Habits of High Achievers

00:28 – Welcome to the Arch MI Podcast! Our host, Blaine Rada, is here to share some perspective, primarily in the world of sales as it relates to mortgage lending, where he has spent the last 30 years of his career. But Blaine’s advice is fairly universal, as he is focused on helping you create separation and differentiation in the marketplace – it’s a crowded place out there with so many varied choices for customers to choose from, so find a way to stand out! Blaine is a “high content” speaker, packing in a lot of information in a short time for you to listen (and re-listen) to.

2:34 – Blaine always starts by sharing his worldview on sales: Selling is not about getting the sale. Rather, Blaine’s approach to sales is figuring out if you are the best fit for the customer, and with that, you’ll find you have plenty of sales. If your motivation is to serve others, rather than yourself, your customers will sense that and want to work with you.

3:22 – Today, we’re going to talk about some habits of high achievers, especially focusing on those in the mortgage industry. Blaine defines a high achiever as someone who does two things: 1) A high achiever will do an incredible amount of business, and 2) a high achiever will have very high rates of customer satisfaction. Blaine is going to explore six habits, or disciplines, of these high achievers.

6:49 – The first high achiever habit is to know your intention. What does intention mean? It is your why; it is your reason and motivation. High achievers know why they are in this business, why they choose the activities they do, why they invest their time and money they way they do – they are not doing things out of routine, but with a defined reason. It can be challenging to develop intention and it takes work to develop this discipline. 

11:38 – High achiever habit #2 is to pay attention and focus.This sounds easy, but do we really do this anymore? The world is so full of distractions and we are so surrounded by screens (looking at you, smartphones) that really paying attention is a challenge now. Blaine recommends picking up the book How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price, which can help you figure out a smartphone detox program for yourself because nomophobia is now a real diagnosis. When you truly pay attention to a person, a task, or a conversation, you can really make a positive and meaningful impact in your business and relationships.

18:17 – Trait #3 of high achievers is to set realistic expectations. In Blaine’s opinion, setting expectations is one of the most important things you can do, especially when you’re getting started in business with someone, because it lays out exactly what you plan to do to meet the customer’s needs. This can help with customer satisfaction, in which Blaine identifies three different levels. The most basic level of customer happiness is when they are just satisfied; the second level is to impress someone, so they will refer you and speak highly of their experience; the highest level of satisfaction is when you amaze people by anticipating their expectations and needs.

21:45 – The #4 characteristic of high achievers is to be specific. Giving clear and straightforward ideas, directions, and details means that you can be held accountable to deliver but also build trust with your customers. Remember to be specific about your competitive advantages that are not price and product: focus on customer experience, your reputation, your company values. 

25:08 – High achiever trait #5 is don’t just contact; connect.This can be challenging because it takes time to really connect with someone. Contact isn’t very meaningful, but to connect with someone is to make it personal.

28:08 – Last but not least, the final high achiever habit is to balance efficiency with effectiveness. This can be challenging because there is sometimes tension between being efficient and being effective. We have to make conscious choices to choose one over the other, depending on the situation, the timing, and what needs to be done. We are an efficiency-driven society so making sure you are balancing effectiveness is equally important and will make you stand out.

31:40 – Blaine recaps the six habits and traits of high achievers to be mindful of and put into practice. None of these habits are easy, but they are possible!

33:20 – Blaine wraps up with a call to action for his listeners. First, take a step! Take something that you learned today and implement it, make it useful in your own life and work. Second, tell a friend! Share the good ideas, share the podcast. Third, talk with us at Arch MI! We’re interested in helping you do more and better business, and we’re here to listen to you. We also want to hear your thoughts and feedback about the podcast, any suggestions you have, and what you want to hear next!