Here we are, the 3rd and final post in this series on applying “The Art Of War” to your real estate business. If you haven’t caught up on Part 1 you can do so here, and if you just need to read Part 2, you can do that here.
Let’s jump right in to the material.
Chapter 9: The Army On The March
“Do not move up-stream to meet the enemy.”
Your position is everything, especially when you are negotiating. It doesn’t matter if you are on a listing appointment and you are negotiating the listing price, or the seller, is trying to get you to negotiate your commission to a lesser amount, do your best to maintain your position. Once you give in, and cross the line into ‘non-profit” territory, you are fighting the enemy up-stream. You are losing your position of strength, and most likely you will make concessions that will ultimately cost you and your client more money in the long run. Keep this rule in mind when negotiating any aspect of real estate.
“Movement amongst the trees of a forest shows the enemy is advancing.”
Is there a new competitor in your market place that is suddenly picking up market share? Is the brokerage down the street changing its top-level leaders, attracting more top producers to its office? Are you on the East Coast, and the market on the West Coast is slowing down? Or are you on the West Coast and you are starting to see more commercial activity? It is said that the only constant in life is change. Our industry, and the people in our industry, are in a constant state of change. If you pay attention to your surroundings, and look for the signs of change, the movement amongst the trees, you will have the upper hand, and you will have the ability to adapt quicker than your competitors.
Chapter 10: Terrain/Situational Positioning
In this chapter, Sun Tzu goes into detail on the 6 types of terrains: accessible ground, entangling ground, temporizing ground, narrow passes, precipitous heights, and positions at a great distance from the enemy. Each of these offer certain advantages and disadvantages. For our purposes, let’s equate these to the different types of markets: Buyers market; Sellers market; and Neutral Market. It is your job as a professional salesperson to understand these markets by studying them in great detail. Be aware of when the market switches from one category to the next. Educate your clients on the subtleties of each market and how it will affect both their bottom line, as well as time on market.
Chapter 11: The Nine Situations
This chapter goes into great detail on describes the nine common situations a general will come across in battle and further elaborates on the different types of ground that would need to be mastered in order to be victorious in battle. I could probably write 3 more posts just on this chapter. Instead, I am going to focus on the 1 main takeaway from this chapter:
“Rapidity is the essence of war.”
Rapidity is also the essence of running a successful business. Picture your real estate business, whether a solo agent, a member of a team, or a team leader, as a speedboat. Most of your competitors look at their business (if they even consider it a business, as most consider it a job) as a tugboat. A big, slow-moving tugboat. They receive a new piece of information, and they are slow to act on it. The market changes, and they don’t react for a few months after the change, rather than before. Team members start showing signs of being disenchanted, and the team leader ducts her head in the sand, hoping they get over it before they decide to leave the team. Not you though…you are a speedboat, able to correct course with a moment’s notice. You can turn your business on a dime, because you are lean, and ahead of the curve. You study your industry, and you study other industries to see what effect they can have on your market…right?
Chapter 12: The Attack By Fire
“In order to carry out an attack, we must have means available.”
Are you planning on creating a farm area? How about direct mail postcards around your just listed and just sold properties? Think your mug would look good on a billboard? Or maybe you have a face for radio? Any type of marketing you do will need to have a specific budget attached to it. However, you also have to give it enough time to work. It is said that direct mail response goes up after the 5th to 7th mailing. People need to become familiar with your brand before they begin to trust your brand. If you are going to go down the marketing route, make sure you have the money allocated for at least four months and preferable 6 months, before you axe the campaign. This is the only way to know for sure whether it will be affective or a dud.
“If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are.”
Don’t follow the crowd. Just because everyone is killing it with Facebook ads, doesn’t mean you have to. See if that method of lead generation fits your overall plans. If it does, look into it and test. If it doesn’t, steer clear. Too many entrepreneurs, and for some reason, real estate agents in particular, have The Shiny Object Syndrome. They will chase every new idea and dive down every new rabbit hole, in search of the quick fix. Stop! Focus. Execute. Get sh!t done.
Chapter 13: The Use Of Spies
Of all the chapters, this is my favorite one. Spies in general intrigue me. The use of intelligence gathering both on government scale, as well as in industry, has been around since, well, since Sun Tzu himself! Intelligence gathering is critical if you are going to run a successful business, regardless of the field you are in. However, it is especially useful in real estate. You need to know who are the movers and shakers in your market. You need to know the current and immediate future of your local economy. You need to know basic economic principles and how they relate on both a national, and global scale. In short, not only do you need to be on top of your game, you need your unfair advantage. This comes from intelligence gathering.
“Knowledge of the enemies dispositions, can only come from other men.”
Let’s say you have a farm area. And let’s say there is a new competitor trying to make their way into this particular farm area. Do you have your loyal fans who will share with you the marketing they are receiving from this agent? You should have a few close allies in every farm that will be loyal to you and will make you aware of such actions, so you can step your game up as necessary in that particular farm.
Do you run a big team, or have a large amount of top producing agents in your office? Don’t you think it would be a good idea to grab lunch or coffee from time to time with other agents in your market area to see what their brokerage is up to as far as recruiting efforts? Always be on the look out for the agent, or admin specialist, or receptionist, who likes to spread the word about the latest happenings. You may be able to grab some high-caliber talent, just because the time was right, and you knew about it before anyone else.
This concludes the series on applying “The Art Of War” to your real estate business. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. If you have not read the classic masterpiece by Sun Tzu, I encourage you to do so, as you will undoubtedly gain some terrific insight, that you can apply to your business as well.