Is it just me, or do you sometimes feel as if we’re all just biding our time doing laps in a bowl of alphabet soup?
I mean seriously, it’s become unavoidable!
How’s your AI going? Has it made life simpler for your EBU?
Are you using a PA or VA to keep your CRM in A1 condition?
Is your BDM testing the CTA on your CMA to ensure you get a solid ROI on your CTR? Or does your CMO handle that KPI?
Is your head hurting as much as mine these days? I can already hear more than a few of you screaming WTAF! Can someone please pass me an IPA! It’s a jungle out there folks! If I don’t meet my KPIs ASAP there’s a strong chance the COO will tell me to POQ and DCM.
If your answer to any of the above is FIIK, then you should probably read on.
Last week I rabbited on at length about the seemingly endless pursuit some in our profession have for the elusive silver bullet to propel their careers into the next stratosphere. It’s a post that got a few tongues wagging. I’m OK with that. I don’t mind poking the bear to get a conversation going, so It’s probable that I’ll tilt a few toupees with this post as well.
Today I’m sharing some thoughts on what I see as the new real estate workforce. It’s actually new to some, but it’s been BAU for up to a decade for many early adopters.
Last week I mentioned my Dad and his business wisdom. Dad and I worked together really successfully in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a tough taskmaster who taught me well. I reckon I can hear him saying: “I taught Peter everything he knows, but not everything I know”.
Business was a tad different back in the early 1980s. And before you start arguing with me, do me a favour and run your eyes across my first business card.
The year was 1981.
Notice anything different?
No mobile phone.
No email address.
No website.
No social media icons – not even one!
No Captains Bazillion Dollar Club badge.
Not even a damn fax number!
Our office communications were limited to a two-way radio tower on the outhouse roof. We had none of the tech that enables a modern-day agent, yet we somehow still managed to make a dollar to fund a few frosties at the Cleveland Sands Hotel on a Friday night, along with a mortgage on a 13% interest rate.
Real estate life was very different back when I had my own teeth and hair.
Just quickly on the topic of losing hair, I asked my Barber for a discount last week. His answer was brilliant. He simply said: “Peter, no discounts for you. We’re charging you a Finder’s Fee these days”. LOL! I think he’d make an outstanding real estate salesperson.
Now before you think you’re about to hear a sob story about the good old days from an out-of-touch old Boomer, let me go out on a limb here and actually say that I think the craft of real estate is a way tougher gig these days. There, I said it. I agree that it’s a tougher business in 2023. No BS.
Which is actually a bit fascinating. Not fascinating because a silly old Boomer is actually acknowledging that a younger generation has a tougher gig, but because even with the addition of some amazing technology that’s been designed and developed to make the business of real estate simpler over the past 40 years, I think it’s actually made it more complex for a single salesperson!
In our quest to consistently deliver all that’s required at a premium level to be regarded as numero uno, many in our profession have been left with a SNAFU business that’s incredibly inefficient, not achieving its true potential, and worse, driving them towards real estate career dreams that are RIP.
One of the most common FAQ’s I get as I travel AUS and NZ is from salespeople and business owners wanting to know when and how to scale. It’s possibly the single most important SOS call that any business needs to respond to urgently.
From the SWOTs that I’ve done, it’s very apparent to me that the most successful salespeople understand that the most effective way they can scale their business is through the best deployment of all available resources.
ICYMI, I’ll repeat it for the people up the back. The most effective way they can scale their business is through the best deployment of ALL available resources.
These resources are: Time, People and Money. And very few of us have an infinite supply of any of them, so we need to use them very wisely.
And FWIW, the most common question I’m posed from good salespeople who want to grow their business is what is the best growth model?
The answer at the risk of seeming that I’m going AWOL on you is that the right model is different for everyone.
My view is that it’s gotta be a tailored solution that reflects your strengths and identifies the areas where your business would benefit from someone else helping you with some heavy lifting.
Are you ready to invest the time, money and risk into building a full EBU? Does a SWOT of your business you say you’ve got the time, skills and budget to risk $180-200K to take that leap?
At $65K a year, would employing one good, part-time PA capable of tidying up your paperwork, doing some data entry, picking up your dry cleaning or kids and booking the occasional flight, make sense for your business now?
At around $28K a year, is the concept of having a cost-effective, highly disciplined, multi-skilled VA, trained in doing tasks the exact way that you want them done, a logical way to help you on the path to achieving your businesses SMART goals?
As a researcher of trends, I’m seeing a growing trend where more and more successful agents and businesses are taking the VA route. It’s freeing up their front-line people to spend more face-to-face time with their current and potential clients to create deeper relations and more opportunities to make more money.
I think most businesses have a simple choice to make. Keep up, or be left behind. It’s pretty simple. You could reprint my 1980s business cards and pretend that all this emerging tech isn’t necessary to your relevance as a business and as base service fundamentals to your customers.
Or you can keep doing laps in that bowl of alphabet soup.
TBH, it’s a no brainer for me. Taking that first step to scale is a fear that cripples many. But as my kids would say, YOLO!
PS: If you’d like to banter about salespeople and businesses who are using VAs effectively to scale up, give me a call or flick me an email whenever suits you. I’m available AM and PM.
PPS: How’s your FOMO? Go on! FFS… JFDI!
PPS: And if the very thought of managing an EBU, PA or VA puts you in the ICU, fear not my BFFs. I’ll write about that soon too.
*This article was definitely not written using any form of ai. #ltfu
