My recruiter duped me into being a linguist.  He told me I wasn’t smart enough for that job, and I had to show him.  I hate languages, by the way.

So after boot camp, I arrive at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.  My commanding officer sits me down and tells me that I have a say in what language I get.  My options are Korean, Russian, Arabic, and Spanish.  He asks me to rate them 1 – 4.  Spanish, Russian, please God not Korean or Arabic.  This was the year 2000.

Next thing I know I’m taking a battery of crazy tests.  These tests evaluated how someone learns – how quickly they pick up on information.  How well they retain it, etc.  This test said that I was best suited for the Arabic and Korean languages.  Figures!

The final factor in what language I received was the “Needs of the Marine Corps.”  Turns out that this was the only one that mattered.  I became an Arabic Linguist.

I have a coaching client in Florida that had a focus problem.  He is very high-profile and as a result, he has many opportunities walk through his office door. BIG deals.  little deals.  Land.  Retail.  Office.  Hotels.  He was running around with no focus having the impact of a shotgun at 300 yards (very little, if you’re wondering).  What follows are the 3 questions I asked him and you should ask yourself.

1. What do you like?  (Please rank your language choice…) Those of you that don’t have a specialty and a focus will work on anything.  This is where you need to start.  Take out a piece of paper and list the types of deals that you like.  Don’t stop until you have at least three.
2. What are you good at?  (Please take this battery of tests…)  This is not the same question as #1.  Single Tenant Net Lease deals are hugely different from Multifamily deals.  A Convenient Store deal is way different from selling an Office building.  You need different skill sets.  Which asset verticals fit your skills?
3. Where is the deal velocity?  (Needs of the Marine Corps)  Here is where you insert reality.  You won’t make your mortgage payments by specializing in marinas in Kansas.  I don’t care if you love marinas and are the world’s most gifted underwriter of marinas.  Where are the deals happening?  This analysis is what shifted my focus to Dollar Stores.  You must find the overlap between what you like, what you are good at, and where is the deal velocity.

My client now has focus.  Instead of being a generalist in his office, he is the now THE guy for his asset vertical.  Not only is this specialty branding him and raising his presence, but he now gets to cast-off onto the other advisors in his office.  Here is his decision grid.  First, he has a minimum commission amount.  If the opportunity does not meet this threshold, he immediately refers the deal to someone else in his office.  He is loved, and he gets paid for saying no.  Second:  is the deal in his primary or secondary specialty?  If no, he refers.  But if yes, he unleashes the power of his new focus on the opportunity.  He is hitting it out of the park!

So what about you?  Do you have a laser beam focus on a specialty?  Top producers do.  “Go and do likewise…”

P.S.  There is a free book (not yours Rod!) I will send to the person who correctly identifies the movie reference of “Go and do likewise…”  Answer in the comments below!