In part two of our interview with Ferrara, theprofessional philosopher, executive coach, and leadership trainer explores the essential personal and professional habits fora fulfilling real estate career
Photo by Planomatic
GSIR: You recently held a training exclusively for Gibson SIR agents, where you taught criticaltechniques to supercharging their business. From all that our agents learned from you thatday, what one lesson do you hope they take away?
MF: The agents I worked with grew especially excited when I reminded them of their role as marketleaders. As market leaders, they have two important functions: leading their buyers and sellers,and serving as community leaders for the real estate industry itself. On a local, national andglobal scale, the real estate industry looks toward our agents as trailblazers of our communities.Gibson SIR'sagents are in the position to positively influence this business and help the entire industrybe properly perceived for the good it brings to peoples lives. One of the philosophies I teach isthat making money is easy, being a successful dealmaker is relatively easy, but becoming aleaderusing ones career to generate positivity for the entire industryis what sets you apartfrom the rest. Agents must ask themselves, How can I help improve the industry? rather thansolely, How can I help improve my business and my company alone?
GSIR: Are there better ways to grow than solely focusing on how to achieve more business?
MF: Absolutely. The difference between high-performing firms and others is that they understandthere isnt one secret to success and they dont simply copy their competitors. Growth can beexciting and is a measure of validation for our ideas. However, firms that dont carefullyconceptualize their growth plan first may run into unexpected problems. They may end up in aposition where they dont like how fast they have grown, or individual agents may lose precioustime with family or sacrifice their health as a result of growth at any cost. Instead, firms shouldfirst consider how any idea, system or tool for growth applies to their unique mission andpurpose, and maintain an unrelenting ambition to do what they think benefits their agents andstaff.
Matthew Ferrara is a professional philosopher, keynote speaker, executive coach, and leadership trainer who has served as a speaker and advisor to salespeople, managers and executives across the globe. This year, Matthew joined the Gibson SIR family as the in-house thinker for strategy, connecting the dots between disciplines and applying creative and critical thinking to the personal and professional lives of our agents and staff. Today, Matthew delivers keynotes, workshops, and retreats in multiple languages for professionals in real estate, sales, marketing, technology, and product organizations. Atwo-time cancer survivor, he has discovered that the most important thing in life is doing noble workgiving his audiences a chance to express their deep inner beliefs through their careers. To learn more about Matthew, visit www.matthewferrara.com.
Stay tuned for Part III of our exclusive interview with Ferraraas he provides insight into carefully and ethically managing company growth and development. . .
