Monday Motivation: Been There, Done That
Monday Motivation, 6.17.19
Written by: Ben Rogers
Every Monday, The Rogers-Long Team meets for one of its two weekly meetings. The Monday meeting always ends with “Monday Motivation” in which a few minutes are spent listening to one team member presenting a quote, a quick reading from a book, a scene from a movie, or anything else they find motivating to provide a “spark” to the whole team on a Monday morning.
If there is someone you look up to, someone who has achieved a certain level of success you wish to obtain, or someone who has “been there, done that” – and they tell you how they did it – LISTEN.
I’ve been fortunate to have so many great mentors and coaches that have helped me along the way and you probably have to. Your success, however, could very well be determined on how well you listen to those mentors and how you put their advice into action.
As a Realtor at Hometown Realty, we are lucky to have owners who we have access to and who are right there with us every step of the way. I have taken a lot of their advice to heart, as well as some advice of other mentors in my career – not only as a real estate agent, but as a person who wants to live a good life as well. Here are six different pieces of advice I have received from them and a couple other mentors that have helped shaped my career into what it is today.
- “In life, there are things you can control and things you can’t control – spend your time wisely.” – Todd Rogers, Co-Founder & Owner of Hometown Realty
The best life advice I’ve been given, this has helped me prioritize my time. Everything that happens in your life and in your business is either something that you can control or something that you can’t. If you spend your time focused on things you can’t control, you’re not only wasting your time, you’re wasting someone else’s as well. Todd wears more hats and owns more small businesses than you or I could even imagine. His time must be prioritized on the things he can control – and no matter how many hats you wear, I suggest you do the same!
- “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” – Mike Chenault, Principal Broker & Owner of Hometown Realty
The fearless leader of our 325-agent brokerage, Mike has a knack for finding clients in unlikely situations. Here’s a fun truth about sales: anyone in the world – anyone – can you your client. Most potential clients will not open up about their potential dealings, whether it’s real estate or something else they may need to buy or sell. In the end, they need to find someone they trust and it very well could be you. What’s the worst that can happen if you don’t ask? Hint: it’s the same answer if you don’t ask at all, so you might as well go for it.
- “Every time you take a step up the ladder, reach your hand back down and help someone else up with you.” – Deane Cheatham, Owner & Head Trainer at Hometown Realty
Deane has been a mentor of mine both for real estate and for life ever since I’ve known him. He is a product of many other great mentors and coaches. Given this golden piece of advice, it’s no wonder he is the head trainer at Hometown. One of Deane’s favorite mentors, a former President at Hampden-Sydney College and a decorated war General, Sam Wilson, gave him the same advice he shares with all of us today. Anytime you take a step forward, reach back and bring someone else with you. No matter how much money you make, no matter what level of success you reach in whatever you do – there is no greater feeling than helping someone else along their path to achieve their goals.
- “Everyone has their doctor, their dentist, their barber…why shouldn’t everyone have their Realtor?” – Rodney Chenault, Owner & Sales Manager at Hometown Realty
The king of managing “A+” relationships, Rodney has the most loyal following of clients I’ve experienced. Rodney, like me, has a lot of family in the business. When you first start selling real estate (or anything else), you typically go to your family first for business and for referrals. Rodney knew that was a difficult route because most of his family and their connections were either already Realtors or already had their Realtor. Rodney knew that he’d have to develop his own, loyal client base. Having “your guy” is just as important in sales as it is in anything else. When someone asks you who your doctor is, you know the answer very quickly. Why shouldn’t it be the same way in real estate?
- “It’s more than being just someone that can sell a house…it’s about being the source of the source.” – Heather Shurm, my very first Sales Manager in 2012
I’ve never been fond of being labeled as a “salesman”. I think it carries a negative connotation. When I was 22 years old, I was lucky to have who I believe was the best Sales Manager I could have hoped for. I was speaking with her one day, talking about how I wasn’t that excited to be just another Realtor – I needed something deeper. I didn’t want to be someone who “just sold houses”. She advised me that being a Realtor is way more than just having a license, way more than just being someone that can sell a house – it’s about being the source of the source for anything someone needs. Because of this, I truly hang my hat on being “the guy that knows a guy”. I love when clients reach out for a referral to something unrelated to real estate…because I am the source of the source!
- “You’re young, you’re driven, and you’re systematic…go build your army.” – Billy Van Raaphorst, my first real estate coach
Similar to my conversation with Heather above, I was speaking with my coach a few years ago about being down in the dumps because although I had found success selling real estate, was it really enough to make me happy? Sure it’s nice helping someone move from Point A to Point B (literally!), but what was I really doing to make an impact. He finally cut me off from my pity party and he said “Ben, you’re young. You’re driven. You’re systemic. Go build your army.” Ever since then, I have found new meaning to all that I do. The mission of our team is to build an army of people that does good, becomes better, and strives to be the best. That’s much more fun to wake up for and go to work than it is to hang sold signs!
One final piece of advice from someone that has “been there, done that” but is also still doing it…when everything feels like an uphill battle, just think of the view from the top! And remember, if someone you admire is telling you how they got to where they are…listen up.
Ben Rogers, The Team Leader of The Rogers-Long Team, has been in the real estate business since 2012. In 2014, he began The Rogers-Long Team with Kevin Long, which produced over $25,000,000 in volume production in 2017. In addition to selling homes and leading the team, Ben hosts a podcast show called the “The Bottom Line”, which can be found by clicking here. The Bottom Line is a Podcast that links lessons learned from sports, business, and life and is targeted at those who are striving for excellence, while ‘Average Sits on the Bench’.
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