This is one of those posts that is more of a digest than a post. I started this as a recording just for me and then decided to share. Well, 2015 numbers are complete for year 4 of The Ballen Group Real Estate Team at Keller Williams. Year 5.... I need year 5 to be the year of growth. We got all of our closings finalized before the new year. We did most of the past year with 2 full time agents and one part time. Lynn and Tom and Sandy were our producers this year. Sandy was only able to work a small part of the year as she had a baby AND became pregnant with her 2nd. She closed 11 homes with us in 2014. We wish her the best in her new role of Mom :) - We finished the 2nd 1/2 of the year with no in house admin and only VAs. We moved our in house admin team to the marketing team and cut costs on the real estate team working through only 2 VAs as a lead coordinator / referral tracker and a TC. We finished in the top 1/2 of the top 1% in Nevada which Im proud of. Im still not crazy about our finishing numbers and they only topped last year by a million. But Im proud of the things we did well. Im proud that we tracked our numbers, knew exactly where our business was coming from, and where we stood on sales and profitability all year. Im proud that I never had to step back in and take over any clients. I do know that if I had focused more on talent, those numbers would have been greater. But Ill admit my focus has been on building my marketing company and The Ballen Method Brand. I dont regret it. It was the right decision for me and my family. Real Estate is part of my life, but its not where I spend my hours. Creating systems and lead generation, yes, but in the office doing day to day real estate, no. The numbers closed out at: 50/50 Buyer to Seller Closings Exactly. 50% - Online Real Estate Agent Referrals (Facebook/Twitter/Google) 24% - Google Straight Searches 10% - SOI 6% - Realtor (unpaid) 6% - Past Clients (We did short sales for 3 years, we expect this to rise now) 2% - Facebook Groups / Pages 2% - Geographic Farm. Our Average Seller closing Price: $187,350 Our Average Buyer closing Price: $157,018 What I learned in 2014: I never had a lead problem. Investing in more lead generation efforts, advertising, farming, was not really the right move for me. Internet marketing is my one thing, and I need to stay right there. Now, the trick is getting the websites to convert more, getting the leads cultivated, and getting agents converting more. We have never had a lead generation problem. So, I know better now where I need to focus our efforts for 2015 and its not in advertising. (Although Facebook ad strategies may be in play) That we can do as much through a small team of talent than with a large team of talent + not so talented. You can bring all the people you want to create an army, but if they are not talent, you still wont see any benefit. We were much happier the 2nd 1/2 of the year with the small core team than the first 1/2 with the large team that had a mix. We made more profit of course 2nd half. That being said, we still intend in building the admin team out as we build our hub to prepare for expansion. We have Jeff here now and we are so confident that with his leadership, the systems and talent will grow to allow for massive growth. We want Tom to focus on production and we plan to bring in an expansion director in 2015. That Im better in marketing than I am as a real estate agent LOL... DUH!!!! That it all rises and falls with leadership. And although I lead, I need more leaders in our companies working with the majority so I can lead just the few. That there is no one size fits all DISC or AVA and that we should stop assuming people will behave a certain way based on their behavioral profile. They are tools for getting to know people. That even though you go through a comprehensive interview process, sometimes it still doesnt work out. That people with no marketing experience and no website experience and no writing experience and no real estate experience can STILL do The Ballen Method!! That paying people more money doesnt get you better results. Pay people what they are worth, but dont expect better just because they have a higher cost of living. That I want to work with people I LIKE, but Liking someone does not always mean they will work out. That if your teams goals are less than yours, you have a problem. That coaching is a MUST!!! I cant stress this enough. It hasnt just been about real estate for me, my coach is changing the trajectory of my family tree because of the changes in me through coaching. HUGE. Priceless. That Keller Williams Realty is truly the only place I want to do real estate. Love our culture, our learning, our growth, and the platform I have to share and give back and teach which is everything I love. That the people I watched climb the ranks this year were the same people in the rooms at RSTLM and Family Reunion and ESO and FSO and Megacamp etc. etc. etc. (no accident). That the absolute most essential system one should have on their team is a well functioning CRM! We must communicate with our customers. That there is life after Short Sales!! Well, Who knew? That you cant focus on whats important when you are dealing with whats unimportant. If you have distractions that truly dont serve you, you have to turn them off. That Im stronger than I thought, but it could all be gone in a very fragile moment. I have to keep that in my mind... always. That nobody can value or devalue someone. We must find that in ourselves. That I still dont like the phone. And thats not going to change. And its OK. That I want more. A lot more. That my recovery requires me to have a significant amount of alone time and not near as much interaction with people as I once had. That I need to work alone.. a lot. I need people, but the ability to work in a quiet, creative space keeps me sane. That the challenge of health and fitness has been harder for me than recovery through gambling addiction, prescription drug addiction, and smoking. I was able to go cold turkey on all of those things. Just quit, flip a switch, and move on. Cant do that with food and for some reason the discipline to work out regularly is one I lack. Im doing it, but its slow. And I dont do anything in my life slow. I am doing it though. I will succeed. That blazing a trail, being pioneering, and living in a place of productive creativity is where I find my joy. And then I must be able to share it with others. Leadership is an element, but I belong in digital disruption. That everything I do is duplicable and scalable. Theres a formula and a recipe. It just takes many people to duplicate it. Yes, it was a good year. I lived out a lot of my dreams in 2014. I think I was the lowest producer to ever grace the stage with Gary Keller at $15 million in sales LOL. It was a great achievement to be up there. I havent done anywhere near what Im about to do. Im simply on this fantastic journey, failing forward, learning as I go, stretching my thinking, trial and error, but growing massively. And 2015 is going to be amazing. And Im happy YOU will along this journey too. Heres to US, our GROWTH, our FAMILIES, our HEALTH and to giving back as much as we can as we make each step. Purpose, Passion and a Plan!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 01:48:33 +0000
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