If you wish to tune out the noise, focus in your progress, guarantee you’ve gotten completed one thing on the finish of the 12 months, and study to really feel profitable it doesn’t matter what the market does, group chief Jen Berbas writes.
September means Again to Fundamentals right here at Inman. As actual property navigates the post-settlement period with new fee guidelines, actual property professionals from throughout the nation will share what’s working for them, how they’ve advanced their programs and instruments, and the place they’re investing personally.
Specializing in steady enchancment and objectives totally inside your management can assist brokers keep optimistic and motivated when the market is impartial. When we aren’t getting the pure every day motivation from transactions, we have to create different methods to encourage ourselves by triggering our pure impulse to study new abilities and tackle significant duties.
In 2020 and 2021, it was straightforward to really feel profitable. All of us had the wind at our backs, and whereas the market was irritating at occasions as a result of degree of competitors, transactions had been taking place, typically at a dizzying tempo. Quick-forward to 2024, and a few markets are caught within the mud, I dwell in one among them, Austin, Texas.
In 2024, the Austin market hit a 13-year excessive in stock. Transactions have been few and much between. When you measure your success by gross sales numbers, this 12 months may really feel like a failure, and your efficiency will invariably disappoint you.
A few years in the past, I used to “race” in Ironman triathlons. I put “race” in quotes as a result of it’s onerous to name what I did a race. It was survival, perhaps even enjoyable, however it was a slog; there was no racing right here. As proud as I used to be of finishing these occasions, nothing I used to be doing was remotely aggressive.
So, how did I preserve motivation figuring out I might by no means be among the many upper-level athletes? How do you discover a sense of accomplishment and progress when the gross sales quantity or race occasions don’t present success?
Discover success and achievement within the belongings you can management. Maintain an athlete’s mindset, and give attention to these seven tricks to keep motivated in a difficult market.
1. Set objectives which you can management
Setting a aim of a sure variety of transactions or particular gross sales numbers in a market that isn’t supplying you with that chance might be irritating.
As an alternative, give attention to the actions resulting in success when the market improves. Set a aim of a sure variety of consumer conferences weekly or give attention to finishing enterprise books or trainings you’ve been which means to finish.
2. Measure your enchancment, not anybody else’s
Comparability is the thief of pleasure. No matter successes different brokers are posting on social media is simply advertising.
As an alternative of evaluating your self to colleagues, give attention to growing the metrics that may result in your success.
Determine what actions are important to your success, measure these, and give attention to bettering these. For instance, when you did two annual evaluations a month final 12 months, see when you can develop to 5 a month this 12 months.
3. Add to your choices yearly
Upon getting dependable programs up and operating, they need to have the ability to run extra effectively.
The primary time you implement a system for consumer birthday playing cards, it could take some time, however when it runs easily, you need to have the bandwidth so as to add the following service you wish to give your shoppers.
Final 12 months, you began birthday playing cards; this 12 months, you could add pop-bys.
4. Have quarterly check-ins with your self at a minimal
Set common conferences with your self all year long to test in in your progress. You probably did 30 pop-byes in Q1? Set a aim for 35 in Q2.
5. Set cheap expectations with your self
You can’t overhaul your whole enterprise in three months. This isn’t cheap. Choose a number of issues to enhance and operationalize, and as soon as these are full, focus in your subsequent enhancements.
6. Discover your weakest sport, and give attention to that
Yearly, I targeted on the game the place I ranked the bottom — at all times operating or biking — and labored on bettering in that space.
What abilities do you wish to enhance as an agent? Is pricing your weak point? Set a aim of finishing pricing evaluation for previous shoppers 2 hours every week. Have you ever at all times wished you excelled at networking? Set a aim of going to 3 occasions a month. These are objectives you possibly can succeed at no matter market circumstances.
7. Management your monetary burn charge, and you’ll keep away from working out of worry
This isn’t one thing I discovered from “racing,” however it helps all the identical.
Market change is a reality of life. To the best diploma potential, maintain bills low so you possibly can nonetheless function your enterprise throughout a downturn. The aim is to outlive till the market shifts once more and emerge from the downturn extra effectively and with higher abilities.
These instruments can assist you give attention to progress, offer you accomplishments to evaluate on the finish of the 12 months and present you a technique to really feel profitable no matter gross sales numbers and race occasions.
Jen Berbas is the group lead of the Berbas Group in Austin, Texas. Join along with her on Instagram and Linkedin.
