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Whether it’s tennis, soccer, basketball or AFL, we’ve all witnessed games where the players’ strategy is defensive.
And yes, it can work in the context of sport where you’re guarding against the competition and are focused on ensuring they can’t get a shot through.
But in real estate, we cannot play defensively. We can’t be on the back foot, playing it safe, focusing on the competition, and being reactive.
If we’re “playing” like that, we’re playing to lose.
So let’s look at what’s involved in playing offense rather than defense in real estate, and how a proactive approach sets you up for success.
Offense versus defense
If you’re approaching something on the offense, you’re on the front foot. You’re pushing forward, actively seeking to make ground and achieve results.
Being on the offense means you’re:
- Being proactive.
- Seeking areas of improvement.
- Tapping into and honing your skill set.
- Maximising return.
- Trying something new.
- Creating new customers.
On the flipside, being on the defense means you’re:
- Being reactive.
- Putting out fires.
- Playing it safe.
- Minimising risk.
- Maintaining what you have.
- Focused on the competition.
Playing defensively rarely works
In real estate, playing defensively rarely works. It means you’re so busy looking around you that you are not focused on the results you need to achieve and the consistent actions you need to take.
That approach simply doesn’t work – not for you and your career, and definitely not for your clients.
But what exactly does playing offensively look like on an average day in real estate?
Speed of execution
An offensive approach in real estate is all about speed of execution. It’s about knowing exactly what we need to do, getting in there, and getting it done.
There’s no time or room for procrastination. It’s about focusing on the dollar-productive activities we all know we need to be doing and simply executing the plan.
And you know the activities I mean. It’s things like:
- Making those prospecting calls.
- Following up with potential buyers and sellers.
- Creating a social post.
- Sending out those emails.
- Organising that letterbox drop.
- Having that role-play session.
- Catching up with your accountability buddy.
It’s also about having the right conversation at the right time, in the right way in the interests of achieving the right result.
That includes asking for the business, and having the tough conversations that need to be had, such as:
“Mr/Ms Seller, we need to align your property’s asking price to the market, otherwise we will miss the market. You gave me clear instructions to get you sold to help you get to ‘X’. You didn’t give me instructions to ‘test’ the market.”
Or:
“Mr Seller, let’s get the paperwork signed so I can get on with helping you to the next chapter.”
The result in mind
If we’re playing on the offensive, we are not “mincing” our words; we need to get straight to the point.
The result we want is front of mind and we’re seeking the fastest path possible to achieve that outcome.
That’s playing on the offensive. That’s getting it done.
Manos Findikakis is the CEO of Agents’Agency.
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