Know Your Numbers!

If you’re not the kind of real estate professional who obsesses over the numbers that define your business, maybe it’s time to reconsider. Top performers in our business understand the importance of understanding their business analytics.

But we understand that you might be one of those people who never felt comfortable with numbers (“I’m really not a numbers person”). Indeed, if you’re “that person,” it can be stressful to have to continuously review your numbers, especially if those numbers are conveying a less-than-rosy picture of your business.

The purpose of this post is to review the different ways in which numbers serve a critical role in your business. Plus, we’ll share a few tips that might help you get comfortable with being more of a “numbers person.”

• Numbers never lie. Your numbers can tell you a lot about your approach to selling real estate and your overall strategy. By digging into the numbers, you’re able to get a clearer picture of what is, and what is not working. And then take the necessary steps to make change the picture.
• Numbers provide clarity. With regard to prospecting, numbers provide a logical progression to measure success. In other words, you can clearly understand the relationship between calls, contacts, conversations and contracts. By tracking your daily performance, you know how many calls you need to make in order to achieve your listing objectives. These ratios become the benchnarks for your daily prospecting routine.
• Numbers can motivate. If you’re one of those people who see numbers as negative, necessary evils, perhaps you can flip that thinking on its head. Turn data analysis into something to look forward to, something that can translate to motivation. Set aside the same time each day to review your results-and stick to that plan for at least 30 days, which is the typical amount of time needed to create lasting habits.
• Numbers combat complacency. The truth is, if your transactions are falling well short of your goals, it’s likely reflective of the fact that you may not be putting enough focus and commitment into your daily prospecting efforts.
• Numbers and rejection. We’ve written extensively about the importance of dealing with rejection as a real estate professional. In this regard, you can turn rejection into a benchmark for success. Consider: if you get rejected, 50 times each day, it’s confirmation that you’ve made 50 prospecting calls. You can’t control when somebody answers the phone. But you can control the volume of your call outreach. Perhaps you turn rejections into a daily goal?
• Other numbers that matter. A set of numbers that can be conveniently overlooked revolve around the amount of money you invest in building your business. Some of those measurable investments include, but are not limited to the following:
  • Hiring a coach
  • Purchasing a proven Lead Generation/CRM system, such as Vulcan 7
  • Hiring a part-time admin to help you manage the details of your growing business
  • Attending conferences, virtual or otherwise

You wouldn’t be alone if you have a mental block when it comes to numbers. But with nominal effort, you can begin to overcome any hang-ups you might have with regard to your analytics. The more you get comfortable with reviewing and understanding your numbers, the more confident you’ll become about what you are doing. Or, what you need to do moving forward, in order to take your business to the next level.