2020 has certainly been a year of change. In this webinar, we’re asking critical questions about how to successfully lead your real estate team (and your real estate business) through uncertain times.
Join us for a conversation between Dave Crumby (Founder and CEO at Realvolve + Firepoint), Valerie Garcia (VP of Learning and Development at Realvolve + Firepoint), Michael Nathanson (Owner & Team Leader at The Nathanson Brothers Real Estate Team with RE/MAX Services), and Dan Nathanson (Mortgage Adviser at The Nathanson Mortgage Team with Peoples Home Equity Mortgage Lending).
Packed with experience-based insight, actionable steps, and their tried-and-true philosophies about running a business, this webinar is especially helpful if you are getting ready to develop a business plan for the year ahead.
Tune in here:
Throughout the webinar, Dave, Valerie, Dan, and Michael answer key questions that real estate professionals can use to lead their teams and businesses through change. But first, they dive into some of the philosophy behind their approach.
At the beginning of the webinar, Dave Crumby shares a memorable quote:
“The quality of your business and thus the quality of our lives is directly tied to the quality of our decisions and our ability to adapt to change.”
Dave also introduces two guiding principles that the team at Realvolve + Firepoint does their best to adhere to, which include the following:
- Embrace reality and deal with it. Truth—or a more precise and accurate understanding of reality—is the essential foundation of any good outcome. Do your best to assess what is true on the basis of evidence.
- Look to nature to learn how reality works. To be good at something, something must operate consistently within the laws of reality and contribute to evolution as a whole. That’s where we get rewarded; it is the greatest single force in the universe. It’s a signal to us that when our environment changes, we have to adapt.
Dave challenges listeners to ask themselves: Would you rather be the best in the world at something because you worked hardest for it, or would you rather be the best because you worked the most intelligently?
He also suggests a useful exercise when approaching a plan and implementing it:
“When you’re dreaming, imagine success. When you’re preparing, imagine failure. When you’re acting, go back to imagining success.”
Here are a few of the questions they address during the webinar:
How do we grow in the midst of change?
In Michael’s experience, growth on his real estate team has been all about planning and sticking to that plan. It may sound simple, but it’s easier said than done.
Even though things are changing in the world around us (hello, 2020!), this doesn’t mean that your life necessarily changes if you have a focus, Michael elaborates. For example, Michael commits to going into the office everyday and shooting one video, sending five handwritten notes, and making 20 contacts. He does this every single day; he sets a measurable goal and focuses on completing that goal.
How do you approach planning?
Dan advises that all good business owners should at least do a big planning session during the last quarter of the year. At this session, you should be reviewing where you’re at in the year, and planning for the upcoming year. This might include your business plan, a marketing plan, and a budget.
Others may need to meet more often and with different people. For example, Michael has review sessions twice a month with his coach. During these sessions they review different sets of numbers and metrics, addressing questions like “Where are you now?” and “Where are you supposed to be?”
What happens when you make a plan and life quickly changes? What if your business has struggled in 2020?
Like many of us know all too well, we made our business plans and goals in Q4 of 2019, and then 2020 unfolded. In February, March, and beyond, circumstances changed quickly for many people. In a situation like that, you need to review your plan and make adjustments.
This might include re-evaluating your goals for your new reality. Or, you may just need to find new ways to achieve the goals you’ve already set. You might need to double up on your outbound calls and your handwritten notes, for example. Michael advises to do the things that made you successful before the situation changed, but double it.
“You can’t just sit there and wait for it to come to you, you got to go get it,” adds Michael.
How do I grow a team?
Growth is uncomfortable. But if you want to grow a good team, you have to be willing to do the stuff that’s hard. This includes having routines, systems, and tracking exactly where your money and time are going (as a start).
Here are a few tips on growing a real estate team and a business from Dave, Dan, Michael, and Valerie:
- Think about who you need before you need them. Once you need to add someone new to your team—whether it’s administrative support or a buyer’s agent—you’re already underwater and it’s even tougher to scale. You need to start looking further ahead of where you are right now and planning for that future.
- Think of your expense of hiring someone as potential revenue. What can you gain by spending money on valuable resources?
- Keep your eyes and ears open; always look for talent. If you find talent, don’t let it go—it’s hard to find.
- Systems and processes are a must. Michael shares that using Realvolve and Firepoint are like “having an administrative assistant without paying an administrative assistant.” And whichever tools you end up choosing, you need to have a dialed in process for everything.
Michael also adds that he has three pillars that guide his team: Education, encouragement, and accountability. In the webinar, he dives into exactly what this looks like and breaks it up into actionable items that you can also implement. Watch the webinar to learn more about how Michael organizes team meetings, what his team does to offer positive reinforcement, and how they keep everyone accountable (having a coach and a tool to track everything are essential for Michael).
How should teams start planning now for the future?
What comes next? Well, first you need a plan. This may sound obvious but many people do not create business plans. Before Michael’s team gets together for a big planning session in Q4, Michael and Dan have their own planning meeting. During this meeting they identify where they want to be next year, and then they share their goals with the team. Since they track all of their numbers so well, they’re much better informed and equipped to create a useful plan.
For example, they know that they need one administrator per an average of closing four homes per month. If they want to raise their goal to closing eight homes per month, they know they need to hire a second administrator. And then they start making plans right away to hire that person.
During the “Leading Your Team Through Change” Webinar, they also discuss the importance of reading often, the positive impact coaching has had on their businesses, tips for holding team leaders accountable, and more.
Having systems and processes in place will solve a lot of problems and challenges. Systems and processes also help you add consistency and accountability to your business, which are critical in meeting your goals and growing a team. The workflows that Realvolve offers will help you manage the process from the beginning to the end; nothing slips through the cracks.
We’re here to help! Contact us at realvolve.com/demo and we’d love to show you how Realvolve can simplify your business in 2021.
