As real estate professionals, we tend to get wrapped up in the day-to-day—especially when we’re juggling multiple clients, deals, properties and, well, life! Plus, it can feel like we’re on a rollercoaster of emotion in this career, so it’s essential to take steps to achieve calm, balance and forward movement.

But how?

The key to running a successful and enjoyable business each year as a real estate professional requires a few basic things: 

1. Leads and clients
2. Annual business and marketing planning (including goalsetting)
3. Scheduling/time-blocking to support the plan
4. Ongoing support/training/professional development

1. Leads and clients

Most of us make money only when we sell properties, when we refer a client who sells or when we get a percentage of another sale. Even the best of the best in the real estate industry can only be successful with actual leads and clients to SELL to. It’s therefore vital that you have a solid plan to attract and retain leads and clients on an ongoing basis.

Sphere or circle of influence/database

Whatever you call it, your list of contacts (people who know who you are, like you and, ideally, trust you) is GOLD as a real estate professional. It’s said that attracting a brand-new prospect or lead is six times more expensive than fostering an existing relationship. That’s a lot of extra cash to throw around.

As you get into the new year, ensure that you have a functional CRM (customer relationship management) tool or database system in place to track your contacts and your interactions with them. Include key details like their name, phone number, email, address and birthday. Do some research and choose the system that fits you and your business best.

Pro tip: If you already have a database system, do a relationship audit and choose a few contacts on social media to see if you have them in your database.

2. Annual business and marketing planning (including goalsetting)

January is a time with many business planning sessions, and the people running them are passionate about helping. They run through key areas of business:

• Mission, vision, plan
• Word of the year for the upcoming year
• How did you do last year? This includes numbers, celebrating accomplishments and lessons
• How do you want to do next year? This includes numbers and goalsetting/vision boarding
• How will you keep in touch with clients?
• How will you grow your client base?
• Client appreciation
• Marketing ideas (in line with budget)
• Professional development/accreditations
• Coaching
• Networking opportunities/groups
  

If you can join in on a business planning session—either in person or virtually—with successful colleagues, you’ll also be able to help each other mastermind, idea-share and problem-solve. These sessions tend to be shared by word-of-mouth, with agents taking time each year as part of their commitment to giving back and deepening their referral relationships. 

3. Scheduling/time-blocking to support the plan

The best part (and worst part) about the real estate industry is the ability to be your own boss. As many of our colleagues have noticed, our bosses might be too strict, too lax or just a mess sometimes. Jon Acuff noted the key to things that are important but may be difficult is to allocate roles according to the mindset we have in the evening or the morning:

“Morning me is in charge of actions. Morning me is a great order taker but will talk me out of anything difficult if it’s asked to decide.”

 

Jon Acuff, New York Times author and leadership speaker

It’s also important to know how and when you work best as an entrepreneur. Some people crush the day if they start at 6:00 am, others work best in the late evening hours. It also depends if you need quiet or silence to work or if being around too many people makes you incredibly unproductive because you’re a social butterfly.

Brian Buffini talks about the Win the Day formula:

• 2 hours of solid lead generation every day = win the day
• 4 days a week of winning the day = win the week
• 3 weeks a month of winning the week = win the month
• 8 months a year of winning the month = win the year

This seems low, but the two hours a day is a solid two hours of being face-to-face or voice-to-voice or writing a personal note to clients and contacts. As a professional real estate agent, you also need to take time to market, network, complete paperwork, do professional development, etc. Surprisingly, the two hours a day is more than most real estate professionals put into that lead generation.

4. Ongoing support/training/professional development

One of the most common things we hear about in the real estate industry is that real estate as a career can feel very isolating and very lonely—especially if you’ve chosen it as a second career. The way to circumvent that loneliness is to connect with your colleagues.

To ensure that you feel supported, here are a few tried-and-true things I recommend to agents that you can start implementing today.

Join the right brokerage

When you’re interviewing brokerages for the right fit, look beyond the dollar split. Just like when we sell a home, cheaper services aren’t always better services. Look at training, the culture of the offices/brokerage, office meetings, etc., and talk to some of the agents to get their views.

Network with other agents

With Buffini, I run a Buffini Group and within my office, I also run a Mastermind. The goal of both is to connect, share ideas and help each other. Each city will have these; the key is to find a group that’s open to welcoming you as a member with an attitude of abundance (and not one of scarcity).

Join or start a business networking group

As a real estate professional, you might find that existing networking groups already have your spot filled (along with the mortgage agent), but every now and then, a spot opens. Take a couple of meetings to see how you vibe with the group and then, if you like the people, go for it! If there isn’t a group with an open spot, do what I did in 2013 and start your own. You can set up an atmosphere of warmth, welcome, support and abundance all while helping yourself and others with their businesses.

Pro-tip: Even though saving money is important, if it’s possible, make sure every dollar you spend on your business is going to another businessperson who you can build a relationship with and who might, one day, give you business back.

For example, there might be a great deal on business cards online, but someone in your networking group can get them done professionally for just a bit more money and might refer you business or connect you with someone who can.

Get a coach

When it comes to excelling in your field, getting a real estate coach is a great idea. Most highly successful people in the world have coaches—from business coaches to trainers—and there’s a reason. Being accountable to someone who knows your business and can see it from the outside is important.

While it seems you cannot throw a rock without hitting a real estate agent, there are an almost equal number of coaches out there. Whatever you invest in a coach should be less than you earn with the coach in your business.

Find one with a solid track record who can help you to be the best you possible, and take the time to interview the coach to ensure it’s a good fit. If it’s not, keep looking until you find the right coach who understands you and helps you shine. The key is to find the coach, program and/or system that resonates best with you.

Pro-tip: Pick one at a time. Being over-coached is like being over-conferenced. It feels great while you’re in it, but are you really getting the benefit if you never have time to implement anything?

Get an accreditation

From full-service professional to luxury home marketing or international property specialist, there are an abundance of certifications and accreditations you can get. It’s really about staying sharp and on top of market trends to be a better real estate professional for your clients.

Take time to plan and chart a path forward so you can hit the ground running this month. We can GIVE our best when we’re AT our best. Cheers to a fantastic 2025!

In the world of real estate or any other entrepreneurial vocation, it can be challenging to keep the motivation, passion and momentum at full capacity. At the same time, the idea of entrepreneurship is exciting and enticing: be your own boss! There’s no ceiling to what you can make! It’s all up to you!

As one of my mentors, Brian Buffini, notes, you might be a terrible boss who is too lax or too strict. There may not be a ceiling to what you can make as an entrepreneur, but there is also no floor … and it really is all up to you. Moreover, being in business for yourself and by yourself can be incredibly lonely.

Real estate: One of the only industries offering a tangible fee for your relationship

The challenge of keeping a high level of motivation and continuously propelling yourself toward success is one of the reasons real estate sales conferences are so popular. Hundreds (or thousands) of real estate professionals come together in a far-off location like Vegas, Halifax, Toronto, Dallas or San Diego for a few days, and the world stands still.

The material is engaging (hopefully), and you take notes, you might get a new book or two to read and you network with fellow agents, hoping that a great conversation will lead to a connection and, perhaps, even a referral. Oh, how we love referrals!

P.S. If you still need to get on the referral train, I recommend hopping aboard immediately. Real estate is one of the only industries offering YOU a tangible fee for your relationships. And make no mistake: the relationships we build in real estate can take years to build and a small fortune to create. You completely deserve a referral fee when you connect a client to a colleague for help in another market. Stay tuned for my next article on referrals. But really, do it. Do it NOW.

Back to the conferences

I have personally attended conferences by Buffini & Company with Mastermind, Turning Point, Success Tour, Masterclass and Peak, Kathleen Black Coaching Company, Richard Robbins International, Tony Robbins with Unleash the Power Within, Tom Ferry and Royal Lepage with the National Sales Conference. I’ve also attended a few large-scale conferences like TRREB’s Realtor Quest and The Power of Success in Toronto.

Yes, I know there are a lot of conferences. Too many, perhaps.

Just attending a conference — a GREAT conference — can make you feel like a brand-new person. It’s a bit cult-y, but it’s okay — we’re drinking the Kool-Aid, and it’s actually good for us. When we return, our friends and families are a little weary of our top-shelf energy, but it’s all good. Until that motivation and “whoop whoop” wears off.

Zig Ziglar notes that motivation is like bathing. It doesn’t last, so it has to be done daily. But you can’t go to a conference every day … Can you?

Ensure your time, money & energy investment translates into a more successful business and more joyful version of yourself

We can get so addicted to the hype of a conference, with the music, the energy, the immersion and that feeling of being unstoppable, that we forget conferences are meant to help us on our journey. They are not the journey. They’re like a booster pack for entrepreneurs: let’s GO!!!! You should not need to go to several conferences every year. Are they fun? Yes. Are they expensive? Yes. Can you confuse a conference for a vacation? You bet your boots you can.

So, how do we ensure that our investment of time and money (and energy … so much energy!) translates into a more successful business and a more joyful version of ourselves?

WORK. We have to put in the work. Nothing worth having comes easy.

With that said, here are the four steps to a successful conference experience.

1. Connection

Attending a conference can feel like you’re back at the first day of high school. You might know some people and even think your best bet is to find them and spend time with them. Maybe it is. But it’s also important to make room for new relationships — especially because you’re in a room of like-minded professionals. Chances are, you’ll have a few things in common.

When you have a conversation, trade information — either business cards, emails, cell numbers or social media. Send a little note afterward (and get them all in your business referral database ASAP). Try not to be the person with a pile of cards on or near your desk from the last few years of networking.

Pro-tip: Make a note of their name and your conversation with them, whatever they mentioned in the conversation. You will literally make their day if you send a note by email, text or snail mail, thanking them for sharing about (insert conversation here) and saying how nice it was to meet them.

Try to meet/connect or deepen a connection with at least three people every time you attend a conference. Small talk is for small people. There are so many exciting things to talk about — take a page from Vanessa Van Edwards and ask fun questions to deepen that connection and find your commonalities.

Pro-tip: Constantly pointing out how different and unique you are will actually isolate people in these initial stages. Be honest, and know that finding similarities will build a bond faster.

2. Learning/growing

Conferences can be a lot of fun. And I mean a LOT of fun. It’s great to sandwich the learning with playtime, but remember that this isn’t playtime. Otherwise, you’re just on a really expensive vacation without your family or friends.

Stay engaged, take notes and really listen. Stay off of your phone. Contrary to what we all believe about our very important real estate careers, an hour or two offline won’t end it all. If you were in a listing appointment with one client, would you stop in the middle of it to text another client? NO! So why are you interrupting your appointment with yourself and your personal development?

A lot of conferences will give you the workbook to fill in now, and those are very helpful. They force you to pay attention too (or sit with an excellent note-taker). Buffini conferences are great for this because they outline all of the points in the main talks. Bonus: You can recall the information more easily later on.

Jot down books that are recommended (I aim to read 10+ pages a day of a personal growth book, which everyone has time to do) and any thoughts you have about the talk, too. It’s also nice to use these topics to connect with your colleagues on breaks because sometimes you’ll hear a different perspective that you hadn’t thought about.

3. Reflecting

Now that you have spent the time connecting with like-minded individuals (LMIs) and have really leaned into learning and growing throughout the conference, it’s time to lock in that knowledge and experience with some good, old-fashioned reflection.

Go for a walk, hit the gym, swim, meditate and journal. Do whatever comes naturally to you for reflection. Think about what you learned and how you might implement some of it into your business and your life. What really stood out? Could you share any of this with colleagues, family or friends who weren’t there?

4. Rediscovery

In the latest conference I attended, Brian Buffini talked about rediscovery over reinvention. And if you’re on social media, you’ve probably seen countless ads advising us to go away for six months and return as a “new you.” Whether it’s fitness, health, business, money or beauty, the pull to change it up and become a new person seems enticing. But to what end? The real YOU is inside of you and will keep coming out. Take time to learn about the things that make that real you so fantastic and start the process of rediscovery today.

It’s powerful to be confident as ourselves. Our current culture makes it seem sexy to change it all up, but that only makes sense if you consider how many industries benefit when we aim to find a quick and easy way to the life we actually hope to have.

It’s important to also lean into whatever sets your soul on fire. Whatever makes you feel unstoppable and like the world is giving you a high five. It might take some more reflection and rediscovery, but what do you love to do? And, more importantly, if you’re not doing these things, why not?

For example, I love leading, mentoring, guiding and coaching, and I have the privilege of exercising these passions with my real estate clients and colleagues. I have a passion for sharing and am so excited to reach new heights together with my “marble jar people,” as Brene Brown says. I also love writing and sharing, so I started a podcast and a blog, and I’m working on a book.

I didn’t do these things for the longest time because I thought I had to be invited or have extra time or money. But here’s the thing: when you truly decide you want to do something or have something, the universe will conspire to ensure that you are given every opportunity to reach that goal.

You have to be part of it though. You need to take steps towards it. You will find the time. You will find the money. You have to believe that it’s possible. As Anna Buffini said at a recent conference, “You don’t need to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You just need to believe that there is a light.”

May your next conference be everything you dream it will be, and more.

I’ll probably see you there.

Whether you have been a real estate professional for ten years or one year, there are some realities we all need to face in the world of #RealtorLife. Especially when things get tough.

We know there are agents out there who are crushing it! They seem (according to their Instagram stories, anyway) like they sell houses every day and are living the high life. Not a great thing to see when you’re staring at your phone and wondering why it’s not ringing. Are your notifications turned on? Did you accidentally put it on airplane mode again? How can you rev up that motivation that you started this career with? How can you build momentum and get more sales on the books?

It begins with YOU, and it starts today.

Use whatever your personal motivation preference is

Everyone finds motivation in different ways. Some people (present company included) get all riled up at sales conferences. The energy! The boost of confidence! The ideas! It can feel great listening to a powerful keynote speaker or reading an inspirational personal development book. On the other hand, others find those conferences akin to torture.

Whatever your personal preference is for motivation, use it. As Zig Ziglar said, “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.”

It’s actually a lot of fun to learn about what motivates you. Because when you find it, miracles can happen.

If you’re a quotes-are-inspiring kind of realtor, here are six that help me dig in and find that first spark of motivation when I’m feeling a little less than awesome in this business.

6 quotes to find that motivational spark

These first two quotes are about how just starting is the point. While we can be frustrated that others seem to be so much further ahead or that we’re late in the game, the key is getting started (or re-started) TODAY.

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great.”

 

– Zig Ziglar

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The 2nd best time is now.”

 

– Chinese Proverb

The next two are from my favourite real estate mentor, Mr. Brian Buffini. They’re about believing in your abilities and knowing the secret lies within YOU. These two magic sentences have accompanied me through some very frustrating times.

“If they can do it, I can do it.”

 

– Brian Buffini

“I did it before; I can do it again.”

 

– Brian Buffini

These last two are essential because they focus on the power of belief and how thoughts are things. If you have watched or read The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, or Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl, you know that the mind is a very powerful tool. In my experience, the powers of belief and manifestation are crucial to success.

“Whether you think you can or you think that you can’t, you’re right.”

 

– Henry Ford

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

 

– Martin Luther King Jr.

Find a few inspirational quotes that speak to you and print them out for your office wall, or put them somewhere you’ll see them. You’ll be surprised when that little spark of motivation shows up and starts to build. This is where you can give yourself some goals for the day.

Make a list and check things off

Fun fact: checking off list items (or highlighting them, if you are extra geeky like me) releases dopamine, which can fuel even more motivation, in my opinion. Here are some examples of what you can add to your list:

• Call 10 clients (or people in your network) and see how they are doing or if they have any questions about the market.
• Write 2-3 personal notes or emails with a market update on the latest stats.
• Drop off a small gift to a couple of your favourite clients or business associates.
• Send a mini-CMA to clients who have been in their homes for 2-5 years.
• Post a market update or support a local business on your business social media page.
• Touch base with any clients who have been on the fence.
• Complete something for your business that you’ve been putting off.

Get moving

Another way to start the motivation flow is to get moving. Literally, go for a walk. I get my best ideas when I’m on a walk or working out. If you’re trying to solve a problem or are unsure about something, think about it while walking.

Sometimes, I use my walking time to call clients or listen to a podcast or an audiobook. Currently, I’m listening to a great book by Chris Voss and Steve Shull, called The Full Fee Agent. It’s an easy listen, and Voss has great things to say about understanding human behaviour.

When you’re feeling down, as we all do sometimes, remember that YOU are your biggest resource as an entrepreneur. So, you need to get to the bottom of what you (and all of your uniqueness) need to stay at the top of your game. And once you get going, there’s no telling what AWESOMENESS you’re capable of.