Are you the constant multi-tasking type of real estate agent that does too many things and just doesn’t do any of them well? Are you feeling like your real estate career is a treadmill you just can’t get off? Like myself constantly falling into the common trap of trying to be all things to all people.
We all have the tendency to do too many things and not do any of them well because of having little time or little focus. Why can’t we focus on a few high impact activities and do them with excellence? Why do we feel to be productive we have to do more than we can, even at the cost of poor execution?
Most of us not only do too many things and tend not to do them well but we also do them over long periods of time until we finally burn out and quit doing them all together. The real estate business does not have to be a marathon but can be a series of well executed sprints. I know in my own career after a six week period I often began to really not enjoy people.
Now in the real estate business (just so you know), this is not a good thing and could become very destructive and costly. Take the time to think what six… and only six activities you do in your real estate business that give you the most energy. What specific activities energize you and your business? Not just energize you and your business but have the biggest impact and return on investment. Once you have determined your top six activities you commit to them for the next 6 weeks.
Giving you a 6 by 6 plan. 6 energizing activities over a 6 week period and then walk away, rest and regroup for your next 6 by 6. How many of us could handle six high impact, energizing activities over a six week period. Instead of 52 or more activities over a 52 week period? What would that mean for your energy levels? Your production levels? Your overall effectiveness in your business and personal life?
My 6 By 6 Recommendations In 2022
1.) See the people – make appointments to visit past and current clients and give them the gift of your time over the next six weeks.
2.) Business Plan – take the time to see where you have come from and where you are going. You can’t improve something you don’t measure.
3.) Goal Setting – What’s your why? Set new sails for 2022.
4.) Give back – this is a great time of year to help others and to make a difference. It makes you feel good.
5.) Rebrand – time for a new photo, logo, slogan? a whole new look?
6.) Family and Fun – enjoy some time with people you care about the most. It can’t always be about work.
So their you have it. What’s your 6 by 6 going to be. Take the time to journal them and meditate on them and really try to nail things down with less being more in your work and in your life. I dare you!!
One of the greatest benefits of becoming a real estate agent is financial freedom and an unlimited income opportunity. However, the downside to this freedom is that it leads to undisciplined spending. The early years of my career I read and studied all I could about financial management and wealth building and this week I want to share the top ten financial independence tips that helped me personally and know will help you about saving for retirement, how to start accumulating your wealth, and how to have the right mindset when it comes to your finances.
1.Pay Yourself First – First on our list of financial independence tips is to pay yourself first. But this doesn’t mean buying material items. Instead, it means putting your money into a savings plan. You need to think of saving as paying yourself. Most people tend to spend their money every month, and then they don’t have anything left over to save. You have to watch the flow of your money. Otherwise, you’re going to lose it. Start saving now, and save as much as possible. Start out by putting 10% of your income into a long-term savings plan. Every bit you save goes towards paying yourself in the future.
2.Continually Seek to Increase Your Savings Rate. – Even as a real estate agent you should calculate your dollar-per-hour wage. Take how much you earned last year or plan to earn this year, and divide it by 2000 (the average amount of hours one works in a given year). If you’re currently saving 10% of that amount, try to get it up to 20%. You can increase your savings rate in two ways. You can either earn more money, or spend less. Your ultimate goal should be to try to save 50% of your income. As a realtor, this is challenging because you’re not on a fixed income. As a result, you will have to be more disciplined with your income and how much you spend. One of my goals every year is to increase my dollar-per-hour wage. You can do this by either earning the same amount and working more hours, or earning more with the same amount of hours. Figure out which method is best for you so that you can eventually get to a point where you can save half your income.
3.No Debt For Liabilities – One of the most common financial independence tips you might hear is to be careful with your debt. There is an argument for taking out debt for an asset. However, it’s not the same when it comes to liabilities. For example, going into debt to purchase a car for real estate agents. When you do this, you’re stealing money from your future self and will pay the price in the long term. If you’re in the habit of taking out debt and never saving, that’s ultimately costing you your wealth. If you currently have debt for liabilities, get on a system, like You Need a Budget (YNAB), to try and eliminate that debt as quickly as possible. Check out my other post on how to eliminate debt. Three small bags with dollar signs sit inside of a wooden outline of a house.
4.Invest in Education. – This can be specific education related to your job, or just general financial or business education. Investing in your education is important because we get paid for what we contribute through our knowledge. Think of it as investing in yourself. Utilize resources such as classes, conferences, training courses, videos, and books that can help you build on your current skills. Check out this post on the 25 best real estate agent books to help you get started.
5.Take Ownership of Everything. – The sooner you take ownership of everything, the sooner you can get on track to improving your time management and growing your wealth. For example, if something negative happens to you, take on the responsibility to figure out the solution. Try and see how you can be a part of that solution, rather than waiting on somebody else to find it for you.
6.Actively Seek Out Problems to Solve. – You need to have the mindset to actively seek out problems rather than avoid them. You should solve your own challenges first before you move on to helping other people. Solving other peoples’ problems will make you more valuable, help you contribute more, and get wealth to come your way. When you start to solve people’s problems, you stop being a dollar-per-hour employee and instead begin moving up the ladder to eventually run your own business.
7.Leverage Resources. – At a certain point, it becomes hard to progress your business when you’re the only one running the show. This is why you should leverage other people to help you. For example, you could hire a virtual assistant and transaction manager. Additionally, you can find other ways to diversify your income streams. Building my online content business is yet another way I can diversify my income and solve problems for other people. In addition, you need to leverage your money. This can mean putting your money into a wealth account or purchasing rental real estate. Think of every dollar as an employee that can work for you to earn more money.
8.Stop The Dollar Per Hour Mindset. – If you want to advance your career, you need to stop thinking of yourself as a dollar-per-hour employee. When you have a dollar-per-hour income, you’re at a ceiling because there’s a maximum amount that somebody’s willing to pay you. But when you tie your value to helping other people, that ceiling becomes endless. For this reason, you have to start thinking about how you can help other people, even if it’s just a side hustle that you do in addition to your primary job. Build something that you can scale up over time and that can start to accumulate wealth. Build something that provides value for other people. A person dropping a quarter into a jar of money labeled “Retirement.”
9.Have a Clear Plan For Your Financial Future. – To come up with a plan for your financial future, you should ask yourself: What is your net worth today? What do you want your net worth to be five years from now? Ten years from now? Do you have spreadsheets that you track your goals on? Know what you want your wealth to be in the future, and then you can start to figure out what you need to do to get there. Even if you don’t have any wealth and just want to get out of debt, what is your one-year plan to do that? Three-year plan? Once you have a concrete plan for yourself, it becomes easier. There’s a saying that goes, “If you don’t have a vision for yourself, you’ll become part of somebody else’s vision.”
10.Take Calculated Risks. – Calculated risk means taking safe risks that you believe have a high probability of paying off. For example, every year I allocate 10% of my annual budget for “R&D” (Research and Development). If you think about it, almost every company has this built into their budget. So why should it be any different for real estate agents? This could mean investing in a new type of lead generation, or a new side hustle entirely. But the 10% doesn’t have to be purely financial, it could also include your time. It’s better to take calculated risks and learn all the necessary skills to be an entrepreneur. That way, no matter what happens in your financial future you’ll be prepared.
Final Thoughts on Financial Independence Tips for Real Estate Agents. Following these ten financial independence tips will help you have the proper mindset to properly manage your finances and save for retirement. Increasing your wealth takes time. But if you stay disciplined and stick to these tips, you’ll have a bright financial future ahead of you. What are you currently doing to diversify your income? What investments are you putting your savings in? I’d love to hear from you! Now, be well and go sell some homes!
The real estate profession can be one of the most rewarding for many reasons. A few of the best things I love about being a professional real estate agent is the flexibility of my schedule, unlimited income potential, and of course, helping people with one of the largest transactions of their entire lives.
Most successful real estate agents are able to provide way more benefits than drawbacks of being a real estate professional. One thing that is rarely discussed about the real estate profession is the alarming percentage of agents who fail to succeed in the business. Depending on the source, the percentage of real estate agents that fail in the business within the first 5 years ranges between 85-90%.
When you think about it, nearly 9 of 10 new agents can expect to fail, which is an eye opener. I hear my coaching clients saying they were working with an agent who was brand new in the business. Long story short, the transaction didn’t go as planned and did not close. The buyer’s agent was pretty difficult to work with and certainly didn’t do his client justice with the service they provided which played a significant role in the deal falling apart.
This led me to start asking myself, is this agent going to make it in the business? What could be the reason why the agent isn’t going to make it?
This week we look at the top 10 reasons why real estate agents fail. If you’re thinking about getting your real estate license, are newly licensed, or are a 20 year veteran, you need to keep in your mind why most agents are failing in the business. Being aware of these reasons why real estate agents fail can greatly reduce the chance that you’re going to fall victim to the startling statistic of the percentage of agents failing in the business.
1. They Don’t Work Hard Enough. – Being a successful entrepreneur takes a lot of hard work. It doesn’t matter what industry, starting a business is going to mean long hours and lots of blood, sweat, and tears. One of the top reasons why real estate agents fail is because they simply do not work hard enough. Successful real estate agents work odd and long hours. There are few successful agents who work “banker hours” of 8 AM – 5 PM, Monday through Friday. Being a successful real estate agent means working many nights and weekends and being available via phone or e-mail nearly 24 hours a day. Advice: Find out what successful real estate agents are doing on a daily basis. Learning the habits of top real estate agents can go a long way. It’s no guarantee that what one agent is doing to build their business is going to work for the next, but the work ethic of top agents is often very similar.
2. They Get Involved In Real Estate For The Wrong Reasons. – Selling real estate is not for everyone, end of story. Another reason why most real estate agents fail is because they get involved in real estate for the wrong reasons. One of the most common reasons why people attempt to sell real estate is because they think all real estate agents make boatloads of money. This is a huge real estate myth and actually is the furthest from the truth. The average real estate agent makes less than $40,000 per year. Another very common reason people obtain their real estate license is because they love “looking at houses” or like watching shows on HGTV. Being a successful real estate agent is so much more than being a professional door opener. Becoming a professional real estate agent for one of the two reasons above is not a good idea. It’s important to get involved in real estate for the right reasons, otherwise, you may be another real estate agent that fails in the business. Advice: Make sure before getting involved in real estate that you evaluate why you want to sell real estate. If the answer is that you have a desire to help people with one of the biggest purchases of their lives, than real estate could be a great career for you.
3. They Don’t Save Enough Money To Live On. – Successful real estate agents spend money to build their business because they know how important it is. Whether it’s investing in promoting themselves to their sphere of influence or using top real estate marketing strategies to sell homes, it costs money. Many real estate agents fail because they don’t realize that it costs money to run their business and when they realize it does, they don’t have enough money to live on. Not having money to make car payments, student loan payments, buy groceries, or to buy other necessities is another reason why real estate agents fail. Advice: Before selling real estate, it’s extremely important you have enough money saved so that you can pay your bills and have money to also buy lives necessities. It’s highly recommended that before you attempt to sell real estate full time with no other means of incoming capital, that you have at least 6 months of money saved to pay all your bills.
4. They’re Selling Real Estate Part Time. – Another popular reason why real estate agents fail is because they’re attempting to sell real estate part time. Now, before part time real estate agents lynch me in the comments below, I acknowledge that it’s feasible to be a successful part time agent. The reality, however, is that the majority of part time real estate agents fail to make it in the business. Why do many part time real estate agents fail? Well for one, many buyers and sellers have to decide whether to hire a part time real estate agent or not. Many buyers and sellers will avoid hiring a part time agent at all costs, simply because they’re not readily available like a full time agent would be. Nothing against part time agents, but this is the thought process of many consumers. Advice: If you’re going to sell real estate part time, remember, honesty is the best policy. If you’re interviewing with a buyer or seller, explain to them that you’re a part time agent so that there are no problems in the future. If your full time position allows you to answer phone calls relating to real estate, explain to them that you’re able to answer calls and inquiries. If not, make sure you’re upfront about that as well. Being honest with buyers and sellers about your part time position will get you many more victories than it will defeats.
5. They Don’t Set Goals Or Have Action Plans In Place. – Goal setting and action plans are a critical part of any successful business. Most real estate agents fail because they don’t understand how to properly set goals or create action plans. Successful real estate agents are constantly setting and reviewing goals and action plans. It’s not as simple as setting a yearly goal and not revisiting it until the end of the year. It’s constantly being aware of your progress towards your goals and action plans. Advice: A few of the most important goals for real estate agents to set for themselves relate to their sales. Goals such as the number of transactions and number of sales are obviously important. Other goals and action plans, such as, how many weekly prospecting calls will be made, are also critical. Bottom line, setting goals and action plans can make agents more accountable which, in many cases, will lead to better results.
6. They Don’t Know How To Lead Generate. – One of the best things about being a real estate professional are the numerous ways business can be generated. The problem though is that many real estate agents fail in the business because they don’t know how to lead generate. One common trait of successful real estate agents is that they understand how they’re going to generate new leads for their business. For example, there are many PROs and CONs of open houses, one benefit being that open houses can be effective for generating leads for agents. On the other hand, a successful agent may determine that open houses are not the way they want to generate leads and they’d prefer to get leads through online marketing or social media. The commonality is that successful agents will know how to generate leads which keeps new business opportunities coming in. Advice: One of the first things that new agents should do is decide how they want to generate new leads. Are you the type of person who wants to door knock? Hold open houses every weekend? Utilize Facebook ads to get real estate leads? Whatever the answer is, knowing how to lead generate will greatly reduce the number of real estate agents who fail.
7. They Don’t Understand How Or Where To Market Themselves And Their Business. – A fairly common reason why most real estate agents fail in the business is because they don’t understand how or where to market. There are dozens of places a real estate professional can market themselves and their business nowadays because of the internet. Real estate agents fail because they often use the internet as a “look at ME” venue. There are so many real estate agents promoting on their Facebook pages about their latest and greatest listing or about the number of homes they sold in a week. While this may seem like an effective strategy of marketing themselves and their business, it’s actually a great way to get unfollowed or unfriended. The majority of your connections on the internet aren’t in the market for your new listing or don’t care if you’ve sold 3 homes in a week, however, sharing with your connections helpful information relating to real estate may interest them enough to read it or share with someone they know who maybe making a move in the near future. For example, if you were to share on your social networks a helpful article you wrote on the most important steps to buying a house, there is a much higher probability your friends and family shares your post with their friends and family because it’s helpful, not self-promotional. The same can be said about a helpful video you create for first time home buyers in your area about first time home buyer programs and grants. Advice: Successful real estate agents, those who make it in the business for extended periods of time, aren’t always promoting themselves. Successful agents know the importance of providing value when marketing themselves. In the long run, agents who’re viewed as an authoritative real estate professional will be more successful. As your considering a new marketing technique, always ask yourself, is this going to be helpful for others? Is your marketing piece providing value? If the answer is no, resist the strong urge to use the marketing technique as it may end up making your look foolish or even worse, lose friends or potential business.
8. They Believe That Being Successful In Real Estate Is Easy. – Real estate agents fail to make it long in the business not only because they don’t work hard, but they also believe that being successful is easy. The top agents in any real estate market didn’t get to where they are easily, in fact, they’ve likely worked for years and years perfecting their skills and talents. For example, the top real estate agents in ________ didn’t drink a magic potion that made them multi-million dollar producers. These agents weren’t just “given” business, they’ve earned it. The same can be said in any city in the world. Being successful in real estate is anything but easy. Advice: Even though there is a common misconception that top agents often get to where they are easily, don’t fall for this misconception. Being a successful real estate agent is not easy and also doesn’t happen overnight!
9. They’re Difficult To Work With. – When you’re working in a profession that deals with other people, it’s extremely important that working with you is enjoyable. Another common reason real estate agents fail to make it very long in the business is because they’re difficult to work with. Whether it’s because buyers and sellers don’t enjoy working with an agent or other local agents don’t enjoy working with an agent, being difficult to work with is a surefire way to fail as a real estate agent. Advice: When working with buyers and sellers, always keep in mind that there are hundreds or even thousands of other agents in any given market they could chose to work with. If working with an agent is difficult, it’s easy enough for a buyer or seller to find a new agent that’s easy to work with. An agent who has a good reputation with other agents also has a greater probability of making it in the business. Many real estate agents fail because they’re difficult to work with and other agents will do everything they can to avoid working with them.
10. They Don’t Know How To Overcome The Tough Times. – There are dozens of reasons why real estate markets are different, in fact, markets can be significantly different even if they’re close in proximity. This means that one market could be strong while another is weak. Another reason why real estate agents fail to make it in the business is because they can’t make it through the tough times. While a real estate market is strong, it’s common to see the majority of agents doing well and thriving in the business. Since real estate is cyclical, it’s inevitable that a tough market is in the future, which is when you get to see if a real estate agent is going to fail or not. Many real estate agents fail because they cannot power through a poor real estate market. Advice: Always plan for tough times ahead. It’s extremely important to continually grow your pipeline, number of contacts, and your overall business even during a strong market. Successful agents are always learning and evolving how they can market themselves to strengthen their business further. Bottom line, don’t get complacent during a strong real estate market!
There is plenty of business to go around in the real estate industry. The percentage of real estate agents failing is way too high. It’s extremely important that all real estate agents, whether new agents or seasoned veterans, realize why real estate agents fail. If the number of strong real estate professionals entering the business increased, it would be good for the industry and profession. Stronger agents entering and staying in the business would mean a better experience for buyers, sellers, and other real estate professionals.
Jim Rohn, the legendary business philosopher always said to “Finish your week before it begins.” He meant that we take control of our schedule and real estate business and plan for the week ahead before it even happens. If we don’t take control then someone else or something else always does!
So when the year begins to wind down you should not wait until the very end to start planning for next year. This means having a crystal clear understanding of the successes and challenges of your current year, how it impacts your upcoming year, and developing a vision of what you want to accomplish, and how. Many agents aim for nothing every year and most hit it with amazing accuracy!! I believe you should always start working on your next year strategy months in advance of the new year. This awards you enough time to make an impact on your final quarter, and lay the groundwork for making sure your next fiscal year starts off on a solid footing.
For agents who want to achieve greatness, push the envelope, and grow their business through market share, market penetration, paying down debt, increasing sales, profits and cash flow, I urge you to get going now! The way I see things is, if your business isn’t growing, pushing the envelope, thriving, and maximizing profit, then all you’re really doing is suffering a slow death. Believe me, your competition is fighting the fight every day, and they didn’t wake up in the morning and say “Gosh, golly, I hope I stay even in 2019.” They want to eat your lunch, take your business, absorb your market share and steal your customers away.
Some people might ask me if they should start planning by looking at their competition, and I say NO. Why focus on the competition, instead of focusing on yourself? When it comes to my business, I don’t care what others do. I care about what I do. Recognize your competition for what and who they are, and then put your best foot forward by pushing the envelope in your business. You should approach the new year as if you are going to battle, and for that you should develop a strategic plan.
Business Plan – a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals. A business plan lays out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational viewpoint.
FACT: LESS THAN 3% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN
FACT: ESTIMATED 3% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN NORTH AMERICA DOING 97% OF BUSINESS
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Writing a business plan may seem a daunting task as there are so many moving parts and concepts to address. Take it one step at a time and be sure to schedule regular review (quarterly, semi-annually, or annually) of your plan to be sure you are on track to meet your goals. It is that time of year again when we begin to build our plan for 2019 so let’s look at the key areas of the agent’s solid business plan.
Step 1) “Success and history always leaves us clues.” I began by looking back to identify the clues that have been left for us and the business. I would look at the real estate market first and search for the following clues.
What have the number of sales been doing the last year? 2-5 years? Up? Down?
What have the number of listings been doing the last year? 2-5 years? Up? Down?
What have the average and median prices been doing?
What price ranges are experiencing more activity? Less activity?
What neighborhoods or areas are experiencing more activity? Less Activity?
What property types are selling more? Less?
What buyer types are buying more?
Where are the buyers coming from? Local? Next state or province? Over Seas?
Imagine the targeted and strategic plan you would be able to build for you and your real estate business with this kind of information?
Now you are not just winging it. You really know where and what to focus on.
Step 2) Looking At The Present State of Your Real Estate Business
What have my sales been doing? Up? Down?
What have my listings been doing? Up? Down?
What is my average price? Can I raise my average selling price?
What is my Gross Commission Income doing?
What is my average deal worth?
Where are my listings and sales coming from? Sources of business?
What types of buyers do I represent?
Where are the buyers coming from? Local? Out of area?
What are my pending sales?
What do I have for potential buyers and sellers?
Strategic Business Planning for Your Real Estate Business
What if you took the time to really track and measure and reflect on your business at a deeper level and see your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities?
Step 3)Activity Plans – Take the time to lay out your activity plan calendar a year in advance. Focus on the activities you know you are good at and you see a return on your invested time and money. I am guessing for most agents it would be your sphere of influence, referrals and face to face or voice to voice activities.
Step 4)Budgeting – Profit is the goal in business. Knowing what your personal life and your business world cost you monthly is so important. Expense management is just as important as your income and earnings. Have a clear picture of your expenses and measure all of them for their return on investment or if they can be reduced in any way.
Step 5) Goals – If your “Why” is big enough the “how” will take care of itself. What is your purpose? Vision? Values? Mission Statement? Taking the time to know what it is you want and why you want it is a game changer for us all. Nothing gives me more joy than impacting and improving people’s lives personally and professionally every day.
In my own real estate business, taking the time over the last 25 years to create a business plan has been so incredibly beneficial for me and I know it will for you as well.
In today’s post I have given you a brief business plan overview. To help you get going with your own plan I put together a Step-by-Step Real Estate Business Plan Workbook you can download for free by clicking the link below.
Click here to download the new 2019 business plan PDF….
Are you the constant multi-tasking type of real estate agent that does too many things and just doesn’t do any of them well? Are you feeling like your real estate career is a treadmill you just can’t get off? Like myself constantly falling into the common trap of trying to be all things to all people.
