Since March, real estate agents across the country have been quickly adapting to a world centered around stopping the spread of coronavirus. As a result, agents have ditched face-to-face meetings for Zoom calls, open houses for virtual tours and visits to the title office for e-closing tools.
Beyond adopting new tools and marketing tactics, agents are also taking a second look at their finances and trimming budgets to prepare for what will be a dizzying next couple of years. For those who need financial guidance, global business consulting firm Weiler International has launched a four-step business strategy course for $349.
Available today, the course includes four modules that help brokers and agents evaluate the current state of their business, identify areas for financial improvement and optimization, choose the best solutions and chart a path forward.
Marion Weiler
“We developed this program specifically for business owners who are in transition or in crisis mode are looking for ways to transform their financial story and find viable solutions for a sustainable business future,” said Weiler International Principal Marion Weiler, who’s held leadership positions at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty and Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
“Even well-known firms find themselves in a less than desirable situation having to address current challenges through effective cost management, organizational optimization, and sustainable planning,” she said.
The first step, ‘Understand the Why: Taking Back Control,’ includes four pages of written prompts that ask brokers and agents to reevaluate their personal and team needs, acknowledge areas of fear and anxiety and pinpoint destructive business patterns.
The second step, ‘Take Inventory of Your Finances,’ includes 12 pages of prompts that help professionals identify current and potential revenue streams, plan for worst-case scenarios, create a debt-reduction plan and home in on unnecessary expenses.
The third step, ‘Identify Solutions,’ includes two worksheets that help brokers and agents figure out what services to cut and add, how to adjust services and marketing to fit current consumer needs and how to create a team of colleagues, mentors and vendors to meet goals.
The final step, ‘Optimize and Plan Ahead,’ asks professionals to identify strengths and weaknesses, determine how they can best use their time and reimagine their business plan to better reflect where they want to go.
“By making an honest assessment of the current state of their business, then developing new strategies alongside a reliable and independent business partner as they rethink the model they’ve developed, businesses discover what’s working, what’s not and what’s next,” Weiler added.
In an emailed statement to Inman, Weiler explained the course should take four weeks to complete; however, participants can work through it at a quicker or slower pace.
“The speed and detail they go into are based on individual situations and needs, and I consider myself a business partner who is guiding them along the way. I’m not interested in a quick sale,” she said. “The modules are built on each other, so I recommend that they go through them in the order they are presented.”
“The motto is, there is no ‘being behind’ in this program because you can’t rush clarity,” she added. “The goal is to go for progress, not perfection. One step at a time.”
Weiler said Weiler International will release several more a-la-carte courses this year alongside a subscription-based website with courses and one-on-one coaching. Both avenues will focus on helping real estate professionals and small business owners transition from crisis mode to planning for long-term success in the midst of a health and economic crisis, she said.
“Future courses will build on this online framework but will be more expansive in the areas of optimizing and planning ahead in a new business environment,” Weiler concluded, while noting she plans to keep courses under $500. “Optimizing and planning ahead [is] key to creating a truly sustainable business in the long-run.”
