Does A Number Define Success?
- Leslie Dougherty
- May 1, 2016
- 5 min read
A number. What is it? It can be seen as a measurement – 186 lbs or 8 inches or 10 years. Or it can identify someone – now serving #11 or the winner is holding ticket #789327. But would you say those numbers also define success or describe your work ethic? If you weigh 186 lbs, is that successful? If you are customer #11, are you an ethical person? If you have 10 years of experience, is that good? We really don’t know, do we. Those numbers may identify you at that moment but do they confirm you are successful, you are ethical, you are skilled at your work? No, they don’t.
But in real estate, numbers are King. They are the gold standard. These standards then dictate what the industry says is Success. If you have sold over $20 million, you must be successful. If you have over 2,000 addresses in your database, you must be successful. If your office has over 100 agents, your office must be successful. The higher the number, the bigger of a success you are. But are you really?
Is success having so many clients that you literally run through them to the next closing, not able to remember who belongs to which house. That you hand them off to your transaction coordinator so you can gather up more leads. That you are nonresponsive to cooperating agents because you don’t have time to deal with repair requests or contingency timelines or whatever the contract says. You are chasing the next dollar because volume needs to grow, you need to beat last year’s numbers and the other agents’ combined. When you see a client, you can’t remember their name but you know this sale will put you over your sales volume goal. But you are King because of your numbers. You have lousy relationships with colleagues, not to mention your clients, but you are “successful.” That’s the agent you want to work with, right? The numbers say so.
Agents envy those who have large databases – man, if you have over 2,500 in your database that means you are doing something right. Over 2,500 recipe cards are mailed each month to people you don’t know and they don’t know you. You have no idea how you got their contact information but it doesn’t matter – you have the biggest database in the office. You are successful. The numbers say so.
The brokerage is one of the biggest in the area, they have the most agents so that means they are the best, right? Of course, in real estate high numbers mean the best. So what if 80% of their agents are not working or the broker has lost oversight in agent activities. Who cares that the real reason a broker wants more agents is profit versus service. That their real mission is to recruit agents and profit off of their in-house training programs. Clients? They are a by-product of that recruitment. But that office is the best to list with, right? The numbers say so.
The numbers say …. Wait , they don’t say much. They don’t say how I research, review and analyze possible solutions to a finance problem. The numbers don’t tell you how I seek out expert opinions on repairs or lending issues before addressing them with the client and having solutions ready as I present the problem. They don’t show that I work with each client 100% in every aspect of the transaction and that I know the contract terms inside and out. Sales volumes don’t speak for the fiduciary role I take seriously in ensuring my clients’ interests are first and foremost at all times, even if it means we need to cancel which means I am not paid for the work I have done. They don’t show the amount of time I have spent just on researching and setting house tours, ensuring the homes we are seeing are truly viable candidates before my client even steps inside the door. The numbers won’t show you how I chose to not work with certain clients, not list unsellable homes, and not waste dollars on marketing and training that benefits only the broker and vendor but not me and certainly not my clients. You can’t measure ethics, integrity, trust and expertise by sales volume, database contacts or agent head count, though the real estate industry has done a superior job in convincing the public to do so.
I was once told by the CEO of a major real estate coaching company that to grow my business, I needed to scale back by 30% the amount of time I invested in each client. They would not know the difference if I trimmed back the time I spent on them and their transaction. What they don’t know, they won’t miss. Yes, that’s true. But I would know and I have my standards. My standards, fortunately – and unfortunately, are on the high side. It’s how I am wired and I can’t and won’t change. Because if I did scale back, then I am just becoming one of those – those agents who chase numbers and allow the numbers to define their success.
My definition of success is not number-based. My success has faces - the faces of clients who are ecstatic to enter through the doors of their first home. Success looks like those families who you hug with tears in your eyes as they pack their car and head to their new home out of state. It shows up in thank you notes with stories of how a young man thought he would never be able to buy due to credit issues or the new dog that was brought home from the shelter because the new home has a yard for a pet. Success shows up as independence as the single woman buys her own home with her own money. It appears as legacy when the family estate is sold and the heirs are able to make their own dreams come true. Success is helping the elderly client transition to a new way of living with healthcare options. And it is being a part of clients’ lives such as attending their wedding or sharing in the blessing of their new home.
That is what success in real estate is about. It is not about sales volume, being the Top Producer or Broker of the Year. It is about people. And helping them achieve their dreams or close a chapter in the book of life. Don’t let numbers dictate your options or sway your opinion. The biggest isn’t always the best. The numbers don’t always say so
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