UPDATED: 8 Ways to Thrive – No Matter What the Market is Doing

Do changing markets scare you? Do you worry that if the market goes down that your sales will go down with it?

Here’s the thing: When markets change, clients don’t need you less – they need you more! So it’s on you to do more to reach out to them.

The techniques and strategies I’ll share with you in this video led our real estate team (The Keri Shull Team) from $400M in sales in 2019 to over $550M in sales in 2020.

In this video series I’ll share 8 secrets to growing your business in any market. I know these 8 Ways to Thrive work – because they’ve worked for our real estate team.

The Lockdown

In 2020 the coronavirus hit, and we saw a shutdown the likes of which the world has never seen before. I remember that weekend in the DC area in March – restaurants were closed. We couldn’t go outside. And I thought, what’re we gonna do with our 80-person real estate team?

Watch the video to learn how we pivoted, and how it turned out for our team!

Episode #1: Decide to pivot, not pause

When market changes happen and the unexpected happens, it’s time to ADAPT – it’s not time to stop, it’s not time to pause, it’s not even time to slow down. Immediately think about how you can approach the situation differently; think about different ways to reach your buyers and your clients. 

The week before the lockdown, our team was booking 75 appointments a week. We decided to pivot, not pause. Instead of booking appointments in-person, our ISAs gave our clients the option to book on Zoom. I immediately put out a video on how to do buyer and seller consultations on Zoom.

Keri was reluctant at first because she knew that conversions tend to be higher at in-person consultations. But after talking with her, we decided to move ahead with the Zoom plan. The result: We went from 75 in-person appointments one week to 75 appointments the week after lockdown! After introducing Zoom consultations, we saw about a 50/50 split between in-person appointments and Zoom appointments. 

The upshot: We could’ve seen a 50% decrease in sales appointments if we hadn’t introduced Zoom appointments. Slashing appointments in half would’ve drastically impacted our business 30-60 days out. 

Here’s another change we immediately made: we switched from in-person seminars to online webinars. We conducted virtual showings and virtual open houses. As a result of these changes, over the next 3 months after lockdown we had our three best months ever. 

When markets change, clients don’t need you less. Instead, they need more from you. Decide to pivot, not pause!

Episode #2: Surround Yourself with Growth-Minded People

Today’s tip is: Surround yourself with people who are dedicated to growth. When you’re part of a positive group of people who dream big and take action to make those dreams happen, you can weather anything.

The first time Keri and I did this was when we decided to join Tony Robbins’s Platinum program. We met so many growth-minded people – not just Tony and the people onstage, but also from the other people enrolled in the program.

Surround yourself with growth-minded people.  Bounce ideas off them. Whether the market goes up, down, or sideways, you’ll have this amazing network to lean on.

Episode #3: FASTER Goal Achievement

When it comes to implementing change in your business, if you wait for a perfect plan, you’ll be waiting forever, you’ll take no action.

Decide what type of action you need to take, and then take that action. 

The best way I know how to explain this goes back to my submarine experience. As a Submarine Officer I often had to take the boat to periscope depth. That was one of the most dangerous evolutions you can do on a submarine. 

When ascending to periscope depth, you need to make a fast visual sweep to see if you’re on a safe course. If you have a potential collision or other situation, there’s no time to come up with a perfect course. You need to immediately start turning the boat in a better direction. 

The first priority is to get the boat moving in the right direction: left or right. Then, while the boat is already in motion, you determine the exact course.

Waiting for a perfect course could mean disaster – that applies to your business and your goals, too.

👍 READY: Decide what action you need to take right now. 

💥 FIRE: Perform that action.

🎯 AIM: Once you’re in motion, THEN you can track the results, analyze the impact, and make adjustments. Use the data from that previous execution to iterate and optimize your approach.

Episode #4: 1 Uncomfortable Secret for Growing Your Real Estate Business

In this episode, my tip for you is: Get COMFORTABLE with the UNCOMFORTABLE.  

When the market changes, you’re going to have to do things that you haven’t done before. Every time you do, it’s going to be uncomfortable… and that’s a good thing.

The real magic in life happens when you go beyond your comfort zone, learn something new, and grow. That’s how you grow as a person, and it’s how you grow your business too.

Early in 2020 when the lockdowns hit, we had to adapt quickly. One of the biggest pivots we made was finding ways to connect with clients online. We used to hold multiple large client events with hundreds of people. We couldn’t do that in 2020, so we brought in speakers and comedians to connect with our clients online.

After raising millions of dollars from investors through in-person seminars and face-to-face meetings, we also shifted investor meetings to an online webinar format. At first it felt a little awkward, but we grew from it and we ended up raising even more through online meetings!

If you want to thrive no matter what the market is doing, get comfortable taking on the uncomfortable!

Episode #5: The Secret to Growing Your Business Quickly AND Sustainably

No matter what the market is doing, you can not only survive – but also THRIVE.

Solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and business people in general are highly capable, motivated, self-reliant people. We’re always thinking about ways we can grow our businesses, improve systems, and increase profits.

But thinking about HOW only gets you so far. When your business shows any sign of reaching a plateau in its growth, it pays to think about WHO, not HOW.

I first learned this principle at Funnel Hacking Live from Russel Brunson. Brunson built the billion-dollar company ClickFunnels from scratch. Whenever he hit a plateau in ClickFunnels’s growth, he had to remind himself to think WHO, not HOW.

Entrepreneurs and business people want to think we can do it all. We want to think we’re the warrior, and we can solve whatever problem . But at some point we’re going to reach capacity, and at some point we’re going to become the chokepoint.

Go from “How do I solve this problem?” To “Who do I need to hire to fix this?” If you bring in the right people BEFORE your business hits a plateau, that’s when you’re able to avoid stagnation and keep growing your business quickly!

Episode #6: For Breakthrough Success, Narrow Your Focus

 

Here’s secret #6: Narrow your focus.

I’m not talking about doing less; I’m talking about concentrating your efforts into a smaller area for maximum impact.

It’s all too easy for entrepreneurs and sales agents to get distracted by the latest and greatest. The danger is that – if spread too thin – you could end up becoming a jack of all trades, master of none.

Instead of spreading your efforts across multiple fronts, focus on the areas that will give you the most leverage.

If you read my bestselling book The Hyperlocal HyperFast Real Estate Agent (see link below), you know how I became the top agent in the Arlington market: Not by focusing on all of Arlington, but instead by dominating one condo building with less than 200 units.

Thank of it this way: if I walked up to a glass building and threw a handful of pebbles with all my might, nothing would happen. But if I threw a baseball at a glass window, it’d break right through. How do you concentrate the most resources, money, effort, and time into a narrow enough area to break through? This is important in all markets, but especially when the market is shifting. Narrow your focus!

Episode #7: The TRUTH About Stress and Success

Will real estate success solve all your problems?

A lot of real estate pros and entrepreneurs think that once they make a certain amount of money, grow their business to a certain level, or once their sales hit a magic number… that all of  their problems will somehow disappear.

Here’s the truth: The more you grow, the more you do, the more problems you are going to have. 

The good news is that you can develop the ability to manage multiple stressors at a time.

In my first year in real estate, I was a rookie agent going from 0 to 37 deals – and yes, that was challenging. Check out my bestselling book The HyperLocal HyperFast Real Estate Agent for a detailed breakdown of how I managed to sell $22M in volume during my first year in real estate.

During the year that our team pushed to sell 1,000 homes, I definitely didn’t have FEWER problems though. The bigger you get, the more challenges there will be.

My wife Keri Shull and I have seen this in our personal lives as we grew our business from being #1 in our city (Arlington)… to being #1 in our state (Virginia)… to being one of the top 10 teams in the nation. On top of that, we started coaching hundreds of real estate agents all over to share what we’d learned about succeeding in real estate. Meanwhile, we’ve also grown our family from just Keri and I to expecting our fourth child in early 2021.

I think you should purposely seek out extra challenges. That’s why I do ultramarathons and Ironman triathlons.

Seek out big, exciting stressors in your personal life and your hobbies as well as your business. Practice handling multiple stressors at the same time, and like anything, you’ll get good at it!

Episode #8: Why Are Some Real Estate Coaches Still Giving Outdated Advice?

Learn from people who’ve thrived in several different market cycles! 

Don’t put your business at risk by learning obsolete strategies – learn from people who’ve PROVEN that they can succeed no matter what the market is doing.

Since the 2000s we’ve seen MULTIPLE seismic shifts in the real estate business.

Many people in business and sales did great in the early 2000s but didn’t survive the 2008-2009 crash. Many people built great businesses starting in 2012 and then haven’t been able to adapt during the lockdown. 

There’s a lot of real estate coaches out there who had a couple of good years, then got out before things got tough. If a real estate agent exited the business in 2007 or 2008, they didn’t experience that down market. They never had to sell homes via social media: not on  Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. 

If you got out of the real estate business during the 90s, you didn’t go through the boom and then try to survive in the crash that followed. You didn’t even have to use email marketing if you got out of the game during the 90s.

And believe it or not, there are some real estate coaches out there who have never even sold a single home. If you’re not careful, it’s all too easy to end up learning unproven strategies, strategies that are now obsolete, or even strategies that are already proven losers.

Whether it’s real estate, sales, or business, find mentors who have survived both booms and busts. Learn from mentors who have proven they can thrive in any market!

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