Lee Davenport

By Lee Davenport

Today’s post features Toronto’s savvy and stylish @realestateinstillettos, Nikki Singh. She is a real estate broker and a popular career and brand blogger.

I did a Q&A with Nikki to learn what keeps per motivated in her career. Learn with she had to say and gain some take-aways with my commentary in “Lee’s Coaching Playbook” following each answer.

Q. What does a week in your business look like? (i.e. How do you generate leads? How do you nurture and convert them?)

A. I have a strict schedule I adhere to as opposed to just winging it throughout the week as tasks come up. I spend the majority of my time building relationships through social media and local community events as well as communicating with my internal database. For me, building relationships are longterm potential leads. I also spend a fair amount of time on my existing database and try to do drop-ins throughout the year. Client retention and referrals is an extremely valuable tool in my business.

Lee’s Coaching Playbook: In real estate, our day-to-day schedules can seem chaotic and reactionary based on the demands and changes that pop up regarding various transactions and clients.  However, Nikki excels at “planned chaos” and proactive work.  

On the Job Training: Do you have any times of your day that are sacred and reserved for key activities such as lead generation or follow-up?  If you don’t, how can you build them in to your schedule? If you do, can you reserve anymore time to increase your productivity?

Nikki Singh at work in New York.

Q. What motivates you each day?

A. I’ve always had a natural drive to do things and not just to be busy, but productive. Yes, there are days I’d much rather stay in bed and consume myself with Netflix. The one thing that motivates me to get out of bed on a daily basis. I set weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual goals. My goals are typed, printed, and at the front of my Day-Timer (personal planner), and I am continuously focused on them each time I open it up to book appointments.

Coaching Playbook: Notice that Nikki follows her printed goals to hold her accountable? Have you written down your goals yet? I get it, often we think, “I know what my goals are so I don’t need to write them down.” However, studies (here’s one example) have shown that people that write their goals down are more likely to achieve them.

On the Job Training: What goals do you have for the rest of the year? Write them down. Where can you post them so that you will see them daily? (ex.: refrigerator, car dashboard, bathroom mirror, etc.) Paper can be your most dependable accountability partner of all!

Q. What advice do you have for struggling real estate pros?

A. If you’re a struggling, you need to re-analyze your goals and ensure that you have a system in place. I find that without a system, you don’t have a direction. And in an industry where nobody guides you along the way, creating your own system and finding what works is a key element to success.

My biggest piece of advice to other people in this industry is to find what works for you. Don’t do what everyone else is doing because they are successful, do it because you want to do it and you want to see results. Agents fail because they tend to follow the crowd and not make their business their own. If you just do the work without any sense of passion, you will fail. Passion drives motivation and being motivated helps you to meet your goals. Stay focused and ensure the systems you have in place are working for you and not against you.

Coaching Playbook: Preach! “One size fits all” does not work with clothing or careers! It is key that you identify what works best for you so that you don’t waste your time, money, or energy.

On the Job Training: Identifying your personality strengths will help you enjoy working and live your best career life. Start with this handy, free infographic.

Q. What are your favorite biz tools/resources/apps?

A. My favourite business tool is without a doubt my Day-Timer. As I mentioned before, having systems in place is extremely important. In order to succeed in this business, knowing what works and what doesn’t can save you so much time and increase your earning potential.