The Work Behind Success: 31 Years of Professional Sales Experience

What does it truly take to succeed in real estate? During a powerful sales meeting with my team, we tackled the question of why we're selling real estate and what's blocking us from reaching our professional goals – the kind of goals that transform families and futures.

I shared my personal 28-day wine-free challenge as more than just a health experiment. It's a demonstration of commitment and leadership. After all, if I can't follow through on a personal promise to myself, how can I effectively guide others? The principle extends beyond habits into every aspect of professional life: we all possess the ability to be the solution and transform our circumstances through daily choices.

When someone commented that I "make it look easy," I had to laugh. What appears effortless now comes after three decades in professional sales – thousands of conversations, countless listing appointments, and years of consistent learning. Success in real estate isn't achieved through shortcuts or magic formulas. It demands genuine grit, strong work ethic, integrity, and persistence regardless of circumstances. I can't make calls for my team, memorize dialogues, or conduct their conversations. The only path to improvement is through consistent action.

Today's market requires extraordinary commitment. I've recently declined appealing networking events to remain in the office making calls and fulfilling commitments. These weren't easy decisions – the Entrepreneurs Club is always enjoyable – but priorities demanded focus on pressing work. True accountability means making difficult choices that align with your goals.

🎧 Key Takeaways:

• Why discipline in one area (like giving up wine) fuels confidence in others
• Why showing up matters more than natural talent
• The myth of “easy success” and why real success takes decades
• How personal accountability impacts professional performance
• Why “work works”—and how to apply that mantra to your own goals

🗣️ Quotes from Maria Quattrone:

• “If I can’t not drink wine, how am I going to lead you?”
• “I can't make the calls for you, I can't memorize the dialogue for you—you have to do the work.”
• “Work works. It always has. It always will.”
• “You are the solution. You have the power to change your life.”

📚 Resources/Topics Mentioned:

• Entrepreneur’s Club at the Union League
• MQA Sales Culture
• Real estate market demands in 2024
• Daily accountability practices

I've established minimum standards for my performance that I refuse to compromise, planning to increase them by 50% next year. This commitment has built not just a successful business but a supportive culture that functions like family. Remember the principle that's guided me for 18 years: work works. Do the work. Be the solution. You are the solution. What commitment will you make today to transform your real estate career?

Connect with Maria Quattrone:
Facebook: Maria Quattrone
Facebook Page: REMAX at Home Facebook
Facebook Page: Rise in Real Estate Facebook
LinkedIn: Maria Quattrone
YouTube: Maria Quattrone
Instagram: @maria_quattrone
TikTok: mariaquattronerealestate
Website: MQrealesate.com
Office number: 215- 607-3535

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Be the solution.
This is the journey, day 28,and we can do it for you.
Yesterday we had our salesmeeting and we talked about why
you are selling real estate andwhat is getting in your way of

(00:21):
meeting the goals that you wantfor yourself professionally.
That will change you and yourfamily's life, and we discussed
what could get in the way, whathas gotten away, why we haven't
reached the commitments that wewanted to, that we did commit to
.
And I brought up me notdrinking wine.

(00:42):
I said if I can't not drinkwine, then how the heck am I
going to lead you Meaning?
The whole experiment that I'mdoing is greater than just not
having wine.
There's a bigger reason behindit.
We all have the power to be thesolution and to change our life

(01:05):
.
We talked about the real estateindustry.
We talked about the market.
We talked after.
We talked all about ourpersonal things.
We talked about what's going onand this time is not for the
faint of heart.
We got to do the work andsomebody had said, yeah, she
makes it look so easy.
You know why I make it lookeasy?
Because it's not been threeyears, it's been 31 years of

(01:31):
being in professional sales,three decades.
How many conversations have Ihad?
How many times have I met withpeople, whether I worked with
them or not.
You meet with a lot of peoplethat you don't even work with,
but I said I can't do the workfor you, I can't make the calls

(01:51):
for you, I can't memorize thewords for you to say the only
way to get better is to do thework.
There's no way around it.
There's no magic pill, there'sno magic formula.
It's doing the work, havinggrit, a strong work, ethic,

(02:11):
integrity, humility, beinghumble, being kind and just
getting up and doing it nomatter what.
So a lot of times, what I seeis okay, well, I, I committed to
do x, but it's like five or sixo'clock and I gotta get going,
or you gotta pick, get upearlier to start your day, work

(02:35):
later at the end of the day toget the work done that is needed
.
I see it in the office.
It worked Wednesday night.
Oh, I know Entrepreneurs clubtable at the union league, which
I love going to.
You know we sit around, peoplehave drinks or not, and you have
food and you talk about it'sfor anybody that's on payroll.

(02:57):
So we talk about solutions asan entrepreneur.
But what I needed to do wasmore pressing and it trumped
that because that's fun.
It's easy to say let me go at 530.
I couldn't.
I stayed till 7 30.
Thursday same thing.
I had something to go to again,I did not go to it.
I then stayed at the office.

(03:18):
That's right.
We have dinner thursday nightand I know I'm to make a good
reservation for us to celebrate.
I sold you that parcel a fewyears ago.
It came available and now it'sfor free.
We go back to doing the workbecause there's nothing that
replaces.
Can't make the calls for you,can't learn a dialogue, can't

(03:40):
actually sit there and have theconversation for you.
You have to learn how to talkto people and, more importantly,
that you have to learn how tolisten.
And since I've done thousandsof videos, thousands of listing,
thousands when I say thousandsof listing appointments,
thousands and thousands, and youget really good because you've

(04:00):
done the work, there's nothingthat replaces it.
So can't do it for you.
You know, I wish I could do itfor you, but that was not going
to do anything for you.
Actually, it's only going tohurt you.
So what I talk about is beingthe solution.
You are the solution.
You have the power to changeyour life.

(04:22):
It's all about you and yourchoices that you make.
I could have chose to go tothose three events this week.
I chose to stay in the officeand continue making the calls.
The last 20 years Too many.
The point of this is that wehave to take responsibility and
accountability for what we wantto achieve in our life and

(04:45):
there's no excuse not to do it.
I get up early and if you can'tget up early and start your day
, then you finish later.
The market is requiring itright now.
This isn't Maria saying, oh,you have to do this, you have to
do that.
No, the market's requiring it.
I made a nice living in themonth of May and I will continue

(05:05):
to continue that on, becauseI've set a minimum standard for
myself and I will not go belowwhat that minimum standard is
and in fact, next year I'm goingto times that one and a half,
because I have things that Iwant to do.
I have people that I want tohelp and the more that I can do,
the more than I can lead mypeople to the highest level as

(05:26):
people come.
For you know, you can goanywhere and work and you can go
anywhere and make more moneythan where you are now, but the
culture that we have within ourorganization and being a family.
It took years and years, andyears for me to get to this,
because before I was like notambition, crazy ambition.
But I'm excited.

(05:47):
So let's do the work, everybody, because you know what Work
works.
I've been saying that for 18years.
Work works.
Do the work.
Be the solution.
You are the solution.
Today is day 28.
That will be four weeks no wine.
I'm getting ready, we'releaving to go to a concert and
it will be wine free, alcoholfree.
So I'm continuing the dry spellfor a bit longer.

(06:11):
I'm not sure I haven't decidedyet.
Feeling good, having a goodtime.