Controlling the Uncontrollable

When it's difficult to forecast the coming year, gain control over the coming year by setting the tone for your business.

Many years ago, I watched a video about threats to the real estate industry. Over time, there have been many. Yet the individual agent and agent teams continue to survive in the market because:

It's difficult to replicate true market knowledge.

Real estate is still a logical purchase surrounded by a lot of emotion.

Buyers and sellers do not want to make a mistake and look for guidance from market experts.

Today's real estate market seems difficult to navigate to customers in the market but probably no more so than in previous years. Certainty would be great. As real estate practitioners, we've always had to pull from our market knowledge and our business practices; we've never had the benefit of seeing into the future to guide clients and customers, let alone set a forecast for our business.

Looking for certainty in the market can be like trying to control the uncontrollable.

Before I began today's post, I searched for popular quotes about controlling the uncontrollable and I have to say that rather predictably they range from "Don't try to control the uncontrollable" to "Equanimity's strength derives from a combination of understanding and trust. It is based on understanding that the conflict and frustration we feel when we can't control the world doesn't come from our inability to do so but rather from the fact that we are trying to control the uncontrollable." (Author, Sharon Salzberg) Both are valuable perspectives.

Looking at my own Pinterest board I can tell that this is a popular topic with me and with others. By now, many people know that an individual's reactions and actions are what an individual can control (circle of control); outside your circle of control is The World.

I've made peace with control by looking at it as setting the tone for my life. I always have a choice: to think about what I want to say (before I say it), what I do first when I wake up in the morning and before I go to sleep. The habits I choose to put in place, the responses I give, set the tone for who I am--for better or for worse!

As with your personal life, your business life also benefits from setting the tone. There's a fair amount of uncertainty in the world around us. Choosing exactly the right path for your 2023 business can seem arduous. Set the tone for your business so that you can define your actions, how you will react and what promises you make to yourself and your business in 2023.

Setting the Tone for your Business

The goal is to manage your business practices, how you work and what habits need to be incorporated so that your business is stable and thriving. It's okay to tweak these habits or "the tone" every 90 days because there will be times that the tone is not correct and needs to be adjusted. Focus on developing the type of business you want, improving your market knowledge and your skillset. Most importantly, focus on your communication style.

When looking over your business plan, you'll want to assess and decide:

• What Standard Operating Procedures do I have in place to maintain strong relationships with sellers, buyers and those with whom I have already closed business? How often do I fine-tune those? Do they need to be tweaked going into the next year?

• What business do I already have in my pocket? What is their timeline for purchasing or selling, and do I see any trends emerging from my customer or client base?

• How many people do I need to talk with on a weekly basis? How am I going to manage my communications so that I don't lose touch with my sphere of influence?

• Do I have a niche market, geographic farm or price range farm? How often will I reach out to them and what else will I do to present information that resonates with them?

• Where did my business come from last year? Is there a gap in my SOPs that needs to be addressed so that I can increase the number of desired clients this year?

There is a lot of communication in the list above. It will be important. Share your confidence and your competence with potential customers in the market. When buyers and sellers look for guidance in a market that changes constantly, they will work with an agent they respect and trust.