Mega Achievement Productivity Systems (MAPS) Coaching vice president Monica Reynolds has seen it all. A real estate veteran with 40 years of industry experience and 25 years in coaching, Reynolds has built her own mega agent real estate business – which led to her being the keynote speaker of the first-ever Family Reunion event, in Houston. In leading MAPS, her vision is clear: “I came to change the world of coaching. I want to have the best coaches, and I want to deliver the best coaching and training possible in the industry,” Reynolds says. “Our mission is to alter human trajectory and change lives. Our vision is for clients to achieve their goals and fulfill their dreams.”
As a service, MAPS Coaching is for everyone. The offerings include Mastery, Breakthrough, Performance, Technology, Leadership, Life, and Group tracks, which build upon the Keller Williams models and systems and help agents reach new heights, whatever that may look like for their individual businesses. Most recently, with Life coaching, all Keller Williams associates can benefit from a holistic coaching approach, whether they are looking for help with health, parenting, finding joy, or anything in between.
While coaching is a highly personalized experience, Reynolds shares, there are a few universal themes that, when addressed, are sure to put you on the path to success. Here, the leader shares the adjustments you should consider making as soon as possible.
Read more: Be on Your Way to Doubling Your Business and Shifting Your Mindset With KW MAPS Coaching
Five Coaching Tips From Monica Reynolds
- Your first step? Make the commitment. Throughout the years, Reynolds shares, one of the most important words that agents historically have not loved to hear is ‘commitment.’ Yet, being ferociously committed is the stepping-stone toward having a big business and life. “The first thing agents want to do is double their income and work less. Well, sign me up too!” Reynolds says. “Everyone wants to get into the fast lane, and you have to pay the tollbooth.”
What does that look like in practice? It looks like committing to a schedule, committing to the goal, and committing to the activities to achieve the goal. So, take a look at your goals. What nonnegotiable, dollar-producing activities can help you achieve them? Is it increasing your lead generation? Connecting and managing your database? Is it setting a schedule that supports your goal? Is there a missing person in your business that would allow you to achieve your goal?
- Think holistically. In a world that constantly bombards with the message that you can do it all and have it all, it is important to understand and embrace the fact that you are not going to be in balance every day. “Somebody, or something, is going to take you out of balance, and you’re going to have to learn to be OK with that,” shares Reynolds. “You need to have a recovery system that gets you back on track, and makes up for those activities that you committed to doing to reach your goal. You will eliminate the feeling of guilt if you consciously do the activities, even if it is at a later time.”
Reynolds shares that it is important to look at your life holistically, and know what your nonnegotiables are. What are you doing to take care of yourself spiritually? What about your physical health, such as exercise and food? What about your relationships?
Reynolds shares the example of relationships. “Date nights, supporting a significant other, play dates with your kids … those are nonnegotiables,” she says. “When you commit to these things in a schedule, you feel more in balance. And, when you occasionally fall out of balance and cannot control it, you do your best to get back on track and you ask for forgiveness.”
- Focus on relationships. Time is precious. In addition to family, consider taking the time to nurture additional relationships that contribute to your happiness. There are three groups of people you can enrich your life with. These are: people you have fun with, people you make money with, and people you may learn from. “Who are the five special people in your world? Who do you touch base with on a regular basis? It is critical that you keep those relationships close, so choose wisely,” says Reynolds. As an example, she shares her own commitment to nurturing a relationship with a best friend of 50+ years. “We would talk every Saturday at 9:30. We haven’t missed a Saturday.” Reynolds lost her friend last year, and she shares, she is thankful to have had that time together. “Ask yourself, if someone were to disappear, would you have any regrets? Who are the key people in your life and what are you doing to reach out to them? Those things keep you in balance.”
- Embrace leverage. It is no secret that the first foundation of your business is your database. But a second, more overlooked aspect of business growth is leverage. In this case, leverage means creating and allocating resources in a way that improves efficiency and promotes growth. And, it does not always have to be directly within your business in order to have an impact on your business. “I’ve started with agents where we look at having someone to clean their house once a week. It can be someone helping with your child, or someone helping with your house work, or delivering groceries.”
In her own business, leverage made all the difference for Reynolds. When she started out in the industry, as a single mother raising three children, Reynolds was working with 55 transactions. When a friend predicted that her business would explode and suggested leverage, she begrudgingly agreed to hire an assistant for a trial period. “Within the month my business exploded, and I brought in 110 deals the next year,” she says. Reynolds figured out the perfect system – she would focus on being the great salesperson she is, and her licensed assistant would handle contracts, marketing, database, and non-dollar-producing day-to-day activities. “I became extremely efficient. I was like the dragon slayer.”
If you are figuring out leverage in your own business, consider this exercise: “Go back to your schedule, and put a dollar sign next to anything that is going to make you money: lead generation, lead follow-up, appointments, role playing, and writing and negotiating contracts. How many dollar signs do you have? How many dollar signs do you have in your schedule today? Those are the important things to achieve your goal. Everything else is just stuff.”
- Be proactive. You’ve thought about the five special people in your life. Now, it is time to think about your five main sources of business. “Agents will have 20-30 sources of business, and that’s nuts. You can’t do any of them well,” Reynolds says. So, take some time to zero in on your main sources, and maximize them. To find your most profitable sources, look at your monetary and time investments and the return on those investments, and commit to focusing on those sources for six months or longer in order to see true results.
“Whether your sources are past clients, your sphere of influence, or others, the key is being proactive to create business, not reactive,” she shares. “Reactive is the fun part of the business, and the dessert: Your website, your mailings, your postcards, your videos. Instead, what would your business and schedule look like if you have dollar signs on 80% of your day? What would your life look like if you had leverage and only did the things you love about being a real estate agent?
“Being a real estate agent is the most amazing, well-kept career secret,” Reynolds says. “You can have the life you want, the income you want, achieve all your dreams, and love your life every minute of the day. It’s up to you to create your Life by Design. Go get it!”
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What aspects of your business and life are you working on improving? What has helped you reach a higher level in your endeavors? Let us know in the comment section below.
