Mark your calendars for the ultimate real estate experiences with Inman’s upcoming events! Dive into the future at Connect Miami, immerse in luxury at Luxury Connect, and converge with industry leaders at Inman Connect Las Vegas. Discover more and join the industry’s best at inman.com/events.
Even after years like 2021, when he recorded nearly $500 million in sales, Shaun Osher has a hard time starting a new year.
The reason? His sale numbers revert right back to zero, and it’s time to start anew.
To make sure he starts every year on the right foot, the founder of CORE Real Estate has four things he does at the onset of every year, which he shared with attendees at Inman Connect New York on Wednesday.
Look back to go forward
Before he sets a course for the new year, Osher looks back on the year that just ended. He takes a few days off of work, doesn’t take any appointments and assesses whether or not he achieved the goals he set for himself in the previous year.
“Hindsight is 2020, and it’s a luxury,” he said. “We can learn so much from looking back.”
He asks himself a series of questions including: Did I reach my goals? How much did I sell? Who did I sell to? and Where did I sell the most? in order to get himself and his team on the right track for the new year.
Then, he addresses his finances and decides what to do differently, or the same, in the new year to help advance his goals.
“There are so many creative initiatives we have at our disposal now,” he said. ” I would look at how much money you have, what you’re willing to invest in and what you’re going to scale back on.”
Start thinking
The second thing Osher makes sure to start his year with is deep, concentrated thought, free of distractions.
“You have to take a few days to yourself and do absolutely nothing,” he said.
Osher has preached previously about the importance of setting aside dedicated time in one’s schedule for unstructured thought, arguing it results in increased creativity.
“We are our most creative when we’re not being reactive and we’re not being proactive but we’re just allowing ourselves to be and be creative,” he said. “You have to structure time in your schedule for yourself to be free and to think. If you look at anyone who is successful, they do this.”
Go for the goal
Osher says he takes a piece of paper, divides it down the middle and writes out his goals on one side and his dreams on the other. He defines his goals as things he knows he can attain such as selling 20 homes in a year, while dreams are more aspirational things outside your control.
He recommends setting aside an entire day to set goals for him and his team members, and for meeting with his team members individually to get a gauge on their goals.
“I would meet with my team individually and ask what they want to focus on this year,” he said. “What are the things that drive them? Why do they get up in the morning? What do they want to work on? What are they passionate about?”
Osher makes sure each of his team members has one goal that they want to achieve by the end of the first quarter of the year.
Plot your execution
Once you’ve laid out your dreams and goals, it’s time to figure out how you’re actually going to achieve them.
The last thing Osher does to start his year is make sure he has an executable plan he can follow to achieve his goals and get closer to realizing his dreams. He recommends writing out an actionable plan for the first quarter — specifically the first quarter, not the entire year — and communicating that goal to the team.
“Let your team know exactly what your goal is, whether it’s to get 10 new listings, break into a market that you’ve never been in, start breaking into a segment of the market that you want to start selling in, and check in during meetings and hold your self and your team accountable,” he said. “There’s not a person in this room who can’t achieve greatness and be the top-selling agent in your market.”
