Want to Close More Real Estate Deals? Meditate.

Let’s face it: Stress is a profit killer.

In the US alone, businesses are losing upwards of $550 billion in lost productivity due to employee stress and disengagement.

If you think you “just don’t have time” for meditation, make no mistake: Your bottom line’s at risk. We’re about to give you the full 411 on why meditation is an integral part of every boss-level routine, plus easy ways to fit it in — even on your busiest days.

Why Every Real Estate Agent Should Meditate

Big houses, nice cars…real estate may seem glamorous to the outsider, but we know the truth: It takes damn hard work to look this good.

In her open letter to aspiring agents, Detroit realtor and founder of real estate blog, Broke Agent, Sarah D’Hondt lays it out with pure candor:

“You are your own boss. You are your own accountant. You are your own secretary, bookkeeper, appointment scheduler, customer service department, IT department, PR department…all while assisting potential clients buying or selling their homes. Try taking a vacation when you have a couple clients needing you!”

Think about how this plays out on the ground. What’s more attractive to a potential homebuyer? The agent who shows up to the viewing feeling calm and confident, or the one who runs in five minutes late, stressed out because the escrow didn’t come through on his latest listing? Confidence sells, stress repels.

But the hard truth is, building a successful real estate business is a long and emotional journey. If you’re committed to making it big, you’ve got to work as hard on yourself as you do on your business — to the point that nothing can shake you.

The (Science-Backed) Benefits of Meditation

From improving longevity, to fighting anxiety, there’s a large body of evidence on the benefits of meditation. Let’s start at the top: Your brain.

Ever heard of the lizard brain? Here’s how Seth Godin’s defines it:

“The lizard is a physical part of your brain, the pre-historic lump near the brainstem that is responsible for fear and rage and reproductive drive. Why did the chicken cross the road? Because her lizard brain told her to.”

Forget to pick up those groceries on the way home? Not sure how you messed up that client call? You can thank your lizard brain for that.

The lizard brain keeps us safe, but it also keeps us from taking the small, intentional steps (and risks) that lead to BIG results. But there’s good news. Through a concept called neuroplasticity, you can literally train your brain to embrace the less than comfortable daily actions that help you achieve next level results.

In other words, meditation is like a high intensity workout for your brain. It’s uncomfortable at first, but after a few weeks in, you will definitely see the payoff.

How to Meditate (Even When You Have Zero Time)

Like any new habit, meditation is hard in the beginning. At first, it’ll feel like just another to-do. Your mind will wander. Your hands will fidget. Power through. The more you do it, the easier it gets and the faster the benefits compound.

Set yourself up to win by choosing the type of meditation that best suits your personality and lifestyle.

Different Types of Meditation

There are hundreds of meditation techniques to choose from. We’ve hand-selected the ones that can be integrated quickly and easily, no matter how busy you are.

The workout meditation

If you’re already exercising, chances are you’re already meditating. Instead of adding another thing to your list, just bring a little more mindfulness to your workout routine.

According to meditation instructor, Eliza Mada Dalian, mindfulness, or active meditation, is the process of witnessing while being engaged in activity.

So whenever you catch yourself “doggin’ it” (as Beachbody’s Tony Horton would say), bring your intention back to your workout. Don’t let your mind wander into your daily to-do list or worry about who’s watching. Focus on your breathing and the sensations in your body and you’ll hit two birds with the same stone.

Make it mundane with the RPM method

For any new habit to be effective, it has to be consistent — and this method will make your new meditation practice feel as easy and automatic as brushing your teeth.

David Ji’s Rise, Pee, Meditate (or RPM) method makes it almost impossible to skip your daily dose of zen. RPM is as simple as it sounds, with the goal being to get your meditation in within the first 35 minutes of your day, every day.

Here’s David’s advice:

“If you want to start with five minutes of silent meditation, start there, and build on that – adding one more minute each week. Within a few weeks, you will have integrated this sweet practice into your morning flow. After 40 days, it will be a part of you. Your sleep will be more restful. You’ll find you have so much more time in the morning. And your days will unfold with greater grace and greater ease.”

Regina Davanzo is a Cali-based real estate boss who also happens to be a certified Deepak Chopra trained meditation facilitator. Regina’s been using RPM to help set her up for productive day, no matter what may come.

Tony Robbin’s 10-minute priming technique

For world-famous business coach Tony Robbins, it’s all about gratitude (that, and taking a 56-degree freezing cold plunge every morning to let your mind and body know who’s boss).

Here’s how he describes his morning brain-training routine:

“I do three things for 3 1/3 minutes each: I focus on three moments in my life that I’m grateful for, because gratitude is the antidote to the things that mess us up. You can’t be angry and grateful simultaneously. You can’t be fearful and grateful simultaneously. So, gratitude is the solution to both anger and fear, and instead of just acting grateful, I think of specific situations that I’m grateful for, little ones and big ones. I do it every single day, and I step into those moments and I feel the gratitude and the aliveness.”

Tony definitely walks the talk on this one. And in this video, he’ll help you do the same by guiding you through your very first priming session.

Focus on the person in front of you

For those of us with kids at home, it’s never hard to find an excuse not to meditate.

After years of doing the RPM method, my toddler became my alarm clock and I was no longer able to pee (let alone meditate) with the door shut.

Then it struck me, my kids ARE the meditation. There’s just no better way to de-stress than to rock out with your 3 year-old, or sit down and color (yes, color!).

Kids are an ever present opportunity to practice mindfulness while building unshakeable resilience for the increased stress that comes with parenting. Don’t have kids? No problem. Bringing your attention to whoever it is that’s standing in front of you, whether that’s your teammate, client or the Starbuck’s barrista, is a great way to develop mindfulness.

Make every morning a miracle morning

Bestselling author, Hal Elrod, is a total boss. His book, The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life… (Before 8AM), has grossed $1.7 million in sales and become a staple in the productivity canon.

In 2014, Elrod joined forces with real estate bosses, Michael J. Maher and Jay Kinder to create a special edition just for realtors, The Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents: It’s Your Time to Rise and Shine.

Full disclosure: I haven’t read this one yet. But according to an amazing review from high-octane agent, Charles Todd Botensten of Botensten Properties International, it’s definitely worth a read.

The ‘Miracle Morning’ for realtors is grounded in six key practices outlined by the acronym, SAVERS:

Silence

Affirmations

Visualizations

Exercise

Reading

Scribing (or Journaling)

Ideally, you do each one for five minutes resulting in a life-changing daily 30-minute practice. But according to Botensten’s review, it’s ok if you don’t make it through the full practice every day. You can choose one or two exercises and put your full focus behind them, even if it’s just for 60 seconds.

Botensten also recommends the volume 2 edition which includes nighttime affirmations that set you up to have a great sleep and a great day. To Botensten this was a game-changer because, “How you go to bed is how you’re going to wake up.”

Other Tools That Can Help

If you’re a tech lover, rest assured. There are a ton of apps and gadgets to help set you up with a boss-level meditation practice. Here are a few of our faves.

Headspace – Best for Everybody

This is the one you’ve probably heard of. Headspace offers a range of guided meditations from 5 to 20 minutes in length for $12.99 per month. Their website is a great resource for a deeper dive on the science of meditation.

Calm – Best for Insomniacs

This one’s similar to headspace but with a simpler design some users prefer. It has 7 and 21-day programs categorized by focus topics like anxiety, happiness and gratitude. Its sleep music and sleep stories make it the best of us who count to-do tasks instead of sheep. A monthly subscription is $12.99 per month.

10% Happier – Best for Skeptics

Still not convinced? This is the app for you. Created for skeptics, by skeptics, 10% Happier doesn’t claim to overhaul your life, just to do what its name suggests. The app features bite-sized guided meditations from the best meditation experts globally for $9.99 per month.

Insight Timer – Best for Experienced Meditators

This one has over 3,500 guided meditations and is completely free, making it the favorite among experienced meditators. You can explore a ton of different types of meditations from quick pick-me-ups to hour-long in-depth sessions. Go ahead, explore a little!

Borino’s Mind Matrix Plus – Best for Up-and-Coming Agents

This is a complete mindset shift kit for agents looking to uplevel. The system uses a combination of meditation and visualization techniques, and all of Borino’s best coaching sessions on things like call confidence and expired listings for a one-time fee of $147.

Most of these apps will integrate with your Fitbit or Mi Band and there are some new and seriously cool wearables hitting the market every day, so if that’s your style, watch this space.

(Want more? We highly recommend this list of meditation tips and tools from real estate business and life coach, Jan O’Brien.)

No more excuses

Real estate coach Tamara Dorris said it best:

“Ultimately, your real estate business depends upon your ability to manage your stress so that you can maintain the high energy this industry requires. Moreover, the mindful agent is able to seek solutions more effectively when troubled transactions do arise, as well as fend off the damages that stress produces on the body and the brain.”

At Follow Up Boss, we’re all about taking the overwhelm out of running a real estate business. You need to drop the stress and distractions so you can gun toward your results and close more deals.