When I talk about “showing up” I am referring to being present in your business and really giving it your all. “Showing Up” means picking up the phone when you would rather send an email or doing an open house and connecting with people when you would rather be hiding in your office organizing your files. It is about stepping out of your comfort zone and connecting.

Believe it or not, “showing up” has nothing to do with the amount of time you put into your business. You could sit at your desk for eight hours but if all you have done during that time is send emails, scanned the MLS, poured a cup of coffee in the resource room, and chatted with the receptionist you may have put in your time, but you have not shown up. “Showing up” means putting on the show time attitude, connecting with people, and putting the best of you into your business.

I remember when I was a managing broker, managing an office with almost 80 agents. There were some agents who were in the office constantly. I assumed when I first came to the office that these were producing agents since they were in the office, ready for work. However, I was shocked to find out that some of these agents were not very productive with low sales numbers. You would have thought that all their “showing up” at the office would be paying off. But it wasn’t paying off for them because while they were putting in time they were deluding themselves that their “busy work” tasks around the office would be effective in making their phone ring. But they were not taking the extra step of “showing up” and making connections with their clients.

Then I met Sarah, a fairly new agent who was hardly ever in the office. Not only was she an agent, she was also juggling being a busy mother, wife, daughter, friend, and she even volunteered at her kids’ school. Although I hardly ever saw her, she was bringing the best of herself to her business and connecting with others. Her results clearly reflected that. She had no choice but to use her time and energy efficiently and didn’t waste with busy work. Because of how she was showing up in her business, she was one of the top agents in the office.

I remember a conversation she and I had discussing her schedule. She said she learned that her secret to success wasn’t about just putting time in your business … it was about consistently doing the things that would bring results.

If you are one of those agents who may be putting in the hours but aren’t seeing the results, take note. Many agents have discovered what Sarah has, but there are still those who struggle and tell themselves that they are working just because they are busy all day long. You may be spending way too much time on the computer, in your email, or even doing the laundry or playing with the dog at home during your best work hours.

Ask yourself if you are really bringing the BEST OF YOU to your job as CEO of your own company. A CEO’s job is to motivate employees, usually with a focus on money-making activities. As the CEO of your own company, what review and direction would you give yourself as an employee?

Chances are if your business isn’t where you want it to be, you need to be “showing up” more and putting the energy into connecting with others. If you connect well you will sell well.

If you need to take a close look at how you show up, I encourage you to write down all your activities for a week and color code everything you do for your business that includes showing up and connecting in green and code everything else in yellow. If you are not seeing a lot of green highlights, I guarantee you will not see a lot of green dollars.

Bring the best of you to the table, show up, and watch your business soar!