Recovery Means Far More Than You Probably Thought

by | May 9, 2020 | Dealmakers

I’ve never been much of a wrestling fan, but I want to tell you about a wrestling legend whose experiences will help you excel as a real estate broker.

Dan Gable was born in 1948 and grew up in small-town Iowa. He never lost a single match in high school. At Iowa State University, he was a three-time All-American and compiled a record of 118-1, never losing until the final match of his senior year. He went on to win a gold medal in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

He became head wresting coach at the University of Iowa in 1976 and led the team to 16 NCAA national championships and 21 Big Ten Conference championships. Such a run of dominance is extraordinarily rare in the history of athletic competition.

I heard Gable speak at a commercial real estate conference several years ago. It was an entertaining presentation but also quite motivational.

One thing in particular stood out to me. It was the five “R’s” of success that Gable often repeated to his athletes and assistant coaches: “Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic, wRestling and Recovery.”

The first four “R’s” make sense, but what is “recovery?”

When Gable competed as an athlete, he trained and practiced incredibly hard. Some might have even accused him of “over-training.” But his super-human workouts never wore him out. They never left him too exhausted to practice at full speed the next day.

The reason for his resiliency was his belief in recovery. At the end of each practice, he had a strict routine – stretching, ice, sauna, steam room, massage and mental relaxation. He never cheated himself by skipping this critical recovery period.

Many of his fellow wrestlers would pack up and leave as soon as practice was done but not Gable. He considered recovery to be just as important as the practice and workout. When he became a coach, he demanded his athletes be just as committed to the art of recovery. This allowed his teams to exhibit unmatched stamina.

Gable told the assembled real estate pros that “recovery” was important in their profession too. It should be a part of every professional’s routine.

What does “recovery” mean in the non-sports world?

Recovery is necessary for ambitious achievers who want to make it to the top and perhaps even more important for people at the top who want to stay there. Reserve time for your recovery and be deliberate about it. Recovery isn’t something you’re supposed to rush through half-heartedly. Gable believes recovery should be a full hour at the end of the day. That’s difficult, when you’re busy, but the results speak for themselves.

Over the past couple weeks, I have heard the word “recovery” quite frequently as we start to recover from the coronavirus-related shutdown of the economy. Just as Gable is deliberate about recovery in his life and career, you will benefit by being deliberate about recovering your CRE practice.

How do we do that? Review your 2020 goals and adjust your plan of action to maximize your success during the second half of the year. Determine if there are new prospective clients you should target and learn all about them. Get yourself in the right frame of mind – being positive/optimistic is necessary to succeed after an economic crisis.

And be prepared to work really hard and be extra dedicated. I watched a video in which sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer discussed the best way to recover from the economic shutdown. He advises people wake up early in the morning, before anyone else is up and spend time reading, writing and preparing. This allows you to think and then create ideas that lead to success.

“Think about who you are, what you want to become and then work your ass off,” Gitomer said.

Successful recovery means you also make yourself better. Use this time to grow and develop.

Many companies are using my new Dealmakers virtual sales training program by having each broker go through all the modules during this crisis. That way they become better at finding new clients and closing deals during this period of uncertainty and set themselves up to come back strong this summer.

Brokers can easily complete the program individually while they’re stuck at home.

This program is literally only $99 a month for your whole office — all of your agents can use one membership. That makes this CRE training shockingly cost effective.

Sign up right away and start completing the commercial real estate sales lessons as early as today!

For a list of the course modules and descriptions, click HERE.

Jeff Beals helps you find better prospects, close more deals and capture greater market share. He is an international award-winning author, sought-after keynote speaker, and accomplished sales consultant. He delivers compelling speeches and sales-training workshops worldwide. He has spoken in 6 countries and 41 states. A frequent media guest, Jeff has been featured in Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, Men’s Health, Chicago Tribune and The New York Times.