Automate & Die, You're Too Old, Success in 2017 - Quick Hits: Volume 2

Quick Hits: Volume 2

Automate & Die

I’m sure many of you (like me) are always looking for ways to use your time more efficiently. To be more efficient we often look for ways to automate certain things. Take smart home products for example; why walk across the room to switch off a light off when Alexa can do it for you? Automation is great; until it’s not.

The problem with trying to be more efficient is that sometimes we lose our effectiveness. A common automation tool used in real estate are auto-response email systems. These are often built into lead capture and newsletter products. Some of this stuff is good but most of it is just plain garbage. A quick story as an example; this actually happened to me.

I was searching for an apartment and found a complex I was interested in so I picked up the phone and called. After being transferred and hung up on I decided to try the website and filled out their contact form. I immediately received an email saying “thank you, someone will be in touch within 24 hours.” Great! Well, an entire week went by and then I received three emails back to back to back. They all had a similar subject line that stated “We talked about ‘Complex’” or “Our chat about ‘Complex.’” First problem; I never spoke to anyone. Then there was the body of the email. “Hey Matt it was great speaking with you about ‘complex,’ I know I gave you some information already but here is our digital brochure as well…” Needless to say, I did not move there.

Listen, I love automation that works and delivers real value. Just be careful which automation tools you use, otherwise you might just automate yourself out of a job.

You're Too Old

Maybe you have thought this or maybe someone has said this directly to you, “you’re too old!” BULLS#*T! You are not too old.

It’s true that there are a lot of young people doing amazing things but that doesn't mean the 40, 50, 60, 70-somethings, etc. are not. Young entrepreneurs usually catch our attention because we are more amazed by the 20-year-old kid with little experience launching a successful tech company than we are by the 44-year-old experienced retailer starting one of the world’s most notable companies (Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, and Sam Walton, founder of Walmart, respectively).

There are numerous articles quoting studies that say the best entrepreneurs are in their 40s and that people over the age of 55 are twice as likely to launch a high-growth startup than people under 35 (Forbes, Time). So how does this relate to real estate? Well, the average Realtor is in his or her early 50s and our industry is obsessed with Millennials (I even did a video on Millennials and mentioned the topic in Quick Hits: Volume 1). Those two things, some say, don’t seem to go together but it doesn’t really matter. Steve Jobs may have founded Apple in his early 20s but in 2007, young people didn’t care that the CEO of the company that brought them the iPhone was 50.

Here’s my point. You only slow down, you’re only too old, you only can’t do it if that’s what you are telling yourself. You can build an amazingly strong business at any age if you want and are willing to put in the hard work. And the next time a “young person” amazes you with their knowledge of technology, ask them how many hours a day they spend using that technology. If you spent the same amount of time using it, you’d be a wizard too.

Success in 2017

The new year is just around the corner and if you haven’t started to think about you plan for 2017, time to get started. If you missed the video from last week, watch it here. Planning for success is easier than you think.

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin