A DAY IN THE LIFE

WELCOME

Every Day Is a Great Day

When I wake up every morning, I give myself affirmations before my feet even hit the floor. I’ll say, “My name is Glennda Baker and I only have good days.” Sometimes I’ll say, “My name is Glennda Baker and I am a woman of action.” Or, “My name is Glennda Baker and everybody’s going to be happy with me, all day and every day.”

Maybe you’ve never taken the time to speak kindly to yourself, but if you start the day by doing so, you’re going to shocked at the results. (We’ll talk more about this is my new Ask Glennda section, where I answer your questions.)

Now, let’s talk about a day in the life of Glennda Baker. Spoiler alert, it’s gonna be a great one!

THE REALITY OF REAL ESTATE

Only Good News

I like to say that if you throw me in a pile of manure, I’ll come out with a pony. The sunny side is the only side I care to see. I protect my peace by not watching cable news 24/7. If my television is on, it’s either sports or Dancing with the Stars.

That said, I would be remiss if I didn’t keep sharing all the positive news we’re seeing in the 2024 real estate market. I’m particularly pleased that Congress is stepping in with bills to address housing affordability and supply.

I’ll be even happier if Congress can pass the Bill to End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act. While hedge funds only own about 3% of all US homes, in place like Atlanta, it’s more like 28%. Not ideal.

If y’all want good news right this minute, look no further than the January Monthly Housing Market Trends report. And of course, there’s the best news of all. My heart is full, y’all. And I hope yours is, too.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Ask Glennda

Because I Am Here for You

I am happier than a pig in a puddle to tell y’all about about a new place to ask me questions, because sometimes you don’t want your personal inquiries out there on social media. I’ll answer the most common questions here and don’t worry—I’ll keep your name and location private. Just know that if you’re asking, it’s likely something everyone wants to know.

“Glennda, what’s the one thing you have to do for yourself every day?”

Great question! The one thing I make sure to do every day is to speak nicely to myself. It sounds like a small thing, but it’s really so dang big. No one talks to you more than yourself, so make sure you’re being kind and positive. This’ll change your whole outlook.

“I’m a brand-new agent, Glennda. What can I do to focus on building business every day?”

This is an easy one—talk to people about real estate. Oh, my stars, it’s never been easier to get conversations going about real estate thanks to social media, and you don’t have to sound sales-y when you do it. If you’re fresh out of the box and you’ve never talked to a buyer or a seller, ask the people in your life, “What are the three things you always wanted to know about real estate?” Then go to your camera and answer these questions and then post it.

Once you get comfortable with these answers, once you learn to speak about real estate in conversations, you’ll be surprised at all the opportunities you have in your every day life. Let’s say you’re chatting with the technician at your favorite nail salon. If they say, “How are you doing?” you can answer, “You know, I was talking to my girlfriend the other day. She says how much she loves this salon. She says she never wants to sell her house in the neighborhood because you guys do such a great job on her nails.” That opens the door to telling them you’re in real estate and you can take the conversation from there.

“Hi, Glennda! Can you please tell me, what kind of daily goals I should set?”

Your daily goals should be tied to proof of having taken action. We have proof of action when we sell a house, but that doesn’t happen every day. If that’s your only metric, you’re going to lose momentum. Your goal should include things both measurable and tangible. Like, preview houses or send postcards or make X amount of calls. These actions should move the ball down the field. Think of yourself like Patrick Mahomes—he’s just trying to get one yard, then one more, then ten yards. Every time he gets ten yards, he knows he’s going to get to the end zone. So how do you get a first down? You talk to more people who want to sell their houses.

Everyone wants real estate to be more difficult than it is. We’re literally not neurosurgeons and no one’s dying if we make a wrong move. Just do measurable, actionable things to get that first down. It’s that easy.

STORYTIME WITH GLENNDA

The first thing I do every morning is to get ready for my day the night before. I review what the next day will look like so I can prepare for it. Preparation for the next day is the magic bullet, because I have already visualized how I’m going to handle everything.

When I wake up, I jump out of bed because I’m so ready to take on the day. I get to my office early because my chair is like Clark Kent’s phone booth and it’s where I change into becoming a (real estate) superhero.

I like to knock out the easy things first, doing three things to get my momentum flowing. Maybe it’s three easy phone calls, three easy follow-ups. They’re measurable and actionable and they get the ball rolling, like how you warm up before you start to exercise. Then I talk to my team and inspire them. I find out what’s going to get the needle moving today. What are their concerns? What are they excited about? What is the end result they want? I do this every day because it’s that important.

I rely on my team as much as they rely on me. If I have to have a difficult conversation, I script it out and run it past them for their feedback. They are not afraid to challenge me, saying, “Are you sure you want to say it that way?” If I have to give someone bad news, I will absolutely have it scripted out and I will deliver that bad news first, without a lot of extra chitchat first because that leads to the best outcomes. I’ll say, “This is Glennda and I don’t have good news.” It’s best to just rip off that Band-aid.

Much as I want to be, I am not always Good News Glennda because I don’t get paid the amount I’m paid because every deal is smooth and easy. I’m paid for the results. What makes me crazy, and what most often leads to the bad news is when people don’t communicate with me. When you’re in action, you have power. In the case of bad news, I will always conduct a self-assessment, and take on that responsibility. What could I have done differently? What did I not foresee? Conquering the rough stuff is what gives us the opportunity to grow.

I wish I could give y’all a typical minute by minute overview of a typical day, but every day is different. But what is the same is the way I block off my time. First thing in the morning, I do my videos. Next, I take time for myself. After that, when I get to the office, it’s team work. The afternoons are all about working with the clients outside of the office. Then, after 4:00pm, I work on what feeds my soul, whether it’s watching my grandsons do jiu jitsu or taking a yoga class. In the evenings when I’m with my kids, then that’s all I’m doing. But if I’m not with them, then I consider myself on call if I’m just watching the game, or like on last Sunday, the Grammys. If a client has questions or, say, needs a plumber recommendation, I’m there for them.

The common thread of my day is that I am extremely efficient. If I need to pick a piece of paper off the copier, I will also go to the bathroom and get a drink. If I have to travel to Los Angeles for a speaking engagement, I’ll tie that into a meet and greet, some brokerage pop-bys, and maybe a session with my photographer. Mind you, it took me a good fifteen years in real estate to figure out how to be proactive, not reactive, but once you do, it flips the script entirely.

What I learned—and this is the most important lesson—is to be attuned to the three pillars. These pillars are, if you can control your time, your emotions, and your money, you can control anything.

Now, your assignment is to look at your day and see how you can add efficiencies, keeping these three pillars at the front of mind. Because Good News Glennda knows you have it in you!

@glenndabaker

Sweet talk is highly underrated! But it’s not just sweet talk from someone else it’s sweet talk to yourself… #G#GlenndaBakerR#RealEstateA#… See more