My professional purpose is to help you, the broker, optimize your productivity and help you become the best version of yourself. Why? Because happy brokers sell more real estate. I do that by helping you handle challenges that you face every day. If you can effectively manage situations that arise on a daily basis, you'll be more productive, live a more optimized life and, in turn, live a life with less challenges.
Today, I want to share with you some of my thoughts from a road trip back to central Nebraska to see my family for the first time since pre-Covid.
I could have flown right into Kearney (Nebraska) from Chicago but felt the need for a road trip. Does anybody else ever get the desire to get out on the open road? I've had some of my most productive mind dumps on long road trips. Did you know that driving can produce alpha brain waves, the same brain waves you get when you meditate or get lost in thought in the shower? Maybe you've noticed on a long drive that your subconscious takes the wheel for long stretches. True, that's why I opted, this time, to drive the 10 hours to my parents for the short weekend.
So here are some of the topics that I've been thinking about or have had conversations with you or your fellow brokers about over the past week:
I need to remind our agents to create a baseline spending based on normal market trends. Many of you, especially those that have been in the business for a while, have seen on average a 50% increase or more in your business and income the past 12 months. I would caution you, the market over the last 12 months has not been normal so do not "spend" or "budget" based on these numbers. Create a baseline spending budget and consider pushing any overage into savings or investments. Tom Ferry even mentioned on his blog a couple weeks ago that "agents are making more money than they ever have so they should be saving and investing more than they ever have." You may even say to yourself that whatever you make for the remainder of 2021, you would true up your tax obligations (if needed) and invest or save the rest. I know some agents are actively building or improving their "financial freedom" fund so that to prepare for a more tepid market if needed so they can pounce on opportunities that arise from more of a buyer's market. Again, I am not an economist, but I believe this market still has legs into and maybe through 2022. My caution to you is be prepared for next "down market" so you can take advantage of investment opportunities and build market share vs the agents that did not prepare. I'm not being negative, just realistic.
Who really should go in my Top 100? Team, only people that know you, like you, and trust you as their real estate broker should be in your Top 100. The goal is to create your Top 100 over about the first 5 years of your business and spend the remainder of your career strengthening it. Don't just focus on the numbers in your database, focus on the quality. The results come from quality relationships. To gain more specific insight, go back to my Take Flight course and re-listen to the "Take Off" portion that describes the database and relationship management fundamentals needed to have a predictable and enjoyable business. "Gamify" your database. I'd come over every Sunday after open houses and move my people around carefully and thoughtfully like I was playing chess.
The Lifetime Value of a client. I challenge you to take your top 2 or 3 clients and track all of the business they've done with you and all of the referrals they've sent you over your career. Do the math. What have those clients meant to you in terms of commission income? I can almost guarantee you that you will not look at your business the same way after this exercise. You will appreciate the power of "less is more" and "quality over quantity."
Create value for everyone around you. Your compensation is equal to the quality of service you provide multiplied by the number of people you are providing that value. If you cannot do it alone, it is time to scale your business. Add a licensed personal assistant first and then add Assisting Agents if needed.
Do not give up full control of these 3 things: Your finances, your database and editorial oversight of your personal brand. Full control means that you can answer basic, simple questions about your finances even if someone else handles the details. It means that you can answer simple questions about your database like "How many platinums do you currently have?" or someone makes a reference to a post you made on your Instagram and you've already reviewed it and know exactly what they are talking about despite you not being the one doing the actual posting.
Be mindful and honor where you came from but focus on being your authentic self. Essentially what I am telling you to do is live your life not someone else's. There is no right way. There is just your way. By no means do I have it all figured out. I've figured out a lot of things that I think can work for most people. I'll continue to share those ideas with you, but you need to stress test them against your values and how you want to live.
If you need a reset, take a Road Trip. Seriously, pick a destination of at least 5 or 6 hours away and do an overnight trip. You'll thank me later.
This weekend was packed spending quality time with my parents and sister. Now it's time to jump back on the road and tally those 10 hours of driving. Out of this leg of the trip, I'm sure my mind will give me some new ideas and confirm a few others.
