in Melvin on the 27th and 28th of March. Really team we've done the research with Core Logic. We've got a 44 page document. We've distilled the best practise of powerful leadership within the industry. We know what 27% of the industry are doing to experience 10% plus growth. And we've reversed engineered two day summit to really give people the insight, tools, and resources, and accountability to really have that training reach it's landing gears so they can see it happen in their business.

            Some of the things that we'll be sharing are the five steps to leading confidently, 'cause most people quit at step number three when it gets too hard, you can't do that. And you can't do that as an agent if you want to succeed or as a leader if you're accountable for your people to succeed. They'll learn the six empowered leadership practises. They'll also do an empowered leadership assessment to see, "Well, what am I already doing that's really working? What am I not doing that would make a real difference?" And they'll walk away with a 90 day simple, simple is the key, strategy. They'll learn the gift of listening and the power of presence, and the five languages of appreciation, because everybody has a preferred way to be loved and appreciated. Leaders must know everybody's individual language of appreciation, because when you speak in their language you elicit top performance, which means they'll be more open to your suggestions. They'll be more productive, and just more energised in your business.

            So, there's all of that plus a line up of key leaders of influence that are embodying those six leadership practises, who are going to share the strategies that they do to be multi award-winning leaders. So, we just want to give everyone as much as we can in two days.

Tim Neary:    That's fantastic. And as you said, I mean REB is right behind this, and we love the industry and we're really passionate about the industry, and we think that it's got a real part to play in the overall economy of Australia.

Tanja Jones:  100%.

            Well, let's talk about that. The current value of residential real estate is seven trillion dollars. It employs 120,000 people around 90,000 of those are agents. For me, this is an honourable industry that's a huge slice of the Australian economic pie and only 27% is seeing 10% plus growth. We want to bridge that gap and support as many leaders as possible. And yes, you're our media partner, and you're also providing three leadership scholarships for listeners of this podcast.

Tim Neary:    We are.

Tanja Jones:  Which is awesome. If you want a seat at that table, if you want to learn these distinctions to give you and your team best access to having that 27% plus growth, just check out the link. You can apply in 100 words or less, why would you love to be at Inspiring Greatness and learn from all the distinctions we're going to share? So, kudos to you guys for providing three leadership scholarships to Inspiring Greatness.

Tim Neary:    And we're really looking forward to people jumping onto that and taking advantage of it because it's a fantastic opportunity for them. So, as you said, the link will be there at the bottom of this EDM that goes out.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    We'll run the story on REB a couple of times.

Tanja Jones:  Awesome.

Tim Neary:    So people will get to get good access to that.

Tanja Jones:  Thank you.

Tim Neary:    Tanja it's been a real pleasure to have you on the show this morning.

Tanja Jones:  Yeah.

Tim Neary:    And thank you for taking the time to come and have a chat with us.

Tanja Jones:  Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Tim Neary:    You're very welcome. Remember to follow us on all the social media stuff, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. You can follow me too on Twitter @TimothyJNeary if you'd like to do that. If you've enjoyed today's show please leave us a five star review on iTunes, it's the very best way for new listeners to find us and for them to hear the great content we are putting out. As always RealEstateBusiness.com.au is where you'll find us. There's stories there on the business of real estate across the whole of Australia. Thanks again for tuning in and we'll see you next week. Good bye.