If we look at the engine of your business, it's your sphere of influence.

Statistically, for every 10 people in your sphere, you'll average one closed sale.

But that's only if you stay in touch with them 20 to 50 times a year and have a good relationship with them. So let's go back to January 1st. Do you know how many people were in your sphere at that time?

If you don't, you don't have control of your business.

Now, fast forward to today. Have you grown your sphere of influence in the past six months? If not, your business may not be growing and could even be shrinking due to market challenges.

We can't escape market conditions by focusing on other things and neglecting our sphere. The key to changing your business's trajectory is to quickly increase your sphere of influence. You may be wondering how to do that. Well, here's a magic number to keep in mind:

The average American has 27 conversations a day. As REALTORS, we should have even more. With that many conversa...

Can you relate to this?

You meet someone at a party or an event, and you have an amazing conversation. You really connect and feel like you could become friends. But then they disappear, and you never hear from them again.

As REALTORS, we often miss the chance to expand our spheres of influence and grow our business by nurturing these relationships. Plus, we could gain some friends along the way.

But here's the secret sauce: The Ford Plus One technique.

You might be familiar with the Ford technique, which stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Dreams and goals. Whenever you're talking to someone and struggling to keep the conversation flowing, think about these topics.

Ask about their family, their occupation, what they enjoy doing for fun, and their dreams and goals. But as good as that is, I want to add a plus one to this technique.

Why?

I want to find a way to add value to the conversation even after it ends.

So, I actively listen for opportunities to ...

Why aren't you getting more referrals?

The problem is you're not asking for referrals. You think you are, but you're not.

Let me give you a natural and fun way to ask for referrals that people love:

Think of your sphere of influence as your personal sales army. Imagine you recruited a hundred or more salespeople to work for your team. If you gave them an assignment, do you think they would bring you sales?

Of course they would. The reason they're not doing it now is because you're not giving them guidance as the sales manager.

So here's an example of what you can do: Send a mass text, email, personal calls, or even a video text to your sales army, saying:

“Hey guys, I'm really short on inventory right now. If you see a house with a preferred sale sign or a vacant house, could you quickly take a picture and send it to me? It could give me an edge in getting that listing. Thank you!”

Another idea is to say:

“Hey guys, if you come across a garage sale or an estate s...

Hey guys, June is National Home Ownership month.

This is a golden opportunity to reach out to all the homeowners in your database and provide them with a quick equity assessment.

Let's make the most of it! Instead of reaching out to one homeowner a day, let's aim for two or three. We can really make an impact this month. So here's the plan:

I'm going to use my favorite platform, https://www.narrpr.com/, which is free for every REALTOR.

It allows me to create a visually stunning, 81-page CMA (Comparative Market Analysis). But I won't just send them the paper CMA. I'll create a video using BombBomb or loom.com. In the video, I'll say,

"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, did you know that it's National Home Ownership Month? I wanted to provide you with an update on your home equity. There have been some significant changes in the market, and I want to keep you informed. So, here's a personalized report for your home."

And I'll walk them through the details. At the end of the ...

Hey guys, let me share an inspiring story with you:

Years ago, I met Wan Foran, a REALTOR who faced incredible challenges on his journey to success. Wan graduated from real estate school on September 11, 2001, as a Muslim immigrant in a small town. Despite the odds stacked against him, Wan achieved remarkable success. I asked him, "How did you overcome these obstacles?"

His answer changed my perspective, and it can change yours too.

Wan knew he needed to expand beyond his local market to thrive. So he adopted a unique approach to farming...

Instead of targeting specific demographics or niches, he focused on feeder markets—areas surrounding his town that contributed potential clients. Wan identified the top 10% of REALTORS in each feeder market and initiated contact through postcards, calls, and emails. He introduced himself as a hardworking REALTOR and offered an enticing proposition:

If they referred clients to him, he would pay them a higher commission than the stan...

Human resource directors, why should you care about them?

Well, if you're seeking a new lead generation strategy, consider focusing on HR directors.

Here's why:

In most markets, companies with over 25 employees have an HR person responsible for hiring, evaluations, and more. Part of their job involves recruiting, primarily focusing on the company's benefits.

But what if you could assist them in selling not only the company's benefits but also the benefits of living in the area?

Here's how you can approach HR directors:

Start by obtaining a list from the Chamber of Commerce and target larger businesses in your market. Introduce yourself as [Your Name] from ABC Real Estate, a relocation specialist.

Let them know you understand their role in human resources and offer your assistance as a REALTOR in promoting the market area. Emphasize that your services are free to the company, and you only earn a commission if an employee buys or rents a property through you.

To k...

Do you have a hospitality mindset?

I heard two stories that really brought this home.

The first story is about a restaurateur in New York City who overheard a group of four customers talking about how they had never had a hotdog in New York City, despite just having a $500 lunch at his high-end restaurant. The owner of the restaurant went to a hotdog vendor across the street, bought four hotdogs, had the chef cut them up and arrange them elegantly on a plate with all the condiments the customers wanted, and had the maitre d' bring it out to the customers. They were amazed, even though they had just eaten a five-star meal.

The second story is about Steve Wynn, who owns the Wynn Casinos in Las Vegas and all over the world. He implemented a process where all managers have a daily brainstorming session before every shift, and one of the things they discuss is positive experiences they've had with guests.

One of the stories that came out of this process was about a bellman ...

How's your real estate business going?

When I ask some people this question, they seem to lack enthusiasm about where they're at with their business. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon as we've entered what I like to call the Real Estate Hunger Games, and here's what that means:

This year, we're projected to close about four and a half million transactions in real estate with around 1.6 million REALTORS. When we rewind the clock back to 2012, just about a million REALTORS were in business and we were still closing about the same number of transactions. With 60% more REALTORS doing the same volume of transactions, it's no wonder why it's more competitive than it's ever been in our industry.

So, the question is, how do you make sure that you're not market driven but strategy driven?

I'm going to share with you a simple strategy that's going to be so simple you might think it won't work, but it absolutely will work with your business in the next 30 days to completely t...

I have a quick question for you:

Are you marketing your marketing?

You might be wondering what I mean by that, right? Well, let me explain: As real estate agents, we do an amazing job for our clients. We use drone photography, staging, postcards, social media marketing, and more to showcase their properties. We go all out to sell their homes in record time and get them top dollar.

But who actually experiences all of this marketing? Sure, the buyers who purchase the property may see it, as well as a small group of people in our closest network. However, not everyone is seeing all of our marketing efforts. In fact, on social media, only about 4-6% of our audience is actually seeing our posts.

So, how do we market our marketing?

One approach is to create a success portfolio. Whenever you have a beautiful, photogenic listing, go all out and create a home book, do exclusive videography, Matterport, and everything else. Treat it like an interview for your next listing. Th...

People ask me all the time, Jim, how do you retain amazing agents? You've recruited and retained some of the best agents in America. They've stayed with you for years. You took a company from a hundred million to 1.4 billion over 10 years, created a company from 39 agents to one of the top companies in America. How'd you do it?

Well, the answer is, I want you to think about the people that work for you. Just think about the landscape of people that work for you today. And I want you to ask yourself, how many of those people consider you to be their personal friend? And if the answer is, I don't think any of them do, you have a problem because you're looking at them transactionally. And that's the first mistake.

It's the same mistake agents make when they look at their clients and customers transactionally too.

I look at the top agents in America. The top agents in America don't look at their buyers and sellers as buyers and sellers. They look at them as friends. And when ...