The Data You Should Be Tracking in Your Real Estate Business w/ Greg Helbeck

Be a man or woman of integrity, both with yourself and others. Not only will this build confidence, but it will allow you to hit bigger and bigger goals because you have a track record of following through.
– Greg Helbeck

The Analytics, Data, and Numbers You Should Be Tracking to Gain Consistency in Your Business w/ Greg Helbeck

In the first episode with Greg Helbeck we talked about negotiations, raising margins, and the questions he always asks his leads when talking about their property.

A lot of his deals are done remotely, which makes it even more important that he stays on top of his analytics. Today we will be diving into what you should be tracking, how you should be tracking it, and who you should be comparing yourself to. (Hint: it’s not other people.)

Read the Full Show Notes Below…

Greg lives in San Diego but does most of his deals in his home state of New York. As such, he relies on the data to tell him what’s working. Just showing up each day and being productive isn’t enough. You need to know what’s working, what’s not, and more importantly why.

This will allow you to pinpoint where you need to step-up or step-back

Metrics = Freedom

For many entrepreneurs, taking action isn’t a problem. They thrive on the hustle and have the motivation to work long hours day in and day out. The thing is – maybe they don’t have to.

When Greg started his business, he was putting out signs, knocking on doors, doing Craigslist ads, handwriting letters, and everything else new investors do when they are looking for those first few deals.

What he didn’t realize is while he felt like he was being productive in his goals, what he was doing was actually pushing them further away from them. He wasn’t tracking what he did, when he did it, or what the results were. He was throwing out a net and hoping for the best.

While his persistence helped him find his initial success in real estate, if he had been tracking, he would have been able to accomplish more, while spending less time and money in the process.

What to Track

When Greg realized he was in the direct marketing business and not the real estate business he had his lightbulb moment. He knew he needed to better gauge his efforts so he could grow his business and find better uses for his time. Greg began tracking his metrics strategically.

Income – Are you really making money? The first thing to do is make sure your books are in order so you know exactly where you’re starting. This will help you to forecast and set the goals to help you get to where you want to be.

Leads – Take a look at your leads about once a week. Where are they coming from? Who are they? How can you help them?

Offers – How many offers are you making each week? Who are they for?

Deals – How many of your offers are actually turning into closed deals?

Revenue – How much are you making per deal and what could be done to improve your margins on the next one?

Once a week Greg will sit down for about 20 minutes to review his numbers. On a monthly basis, he will spend an hour or so to take a more in-depth look to make sure things are staying on track.

Putting it All Together

When Greg is tracking these analytics in his business, he will look at his past performance to forecast the future. If his business isn’t performing how he would like, he can look at the numbers to see where he can improve.

While building Carrot I have learned that you don’t need to track each and everything, rather focus on the 3-7 KPIs that really matter. If we aren’t hitting our numbers, it’s not the end of the world, but at least we will be able to determine where we need to improve.

Playing the Long Game

Keeping track of your numbers doesn’t need to be a long or intimidating process. A simple spreadsheet can help you quickly compare trends from one week to the next. You’ll be able to forecast and predict your outcomes and if something isn’t lining up, you’ll be able to respond accordingly.

When you are first starting out, it can be easy to become discouraged by low numbers. It’s important to remember that in many cases, the efforts you are putting in now, will be rewarded not today, but a couple of months down the road.

PPC, SEO, and direct mail campaigns all take time to build momentum too.

Stay the course and always lead with math over emotion.

Setting Your Benchmarks

As Simon Sinek says in his book, The Infinite Game, we are in this for the long haul. There is no end or defined players. Businesses change all of the time and the bell isn’t going to sound for things to stop.

When setting your goals and benchmarks, it can be so easy to compare yourself to what others in your field are doing.

Social media can give the appearance of “success” but you never know what is going on behind the scenes.

To define your goals, all you need to do is try to be a bit better than you were before. It is nice to set targets, but as you grow your business it’s ok to take some of the pressure off and just enjoy the ride.