Yes its time for an upgrade do it now

A great piece of advice I received from a mentor a long time ago that has and continues to serve me well was “Dylan upgrade everything” . You see, like it or not we still live in a world that judges based on looks and perception. Before you even open your mouth most people have already judged you and run you through a series of what they like and don't like just based on how you look. How many people have you judged today in person, in public, photos on social media? “That persons so fat, unhealthy, I would never wear those shoes with that dress, his beard looks terrible, wow he looks grumpy, I cant believe shes with him,” etc. You guys get the point the constant “drunk money” as one of my mentors also use to say , the non stop almost “drunken” mind chatter and judging of other human beings.

Doesn't matter if you are the smartest person in the room or can provide the most amount of value your first hurdle to pass is perception, visual perception.

Good news is through awareness of this and practice you can be one of the rare humans that begins to control this chatter and opts out, you begin to let no negative thought or judgment take root and appreciate the beauty in everyone and everything, but that's an entirely different blog post and we are a long time aware from the human consciousness shifting like that on a mass scale so for now, we must play the game.

If you looked at yourself and your business right now what could use an upgrade? See by giving yourself and business an upgrade you put yourself ahead of the competition and give yourself a slight edge, several of these slight edges compounded add up to an exponential gain over your competition.  You could be losing business before you event start based on your appearance both physically and business-wise. This week I encourage you to take some time and look for areas you could upgrade yourself and your business, here are a few ideas that come to mind

Areas to consider upgrading.

Your attire, Are you the person that shows up to a meeting or walkthrough with a motivated seller in jeans, a t-shirt and baseball cap? Or are you the person dressed to impress in a suite and professional attire. Consider getting at least 1 “superhero outfit” for presentations, appointments, promotional content. When you show up in a suit and tie you automatically establish yourself as “the authority” and people have much more respect for you based on pure visual perception, it's the same reason doctors wear white lab coats. How comfortable would you feel sitting in for an annual physical with a doctor who has an overgrown beard, looks like they haven't showered in a week, is wearing a worn out t-shirt with jeans and flip flops? How seriously would you take that person. One of the best upgrades you can do is get at least 1 professional outfit for ladies a nice business suite for men a suit and tie and begin to have people take you seriously.

Your business cards: Do you have cheap flimsy free business cards from vista print or a nice professionally designed card with a thick stock. You know the difference we all have received a crappy flimsy card before and a nice well throughout designed and printed card, remember how you felt when you received each? How about this thought “ if this person cannot even afford a nice business card how are they going to buy my house cash?”

Your email address: Start treating your business like a business, get yourself a professional email. Freakie28LoveInvestments@yahoo.com does not set a good impression! You wouldn't believe how many junk emails I see in this business and yes it makes a BIG difference. Domains, emails and websites are so cheap today and easy to set up. Get yourself a good domain for $10 a year and get a @Yourbusiness email. For example Amy@rockwoodinvestments.com  I personally like Godaddy or Google Domains for emails or domains.

Your website: Does your website need any upgrade? Today it's easier than ever you can be up and running with a clean professional website with a company like WIX in 30-60 minutes. Do it.

Your social page: Does your social media page needs an upgrade, are you sending people to your personal page? Or a professional branded page for yourself or business? Do you need to go back and delete the old post of you hungover at a frat party? Or streaking through the neighborhood at 1 am? Do a search for yourself on Facebook and see what images come up? What do you need to upgrade here? Linkedin? Facebook? Instagram? Take a look and sharpen them all up. Also is all of the information updated, correct and current?

Perfume: An odd one but a good one to keep in mind, ladies and nowadays a lot more guys, bathing yourself in a strong perfume never goes in your favor that's the honest truth. This is an area that is often overlooked and a point my coach always made. Don't turn people off by smelling like mothballs or LavanderSunsetOnebeach , you get the point.Headshots: A big one for most people, coming from a real estate agent background it was very common to see agents use their headshots on business cards only to discover when you meet them in person you wondered what happened to the person on the card? Is this the same person? Because most people use their headshots from 20 years ago so they think they “look younger, better” Stop this. Get a nice new headshot for yourself every 3-5 years and upgrade your business, cards, marketing and websites with it. You can get a nice headshot done usually around $ 100, hire a professional. Don't be the person who is 50 using your high school prom photo on your marketing.

Accessories: Do you need to upgrade your accessories, how about a nice watch? Does not need to be a Rolex, I personally don't enjoy wearing accessories or jewelry however a lot of people do , especially women. Maybe it's time to have a nice set of accessories to go with your super suite to make you look just a little sharper. Men a nice watch (don't get a Rolex or a fo-lex) I actually like Shinola watches superior quality and affordable and sharp,  keep things simple sharp and not gaudy. And a nice pair of clean not worn out shoes, a nice belt, Ladies same thing maybe a nice sharp purse, necklace, earrings and bracelet set. Don't get carried away here , keep it simple, sharp , clean and fresh. Seek to buy quality that will last not “flashy” you don't need the 4-carat diamonds or the Gucci that's not what we are talking about here.

Car: If you can afford it maybe it's time to upgrade your car, as much as I am not a materialistic person myself a clean, sharp well taken care of car goes a long way when you pull up in the drive and are trying to present yourself as a “successful real estate investor” pull up in a 1995 rusted out chevy Tahoe and people start wondering “ is this the maintenance person or the investor? “ “can this person afford to buy my home?” it sad but this is the world we live in. I can still remember when I first started 17-20 years old driving a clean but very old Chevy cavalier i used to park down the block and walk to the house!  My coach told me Dylan upgrade, well I went the opposite end of the spectrum and got caught up in the material world and my next two cars were hand built Mercedes, complete waste of time and money. I personally really enjoy a nice honda accord or crv and they are very affordable, considering getting your car upgraded every 3-5 years Cars for the most part, we are not talking about collector cars here, are a rapidly depreciating asset, lease them if you can they are not an investment.

Personal grooming: Here is one that is overlooked often, take a look at yourself and consider a “spa” day, get yourself looking a little sharper with a mani, pedi, and yes men and ladies eyebrows, nose hair, ear hair,  A nice clean cut haircut that looks professional and sharp.

Personal hygiene: For some of you take a shower at least once a week! JK just wanted to provide a little distraction for you who made it this far!

Make an inventory of what you could upgrade today to make yourself and your business a little sharper then take action on it.

When you are done sharpening your perception, join me in the ultimate real estate investing course and sharpen your skills, the most critical part of success, working harder on your skills then your competition. You can get a free investor case study here when you are ready and schedule a 1 on 1 strategy call with me direct where we will sharpen your skills at https://dylan-borland.mykajabi.com/F1CaseStudy

Committed to your success

-Dylan