It’s Not Murphy’s Law
I started noticing a weird thing early in my real estate career. I had initially thought of it as Murphy’s law: that anything that could go wrong would go wrong.
Truth be told, it wasn’t that something was going wrong at all, though. It was quite the opposite: every time I went on vacation, the phone would mysteriously ring and I’d put deal after deal together. A one million dollar sale in Long Island City coalesced while walking down the beach in Aruba. I locked down a three million dollar condo transaction while strolling down the sidewalk in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Or the biggest sale of my career at the time—a $10 million dollar penthouse—I secured in the middle of my family’s RV trip, taking my buyers from zero to signed contracts over the course of a week (Yes, not every New Yorker will drive an RV, but I know a few who will, myself included).
As time went on, I adopted a more humorous tone. “Go on vacation,” I’d tell my agents. “You’ll close more business.”
Yet something lurked underneath my jokes. I couldn’t understand why this was happening. It wasn’t Murphy’s Law. And as I grew to expect these bursts of business, I also grew a little frustrated. I wanted to take an actual vacation, right? I needed to step away from my cell phone, and my email, if I were going to recharge my own battery.
So I had to understand what was actually going on. That exploration took more than two decades to unpack, but I finally got to the heart of it.
Oh Really?
I don’t want you to think that I figured this out and that I’m just pointing out what everyone else does wrong. That’s not true at all. This problem is an ongoing thing that everyone struggles with. I probably wrestle with these issues more than many of you.
To be clear, this is hot-off-the-presses information. So I should, and will, call myself out and all my hilarious missteps over my career. In my normal workweek, I’ve always let myself get distracted. I take on too much. I go in a million directions, and when I find dead horses, I just continue to beat them. I try to do too many things, things that if I were just to slow down for a second, I’d realize that weren’t helpful to my business growth. Are they all missteps? Probably not. Maybe 10-20% of my actions are helpful. But a much higher percentage is almost certainly counterproductive.
Every salesperson knows what this looks like, too: chasing potential customers who have no potential. Zooming in on vanity metrics like how many people like or comment on social media posts. Trying to do the latest thing that every other salesperson is doing, instead of focusing on what they already do best with their marketing. Or being too available for every current client or every deal in process.
I’m not immune from these issues, either. Except when I go on vacation.
Vacation time demands that if you take a business call or send an email or do anything away from your trip, you focus only on what matters, and nothing else.
What happens on vacation for me? I start saying no more often. I push off silly calls that end up being unnecessary later. I ignore solicitations that I sense would have been a waste of time. I delegate more effectively to my amazing team members. I trust the people in my business more and empower them to take care of things—because there’s no other option.
It goes even deeper. I’m more relaxed on my calls with everyone. The sun is shining, or the slopes are gleaming. Or the radio is blasting great tunes. I am grateful to the extreme. And that gratitude shines through every interaction. I am reminded that I care about my clients, my loved ones, and I’ll even go as far to say even strangers matter to me.
When you’re in that mindset, you’re listening on a higher level. You’re connecting with your clients intuitively. You know exactly what to say and when to be quiet. You’re present. That’s why salespeople close more deals on vacation. It’s easier to be present.
The Big Question
I had been patting myself on the back for this discovery. But then a bigger question jumped out: how do you leverage this insight when you’re not on vacation? Because you can’t be away all the time.
How do you say no more often? How do you delegate more when you think you have time to handle things yourself? How do you slow down enough to walk down the street each day and have more gratitude? How do you stay relaxed and present for every interaction, instead of rushing along in your head to whatever meeting is next?
The answer seems simple: if the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain. Bring your vacation vibes into your everyday life. But doing that? Not so easy.
Be honest with yourself. Will you need to hire new people you trust more? How will you stay relaxed? Less caffeine, more meditation or exercise? Can you create better boundaries, and successfully battle with that voice in your head that worries about what your clients might think if you’re less available? Would it give your New Year’s resolutions more power if you knew why you were making them?
These are the questions I’m contending with. I know the answers that work for me. What will you do about it for yourself and your business? This is the challenge for every salesperson. Tackle it, and you won’t need another vacation to close more business. You’ll get to enjoy breaks for what they should be.
Scott Harris is a veteran real estate agent and the founder of boutique New York City real estate firm Magnetic, and the author of new book The Pursuit of Home: A Real Estate Guide to Achieving the American Dream (Matt Holt Books), available now. Pick up your own copy today!
