An Interview with Fred Sarkari

Proven Steps Brokers Can Take

To Achieve More In Their Lives and Careers

What do you mean when you say brokers must lead themselves before they can lead others?

Effective business strategies incorporate several key factors: an understanding of consumer trends; effective listening; recognizing the difference between emotion- and logic-base decisions; keeping the business energized; providing outstanding customer service; and getting referrals. Strong leadership skills are essential to effectively integrating these factors into your business.

Regardless of who we are and what we do, we’re all in leadership roles. We must learn to effectively lead ourselves before we can lead others. During busy and competitive times we often lose sight of the basics. My workshops help you focus on the core of your business and your customers, giving you the cutting edge in the marketplace.

What does leadership look like in brokers?

What sets the top 5% of brokers apart is that they have a way of thinking that is consistent through all aspects of their life. It’s this consistency that people can rely on. Our families, friends and customers will feel more comfortable and be willing to take a chance with us at a higher level when they know what to expect from us, no matter what the situation. In essence, what do your customers, family and friends think of when your name comes up? What is your “brand” in their eyes, and is it consistent in every situation or just when it’s convenient?

Everything we do on a daily basis plants a seed for our business

How can brokers use leadership to deal with increased competition in today’s industry?

Yes, there’s more competition, but there’s also more business to be captured than ever before in the history of real estate! The economy in the last couple of years has attracted an influx of competitors, but as the market balances itself out, only the strong will survive. The strong in this industry are the ones who have a vision for the long term. Everything we do on a daily basis plants a seed for our business. The question is what kind of a seed are we planting? Is it a seed that will flourish in the long term through both pleasant and harsh conditions?

When we get stressed, we start following the path of least resistance, doing what is the easiest. Unfortunately, that usually leads to immediate gratification, which is not very effective or enduring. The reality is that, yes, competition is tougher, customers are more educated, customers and co-workers expect more of us. But that doesn’t mean there’s less business. All it means is that we have to be more effective with our customers.

The truth is that our customers want to be understood by us. They need to feel we can relate to their situation, which will be different with every customer and can even change every time we make contact with our existing customers. The only way our customers will open up to us is if they feel we truly care.

One thing you focus on is commitment. How can brokers increase their level of commitment?

Imagine a groom telling his bride that he will be 99.9% committed to her. He might just as well say 2% committed! Commitment starts at 100%. Brokers may say they’re committed to their business, family and customers, but what most mean is they’re committed when it’s convenient. Commitment is not what we do once a month to better ourselves. It’s what we do on a daily basis, a way of thinking, a way of living.

Fear stands for False Emotion Appearing Real

Everyone fears failure. How can brokers turn fear into motivation?

Fear is an emotion, and not all emotions are real. Fear stands for False Emotion Appearing Real.

When our children are learning to walk, if they fail a couple of times, do we let them give up? No! We keep at it until they learn. Unfortunately, as adults we lose that most precious gift—the gift of walking. We stop walking toward what we want and just exist in life.

If you want to succeed in anything you endeavor in life, you have to be willing to fail at it first. You can’t succeed without failing. We’re conditioned from the time we’re children that failing is bad, and as soon as we have learned to link failure to something negative, we will spend the rest of our lives avoiding failure. The top 5% of brokers fear failure too. The difference is that they’re willing to do the things that the other 95% isn’t willing to do in order to get what the 95% will never achieve in life. It is important to know that the Great Leaders of our time also faced fear, but the difference is they faced their fears head on.

It’s important to distinguish between little failures along the way and ultimate failure in life. Ultimate failure is the result of not following through, not making that call, not reading that book, not taking the time with your kids, not saying I love you, not giving 100%.

How can brokers formulate meaningful goals?

British reformer and philanthropist Hannah More said, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

You’ll always end up where you’re looking. A car runs into a pole when there’s nothing else around, and the driver says, “I’m so unlucky hitting that pole. If I’d been just five feet to the other side I would have missed it.” The truth is if he’d looked five feet to the other side, he would have missed it. If you’re not fixating every single second on where you want to end up, in a split second you could lose everything.

People are as happy as they make up their minds to be

You say a positive perception influences results. How can brokers develop a positive perception in spite of day-to-day stresses and challenges?

Abraham Lincoln said, "People are as happy as they make up their minds to be." We’re a product of our environment. If I have negative thoughts, my customers and people around me will feel that negativity. Everything we do with our customers—how we answer the phone, how we hang up, what information we send, what we talk about—either changes the perception they have of us or reconfirms what they already know. Those perceptions will control their expectations.

In any situation, it’s up to you what perception you want to look at things from. You don’t develop positive perceptions, you make the decision to focus on the positive over the negative. Every situation, every person, has a positive and a negative side. When we focus our energy on the negative, we plant the seeds of negativity in our lives. If you revolve your life around positive perceptions, the choices you make will lead to desirable outcomes.

How can brokers invest in themselves to influence the success they achieve?

The top 5% are in the business of learning, the Great Leaders always re-educating themselves, reading and stretching their minds every single day. The average person only reads one book a year to expand his or her mind. Can you imagine what would happen if you invested 20 minutes a day and read one book a month? In five years you’d have read 60 books compared to just five books for the average broker. Would this make you 60 times smarter? No, due to exponential growth it would be even better than that—you’d be on your way to becoming one of the top 5%!

Life and business are very simple and predictable. We are where we are today because of the books we read and the people we associated with during the past five years. To see the truth in this, consider how scared we get when our children start reading the wrong books, and even more so, when they associate with the wrong people. We are a product of our environment just as our children are.

You say that character can be one of the most influential traits a leader can possess. How does character affect the way a broker interacts with clients and team members?

Our character is our “brand”, not only in our own hearts but in the eyes of the people around us. It’s who we are and what we stand for. We develop character by doing things that are not the easiest things to do but the right things to do. We’re emotional creatures. We’ll remember how someone made us feel 5 years ago but forget what they told us an hour ago. It’s the positive emotions we leave with our customers that will bring them back to us. When we focus on our customers and see their situation through the eyes of compassion, exponential growth will happen.

Humans have an intrinsic need to be understood

What are some tips for questioning and listening better in client interviews?

We can build the best house with the best quality products, but how effective would it be if we built it on sand? It’s the same with our customers. We can do everything right, but if they don’t feel we understand them, everything we’ve done is ineffective.

Humans have an intrinsic need to be understood. To help make this happen, you have to ask questions that elicit true responses. Ask questions that will get your customers to think again, to stretch their minds. Unfortunately, even brokers who ask the right questions don’t listen between the lines in order to understand at a deeper level. The only way to be an effective listener is to truly care. If you’re focused on getting the deal instead of focusing on how you can help your customers, you’ll never be able to understand their true needs. The key is to understand your customers at a level your competition doesn’t.

How can brokers learn to prospect and close deals more effectively?

Frank Foster said, YCSASOYA (You can’t sell anything sitting on your ass). Understand that when you prospect, you’ll get rejection. That’s just part of the game. Don’t worry about the no’s you receive, but make sure you learn from them. Ask yourself why you got a no. Could you have done something different? One of the most common problems is lack of effective communication. Are you on the same page as your customers? In order for us to effectively communicate, we need to truly understand our customers’ situation. That can only happen when we take the focus off ourselves and put it on our customers.