Are you considering a big-ticket investment to grow your real estate business…but you’re unsure if it will have the payoff you’re hoping for?
In this blog post, I’m going to reveal my secrets for how I make an ROI on every single investment I make in my business.
Because yes – maximizing your return on investment is your responsibility.
When you take personal responsibility for your investments, you reap the greatest rewards.
I’ll show you how you can extract value out of EVERY experience when you have the right approach.
Ready to make your money back? Keep reading to learn how!
My $300K Bet on Myself
Years ago, when I was just starting to build what would become The Listings Lab, I made a huge bet on myself. I invested $300,000 (pretty much my entire savings at the time!) to spend 6 months working with a well-known business coach in Los Angeles.
I moved all the way down there (from Toronto) just to get close to him. And…he pretty much ended up flaking on me.
We only met a few times in a parking lot next to Erewhon during that whole 6 month period – for about 15-20 minutes at a time.
From the outside looking in, it may have looked like I made a terrible mistake.
But I was determined to make that investment pay off, no matter what.
Even though our meetings were brief, I prepared meticulously for each one. I would spend hours beforehand brainstorming questions, researching, and getting crystal clear on what I needed to learn from him to take my business to the next level.
In those 15-minute meetings, I came armed with the most pointed, strategic questions I could ask. I squeezed every drop of insight I could out of those conversations.
And while I may have been expecting more time and energy from the coach I’d invested hundreds of thousands into, I still managed to get what I needed from him to exponentially grow my business.
It wasn’t JUST because I made it my personal mission to extract as much value as possible out of our short sessions. It was also because of the powerful network I acquired.
Through my coach, I got connected with some of the most brilliant minds in business and marketing. I met people who became invaluable mentors, partners, and friends. And those relationships have continued to pay dividends, year after year.
So while the one-on-one coaching was minimal, by being proactive and strategic, I was able to turn that $300K investment into the foundation for a 7-figure business. Those couple afternoons with him, and more importantly, the incredible network of people I met through him during that time, ended up being worth every penny and more.
The ideas, relationships, and opportunities that came out of that investment catapulted The Listings Lab to over 7 figures in revenue in our very first year. And the business has only continued to grow exponentially each year since.
The Power of In-Person Events
The power of investing in the right coaching and relationships has been a game-changer for me time and time again. It’s a lesson I’ve seen play out not just in that first $300K investment, but in the many events and masterminds I’ve attended since.
Last year, I flew to Croatia for a high-level event with a group of 8 and 9-figure entrepreneurs. It was a significant investment, and to be honest, the event itself was a bit of a letdown…it ended up being more about partying than actual business breakthroughs.
But even so, that trip was 100% worth it for the two powerful conversations I had with fellow attendees.
One was with a friend who asked me a single question over breakfast that completely transformed my approach to my business. The other was with a mega-successful entrepreneur who challenged my thinking about keeping 100% ownership of my company.
Those two talks alone made the whole investment worthwhile.
The lesson?
When you’re considering attending an event, don’t just focus on the speakers or agenda. Think about the caliber of people who will be in the room and the kinds of impactful conversations you might have. Some of my biggest breakthroughs have come from casual chats during breaks or over meals, rather than the speaker content.
The right question from the right person at the right time can honestly change everything.
Ready to get in the right room so you can level up your network and business? Learn more about our events for real estate agents here.
The Expensive Cost of Inaction
Now, did everything about my Croatia trip or that $300K coaching investment pan out exactly as I expected? Of course not.
There were moments of frustration and disappointment when things didn’t go as I’d hoped.
But taking those leaps are what allowed me to build the business of my dreams at such a rapid rate. And in hindsight, I can confidently say I’d make those same decisions 100 times over.
Too many agents focus on the immediate, obvious return on investment (ROI) of the investments you make in your business. But you have to pay attention to another, often-overlooked business metric – COI, which stands for cost of inaction.
Consider the case of not taking that leap. In my case, the cost of inaction, of not investing in those events and coaching, would have been remaining stuck. It would have meant I’d never made the quantum leaps I did that have allowed me to impact exponentially more agents.
While not every investment panned out *exactly* as I had hoped, I’m so grateful to myself for deciding to take action.
So when you’re weighing a potential investment, whether it’s joining a coaching program, attending an event, or implementing a new marketing strategy – ask yourself, what’s the cost of not doing this? What will it cost you in 5 years if you don’t take action?
When you consider it through that lens, the right decision often becomes much clearer.
Implementation is Key
Of course, none of this matters if you don’t do the work and fully implement what you learn.
I see so many agents jump from coach to coach or course to course and then claim “nothing works”, but when I look closer, they aren’t following through and doing the hard work to put the pieces in place.
The truth is, you can’t just dip your toe in and expect incredible results. You have to commit to the process and see it through to the end. It’s not about doing things halfway and hoping for the best – it’s about going all in and consistently taking massive action until you achieve your desired outcome.
When I invest in my growth, I fully immerse myself in the process. I show up fully, do the work, and keep pushing forward even when things get tough. I know that the only way to truly maximize my return on investment is to see things through to completion, no matter what.
Because at the end of the day, I know the cost of inaction is always higher than the cost of betting on myself.
The 3 Skills for Explosive Growth
Want to know the three skills that have been the most impactful for both myself and the agents I’ve mentored on the path to building a 7-figure real estate business? These are the three things that, when mastered and applied consistently, can lead to explosive growth in your business.
The 3 skills I credit with much of my success are:
Speedy Implementation
In business, money loves speed. The faster you can test ideas and get them out into the world, the faster you can get data, make adjustments, and ultimately arrive at the strategies that will unlock explosive growth.
I’ve wasted so much time in my career waiting for things to be “perfect” before taking action – now I focus on just getting it done and refining as I go. Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time!
Asking Great Questions
One of my all-time favorite quotes is “The quality of your life is directly proportional to the quality of questions you ask.”
I keep this top of mind in every interaction with coaches, mentors, and masterminds. It’s so easy to waste time on surface-level how-to questions that you could easily Google.
To really maximize your return on investment when it comes to coaching and events, you’ve got to dig deeper and ask the questions that will create quantum leaps in your thinking and strategy.
I’ll spend hours prepping questions before an important call because I know that the right question at the right time can completely change the trajectory of my business.
Coachability
I think a lot of people have the wrong idea about what being “coachable” really means.
It’s not about being a pushover or blindly doing whatever your coach says.
True coachability is about putting your ego aside and being open to try new ways of thinking and operating. It’s staying open to feedback – even (and especially) when it makes you uncomfortable. Growth happens outside your comfort zone.
I purposefully seek out coaches and mentors who I know will call me out when I’m getting in my own way. The people who care about you the most are the ones who are willing to tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear.
If you can cultivate these 3 skills, and start looking at every opportunity through the lens of “what’s the cost of inaction here?”, I fully believe you can 10x your income and impact as an agent. The potential in this business is limitless if you’re willing to bet on yourself and commit to your growth, no matter how uncomfortable it can feel in the moment.
Want to read some incredible stories of agents who have taken the leap and 2x’d, 5x’ed or even 10x’e their investment in The Listings Lab?
Check out member success stories here to learn more about our members’ incredible growth!
And if you’re ready to be our next success story, apply here to book a call with our team and learn about how we can help you multiply your revenue (without working more hours).
