If You Don't Plan, You Plan to Fail: How We Actually Plan Our Year

"If you don't plan, you plan to fail." That's where Nate and Josh start this conversation about how they actually plan their real estate year — and it's not the vision-board version.

Nate and Josh get into why real planning starts in October, not January, and why the agents who have consistent years aren't doing 20 different things. They're doing the two or three that fit their personality, every single day.

They cover:

• Why your planning should start in Q4, before the new year
• How to figure out where your business actually came from last year
• Setting daily activity goals instead of vague transaction targets
• Why Josh leaned into door knocking and face-to-face, and let cold calling go
• The $300K referral that snowballed into a $2.5M sale and a chain of new clients
• How a random contractor visit turned into a buyer lead
• Why the connection often matters more than the transaction

Plus a Realtor Rapid Fire on the four-minute agent lunch, and a Starbucks grilled cheese tip you didn't ask for.

Two different California markets. Same discipline.

Behind the Beards is real conversations about real estate from two experienced California agents — honest takes, practical lessons, and what actually happens behind the scenes.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Behind the Beards, the podcast where real estate gets real, real messy, real funny, and sometimes just downright unpredictable. I'm Josh. And I'm Nate.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

We're pulling back the curtain on the world of real estate. Whether you're an agent, industry professional, client, or you're just here for the chaos. You're in the right place. This is a real real estate talk. If you don't plan, you plan to fail. It's really what it comes down to, right? As we talk about planning for our year, we're in Q1 right now, Josh. And um, I know you do this a lot. You're, you know, you're the year turns, your planning actually starts in the end of the last year coming into any given year, right? And you know, as you start to get to this part of uh the the the year here, the first quarter, you know, you start to look back of what you've been doing. So so Josh, what do you what do you do? Like, do you have a certain plan? Do you have uh maybe certain pillars of what you do and your strategy for uh getting business and being successful and hitting your goals?

SPEAKER_01 1:04

If you don't plan, you're you're you're failing, right? Because and you don't wait till January 1st of any given year to start your planning, because then you're gonna be in February and be like, Well, you're still planning, right? So, first and foremost, we start planning October, November of the year before because it's all about you want to have deals in escrow, you want to have your systems in place, you want to once January 1st rolls around, you want to be so dialed in that you're not even thinking about your plan because it's already done. So, I mean, yeah, I do have pillars to my plan. We track our numbers from the previous year. Where did we get business from? Right. For me, my main source of business comes from my past clients in my referral network. That's kind of pulled into two, and then door knocking and a little bit of outreach like circle prospecting is where mine comes from. Those are my pillars.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Yeah, I'll go ahead and kind of tell you what I think about, right? I do the same thing. Like, where did my deals come from the previous year? And then what we hear a lot about just as agents and brokers, we have goals. And for me, goals have never been I'm gonna hit this many deals and transactions this year. I've always backed it into what can I take care of daily and monthly? And basically, let's start with daily because daily, my goal is to make two strong new connections. And then daily is also prospecting, two hours connecting with my database. Now, this could be past clients one day, this could be clients that are incubating that I've been working on, right? So CRM always in front of me. And then the other bucket I have are VIPs and industry professionals. Because one thing I could just say that I noticed is a lot of my deals come from other industry professionals, which is honestly, there were some years I had where I didn't realize that maybe I just knew I did X amount of deals. So really having some knowledge of where your deals come from, I think will help you do your marketing, do your outreach, and set your plan for the year. Be intentional. You know, stick with it. Don't start that, well, I tried this for a little bit and then it didn't work. Sure, you have to try things to see if it works and if it's going to be something that is kind of fits your personality and if you're getting results from it. But once you find those pillars, stick with it, right? Have you do you have any examples of maybe sometime something you did? Maybe you saw other uh agents in your office doing this and you're like, yeah, they're successful with it, but I'm not. Do you have any examples for that?

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Maybe for when I started, I started doing everything, right? I was reaching out to my family and my friends. I was I started cold calling, I did start doing a little bit of door knocking, and I didn't know what I what I like to do. But you know, now I've come to I've come to find out I'm you know, I'm best face to face interacting with people like in person. I don't like cold calling. I have done a I have done a deal. Actually, it's funny, Nate and I met on when I had a listing five years ago in Solana Beach, and the reason why I got that deal was from a cold call. That's the only reason why we've actually connected was because I picked up the phone to make that cold call. But listen, I don't enjoy doing it. I have an ADHD brain, I can't sit behind a desk for six hours every single day and make calls. So I know my personality. I need to be out and about, I need to be door knocking, right? So for agents out there, to Nate's point, don't do five, six different things. Like find the two things, one or two things that you really enjoy doing and that fits your personality, and be disciplined and intentional about it and do it, right? You don't go to the gym once a week and see results, right? You got to work at it every single day. So for me, I'm door knocking every single day and I'm networking with my network, right? To your point, VIP clients, my past clients. I'm really being intentional about providing value to these people, right? You know, because I don't want my clients. If my client sells a house without me, I'm like, well, why did they do that? Well, maybe I didn't speak to them for six months. So now part of my business plan that started in October of last year is like every it's not even every quarter, it's every like month and a half, every two months. I'm reaching out to my past clients, my VIPs, which are uh other business professionals, like trust attorneys, my CPA, my estate planner. You get what I'm saying, right? Like I'm I'm constantly in touch with these people and I'm providing value for their business. And then in turn, I'm doing a follow-up and doing a withdrawal. I'm like, okay, well, I've scratched your back. Now it's time for you to scratch my back, right? And that's where the referral partnership really works. So you just have to be intentional about it, and it's fun. I mean, once you really, once you really start clicking and you're like, oh my God, past clients, VIPs, and door knocking. That's what I like to do. I don't need to cold call, I don't need to network, I don't, which, but I do like networking. That's part of kind of kind of that first pillar bucket. Just do it, don't do things that you don't enjoy doing. You obviously have to there, our business is all about lead generating, right? So you have to find a way to generate business, to generate leads every single day. You you might just want to go sit at a bar and and talk to people and and make make your warm conversations there. You just have to make two meaningful connections every single day with a potential buyer, investor, or uh or homeowner who wants to sell their house, and that's a good day. I mean, it's at the end of the day, you just need to talk to people, whether that's in an open house, a door knock, right, a cold call. It's there's no perfect way to generate leads.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Two things. You never know who you're gonna meet when you're out there and you put yourself out there, and there's no one or handful of items, magic strategies that works for everybody in in this business or any other type of business where you know generating leads and networking is important. And I would say this there's there's no there's no salesmanship here. I try to break it down to something that's just a little more simple. And I'm curious. People are curious about what I do, compliment them, and then be curious about what they do, who they are, because you're gonna find in conversations that when you're having them, especially face-to-face, that so-and-so lives here, or my daughter moved there, and this and that. And you can find a way to work in what you do as a as a conversation piece. I do it all the time. And you mentioned stopping at your your favorite local water. Well, I pick I pick restaurants where I know a lot of homeowners that are in higher price points, hang out after work. Nice restaurant. Hey, hey, it's a tactic, right? Do I pull all business out of there? No. Have I gotten leads and closed deals out of there? Yes, I have. Again, it's not like you're sitting there from noon to five, right? You're you're popping in and you know, creating a conversation. Oh, what a day, right? You know, and and that opens people up and they start to talk about it. I think we have some examples uh that I would like to talk about. Josh, think of one thing where maybe you were out and because of your communication strategy, uh, just who you are, you weren't planning on getting a lead, but uh maybe you got at least an opportunity. Maybe it could be someone you've known from the past too, where you got an opportunity out of having that conversation when you really weren't expecting it. I think we have some good examples of this. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

I was in Mammoth five years ago, sitting with with all my buddies and and our wives, our girlfriends at the time. And this guy was with his family to the table next next to us, and he was talking about he lives in Coronado and he's talking about San Diego, and something in their conversation just made me pop over there and like start talking to him, right? So I introduced myself as you know, and myself, and and then we just started talking, right? He's in the Navy, he's retiring, but he loves real estate and he's an investor, and we just hit like we just hit it off. I mean, I literally was sitting in another city, right? And and and just picked up on a conversation and introduced myself, and like we're really close friends now. We haven't transac together, but he's referred me many clients, and it's like it's just because like I didn't just keep my mouth shut, like that's who I am, right? I'll literally be in the grocery store and like kick up a conversation with someone, and it's not like hey, I'm in the business, my name is Josh, I work with Compass. Uh, do you want to sell? That's that's not how you have to do it. You really have to be a high-level communicator, right? To do what we do, and you just have to be smart and don't be weird about it, it's just natural. And I've picked up I've picked up a lot of clients referring referral partners that way, or people that we even have a mutual connection, like randomly. Like that guy that I met in in Mammoth who lives in Coronado. We know three we have three mutual connections. Like, like, how how does that even happen, right? I love it. I mean, we're Nate, you and I are the same style, right? We love meeting people, we love conversing, and when the right opportunity comes up, you know, it's your time to close, right? And and try and build that relationship with that person and how you could provide them value, how they could provide you value. And it just it just goes back to my our point of there's no special way, there's no magic potion in this business. You don't have to be the door knocker, right? Like, but just be intentional with what you're good at and make those convers, you know, make those connections every single day. It's not rocket science. It might seem like it, right? If you're like doing 20 different things and you're like, fuck, like nothing's working. Like, why am I not? It's because you're not you're you're not good at all those things. You need to do the two things that you're really good at every single day. And the other 18 things, throw it in the trash, right? Like just focus on those main things.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Yeah, before I get to my story, it made me think of a couple of things when you were you were just saying that there, you know, we talked about cold calling. I think throughout my mortgage and and and and real estate career, I've probably made over a million cold calls. Like, probably, right? Um, you know, from my mortgage days and then now in real estate, you know, just trying to, you know, make those. And some people are great at cold calling. And right, I will say that the things that you aren't good at, and I wouldn't say that I'm not good at it, I just think that there's more connection for me. It's more fun. It makes me feel more like this is my profession when I'm when I'm when I'm not doing some of the things that I've kind of abandoned, if you will, right? Uh, but we know a lot of successful agents out there that are pounding the phones, they've got lists, they're they're using whatever they're using to get cold cold leads in that they're able to convert. Um, technology is a big piece of that these days. Either way, if you start to, as an agent, realize that there's certain things that you aren't, it isn't your bread and butter, we'll call it, right? It's okay that you tried them and you did them and you gave them a valiant effort because what happens is that builds character and it also tells you what you maybe don't want to do that helps you get to what you do want to do. So I feel like that's that's just good messaging there. And then a story for me, I'll use kind of a simpler one. I too have met some very high-level people, and and I want to, on your story, say this it's not always about that person transacting, it's who do they know, who's in their network. Uh, one of my pillars for for for the last couple years, I would say, is to meet more love, more high-level individuals that are in place and meet with other people and have networks, right? Where they might um have have clients that that need to transact. Um, one big one that comes to mind for me that I've I've really been focusing on on over the next last couple of years are attorneys. Now, to get in front of them, you have to know your stuff. So if you're if you're not someone that's been doing this and knows contracts back and forth and scenarios or just how you could be uh valuable, what what what benefit do you offer someone like a probate attorney? Why would they use you? Well, it might be because you have contractors, you you can you can uh have places boarded up, you can get locks changed, you can offer these other services that are outside of that attorney's office and maybe relatives that are located in other states that aren't even in the same state as yours. So you got to find a way to get in there and kind of show your value and your worth. And then not every one of them are gonna go, great, so glad you stopped into my office. You're the only realtor that's called me. You there's there's work involved to it. My story, I think just having always being curious and open-minded. I'll just give you one from the other day. It's very, it's very simple, a lot, a little different than yours, Josh. But I was going, I have a listing coming up, and the homeowner who doesn't live there anymore, it's mom's house. Um, basically we're letting contractors in. I have one that I recommended. He has one that he likes that's a little out of the area from where the property is. I let that second contractor in that, which was which was the seller's kind of choice. And when I got there, I realized I knew him. Also, he had his whole family in the car. And so he was there kind of popping by to give a quote, taking a good look at the home. Well, by the end of the conversation on a Saturday, you know, tired, been working all week. I asked him, you know, well, why's the whole family with you, right? And he says, Well, you know, we're visiting my daughter, she goes to Sacramento State. And I said, Okay, great. Uh, and they're from out of the area, about an hour and an hour and a half out of town. And they're like, we're gonna visit her. And I go, okay, great. This well, she's gonna be done with school soon. Well, she wants to stay here in this region, and we we like it here too. And I said, Great. Well, what's she gonna do? She said, Well, she's probably gonna buy a house here. Here's my car, right? And I'm gonna see that contractor again. And now I didn't go into that going, watch me, I'm gonna find out what family members this contractor has. But because you're there and you're present and you meet them, right? That's that's the important piece. So I love our stories there, and I definitely I think you know, having a plan is one thing that doesn't have to be the same as every other agent, and it doesn't have to have everything that you would normally put, that that any every single tactic or or action that you could do as an agent. Pick a few that work well for you and ride it and do it well and be intentional with you, do it 100%.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Listen, timing, timing is everything as well, right? But if you're doing things intentionally every single day, luck will be on your side as well. If you're always doing, you know, your door knocking or your networking, you're doing it every single day and you're doing it at a high level, luck will be on your side. Things, good things will come to to those who who work hard, right? And I love that you said that that one point that you made like really resonates with me of it's not about, it's not necessarily about the person you meet, they might never transact with you. Just like to piggyback on that, there was a deal where I got I got a referral from a friend. They're like, Hey, I have this buddy, he like barely can afford anything here in San Diego. It's he's he's up to 300,000, it's gonna be like 45 minutes from you. Are you are you open to taking that, Josh? So absolutely. Why did I do that? Because he has a network that I don't have, right? I didn't know if it was gonna lead to any more business or if it was just gonna be that $300,000 deal, which is a low price point here in my area, and and that's it, right? And then and then I didn't have time to spend on other parts of my business, but I did it because I knew he had another network, right? I closed that deal and that let he referred me his cousin who bought a two and a half million dollar house, and he's actually referred me other people that are now referring me. It's like now a snowball from a referral of a referral. So if I was just the agent that was like, eh, 300,000 and 45 minutes away, no, that's that's that's not even enough for me. Then I would never have gotten all that other business. So don't judge a book by its cover and jump at opportunities that that come your way, right? Don't think that it's too it's too little for you to do the deal, right? Because you never know where it's gonna lead to.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Can't uh back you up enough on that. Uh, I've got so many stories with that too. I will tell you this one last piece here. I think what I find is when I'm busy and I fill my schedule up with things that are meaningful, that other things start to happen in the background, almost like karma-like. Seriously, it's amazing. And and once you start getting into that, if you're going down the other side of that hill where you're like, oh, nothing's happening and the market's terrible and da da da da and this and that, you're you're you're that's what you're gonna get. When you're out there and you're you're creating active moments, uh, you're you're being intentional, you're helping people out, um, you know, you're going the extra mile. I really didn't want to do that open house this weekend, or gosh, I really wish I could do that. And then you do it, you find that you find that client because you went like you're rewarded for it. And so I want agents to kind of feel that as well. Um, not to get all metaphysical, but you seriously, it happens like that. So, Josh, I want to ask you a fun question here. Um, we're both busy. We're like we, you know, we don't get an hour lunch, right? So let's let's let's do this. Well, if you got a four minutes for lunch, which is usually like every day, right? What's your go-to? How do you how do you get how do you get lunch? Every single day.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

I have four minutes to eat. So I'd say about two to three times a week, I'm I'm not even like at a table to like eat, right? So where am I? I'm in my car. So I beeline to Starbucks, I get my grande iced vanilla latte with oat milk, and I get two jalapeno chicken pockets, and I'm just scuffling them down on on my on my way to my next appointment because that's the only time I have, right? And it's the easiest thing ever. I get some protein, I get my caffeine buzz, and I'm on to my next appointment. And then, you know, I usually have a better dinner. There obviously are, you know, there's there's days in the week where I'm able to like go out for lunch or go to a client or bring lunch back to the office, or if I have leftovers, right? But the the majority of the day, dude, I am on the prowl and I'm just like, whatever is like honest to my to be honest, another thing that I that I do like sometimes if I'm at my office like running out at one o'clock to appointments that are gonna lead till 5 p.m., I just grab whatever on the there's a lot of stuff that people agents always leave like their leftover pizza from their caravans. And so it's either I'm either having pizza, brownies, mac and cheese. I mean, it's listen, it's not healthy, but you know, this business isn't healthy.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Well, I'll tell you this. I'll I have two answers. Um, the first answer is sometimes I hate to admit it, nobody feels sorry for me, but I skip lunch. And it's because I'm like, I'm just gonna get through the rest of this. I don't have time, I gotta prepare for this call, gotta prepare for this thing. But um, I'll back you up with Starbucks because I love those jalapeno chicken pockets. And then I also do the grilled cheese, and they're a little greasy, right? So you need some napkins, of course. But I assume in the car, right? And then I don't know if you know this or not, but I was there the other day, and this is uh about a month ago or so, and uh the nice young lady behind the counter, she said, you know, did you ever try the uh the avocado spread? I'm like, on the grilled cheese. She's like, Yeah, she's like, just take it and dip it in there. And I'm like, all right.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Wait, wait, hold on a second. Avocado spread for the grilled cheese?

SPEAKER_00 19:57

I'm telling you, it's a good move. It's a dipper. You dip right in, gives you a little bucket, right? And dude, I'm telling you, it's it's it's pretty darn good, and it's it's it's a stellar $6 lunch.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

I'm floored because I've had I've had probably three or four grilled cheeses from Starbucks in the last probably month. No one's ever offered me that damn avocado spread.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

So what I'm I'm gonna Yep, you go in there and you tell them that you really don't appreciate not being told all the menu items that go well with the grilled cheese and that you want the avocado spread for free for the first time.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

100%, and then just hand them a business card, Flash Gayless with Compass. Thank you so much. Have a great day.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

That's right. And then sit there and open up your laptop and you know, shout at people instead of you know, have your laptop up, you know, I'm a realtor on the back of it, right? Instead of them caring about the real estate thing on the back of your computer, just shout at them, get the avocado spread, and then people will go, Oh my gosh, dude. And that's how you start the conversation, right? Another marketing tip.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

I don't even remember what this episode was about because now I'm just thinking about this damn avocado spread that they've been hiding from me.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

So that's cool. You're probably gonna have that for lunch today, I'm sure. But um always good to be with you, Josh. Uh like like hammering down on topics like today, and uh, we'll definitely catch you on the next one. And um, I hope you have a good rest of the day and a great weekend as well. So you too, brother. Thanks for tuning in to Behind the Beards. If you enjoyed today's episode, do us a favor, subscribe, leave us a comment, and share it with someone who'd enjoy what you've heard here today.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

You can also connect with us on social media or send us one of your own real estate confessions because who knows, you might just hear it on the next episode.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

We'll catch you next time where we keep it real, keep it honest, and always behind the beards.