Mile 62 by MoxiWorks Issue 40: October 2020 | Page 34

Stay Focused. Learn from the Grasshopper.

How agents can finish strong in one of the most tumultuous years the US economy has seen for quite some time.

It’s almost the end of the year 2020. This year has been frequently described as, “unprecedented,” “unpredictable,” and “dumpster fire.”

For many markets, the spring selling season ground to a halt as the economy shut down in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Some states paused real estate transactions altogether, others pressed forward, and a continuous argument of the definition of “essential” workers ensued.

Then came summer. As many homeowners were sequestered, the itch to upsize, move out of the city, or reclaim financial wealth spurred a unique buying frenzy across the country. However, it is all too easy to become preoccupied with the current flood of business and forget that the water will recede.

December and January are not the months to plan ahead for the 2021 market. Your pipeline may be flowing smoothly now, but without consistent management, your business will dry up leaving you lost come 2021. So, how do we stay focused? Let’s learn from the grasshoppers.

There are two kinds of real estate pros in the industry currently:
ants and grasshoppers.

Sound familiar?
A well-known fable or children’s story across many cultures is The Ant and The Grasshopper. While working on this issue of MILE62, my 7-year-old nephew was sitting in my home office and working on his virtual second grade schoolwork [a sentence I never imagined I’d be writing]. As he read the story out loud to me, the parallel between the fable and our current industry predicament hit me.

Here’s a quick summary.

It’s summertime and the weather is gorgeous. A grasshopper is singing and playing in the sunshine and comes across a line of ants marching along carrying food back to their home. He says to an ant, “The weather is too pretty to be working so hard. You should take a break to enjoy it and gather food later!”

The ant responds, “There won’t be food to gather later. In the winter, we’ll have food because we prepared now and you should prepare, too!” The grasshopper shakes his head and continues singing and playing.
Winter comes, the seeds and plants are all gone, and the grasshopper is cold and hungry. He comes across the ants again and asks them, “I can’t find any food. Do you have any to spare?”

This is where interpretations vary. My nephew’s version concluded with the ants sharing food and warmth with the grasshopper and advising him that next year he should do better preparing for the winter.

However, this fable typically ends with the grasshopper dying — the consequence of not preparing for the future. That would be a little dark for 7-year-olds, I suppose.

There are amazing agents right now who are already thinking about next year. They aren’t getting distracted from their business by bright shiny objects like the current market, the national election, or over investing in lead buying. These are the ants: consistently nurturing their sphere of influence and encouraging a steady flow of buyer and seller conversations to sustain their business.

Then, there are hopelessly optimistic agents singing and dancing in the upswing of the market currently happening, especially after such a bleak start to the year — our grasshoppers. They’re enjoying the current pace of business but not preparing for the consequences of 2020’s volatile events. By not planning and nurturing conversations now, January will arrive and leave them feeling overwhelmed, lost, and lacking quality leads or opportunities.
Stay focused. Learn from the grasshopper.

Now, I kind of prefer the less morbid retelling of the story, so consider this article the version of our fable where the ants feed the cold, hungry grasshopper and advise him to change his ways. Take a moment now, before we get to the end of the year, to take stock of your strategy and keep business flowing into and throughout 2021.