Equinox’s campaign “We Don’t Speak January” caught my attention. Equinox did not offer new members the opportunity to join on January 1st, which made a statement about the type of member they wanted. In their words, “it’s not you; it’s January.”

The company called the month of January “a fantasy, delivered to your door in a pastel-colored box.” The point they wanted to make is you are not a New Year’s resolution. Your business doesn’t start at the beginning of the year. And that’s not what being part of Equinox is about.

After some criticism and media buzz, the company doubled down on the campaign by posting, “January is a language we don’t understand…” followed by:

• January wants you to start something you should already be doing
• January needs a new outfit before it can begin
• January stalling, short-cutting, and giving up are not who we are
• January will not text you back next month

Around the same time this campaign broke, I had some update calls with brokerage leaders from across the country, and they don’t do January either; say what? I heard different words from them, like:

• Talent attraction vs. recruiting
• Selection vs. sponsoring
• Clarity of vision on the type of office they are creating

Bold. These leaders are attracting the ideal type of associate selected to join their office. They were clear on the characteristics and types of agents they wanted and did not want. Empowering.

What’s the saying, “all agents are agents, yet not all agents are REALTORS®.” Do you want them all or just the ones that match your culture?

The Equinox campaign ended with “we don’t speak January – and neither do you.” What about you?

It’s not you; it’s January.

PS: Looking to increase your real estate team or office recruiting game? Book a demo to find out how we can 5X your ROI.

#WinTheDay

The acquisition of Realtor.com could boost competition, says Mark Johnson, Co-Founder of CoRecruit and former CEO of JPAR – Real Estate.

I recently had a call with Candace Evans, the Founder and Creator of CandysDirt.com, and she asked me if the CoStar and Move proposed acquisition was a big deal.  My answer was yes! The rumor on the street – started at the Inman Connect Conference – is a possible acquisition price of $3 billion dollars, and that certainly is a big deal.

My business acquaintance and friend, Steve Murray, co-founder of REAL Trends, said, “I’m not convinced a sale would have a meaningful impact for real estate brokerages. These firms think if they control the information, they’ll control the distribution of buyers and sellers to agents and change the economics to where they’ll be getting a bigger share of the commission dollar. I suppose all those things are possible, but Zillow hasn’t been able to pull it off.”

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation purchased Move Inc. for nearly $1 billion in 2014, followed by the 2018 acquisition of the Austin, Texas-based lead-generation firm OpCity. CoStar has spent more than $2 billion on residential real estate deals over the last decade, beginning in 2014 with Apartments.com and later acquiring Homesnap in 2020 to launch Citysnap. CoStar’s market cap has more than doubled since 2018 to $32 billion, compared to Zillow’s $10 billion.

You never know the true motivations of sellers and buyers, yet for Move, it could be cashing out at the right time to focus on other aspects of the business, and it seems CoStar might be taking advantage of a strong cash position and difficult market conditions to make a strategic acquisition at a favorable price. CoStar understands the business and has a strong track record of adding value. A new owner always brings new ideas and new innovations, and that typically drives more competition. And competition always creates more favorable pricing for users. For agents, teams, and brokers, this could be really good news.

Across the industry, you are seeing major players acquire tools and technology to serve the consumer and the agent from the contemplation of a home sale or purchase all the way through to closing, funding, and post-sale support. So this will not be the last acquisition we hear about as the big players in the industry want to capture a larger share of more services within the nearly 5 million homes sold each year.

There seems to be today an endless array of conference opportunities for agents, team leaders, and broker-owners. Inman Connect, both New York and Las Vegas are two worth considering. This year’s New York event did not disappoint with something for everyone to learn or network.

Katie Lance from Katie Lance Consulting delivered a powerful update on social media, Facebook Live and Video. In her talk, Katie pointed out that Facebook Live is more effective when promoted ahead of time and when you engage the audience with polls or surveys. For short-form videos, Katie recommends obviously to be quick, to the point, have a hook and use appropriate hashtags and captions.

For agents, one of the favorite sessions was the session on “How To Win Listings In A Competitive And Challenging Market.” For company leaders, the CEO connect session was powerful, and team leaders participated in sessions on growth. Of special note, Ryan Serhant spoke to every person who wants to be a real estate agent regardless of race, gender, handicap, military status, or personality style. Rayna said, “even if you have no personality, you can sell real estate to anyone, anywhere, anytime.” Virtual replays are available to purchase on the Inman website.

A hot topic at the bar and after parties was the possible acquisition of REALTOR.com from MOVE by CoStar.

So regardless of what conference you attend, you might want to consider my 4 Step Post-Conference Guide. Professional conferences are an unparalleled opportunity to build your network, get new ideas, deepen connections, get out of your routine, and shake things up.

Yet so many of us fail to act… why?

Because you probably went home with loads of information to digest and a feeling of being overwhelmed. So, plan a post-conference action plan that empowers you. The key to a successful post-conference routine is taking ACTION.

Here are 4 steps to maximize your conference investment:

1. Network post the event– Don’t forget those connections you made. Close the loop, follow up, and build relationships for referrals, accountability, and more.
2. Leverage your social channels– How can you communicate your time investment to show potential customers your commitment to excellence and serving them at the highest levels? Make your public posts about serving your customers and potential customers better.
3. Organize your notes into a checklistfor the items you are committed to act on and share them with an accountability partner, mentor or coach. Do you have a checklist? A checklist not only helps you get more done, but your brain loves them. According to research summarized by best-selling author Maria Konnikova, here are some of the reasons why:
   1. Your mind seeks organization. Lists tap into our preferred way of receiving and organizing information at a subconscious level; from an information-processing standpoint, they often hit our attentional sweet spot.
   2. When we process information, we do so spatially. For instance, it’s hard to memorize through brute force the groceries we need to buy. It’s easier to remember everything if we write it down in bulleted or numbered points.
   3. Your mind wants to categorize. We can’t process information quickly when it’s clustered and undifferentiated (like in standard paragraphs). A list feels more intuitive.
   4. Your mind wants to know how long this will take. The more we know about something—including precisely how much time it will consume—the greater the chance we will commit to it.
   5. List completion is self-reinforcing. We recall with pleasure that we were able to check something off the list. This makes us want to go back to the list for another dopamine hit.
   6. Do your brain a favor and break down what you learned and your action steps into a series of checklists.
4. Take action NOW! –don’t wait! Nothing good happens when you wait.

So, there you have it, 4 steps to win the post-conference game.

As a real estate professional or affiliate service provider, do you ever wonder,

“How can I be more outcome focused?”

If the answer is yes, you’ll find value in this post.

The latest numbers show roughly 2 million licensed real estate agents in the United States. That’s about one agent for every 52 households. About 65% of these agents (1.3 million ) choose to be held to a higher standard and join the National Association of REALTORS^®.

What’s the difference? That title REALTOR^® is essential to know because it separates the professionals from the rest. Becoming a member requires adherence to a strict Code of Ethics and agree to be held accountable by a local board. All agents are agents, yet not all agents are REALTORS^®; there is a difference.

As you can imagine, professional real estate sales is a competitive space. Not too long ago, nearly 5.3 million homes sold in the US annually, which means, on average, the typical agent closes three transactions.

‘The secret of getting ahead is getting started’ ~ Mark Twain 

Productivity matters as today’s modern consumers want to be confident that they deal with a full-time professional, not a hobbyist. Productivity matters to the top producing associate as they desire to be surrounded by other high-producing full-time professionals.

Iron sharpens iron is the mindset for peak performance.

There are four factors you need to create any outcome.

• First is a solid Mindset 
• Second is a strong Game Plan
• Third is sales Skills
• Fourth is a complete set of Tools

Mindset is #1 because, without it, you are paralyzed. You can have the best strategy, yet you will struggle to execute consistently if you are not in a growth mindset.

A solid game plan is second, as all top performers I’ve studied have one. A start-to-finish step-by-step checklist that is simple to follow and execute. Now you may have seen these two great quotes about planning from Dwight Eisenhower, a 5 Star General, and our 34^thPresident:

“No plan ever survives the first contact with the enemy,” and “In preparing for battle, I have found that planning is useless, yet planning is indispensable!”

Meaning the skill of being adaptable – quick on your feet – is critical to success in any endeavor.

Skills come in third, as we all need the skills to execute the game plan. One of the four critical skills for the modern sales professional is understanding “why they buy.” Once you have mastered why they buy, your results will skyrocket.

Fourth, what’s in your tool bag? Tools help you uncover and serve buyers, sellers, and investors. Tools can help you automate, eliminate, or delegate critical tasks. Top performers have essential systems for operations –  a CRM, for example – and marketing automation.

Teams. One of the trends in professional real estate sales is teaming up. It’s hard to go solo; even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. Teams outproduce an individual and create a better consumer experience for the client and a better quality of life for the agent. CoRecruit recently released a comprehensive guide covering the six factors to master before you create a team, part of which is covered in the blog to team or not to team.

Some suggest that professional coaching makes a difference in your performance; our survey shows that to be true. Yet, our survey also showed that being an active member of a small weekly accountability group can be just as effective. Those agents that participated in both – coaching and small groups – created exponentially higher earnings.

There you have it, four ways plus a bonus way to be more productive.

• A solid mindset,
• A well-thought-out game plan,
• Persuasive skills,
• Tools designed for productivity,
• And teaming up.

“Don’t count the days. Make the days count” ~ Muhammad Ali.