40 Ways to Start Your 2024 Now

Rather than wrapping up, use this time to ramp up your future success

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Meanwhile, let’s get on with this week’s idea. It seems like I had a lot to say!

Why wait? Start your 2024 Strategy Today!

Year ago I learned a great lesson from a CEO of a highly successful brokerage. It’s also one of the simplest:

Treat the fourth quarter of every year as the “Pre-Quarter” of the next year.

She encouraged her people to use Q4 the opposite of how others usually do: When they’re winding down, you begin your next set of moves. In fact, there’s no better way to “slow down” for the holidays than to start your new year early - even give it a boost - so you don’t have it hanging over your head while you’re enjoying the last few weeks of the year.

It’s Time Now © Matthew Ferrara.

Future Growth Begins Now

So grab a pen and let’s examine some ideas. Maybe some of these you know already, but didn’t get to them this year. Or some are half done. Nevertheless, keep in mind:

You can make a growth resolution at any time: No need to wait for January 1!

1. Right Size Your Sales Strategy

The most important sales issues today are: Inventory and burnout. Start with inventory: This year and next year’s success will be 100% determined by the amount of inventory YOU create. Because unlike the car industry, there are no factories to churn out more houses, only prospecting activities that cause more listings to appear.

And that means YOU!

Which brings up the other factor: Burnout. Too many agents are burning out this year. I get calls each week. The Number 1 Reason is - drumroll, please - they aren’t focused on building inventory.

Instead, they’re running themselves into the ground with too many buyers.

Buyers struggling to get offers accepted. Buyers with few choices of inventory. Buyers competing with lots of other buyers. And very few, if any, any of those buyers paying anything before they get a deal done.

Meanwhile: salespeople are burning out.

Rightsizing your sales strategy is critical. Examine your last 3 months of activity. If revenue, schedule or both are too focused on buyers, especially those who didn’t close a deal, it’s time to make a radical shift. Put your energy to better work during the greatest sellers market in a half-century. And set the basis for your career-long sustainable success.

List to last. Trust me, it’s not just a cliche.

PS: Here are 7 reasons to adopt a 70/30 or greater seller-to-buyer ratio for your business:

1. 99.999% of listings sell within 3-4 months of hitting the market. Many above asking price. That pays the bills. Buyers may or may not get an accepted offer in the same amount of time.

2. Every listing provides months of local, online and MLS marketing for yourself and your company. Listings attract sellers, who want to sell with someone who is selling.

3. Listings and listing agents show up on real estate portal searches. Period. That’s what consumers are there to find. Nobody’s searching for a buyer’s agents.

4. A seller is a pre-paying buyer. At least 50% of the time, you will get a second transaction from sellers. But a high percentage of buyers are one-and-done.

5. Listings create paid time off. Colleagues will cover your listings but not traipse your buyers around while you’re on vacation.

6. You’re competing with less than 20% of the MLS. Most agents say 60-80% of peers are buyer-centric. By focusing on sellers, you’re competing with 20% of other agents. It’s a small pond. Where do you want to fish?

7. Spending most of your time with buyers won’t change the inventory imbalance. Only prospecting and presenting to sellers will solve the problem.

2. Study Consumers and Adjust Strategy

During the last quarter of the year, State and National REALTOR Associations of REALTORS and specialty groups like Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREEA), National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) release studies of consumers and members. These reports are vital to understanding the market landscape.

They are full of key indicators to adjust your sales pitch, marketing focus and prospecting targets. The 2022-2023 reports had big surprises, including:

1. The typical sellers (73%) in the last year had no children under the age of 18 at home. All that marketing about schools and playgrounds is probably less important than topics like entertainment, health care, transportation and walkability.

2. Recent buyer(s) have a household income of US $96,000-112,500 - putting them in the upper-half of earners. Paying cash or interest-rate concerns aren’t big deals.

3. Buyers anticipate remaining in their home for 10+ years - nearly twice the historical 6 years. Over 50% expected to stay in their home 16 or more years. That’s a very different farming strategy than calling past-sales every few years.

4. Consumers moved an average of 50 miles last year, driven by work-from-anywhere and increased retirements opportunities. That means a large increase in your real market area to manage.

5. 65% of sellers were over the age of 55. Consider that when designing your value prop, marketing message and communications channels (will you text or TikTok?)

I could go on, but then you wouldn’t have the fun of reading the reports.

3. Do What Your Colleagues Won’t - Early

Your growth strategy often involves doing something your colleagues and competitors won’t - or can’t. Examine surveys of fellow practitioners, such as the National Association of REALTORS Annual Member Profile, to find these gaps and push. For example:

1. Less than ⅓ of REALTORS work with relocation consumers - a $14+ Billion (2022) source of transactions that anticipates future growth driven by work-from-anywhere trends.

2. The average REALTOR worked 30 hours a week; showing up an extra 10 hours would put you ahead of hundreds of thousands of competitors.

3. 49% of REALTORS generated less than 25% of their business from past clients. That means millions of past buyers and sellers have little connection to last past professional - but their names are easily found in property databases. Go get them!

4. 81% of REALTORS reported no business (zero!) from open houses. Learn how to make those moments effective with strong sales training.

5. The average REALTOR spent less than $660 on professional development. That’s translates less than 2 Starbucks’ coffees a week on training, coaching and skill improvement.

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23 more ideas to prepare for your 2024 below 👇👇👇👇