Keep the mission the mission. Stick to your knitting. However you want to phrase it, remember this one thing - when the goal is clear, there are no distractions. Winning in business requires that special kind of attitude. The one that says I’m going all in, I’m here to achieve this. It’s not just about achieving the goal; it’s the type of person I’m going to become to achieve something like this.
Mist, haze, fog and distraction.
Pre-2020, we planned. We set big goals. We had big dreams. Then the pandemic hit. We were down to 14-day planning cycles. What you did yesterday very much impacted what you were allowed to do today. Things changed. We went from looking at the mountains we were scaling to the vistas of the future, to watching one foot step in front of the other. We lost sight of the bigger future, the bold plans, and all that we wanted to become.
Our plans were covered in mist, the future was blanketed by fog, and distractions set in. From the rapid rise of social media and mobile phone addiction, to the swipe society - where, if you don’t like something, you just swipe - people were no longer prepared to stick it out, to work hard on relationships, or to realise that business goes through cycles, from profit to reinvestment years.
Now, five years after the experience, we’re urging you to get back to the mission. The long-term planning cycle is here, and if you hook onto it, you’ve got the chance to build something truly great. Clarify your goal, build the best team, determine your markets, and go out there and dominate.
Long Term Planning
It’s often overlooked, but it’s the greatest strategic advantage in plain sight: your ability to plan for the long term. You sign a five-year lease for a commercial property, so tell me you’ve at least got a five-year plan.
Some plan their exit. And succession is important. But what’s more important is to play the long game. You don’t dominate a market, maximise saleable value, or grow anything truly great, without rallying your people around a vision, a pursuit, a guiding statement that keeps people up at night. Our favourite is from Jellis Craig Chairman Nick Dowling: ‘What would it take to become the number one in each of our chosen markets?’. It’s an incredible guiding principle. First, you have to decide on your chosen markets. Then you have to work out your strategy on what it’s going to take to get to number one, based on volume of sales and number of properties under management.
Once you hook onto that vision, the mission becomes critical. On the pursuit of the mission, beware the distractions. Plenty will call you when you get successful. The more successful you are, the more people are going to want to use you. How are you planning on coping with that new level of demand?
Anytime someone says they’ve got an opportunity for you, replace that with, they’ve got a huge problem, and you’re a cheap way of solving that problem. Keep the mission.
Advanced Identity Design - Define what you’re into
On the way to achieving the mission, don’t lose yourself. What would I find you doing if you’re not doing real estate? For me, you’ll find me on a motorcycle, in a sauna, out with friends, travelling, reading or creating. Your best ideas often happen when you’re not in the middle of work. That innovation is what lets the exponential growth happen. The decision to hire a full-time operations person and add a salesperson who can prospect, list, and sell so that you can go on holiday, is a great example of a leap in growth, or buying out 5,500 properties under management, as has recently happened in Melbourne. These are all examples of people playing the long game.
Behave your way to the future.
Your behaviour tells me everything. Moody, inconsistent, all over the place, unstructured and draining - is that how you plan to achieve extraordinary results? Of course not. You behave your way to the future. It’s the actions that the million-dollar agent takes, and their commitment to routine, that the new agent has to do from day one. Behaviour really matters. If you’re constantly comparing, make sure it inspires you. If it drives your insecurities, stop it. Beware the individual who develops a case of 'bigger boats' that, despite their incredible success, feels vacant, empty and ungrateful for all they have. The challenge in life is to want what you already have.
Consistent behaviour is a superpower. It’s an unbelievable weapon in business that’s hard to beat. Why? Because it builds unstoppable relationships.
All in on Routine.
There will be sacrifices. Build a game-winning routine. It starts with annual planning. Plan for 44 weeks of productive work and 8 weeks of annual leave. It forces you to map up the busy sections of the year, and to prepare well before you need to. Make sure every 4-6 weeks you have something to look forward to.
Start early, and finish early. I’d rather start early every day and finish early every day. It’s what you do in the morning hours that determines all your success. Use the first hour of every day to move your body and your mind. Use the first hour of the business day to create unstoppable momentum. Hit the phones, call buyers around existing listings, sellers around future listings, and current vendors to progress sales. A referral network only thrives if you give referrals to get referrals, so call them, too.
8 am - 45-minute call session.
9 am - 45-minute call session.
10 am - 45-minute call session.
11 am - Operations.
12 noon - Lunch.
Then, appointments until the close of business.
If there’s one thing Alexander Phillips has taught me, it’s the skill of keeping busy during business hours, doing what business people do: getting face-to-face, staying on the phone, building momentum, and maxing out your calendar.
Set the strategy - KJT.
If you want to become the number one in each of your chosen markets, you do it one listing, one hire at a time. You need more opens, auctions, and online campaigns than anyone else. It’s the long-term approach to building data and relationships. To build relationships at scale, be relevant, let that relevancy drive the frequency of communications, and be consistent in your actions.
One strategy that changed the game for us is KJT — Keep Josh Talking. I don't do anything that isn’t me talking. Using this kind of strategy creates incredible clarity for every other role in the business and makes you strive to become the best in the world at the part of the workflow you need to master.
How clear is your strategy?
Where’s it documented?
And in under a few letters or a few words, can you explain how you’re going to become the number one in each of your chosen markets?
Single-minded focus
Every day, in every way, from the moment my car leaves the garage in the morning until it gets home in the afternoon, I’m either in front of a customer or on the phone with a customer. It’s the ultimate skill to be so present in the moment that your productivity becomes a natural flow state.
Measure to adjust
You don’t know how far up the mountain you are if you don’t measure. We measure the critical things in our business and do it every week. Based on that measurement, we adjust our tactics. You should do the same. Not recruiting well? Start. Not listing well? Start. Not prospecting well? Start. Start with the behaviour. Strive to become the best in the world at what you do. See what happens when you measure? It allows you to hit it out of the ballpark and achieve your wildest dreams.
Make sure you choose metrics that motivate. I’ve never been motivated by 100 calls a day. But I love an appointment a day. I’ve never been motivated to add 100 pieces of data, but I love signing an agency agreement.
Set the number of listings you want to list for the balance of 2025. Set the number of sales you want to achieve for the balance of 2025, and then set the number of listings you want to come back to, to start 2026. Saturday, January 10, is your first major Saturday in 2026. What would it feel like to have that Saturday fully booked with opens, so that by the time you get to the first week in February, you’ve already sold plenty?
Get focused, get clear, and go all in on goals that matter. Fixed on the goal, flexible on the methods.
Most people are fixed on their methods and flexible on their goals. They lose faith in goal setting, as their goals are never achieved. All the greats and people I’ve met that do extraordinary things are fixed on their goal and flexible on their methods. When they see a better way, they adopt it and go all in until it becomes a part of who they are. Your calendar doesn't lie. If you looked at your calendar over the last quarter, has your behaviour been consistent for the type of person that you want to become?
Bigger and better.
Life should get bigger and better as we age. Right now, you have the most knowledge, the most relationships and the most transactional knowledge that you’ve ever had in your entire lifetime. It’s time to leverage that and achieve something truly special.
Faster and more efficient
Stop throwing time at the problem and start throwing strategy. It’s not the 100 calls; it’s the call you make that gets you the appointment. It’s hunting down the CEO you need to talk to on LinkedIn, or upping your video prowess so you can dominate in digital.
Make the future so exciting that you can’t not be involved. This is your time. There’s never been an era, a moment in time, or a stage of your life, where you can’t achieve greatness. You’ve got everything you need; now all you need to do is realise that the greats are always on; they have to learn how to turn it off.
