Adapt or Face Extinction … What’s It Going to Be?

Goood Morning!

My 7 year old son Steven asked me an interesting question the other night … He said to me, “Daddy, why are cockroaches still roaming the Earth, while dinosaurs like the T-Rex are extinct …”

I paused for a moment, looked at my wife Kathy and smiled, collected my thoughts and said, as any father would when you get thrown a curveball like that around the dinner table …”Great question … let’s go Google it and see what we find.” I let out a sigh of relief when he and my other son Michael ran into the office and turned on the computer.

We spent some time researching this topic … and from all from all of the information we could find, we were able to distill the answer down to a very simple, age-appropriate answer …

I said, “Guys, it looks like the cockroach has learned to adapt to the changing environment, while the dinosaurs did not. Therefore, we still have cockroaches and we have to visit dinosaurs at the museum.”

With that, the boys looked at me and smiled and went off to finish their homework, satisfied that, “Daddy can figure anything out.”

Whew! … If you’re a parent, you know the feeling!

But you know, that question and the answer- adapt or become extinct -got me really thinking about the real estate business we’re all in.

If you’re not adapting to this new economy, you may be coming extinct!

So what’s it going to be???

I remember reading an article last month while we were traveling during the holidays about the cell phone company Nokia. Very interesting article about just that … adaptation or extinction.

Nokia started in Finland in 1865 as a small lumber company and adapted to become one of the largest global telecommunications leaders, with more that 2,000,000,000 users. They adapted to their environment, merged with a cable and rubber company, which resulted into their growth in the mobile communication sector. In the 90’s while companies like Motorola were focusing on analog technologies, Nokia adapted with the market and moved to digital … which created huge growth and led to the company becoming a world leader in technology.

And you know when you start to think about it, Nokia’s not the only business story out there like this … Why did Westinghouse fail and GE make it? Remember that RCA faded and Sony took over the market? Circuit City filed bankruptcy while Best Buy is the go-to place for gadgets!!! Now, I’m not an analyst (just a Real Estate coach), but I think it’s safe to say that these surviving companies adapted to their clients and the economy, while the ones who failed did not.

One of my great coaching client teams in La Jolla, California reminds me of “great real estate agents who adapted and won … big time!”

Both agents were working in the early 90’s in San Diego. Business was “ok” but not great. We looked at how they could 100% take-over the marketplace and we all decided that they would need to adapt and change to the needs of the new consumer. These ladies moved into a high-end market, re-branded their image, became the leader in the area using web-based technologies and innovation and completely created a new vision for their business. They quickly became #1 in La Jolla, then #1 in San Diego and then onto #1 in the nation for Prudential two years, and have been consistently been in the top 10!!! Pretty exciting, right! This team knew they need to adapt in order to succeed. It was that simple.

Now adapting isn’t always easy, but it’s the only option we have unless we want to leave the business.

In the times we are in right now, I truly believe the agents, who start to speed up, get some new training, embrace innovation, and make the right changes will win. In this market, there is the unique chance for some of you to step up, stand out and make your business all that you want it to be!!!

The only question is …

So what’s it going to be? Adapt or Extinction. It’s your call!

“I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” – Thomas Edison

Passion Rules!

Tom Ferry

www.yourcoach.com

(888)866-3377

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