Developing a strong mental flexibility and discipline is a very personal and delicate process that requires a personal touch, assessment and time. We have found that it is very important and we will share with you keys to developing a strong mindset, an eye to sort out opportunities, how to overcome challenges, and much more. We hope that this will give you a chance to see for yourself how important your state of mind is in any aspect of your life.
Developing a strong mindset will open your minds to explore the art of mind feeding and daily mental exercises. By applying the mental skills that you learn to your everyday life, it will lead you to deeper connections, success, and allow you to Make More and Work Less.
Expose Constant Value
One of the most important words that one will need to engrain into their brains is the word “VALUE”. If the word “location” is the magic word for real estate then the word “value” is that magic word for one to Make More and Work Less. Every successful business, company, individual, product, etc. has one main thing in common…they all add value to those to use it, buy from it, and learn from it.
When you think of APPLE, the value that they added was convenience, time, and innovation. When it comes to sports, the value they add is excitement, entertainment, and fellowship. What value do you add? And how do you add value?
What is in it for me?
One way of adding value is always asking “What is in it for me?”, from your listener’s point of view, the answer to that question will always be something that will be beneficial to them. As long as you are constantly thinking about what value you can provide your listener, then there will always be something that is “in it” for them. Whether it is information that you have, knowledge, contacts, a product, services etc. if you are able to position your assets as value to your counterpart, then they will be engaged.
Once you are adding a lot of value to other people, they will, in turn, add value to you. We generally feel that if we get something from someone we must, in turn, provide something of equal value or greater to that person. When all parties are involved with adding value to each other better connections are made, stronger relationships are formed, and individuals are listening more intently.
When we speaking to someone, we need to listen understand what they are looking for or what is important for them. Again…What is in it for them? We can go on and on about all the features that our services offer, all the features that our products offer, and why someone should work with us or buy our product, but if all that talk adds no value to your listener then we are just wasting our time.
Imagine a car sales person who is constantly focusing on how the car is a sports edition with a moon roof, heated seats, and a handsfree stereo system, but all you really care about is the safety and the fuel economy of the car would you be enticed to by the car? What if the sales person first asked you what was important, got to know you a little, and what your lifestyle was like, and then started focusing on how safe and economic the car is, wouldn’t you feel a little more cared for? Then they can say that as an aside that the car is a sports edition with a moon roof. What if they went beyond and said that you can save on gas and power without needed to use air conditioning all the time by using the moon roof, which also reduces the noise and dust distractions that opening a window would have? By framing the features in a “what’s in it for me” benefit position from the listener’s perspective, the perceived value is increased dramatically.
More Value Equals More Opportunities
As a business strategist and real estate coach, I always love the opportunity to add value and impact as many people as I can and as often as I can. Whether I am speaking to a large audience, talking to tenants, or chatting with high net worth individuals, I am always searching for opportunities to add value.
A few years ago, I had a tenant who was struggling to keep up with rent and also struggling to find a higher paying job. This is a tenant who I really wanted to keep, they have been very good with my property, been with me for over 2 years, rented from me at another location for 5 years before moving to the current location, and was always good with rent and adjacent neighbors. They also had a son who was a very good kid and looking to get into the working world. I asked myself, how can I keep this tenant and provide an opportunity of value to my tenant that would benefit everyone? The property that they were renting in had a basement suite and 3 bedrooms on the main floor. Then it dawned on me, what if I convert my tenant into a potential partner with enormous upside? What I proposed is the following: What if my tenants (mom and son), moves into the basement suite and then convert the main floor into an Airbnb! My tenant and her son will be the ones to manage and run the Airbnb. Any profits above what I would charge for rent will then be split 50/50. Assuming that this goes well, they can potentially become my Airbnb partners for other properties that I have. This would be an opportunity for her and her son to develop new skills and a new business for themselves, all while I still benefit from a tenant that I trust.
Another example of how I love adding value is with one of my real estate clients. At the time, they were sick of paying rent and were hoping to buy their own home in 3-5 years. After a conversation with us, looking at their numbers, and having them start their conversations with our mortgage broker, we realized that they could actually buy a property now! All they were missing was a portion of the down payment. So, then we asked ourselves, how can we help them make this happened? Being involved with different investments strategies, we realized that we were able to become their money lender! We funded the rest of their down payment with a short-term loan for an interest rate that is competitive with other lending rates. After 3 months they bought their first home. The beauty of the home that they bought, is that we were also able to show them how they could convert it into a rental so that their monthly payments can be offset by about half. They were practically living in their own home for half the monthly cost (by renting the basement to a close friend) and became home owners 3 years earlier than planned. By adding value to them, we in turn were making money on the loan that was used to help their process. Fast forward 3 years, the family is thinking of buying some farm land, with aspirations of become business owners themselves. In fact, their kids are now working for us maintaining our rental property lawns! More value, more opportunities.
The more value you add, the stronger relationships are built, and in turn the more opportunities come to fruition. When looking to connect with highly credible individuals, we ask the question what is important to them and what can we do to add value to them. Over the years we have been known to send ‘thank you’ gifts to people we wanted to connect to and get to know. People from multi-millionaires, to Olympic champions, to celebrities, were people who we sent gift cards to, personalized gifts to, and commented on social media about, to build a relationship. Depending on who they are we have offered to interview them on our podcast show and promote their expertise. By adding value to them, opportunities to connect with even more people open up.
Constantly Add Value and Get Exposure
A great way to build your credibly, your brand, and exposure is to constantly add value. If you are an individual that adds value without looking for something in return, you will become an individual who people want to know. The more value you add for free the more likely people want to get associated with you. People will share your social media posts, recommend people to connect with you, or simply connect with you to get to know you better. Constantly providing a lot of free value also presents the perception of: “Wow…this person is offering so much value for free, can you imagine how much value you will get when you are actually working with or hiring this person?”
Tell me if this sounds familiar, you open up your Facebook and LinkedIn and you see a message waiting for you. You open up the message and you see: “I am a graphic artist and SEO expert. Do you have a project for me to work on?” or “Thank you so much for joining our upcoming webinar! Just click on the link below and save your seat!” Sound familiar? Did you hire that expert? Did you sign up to that webinar? Probably not. You must have been thinking: “I don’t even know you…why would I hire you.” And “I didn’t sign up so why are you Thanking me?” The issue is that many of these people are going right to the sale without building a relationship, offering value, or understand what their listener would benefit from. Therefore, no further conversation will exist. Recently, we reached out to an individual to build a connection. We sent the following message “Hello, it is nice to connect with you. I am always interested in chatting with successful individuals like yourself and would love to add value to you. Would you be open to a zoom call to get to know each other?” To my surprise, I received a reply saying: “Why? What do you want to know?” After reiterating how all I wanted was to know what they are looking for, what they do, and how I can add value to them, so that if I was to encounter someone who was looking for XYZ, then I can say “you need to connect with “name of person”. I received the following: “Wow! No one has ever asked me that, they usually start by trying to sell me something. Sure! Let’s chat!”
It’s obvious that we are all looking to Make More and Work Less and to do so we need to stop constantly “selling” people what features we offer, but to add value where ever we can. By adding value, relationships get built, and the clients will come as a result.
Until next time, today is the day to unlock your potential. I’ll see You later.
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