Hello Equity Agents! I hope your week is off to a great start so far. I had the amazing opportunity of attending the Brian Buffini Leadership Conference in Phoenix, Arizona last week and it was one of the best conferences that I’ve ever attended. Not only did Brian Buffini and his brother / CEO, Dermot Kennedy provide some insanely valuable insights on our industry… I was privileged to learn from an amazing lineup of very successful and impressive guest speakers: Jon Acuff (a 9-time New York Times Best Selling Author and Brand Ambassador), Julian Treasure (a communication expert with one the most popular TED Talks in history), Carey Lohrenz (the Navy’s first female F-14 Tomcat Fighter Pilot and incredible leader, writer, & speaker), and more. It was difficult to narrow the list down to just FIVE takeaways, but here are some of my favorite:
1.) Nationally, a record of 60,000 Real Estate transactions terminated in July of 2024. Why is this a takeaway? Because there is a shortage of skilled Real Estate Professionals in our industry right now… As a result, there is a tremendous opportunity for the outstanding Agents (I’m talking to YOU, Equitans) to rise to the top, provide better service to consumers, and close more transactions. While interest rates did contribute to this record of terminated contracts, lack of communication, lack of negotiation skills, and fear amongst Agents contributed to this number as well. We MUST focus on our value proposition, increase our skillsets, and provide unwavering commitment to our clients through the transaction. If we can’t show our clients that we are committed to our role, how will our clients commit to a transaction?
2.) 2023 saw the lowest number of Real Estate transactions since 1993 and this year is projected to be similar. Again, why is this a takeaway? To provide you with extra reassurance that the overall slowing of business that you’ve felt has also been felt by many others professionals across the Nation. Once again, interest rates contributed to this, but the rates are falling. Research shows that 5.8% is the “golden interest rate” where Buyers become extremely active in the market. As of today when writing this, the average rate is 6.1%, which means you are about to get BUSY — are you doing everything in your power to prepare? More on that later…
3.) “80% of information is enough to execute the mission and accomplish your goals.” These were powerful words from Carey Lohrenz, the Navy’s first female F-14 Tomcat Fighter Pilot. As a fighter pilot, she found herself in many stressful situations where information was critical to her safety and the success of her mission. She shared a study that shows 80% of contextual information is enough to execute a goal or accomplish a task… The other 20% either works itself out or we equip ourselves with the missing information that only becomes available through action. This is an extremely relevant theme intertwined in many areas of our job as Real Estate Pros, especially as our industry faces change. We don’t have to know ALL of the answers ALL of the time and in most cases, you won’t! Get to work and execute action based on 80% of the information and the rest will fall into place as you work!
4.) “One of the greatest mistakes you can make in life is assuming all of your thoughts are true.” A potent quote from Jon Acuff when he shared a study about people’s recollections of the tragedy of September 11th. People were asked to share, in detail, where they were when the towers fell on 9/11. Their answers were documented. 10 years later, they were asked the same question… Nearly EVERY participant had an entirely different answer that had no resemblance to their first answer whatsoever and their memory of that day declined by 60%. His point? Our brains are wired in such a way that they remind us of the past inaccurately. We make decisions based on past experiences and we must be very careful not to let our brain hold us back from making educated decisions that move us FORWARD.
5.) There is tremendous POWER in personal outreach within your business; send the note card. You’ve heard us say this THOUSANDS of times… Make your calls, write your note cards, check in on your people, and earn the business relationship that lasts a lifetime. Well, I directly experienced the power of this principle after receiving a HAND-WRITTEN note from Dermot Buffini himself along with a BOOK about traveling to Ireland. For context, I casually mentioned an upcoming trip to Ireland when I had the chance to meet Dermot after the conference. Amongst the THOUSANDS of attendees and the hundreds of conversations he had at the conference, he remembered a detail about our conversation and went the extra mile to make me feel special. Do the unexpected extras to show your people that you care… Not for the transaction, but because you genuinely DO care.
If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of Brian Buffini’s Conferences, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to do so… It’s an outstanding opportunity to hear from many popular entrepreneurs and one of the best leaders of our industry, Brian Buffini himself. In addition, there is a one-of-a-kind culture and network amongst ALL of the attendees as well… I made several friends from all over the nation with unique insights and perspectives on the Real Estate Industry — not to mention, I made some really great referral business connections!
Be sure to attend next month’s Sales & Marketing Meeting on Wednesday, November 6th, where I’ll share more takeaways and lessons gained from an amazing event. We’ll apply some of these ideas around business building, providing an excellent client experience, and planning for a successful 2025. I can’t wait to collaborate with each of you!
- Paul Wineinger
Employing Broker, Equity Colorado Real Estate
