Doing business <> Having a business

I was listening in on a large, live webinar this week. I am not exactly sure how many people were on, but I suspect it was well over a thousand - maybe even a couple thousand. The subject was setting a goal, and then developing a plan that could achieve that goal within 3 months. A large chunk of the participants were insurance agents, mortgage professionals, and of course, real estate agents.

The instructor (let’s call him Tom) wanted to dialogue with one individual about their plan, and fortunately for me, selected a real estate agent to work with (let’s call her Sally). 

Tom: What is your goal?

Sally: I want to earn $162,000 in commissions over the next 3 months.

[Tom then asks some other background questions]

Tom: Okay, so what are the key activities that you need to do to achieve this goal?

[Quick background: Sally is in her 9th year as a realtor, and before that, she was in mortgage. Fortunately, Sally is smart enough to know that the key to success in real estate is talking to people - while TOTALLY OBVIOUS, you and I know that most real estate agents IGNORE the obvious.]

Sally: Okay, I make cold calls 4 to 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. That allows me to talk to 20 people. From these calls I need to book 3 appointments for the week, because 1 will cancel. Then I need to make at least 10 calls to my sphere to stay in touch with them - because most of them still think I am in mortgage - not real estate. 

Tom: What else do you need to do?

Sally: I need time to get people to sign the contracts. I meet with people and then as the weeks build I have to go chase them down to get them to sign.

[There is some more clarification of activities and such.]

Tom: Is there anything else you need to do?

Sally: Well, when I did this kind of plan last year, it was working, but when I got to the third month everything fell apart. I was completely overwhelmed and frazzled because I had too many things going on. I couldn’t get to the unsigned contracts, I didn’t have time to make all my cold calls, nor could I make my sphere calls. And then I still had to sell the homes.

***

This was a 20-minute interaction, that I estimate was supposed to take 5-8 minutes (in Tom’s mind). Sally was off the rails. This was the most entertaining 20 minutes of my week!

Sally was doing all the “right” activities that most real estate gospel says she should do. She actually makes the calls. She actually gets business. But...she HAS NO BUSINESS!

Huh?!

She does not have a business. She has a job. She is as overworked, stressed out, and chaotic as any other “employee” in a high-pressure job. Except she doesn’t get a paycheck and she has no benefits. 

While there is nothing wrong with having a goal to earn money in a specific time frame, what bigger context does this income play into? In other words, what kind of business and life is Sally after? I am asserting that the hustle-grind she is on is not one she would like to continue for the rest of her real estate career. That path leads to only one place: burnout. That is not a business. That is a job. When you have a job, you are not building any equity (for the most part).

Let’s say Sally keeps this up for the next 5 years and then decides she wants to retire. What is her “business” worth?

Nothing. Well, almost nothing.

The value of her real estate business is based on the amount of business that came from her database. In her case, on the path she has been on, only 20% of her business is coming from her database because most of her time is spent chasing strangers. HER OWN PAST CLIENTS STILL THINK SHE IS IN MORTGAGE!

All Sally is doing is repeating ‘one year’ after another - they are not compounding. She is not building anything of value - unless she is receiving that money, spending as little as she can, and investing it. What time off does she have? What other fulfillment and satisfaction does she have? If she has other interests, when does she get to indulge in them? If and when she does indulge, is she truly free to be in those moments - or is she glued to her phone handling and responding to leads and transactions?

Don’t be Sally.

But Sally is successful!!! I bet in her office she is applauded and celebrated. In all fairness, I absolutely appreciate her work ethic and commitment. I really do. I see how rare it is for people to put in the kind of consistent effort to succeed. 

However, it is unbelievably tragic (at least to me) that she is working so hard and getting absolutely nowhere. Nine years in this business and seemingly no further ahead than where she was in year three.  This is our industry.

Look, I want you to do as much business as you want. I also want you to have a life. I am more interested in you having a business that grows, develops, and rewards you in the future. 

Don’t mistake doing business for having a business.