Archive for Profitability
Romance vs. Reality: Two Views of the Real Estate Business
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The ‘romantic’ view: I’ve got my license, my business cards, I’m with a wonderful company. People will find me, be really nice to me, never offer objections, never lie to me, and do whatever I tell them. I will make lots of easy money fast, working no more than 30 hours in a hard week.
The ‘reality’: I don’t expect people to find me. I have to go out and find lots of people. I have to use my ingenuity, grit, tenacity, and never give up. I have to be able to say ‘I don’t know but I’ll find out’ a dozen times a day. I have to be able to tolerate clients not showing up, not telling the truth (come on, don’t be tough on me, it’s true….), not buying when they should, and listing with someone else.
How do we present reality? You can help. I’m editing the 6th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days, the internationally-published business-planning/action book for new agents. I’m also finishing a new book for would-be agents, Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Won’t Teach You in Pre-License School.
Tell me what you think. I’ve made 2 surveys, one for agents and one for managers. They each will take you just a few minutes, and you’ll be helping our industry prepare people for the reality of the business, not just the romance.
Here’s the link to the survey for agents.
Here’s the link to the survey for leadership.
Please return the survey to me by Feb. 27. If you’re quoted in either book, you’ll receive a copy, of course, and acknowledgment in the book.
How to Use Those Business Plans to Coach all Year
Posted by: | CommentsYou worked hard to help your agents gain business plans for the coming year. Now, optimize that work!
Are you using your agents’ business plans to coach all year? If not, you’re missing out on leveraging that plan!
First, congratulations! You’ve helped your agents each gain a business plan. That’s a huge key to their success–but only the first step. Now, how can you capitalize on all that work (both you and the agents?) It’s not enough to teach them to plan, or even to sit down with each agent and work through their plans. In order to really help them use those plans as a guide all year, use that business plan as a platform from which to coach the agent all year.
Here are the basics of coaching to a business plan.
How often should you coach?
That depends on the agent. For newer agents, coach more frequently (at least monthly). For seasoned agents, coach a minimum of quarterly and better yet, monthly.
What should you coach to?
You’ve provided your agent with a method to set goals in finding, working with, and closing clients (I hope you’re using my Beyond the Basics of Business Planning system.) You have provided your agent a method to measure results. You’re going to use the numbers that the agent is generating by measuring the results of his business plan:
First, the goals: Lead generation, listings, listings sold, sales.
Lead generation
Listing/sales appointments
Listings
Listings sold
Sales
You’re going to help the agent translate the activity numbers into ratios so the agent knows the work he must do to reach his goals.
Why bother to use the business plan as a foundation for coaching?
Because, otherwise, you’re just giving advice or doing ‘crisis management’. You want to be perceived as a trusted business coach, helping the agent grow his/her business.
Big questions: Is the planning system you’re using
1. Helping the agent assess his business–where he’s been?
2. Helping the agent set realistic goals and an action plan that translates into daily activities?
3. Includes an accurate method to measure the activities and results of the activities so you and the agent can make fast adjustments?
Want Some Support to Get Your Agents Business Plans?
Contact me to find out how I can educate your agents on business planning and support and coach you as a leader. Give me a call at 425.392-6914 or email me at carla@carlacross.com. I can do a webinar series for you, supply you will all the planning documents, and help your leadership coach your agents–at a very affordable cost with big pay-off for you.
Is This an ‘Interruption’ or an Opportunity’?
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Is this an interruption or an opportunity?
We’ve never faced this kind of situation. Yes, we’ve been through and weathered the slumps. We’ve helped our agents change their strategies from sellers’ to buyers’ markets and back again. But, this is somewhat different.
Consider This a Unique Leadership Opportunity
On April 23, at 10 am PDT, I’ll be presenting a webinar for leadership on how to seize this time as an opportunity to lead.
For many agents (I estimate it’s about 75% or more), this time is seen as an interruption of a great market. These agents have depended on
the market driving their businesses.
Now, in an instant,
the agents must drive the market themselves.
But, most agents are not going to make that shift alone. You need to lead them to the concept that they now drive the market–and show them how to do that.
The Leadership Actions to Reveal Opportunities to Agents
How can you implement specific actions that work now to get your agents back into the business and connecting with their client base? Here are four methods to do just that. In the webinar, I’ll show you how to
- Motivate your team members to communicate value to their client base
- Mobilize your team to gain exceptional support
- Re-focus each of your agents by helping them implement a 60-Day Pivot Business Plan*
- ‘Up’ your communication with specific changes
*You’ll receive my 60-Day Pivot Business Plan as my ‘thank you’ for attending this webinar. I’ll show you how to use this plan to coach your agents.
Special circumstances require special leadership actions. How have you lead your agents from an ‘interruption mindset’ to an ‘opportunity mindset’?

Leadership:
The Right
Actions to
Take
Now to
Assure Profits
Later
Join me for this fast-paced, 45-minute webinar exclusively for leadership April 23 (Thursday), at 10 am PDT. Click here for more information and to register.
Do You Have Your 60-Day ‘Pivot Plan’ In Place?
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Do you have your 60-day pivot business plan in place?
Congratulations to you if you made a 2020 business plan. However, none of us could have foreseen the events of the past two months. Those events have called for a different plan–both for you and for your agents.
5 Big Questions to Answer Right Now
Next Thursday (April 23), I’ll be doing a 45-minute webinar exclusively for leadership on actions to take right now to retain agents and plan for profits. Here’s more information on that.
To prepare for this webinar, here are some questions leadership needs to ask themselves to evaluate whether they’ve got everything they need in place to lead in this uncertain environment.
- What are you doing right now to communicate regularly with each agent in your office? Do you have a schedule? Have you helped each agent with a pivot business plan? (I’ll be providing a template for you to use with your agents after the webinar).
- What’s your agent mix? How many new agents, growth agents, mature agents in your mix? Do you have a plan for each group to move them forward? (I’ll provide you a tool to segment your agents).
- How have you changed your training to continue it without disruption? Are you doing ‘live’ online events, or have you contracted with an outside source to assure your training has continuity?
- Who else have you enlisted to help retain your agents? Do you have any teaming in place?
- What’s the morale like in your office? With each agent? What actions are you taking to improve each person’s outlook so they will continue their business in a meaningful way now?
Answering these questions will prepare you for the actions I’ll be suggesting to you during the webinar next Thursday, April 23, starting at 10 am Pacific Daylight Time.
The good news: This is the time when leaders can LEAD. The feelings of insecurity, of fear of income loss, fear of sickness–all can overwhelm our agents unless we step forward with positive leadership actions. The actions I’ll be suggesting to you next week will build loyalty and retain your good agents, preparing for a market re-emergence.

Leadership:
The Actions
to Take Now
to Preserve
Profits Later
Join me for this fast-paced, 45-minute webinar exclusively for leadership April 23 (Thursday), at 10 am PDT. Click here for more information and to register.
Engagement: How to Drive It in a Screeching-Halt Market
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Engagement: Do you have a plan to drive engagement with your agents in this shifted market? Or, are you waiting for your company, your association, or …… to take over? Or, do you think you just don’t have to engage?
Sometimes it takes years! I don’t want you to lose your agents–or your business.
Concrete Methods to Re-Engage Your Agents
Every week, I’ll be giving you specific actions to take to re-vitalize the communication and the activity levels of the agents in your office. I’m not just drawing these out of a hat. This is what I have done for years to encourage, tell truth, and get agents into action in challenging markets. This will set you up for great profitability, retention, and a wonderful recruiting tool. How do I know? I’ve done it several times. It works.
First: Set Up Your Plan
Don’t wait for your company or some outside force to do this for you. All well and good, but you need to step right in and be the one who literally LEADS right now. That’s right–leads. Oh, boy, I just thought of what I don’t want to happen for you: DON’T just send them to some training guru site and hope all works out (that includes me!).
What Your Plan Should Look Like
First, when I say ‘meetings’, of course I mean via Zoom or Go to Webinar, or a similar program!
As a group (and groups):
- New agent training at least weekly with actionable items they are to complete–must be high accountability
- Advanced agent training at least weekly with guests sharing best practices for this market
- Mastermind groups of various experience and/or production levels
- Office meetings weekly with guests
In other words, your training calendar must
- Address the needs of the various levels of your agents
- Be consistent and well-thought out to serve your agents with actionable items–which you then can get permission to share
- Create a compelling reason why your agents should re-engage frequently
You DO have a training calendar, don’t you?
With individuals:
- Quartile your agents using any weighing variables you feel are important (4 points for production, 3 points for culture, etc.). See who you can help (probably not the bottom quartile, but you make that call. It’s your time and energy. You deserve a pay-off…..)
- Look at what you’ve been urging these agents to get done for the past 6 months (or more!): their website, their bios, their databases, their presentations, etc.
- Choose 5 action items you want to use with each agent, and let each agent prioritize and add to these actions, add dates–so it’s their plan; or, ask each agent to come up with 5 prioritized items
- Set up a schedule with each agent to review actions–I’ll be helping you apply great coaching techniques so they are motivated to keep going!
What I’ll be Providing You
Besides these overview and bigger picture items, I’m going to provide you specific action items (some with templates so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel) that you can drop in in several training/coaching areas
Who Will Survive and Thrive Through this Time
I know today, there are companies and/or managers who have a ‘hands off’ approach: It’s the agent’s business and that agent decides when, how, and how much to do–alone. When the market is going nuts, that works, because the market is driving the agents. But, when the market becomes challenging, the agents are looking for leadership, for guidance, for coaching. They get lost–more easily than they will admit. Those who provide positive, clear, supportive leadership now will come out with a much stronger profit picture, a synergistic team, and a recruiting tool.
Tell me: What are YOU doing to drive action in your office right now?
Let’s Partner to Drive your Success!

Why reinvent the wheel right now? Take advantage of my online training program, Up and Running in Real Estate, created from my smash hit, proven business start-up program Up and Running in 30 Days.
Not just a distance learning program!
No one wants to sit in front of a computer especially now!) and learn neat stuff….
Effective online training has to have 3 things:
- An easy, engaging process to draw the attendee in and keep him/her interested
- Interaction with a real human being once inawhile
- Interaction and idea exchange with others in the course
Ive integrated these 3 critical factors in Up and Running in Real Estate.
- Engaging--I created humor, introspection, and awards to motivate attendees to keep going through the program
- Coaching: I will be personally group coaching agents in the program, and you have a unique opportunity to coach in the program, too.
- Interaction: set up discussion groups so agents can interact and support each other
An Easy Way to Integrate Coaching Your Agents
Your support right now is critical. So, I waived the $99 fee for Coaches Corner (the coaching component of the program) for all who sign up prior to Sept. 1, 2020. To qualify, register at least 1 of your agents in the program. See more here.
Lets create success together!
Are You Sure You’re Offering the Right Training?
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Are you sure you’re offering the right training?
For the next few blogs, I’m offering tips on making your training work better. And, I’ll be offering tips for trainers, too.
Look at your training calendar. If you don’t have one, simply take a 3-month calendar and write in the training you’re providing.
At the end of this article, I’ll give you my Training Calendar Evaluator—a tool to use to see what your training really looks like. I developed this tool when I was regional director for a very large franchise. I wanted to help managers and trainers improve their training programs and calendars.
What’s the ratio of business-producing vs. business supporting training modules you have now in your training plan and calendar?
When I see some training calendars, I can see why their training is not increasing productivity. Most or all of their modules are concerned with business supporting subjects (technical knowledge): Home inspections, the law of agency, websites, social media, etc. That’s all nice, but what does it directly do with creating productivity? Here’s the path to a sale:
Excerpted from What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School (Carla Cross, Noteworthy Publishing, Inc.)
If you want to increase productivity and profits, your training calendar needs to reflect your training in these business-producing areas.
What are you training to that will make a real difference in your productivity and profits next year? Put that in your business plan.
To get my analytical tool, Training Calendar Analysis Tool, click here. I’ve added some questions, too, in most categories, to help you think through these decisions and come up with a blazingly good training program.
Let me know the changes you’ve made based on your evaluation. I want to help you create training with impact, with less work from you!
Help for your Training and Trainers
Do you provide training for your presenters and trainers? I’d love to help you, and them, learn and practice these types of great, quickly applicable strategies. I do trainings and presentations for Realtor trainers, trainers of real estate companies, and affiliates.
Get in touch with me and we’ll talk about your needs. I customize each presentation, too, for YOUR specific audience needs. My background as a performing musician, coupled with my real estate sales, leadership, and training experience, gives me a unique ‘take’ on training trainers. I’d love to help you!

Breaking through those barriers: Keys to higher performance from an unlikely source–my piano teacher.
This year, I’m focusing on performance–higher performance for agents, leadership, and trainers. All of these principles are foundationed in those actions that create higher performance taken from a field that absolutely depends on increasing performance–music.
What does my piano teacher have to do with real estate coaching–or training? Everything. Here’s what I learned about coaching great performance–not from a business coach, but from my great piano teacher (in fact, I’ve had many of them.)
Good or Great?
As you know, some pianists become great, while most others just become good enough to play the notes. It’s the same with trainers’ outcomes. Recently, one of my coaching clients (an owner of a real estate company) asked me, “Why do some trainers and coaches get great results and others don’t–but seem to be working as hard?”
Great question, huh? In fact, if we trainer/coach types knew that answer, we could build our systems so that we assured great performance! So, I went back to my ‘former life’–that as a musician and piano/flute teacher, and thought, “Why do some piano teachers create great performers–and others don’t?”
Why Use Piano Teachers as the Analogy….
I use the analogy of the piano teacher, because it’s easy to hear differences in sloppy and great performance. I’m sure you’ve heard 2 people play the same piece of music. One plays it accurately and one just kind of slops through it. Or, some piano teachers’ students drop out, unmotivated to practice, while others stay motivated, challenged, and achieve high performance–even if they don’t seem to have great talent.
Five Proven Components for Great Performance
From having taken piano lessons since age six, gaining a degree in piano performance, and having taught piano at the grade, high school, and college level, I’ve had an opportunity to see the great and the not-so-great–both teachers and performers. Here are the five components I’ve discovered make the biggest difference in great performance. As you read this, ask yourself, “How am I, as a trainer and/or coach, applying these principles?” “What outcomes am I getting?”
1. Great piano teachers screen in and screen out.
They don’t let just anybody take lessons from them. Trainers and coaches: What’s your ‘screen in’ process? Do you have one? Do you have a list of questions you ask? In our coaching company, we have a prescribed list of questions we ask potential clients (and we unfortunately have to turn down some). I even have a Coach ability Assessment I provide potential clients.
Click here to request your copy.
2. Great piano teachers set expected standards (minimums) during the screening process–not after the lessons start!
Those standards include: Amount of practice each day, recitals attended and played in, going to lessons, etc. What do you expect of your clients? Make a list of at least 5 standards now–and get the ‘mutual expectations’ agreement in writing prior to letting them into your program.
3. Great piano teachers figure out the ‘competency levels’ they want their students to attain–and when they expect them.
How good do you expect your students to get in that one-month training program you’ve been doing? Do you even measure skill levels? Which skill levels to you measure? How? Do you have your students practice their listing presentations until they reach the level of competency you believe the real client expects? What an eye-opener! Make a list now of 5 skills and the level of competency you want your students to attain in your training program. You’ll see your outcomes go way up just by doing this.
4. Great piano teachers get better performance because their excellent students motivate other good students to excellence.
Have you ever gotten yourself into the situation where you felt like you were way above the other people in your group? This isn’t an ego thing–it’s just a ‘I don’t belong here’ thing. Likes attract. Good performers motivate other good performers. Excellent performers stay. Are you creating a self-motivating group–or, are you creating a situation where your good performers will leave for a team that is ‘more like them’? This goes back to those ‘screen in’ and setting competency principles. I know we all feel challenged when people don’t appear motivated. Here’s one of the secrets to fire them up!
5. Great piano teachers provide lavish praise–when deserved.
Behavior that’s rewarded is repeated.
If you have competency levels, you have a way and a reason to praise. Your students/clients know when they have reached those levels–and can expect praise, too! In fact, strong students/clients will ask you for praise. Write down the 5-10 methods you use to appreciate and praise good performance. If you can’t get to 10, figure them out.
But, what about the method? The specific coaching, the training? Yes, the method is important, but the coaching/training techniques above are much more important. I’ve heard some great performers and some poor performers all playing the same kind of music from the same method. At the same time, great methods should have some ‘built-in’ features that assure the trainer/coach is achieving these 5 principles.
Principles, System, Coaching–Putting it All Together
From talking with prominent trainers, managers, and coaches, we’ve pinpointed a need for all those training and coaching today to get the coaching they need to turn out great performers. In my online coaching program for new agents, Up and Running in Real Estate, I’ve put these components into the program as an integral way to assure great performance.
Just updated and revised to make it an easy and fun experience!
You as Business Plan Coach: 3 Areas to Help Your Agents Review
Posted by: | CommentsIn these posts in November and December, I’ll be featuring business planning strategies. Watch for checklists, processes, and systems--ready to use, too. I want to help you and your agents create a great business plan for next year!
This post’s ‘gift’ is my after sale survey. See the link in the body of the blog.
Coaching your agents: Before your agents launch right into that business plan for next year, take a look back. Why? Your history will provide clues about how to save time and money for next year.
1. Where’s your money been going? It makes sense that the money you invest in your career should be giving you pay-offs equal to your investment. Unfortunately, many agents don’t know where they spent the bulk of their money last year. Go back over the past four months.
Add up the moneys you’ve spent to generate business in each of your ‘target markets’–those identifiable groups of people that you build programs around to get business (geographical farm, first-time buyers, etc.) Where are you spending most of your money? Are you getting a good enough ‘return on your investment’? You’ll use this analysis to build your budget for next year, too.
From working with agents in my business planning course, I’ve observed that many agents don’t build a business plan around their best source of business: ‘sold’ customers and clients. Marketing surveys show that it costs six to nine times as much to get a new customer as to keep an old one. So, if you spend more money on your best source, and less on your other sources, you’ll optimize your investment.
2. What are your ‘success’ ratios? Most agents don’t know this one:
What are your ratios of listings taken to listings sold?
How many of your sellers are you making happy?
How many of those sellers are so delighted with your service that they will refer more people to you? In my opinion, a good agent should target a 80-90% success ratio in this area.
Why? We all know we need to promote ourselves. The most successful, believable promotions are based on our success records–what we’ve done, not promises. If you have a sign on your desk that says “If you don’t list, you don’t last”–tear it up. Instead, put up a sign that reads, “If your listings don’t sell, you don’t last. Small adjustments, big dividends. (Plus you’ll save lots of marketing dollars.)
3. How ‘delighted’ are your customers? Most so-called ‘business plans’ in real estate merely are goal-setting grids. Focusing only on the ends suggests that the ends justify the means. However, the consumer sure doesn’t think so! These goal setting grids alone lead agents to miss the point of the decade: Top-flight customer service begets more business. That is, not just what you do, but how you do it.
What level of customer service are you providing? Is it just good enough to get through the transaction? Or, is it so great that your customers and clients are thoroughly delighted? (Delighted consumers refer business to you–less cost and more effort equals big pay-offs, right?) What can you build into your business plan to assure that you’re regularly delighting those you work with?
One of the agents in featured in many of my books, Rick Franz, now provides surveys weekly during the time he works with buyers and sellers. He wants clients to know he cares how they feel about the service, and that he’s dedicated to providing the best service they’ve ever had. Pretty competitive, yes?
Click here to get my after sale survey, one of the dozens of strategies ready to use in my business planning system.
Although there are dozens of areas to scope in your plan, just taking one hour out of your day now to assess these three areas–and plan adjustments–will assure you make more money this year–and create a better, more pleasant long-term career.
Be Strategic In Your Planning this Year!
Why not create a great plan, with the flexibility to change with the times? It’s all online now, and you can plan as you go. There’s a planning system for leadership, and, when you buy the leadership plan, you also get entry to the agents’ planning system. Take a look at Beyond the Basics of Business Planning.