As we continue to roll through business planning month, I feel the need to be sure you all understand the importance of knowing the relationship between your efforts and your outcomes. Making significant investments of time and energy into different areas of opportunity is a part of our business. Not tracking those efforts over time to see those outcomes can be devastating. I remember years ago I had a very productive loan officer that was fully committed to one real estate office and would jump through hoops trying to be everything to everyone. At the end of the year when we were going through the business planning process, it looked like this originator was focusing about 75% of their efforts to an office that was responsible for about 40% of their total business. It was eye opening to say the least.
When I suggested that it was time to have a true heart to heart talk with that broker and those inside the office about how the relationship was going to have to change, and those changes were going to be very real, this originator was very nervous but understood that when the effort is worth the outcome, changes are necessary! At first, the broker was angry and threatened to stop sending referrals. My client said they understood that position and that their referrals would still be welcome, but that certain rules would need to be followed. The broker was mad and told the office that this originator was no longer the preferred lender and that was going to be that.
In the days that followed, one by one, some of the better agents in that office reached out and said they were still going to refer business because they were very happy with the results. The ones that didn’t were mostly the people who consumed most of the time talking about deals that would never likely close! In the long run, my client kept the lions share of the referrals and less than half the time than before, and still closed about 90% of the business. Everyone that mattered in this scenario was happy. Including a whole group of new referral partners that was now referring business because my client was no longer part of the one office! Total business for the year improved by more than 50%!
When working on your business plan, it is important when running your numbers that you track your investment in time and resources to be sure the effort is worth the outcome! If you need help with your plan for 2025, please email me: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
