What’s in a Number?

Numbers can mean a lot of things. They can make you happy, sad, proud, angry and, best of all, the same number can make five different people experience five distinctly different emotions.

In the world of real estate brokerages, we see numbers being discussed all the time. Who has the most agents? Who has the most offices? Who is number one? Who closed the most transactions? Who closed the highest volume? I am sure you have all witnessed brokerages stake claim to one of these “achievements” and perhaps you have even done so yourself, but so what?

As a real estate professional, how you measure success may be different from another, so here is a question: how confident are you in your numbers when you make your statement? More importantly, do you have the ability to accurately track the numbers that are important to you? Do you have the internal systems and software to get every piece of important information you desire? How long does it take you or your administrator to gather this information? Is your data presented to you in real time?

Running a brokerage properly can be a daunting task even for the best brokers. There are so many moving parts to manage. Not to mention, you are frequently dealing with people and their emotions and the impact their decisions have on their entire family. Managing the numbers in your brokerage is not just about you and your business, it is about your agents and their business. A strong understanding of your numbers will help you proactively identify when your agents are thriving and when they need help, allowing you to identify coaching opportunities, when to ask questions and when to congratulate them on a job well-done.

In my past life as a broker, I can still remember almost every conversation I had with an agent who was at that critical juncture of fight or flight; contemplating whether or not to keep going or give in and get 9-to-5 cubicle job. I also remember trying to navigate my way through all of the office’s production numbers to identify agents close to that very juncture and whether, as a whole, the company was profitable.

See, I was relatively fortunate in that I did have some fairly good reporting available to me. This seemed to be a frequent topic of discussion when running into other brokers. I found it very interesting that so many of them had no idea where they truly stood financially or whether they were profitable. Then again, I had to remind myself that if it was not important to them, it was none of my business. My numbers mattered to me and I had no business assuming that my numbers should or would have any importance to them.

What I am trying to say here is really, very simple. If you have numbers you care about, if there are certain things you think are important to you, then make sure you get what you need when you need it and in the format you want it. If you are not getting what you need, spend the time now to find the systems and platforms that will give it to you. Yes, it might be a little painful making changes and transitions to a new program (if that is what you need), but the pain now will pale in comparison to pain down the road if you choose not to make the change.

To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.