From a business headlines perspective November is probably the most quiet month of the year compared to October or March. I researched landmark economic events in the month of November and found two which stood out in the last 100 years. The end of WW1 in November of 1918 a monumental event on many levels, and the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX in November of 2022 (founder Sam Bankman-Fried is awaiting his appeal in MDC Brooklyn in same dormitory-style cell as Sean Combs). I’m not sure why November is a lackluster business headline month. Is it because the US has a Presidential Election every 4 years in November and that dominates the headlines in November? Or because US Thanksgiving is in November and people only care about football and turkey that day? In Canada the 11th month hosts Remembrance Day, which is a day to put our differences aside and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. However, nothing else really happens in the Scorpio month. 

It seems that November is the calm before the Christmas Storm, where no one wants to shake things up economically. However, October is the poster child for seismic business events with the triple crown of financial doom, so much so they branded days of the week with black. Black Tuesday (1929 Stock Market Crash), Black Monday (October 1987 saw the largest one day drop in stock market history) and October 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed under the weight of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Come to think of it, November has an annual Black Day - it’s a Friday and that is a happy economic day!!!!

Would You Do Your Job For Free?

Recently, I was getting my hair cut by who I believe to be the most talented coiffure in Southern Ontario. He is the owner and has a very sound business mind. We often speak of our opportunities and failures. He was formerly an emergency room EMT, an experience that he speaks about with fondness. However, when the question was posed, “Would you have done that noble work for free versus what you do today?”, his answer was steadfast. “I would do what I do today for no money at all”. I found that answer very interesting, so I decided to pose it to myself, and to an audience I was in front of recently. Only 3 people put up their hands - the organizer of the event, someone in the front row, and me. Yes, I know what all you naysayers are grumbling under your breath, ‘that’s a pie in the sky question and no one would answer that honestly.’ Most entrepreneurs, along with 100% commission based sales people should have no problem answering that. I gave an honest answer, because when I was building my business, I forfeited any compensation in order to build my business Many a REALTOR® has done the same. 

Is The Game of Golf More Rewarding Than What You Do For a Living?

You see, leaders/entrepreneurs should always pay first and eat later. It’s how you earn your stripes. But more importantly, when you are creating something you are passionate about, you do not need to be paid for it. Let me put it another way, 99.9% of golf enthusiasts are always chasing that perfect round. They often complain about their frustration with the game, and not only do these people not get payed to spend 4 hours in the elements, they pay for the privilege to torment themselves. 

With November being a month of low anxiety so to speak, it is a perfect month to reflect on what your vocation is, and how to bring that passion back into what you do. I declare November to be the ardent month of the year, where we become introspective about what we do, and create a systematized approach to re-kindle our LOVE for our chosen careers. 

Rekindle the Tingle

It’s time you re-introduce yourself to what you do. Remember those first dates with your significant other, when your conversations would last forever, and you couldn’t wait to do it all over again? It was sort of an obsession in a good way, because you both connected on so many levels. The rest of the world was put on hold, and you both had focus and rhythm, and you finished each others sentences. How cute you both were! Now think of the ‘you’ when you started in your career. I remember when I started as a REALTOR® I travelled all over God’s country to show properties to my clients. I was so excited to show leases just to get more product knowledge, or do open houses and midnight negotiations. Then there was a time when the noise of your fellow REALTORS®, the market, a looming recession, or interest rates rising that took you away from your infatuation with what you do. Just like the novelty wore off of in your relationships, when your friends started to get married, your parents prodded you to pop the question, you followed suit and before you knew it you had a couple of kids and a mortgage. The noise of your new life begins to takeover and that happy tingle in your stomach which stated this whole love thing sometimes disappears. I realize I am speaking in generalities here however, allow me to speak with conviction when I say that we all fall in and out of love with what we do.

The Dawn of a New Way Is Upon Us

The most uninspiring part of our day is the repetitive activities we need to do everyday which become monotonous, and are, in fact, an infatuation killer. So what are we to do? It’s time we map out every step of every process of what you do in your service business. In real estate it is the listing process, your lead generation process, your buyer process, your post listing/sale process, etc., etc. Where can technology automate the process and when does human contact serve the process well? By creating a combination of physical and non physical touch points, you will wow your clients throughout their individualized sales journey.

What is also very important during this whole systemization process is to identify areas in the process from which to extract data. AI has a voracious appetite for data, and the more exotic the data the better the outcome will be. 

We all have our own ability to collect exotic data. The data points we have about our clients help make the future process that much better for your client base. AI will be able to mine your database, your communications, the questions your clients frequently ask and make additions to your process. It will prompt you to have information ready before a particular client asks you for it. This will enrich your clients journey and make you the most referred REALTOR® in your network. This is called audience analysis and segmentation, and it’s available today on some CRMs. 

The Funnel is Still The Funnel

The sales funnel hasn’t changed. There are still 3 stages: the Awareness Stage, the Evaluation Stage and the Buying Stage. The only thing that has changed is how we create and deliver components of the funnel. Podcasts, how-to videos, vlog posts, guides, seminars etc., are all a part of the awareness stage which is vital to building any business. The middle of the funnel is where consumers evaluate you, your service or your product. It’s testimonials; it’s ratings; its showcasing your past clients’ successes which in turn demonstrates your value. The bottom of the funnel is the action stage, where you impart your knowledge on the potential client (market evaluation, suggestions to add value to ..., staging consultation, etc.) to earn their trust and in turn they buy your service. 

A commission based business can get frustrating but it is probably self inflicted. When was the last time you really evaluated the cost of an online ad, or the effectiveness of buying leads? Recent studies (US) have estimated the online lead generation business at a cool $4.5 billion, with an estimated $125,000,000 to $200,000,000 return on that investment. Let’s do some math. There are approximately 1.5 million REALTORS® (NAR members) in the United States, who spend approximately $3000 annually on online leads ($250/month). Online leads have an average success rate of around 3% (4.5 billion x .03 = $125,000,000). Let’s go one step further. There are approximately 5 million existing home sales in the US per year (4,090,000 in 2023). With 150 million online leads being sold to REALTORS®, and divide the amount of transactions that occurred, you discover that there were 25 leads per transaction, or 4%. Do the math at $4,500,000,000 x .04 = $180,000,000. 

With these numbers it’s no surprise how frustrated REALTORS® are. By taking control of your own funnel you are assured to attract more like minded consumers to yourself and your close rate will be much higher, and you will fall back in love again with what you do!

Focus on People and Partner with the Best Technology 

We all need to practice like crazy to become more efficient, because the more efficient we can become, the more quality time we can spend with our clients nurturing those business relationships. Efficiency equates to value and creates a much better customer experience. Remember you are not buying technology, you are partnering with it, so do your homework, attend conferences and ask a lot of questions of as many experts and suppliers as you can.