094: Strategies for Successful Business Planning in the New Year: Part 1 with Matthew Rathbun

Center for REALTOR® Development

We are so glad you joined us to help you start your new year! This episode’s guest is Matthew Rathbun. Matthew will be discussing business suggestions, strategies, and ideas to help you make your plans for success in 2024. This is the first part of a series on Business Planning with Matthew this month. The second part will launch later this month.

[2:55] Matthew is the EVP of a Coldwell Banker company with 10 or 11 offices in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area.

[3:40] Matthew started teaching and has been teaching ever since. He is currently the president-elect for the Real Estate Business Institute, a good partner for CRD, providing lots of education to agents.

[4:20] There has been attrition in the industry. A lot of agents are not seeing a lot of production right now. When you plan for next year, you have to base it on reality.

[5:33] We are knowledge workers more than salespeople. The buyer hires you as a buyer’s agent for what you know. How do you provide clarity on your value as a buyer’s agent?

[7:00] A knowledge worker will say, “I know the market, what my capabilities are, and what my consumer base is and I’m going to build a strategic plan.”

[7:37] You can be a knowledge worker to your consumers and demonstrate that value to them. You can use your knowledge and say, “I’m the CEO of me.”

[9:21] What are we changing for 2024? Agents need to be much more precise with their goals to be able to look back and see what they’ve accomplished and why this is a good career for them.

[11:12] Matthew goes over tips and tools on how to interject your goals. Substantial industry changes are coming but most of our chaos is controllable.

[13:00] You’re controlling whatever chaos you can. Putting systems in place is so important. “You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” — James Clear

[15:48] With industry changes, Matthew says training will be a core part of any successful agent’s business.

[18:33]. Change is good. A bad change can be corrected to something better. Have a healthy mindset on addressing change. Lean into change and what it means.

[23:06] It’s time to add to your listing kit and improve the buyer consultation kit on your website. Market your value proposition for buyers. Matthew discusses what to do in the next 30 to 90 days.

[25:45] Agents need a better consumer persona. Who do you want to work with? Just saying you want to work with sellers or with buyers is not focused enough to reach the core consumer that you want.

[30:18] Matthew cites Atomic Habits, by James Clear as the most transformative book. He recommends other books.

[32:50] Monica urges you to check the resources mentioned in this episode and Matthew Rathbun’s website linked in the notes. What education do you need to add to your life and business? The Center for REALTOR® development highly recommends ABR®, The Accredited Buyer’s Representative designation.

Tweetables:

“This is very much an industry where you get to eat what you kill. You hunt it. You kill it. Now you get to enjoy it, so to speak.” — Matthew Rathbun

“Change is good. I’ve always said change is good. Even if it’s bad change, it’s generally going to be corrected and lead to something that’s better.” — Matthew Rathbun

“Every successful CEO is a reader. That’s one of the common traits of all successful CEOs.” — Matthew Rathbun

Guest Links:Matthew Rathbun on Facebook

Canva Templates at Etsy.com

NARRPR.com REALTOR® Property Resource

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen, by Donald Miller

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear

Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential, by Tiago Forte

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen

Canva.com

Alignment.io

Trello.com

MyStorybrand.com

Freeform – app for iPads and iPhones only

MindMup.com

Coffitivity.com

Matthewrathbun.com/resources/

NAR Resource LinksNAR.realtor/technologyABR®

SRS

Additional Links:

Microcourses found at Learning.REALTOR. Use the coupon code PODCAST to obtain 15% off the price of any microcourse!

[e-mail]

Crdpodcast.REALTOR

Learning.REALTOR — for NAR Online Education

Training4RE.com — List of Classroom Courses from NAR and its affiliates

CRD.REALTOR — List of all courses offered

REBI

Host Information:

Monica Neubauer

Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR®

[e-mail]

MonicaNeubauer.com

FranklinTNBlog.com

Monica’s Facebook Page: Facebook.com/Monica.Neubauer

Instagram: Instagram.com/MonicaNeubauerSpeaks

Guest Bio

Matthew Rathbun

I’m unapologetically me. I love learning and sharing what I’ve learned with anyone willing to listen. It’s what I’ve done all of my life. I’m a restless and demanding learner myself, so I focus on people in the audience who want advanced information, a little humor, and actionable information when they leave. If a learner attends one of my sessions, I feel honored to have them there and feel that I have a duty to ensure that the time they have given me will be valuable to them. I believe that every moment with learners should count.

I still work with clients and actually practice the skills and information that I deliver in each class. I’m also a licensed broker in Virginia, DC, and Maryland and a licensed instructor in many states in the U.S. I am the Executive Vice President of a large multi-office firm in Virginia and oversee operations, risk management, and agent development among other things. Before becoming a broker, I was a high-performing agent and received a number of awards and accolades throughout the year including the Virginia Association Instructor of the Year, and was recognized by RISMedia Newsmaker Thought Leader in 2020.

My course offerings are pretty extensive and I’m always happy to create unique content if it’s within my knowledge base. I’m a certified CRS instructor and have contributed to or written various national certification and designation courses for RRC, REBAC, and REBI (all three NAR education institutes). My emphasis is on leadership development, technology, risk management, and advanced practice of real estate. I have a wide range of experience with risk reduction, including serving on the local, state, and national professional standards workgroups, MLS compliance committees, and various other industry opportunities that have given me broad exposure to what should be the best practices in the industry. I am an alumnus of the VAR Leadership Academy. As an author, I have contributed to many real estate industry magazines and online industry news venues.

A few accolades:

■ REBI National Distinguished Instructor of the Year 2021

■ CRS National Instructor of the Year 2020

■ Virginia Association of REALTORS® — Instructor of the Year 2007

■ RISMedia Newsmaker — 2020 Influencer

■ Virginia REALTORS® Graduate — Leadership Academy — 2007

■ Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Realtor of the Year 2020

■ Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — President’s Award 2010

■ Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Code of Ethics Award 2011

■ Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Rookie of the Year 2003

■ Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Honor “Role”

■ Fredericksburg Assoc. of REALTORS® — Production Awards

■ Coldwell Banker Recruiter Award — Virginia