We are all Experts in the Old Ways
The real estate industry is still reeling from the whiplash that occurred when the Feds increased interest rates earlier this year. And with that screeching halt, relocation and referral business also reacted. Self-moves slowed down and corporate transferee’s moves who had already been on hold due to Covid took a hard look at whether they really needed to uproot their family. Corporations grappled with creating a remote work plan that met the needs of leadership and the employees. In short, people contemplated whether it made sense or was feasible (financial or otherwise) to move.
In the heat of it, we didn’t overanalyze the unexpectedly robust market of late 2020 and 2021 coming to an end. We just enjoyed the flow of referrals that no one dreamed a worldwide pandemic could generate. While the general make up of referrals was different (more broker-to-broker and less corporate-sponsored), the revenue and profit numbers for most relocation departments ended up about the same as in 2019. Fewer closings, but higher sales prices made up for one another.
The risk of sticking with the old ways
The last half of 2022 has given us a clear indicator that we need to change course. But now that we are coming up for air and reality has set in, what is the plan? What if we did nothing and just waited to see what happens?
We are all experts in the old ways. It’s easy to just wait for the phone to ring or for the emails to come in. But the old ways are not coming back, so it takes a new way of thinking to grow and thrive, which makes us a beginner in the new ways. Being an expert in something irrelevant is, well, just irrelevant.
No one has an advantage. No person or company has seen a market exactly like this, so we are all working with the same information. The difference is how we process it and move forward. Beginners are often uninhibited because they don’t know any better. Others are fearful and wait for others to go ahead of them.
Let’s be beginners in the new ways
Are you willing to trade off your old ways to reimagine your department? It may mean spending some money and pushing into areas that take us into uncharted territory. Think about the possibilities if we:
retool
retrain
reposition
recalibrate
rethink
reenergize
But what if we don’t take the risk? What have we got to lose? The status quo isn’t going to move us forward. If anything, our current model will continue to shrink until we become a shadow of our former selves. And at some point, our leadership will wonder about the value of our contributions, and then it’s too late.
By expanding our sources of revenue and creating new opportunities from a wide range of entities, we create value that contributes in a meaningful way to the bottom line. Change is scary, but it can also be wildly rewarding. The great thing about people in our industry is we have range. We can apply our skills accordingly when necessary.
What is your strategic plan for 2023? It’s 70 days until the new year. It’s not too late to create a growth strategy to launch your department and company in some new ways. Before you know it, you won’t be a beginner any longer.
Let’s talk.
“You never know what you can do until you try, and very few try unless they have to.” – C.S. Lewis, British writer, and Anglican lay theologian
