As a business-life coach, I talk about change often. Clients wouldn’t need me if they didn’t need to change something in their lives. It may be that their business is lagging, or their business is negatively affecting their lives, or both. In this new era of real estate, a lot of agents are struggling and don’t even realize that they need to change something. All they know is that business is not as good as it has been and that is negatively affecting their lives.
The first step is acknowledging that this current market may be the new norm. This may be the way it is for the foreseeable future, with rates in the 5.5-6.5% range, and overall transactions running down significantly from previous years. So, what do we do about that? We can feel sorry for ourselves and say it’s not fair that the Fed has raised rates. We can quit and get one of the horrible things called a JOB. Or we can ask ourselves, “what can I change to make my business successful in this new market?”
I recently spoke at my local association about how agents can overcome this market and become successful in ALL markets. Think about this, if you can change your business to be successful in this market while maintaining your current client base, how successful will you be when the market comes back? YOU WILL BE KILLING IT!
I know, it’s easy to say, ”just go ahead and change your business to be successful in this new market.” I’m not saying it will be easy, but if you have a plan, execute it, be consistent, persistent, and determined, you will be successful. The key here is to take action and make a plan! If you need help formulating your plan to pivot your business in this market, you have several options. The first is your Broker/Manager, the second is other agents, and the third is coaching. But no matter which direction you go, ask yourself if the person that you’re working with has these three things:
Are they currently actively selling real estate?
If not, they don’t have any idea what this market entails!
Have they been actively selling real estate for at least the past 15 years?
If not, they didn’t go through the last downturn, so they can’t teach you how to get through this one!
Do they have a plan or formula that you can use as a basis for your plan to pivot your business?
If not, you will just be chasing your tail, trying different things that haven’t been proven to work!
The other option is to go it alone, put your nose to the grindstone and work harder. The problem with this is that it will negatively affect your personal life. You will be working extremely hard, not home much, no YOU time, and eventually you may get some sales, but ultimately at what price?
In early 2022 I saw a storm coming with the interest rate hikes and told myself that I need to put together a program for my coaching clients and other agents to weather the storm. I took my experience from back in the great recession, spoke to other brokers who also weathered that storm, and put formulated the Plan Your Pivot program. This is a comprehensive program that not only gives ideas on how to expand your business in the current market but also includes step-by-step instructions on how to become educated in new areas, and how to execute to gain that business. It also covers other areas that must be included in any plan, like mindset, financing your business through the pivot, and evaluating results. This program is offered in an online course, or for those who would like more accountability, direct correspondence, and feedback, I also offer it in 1:1 coaching platform.
No matter which direction you go, NOW IS THE TIME TO CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS, don’t wait, don’t tell yourself that the market will change back soon, and don’t keep doing the same things that aren’t working. Make a dramatic change! A change that will make your business successful in ALL markets and most importantly will CHANGE YOUR LIFE in a positive way. Live Life Unbalanced and go get the life you dream of! Now is the time!