Outcomes – 5 Steps To Propel Your Business

Most real estate professionals have big goals for their real estate business. You know, the kind of goals that are going to take time and an accountability system to achieve? And more than likely, those goals are currently a mounding list inside your head of all the things you want to accomplish.

Middleton Elite Coaching real estate and business coach, Brian Bursell, has a great exercise that he has personally used to propel his business forward; and one that he uses with the clients he coaches in real estate, lending, and real estate investing in order to reach new levels of success. 

The process being outlined below is one that Brian and his clients begin working through together, and as the outcomes are reached, they repeat with new outcomes and action items. 

The first thing Brian recommends doing is purchasing a large dry-erase whiteboard. Make sure it is an attractive one because you will be looking at it a lot! 

In this video, Middleton Elite Coaching real estate and business coach, Brian Bursell, presents The Outcomes Exercise: A 5-Step exercise to propel your business forward.

The Outcomes Exercise

Step 1. Identify 5 Outcomes

The first step in this exercise is to identify five things that, if accomplished, will propel your business forward. Perhaps there is a system that’s missing in your business. Maybe it is a goal that is on your longer-range wishlist and has probably been pushed aside because it seems monumental.

These five things are your outcomes. Brian suggests writing these five outcomes out horizontally across the top of your whiteboard, creating a column for each one. 

 These five outcomes are the goals you will be working toward to reach the next level of growth in your business.

Step 2. The Action Items Necessary (Purpose)

Next, in each column, write out a list of the action items needed to accomplish each of your five outcomes. These are the critical steps that, if skipped, will not allow you to achieve your outcome. 

Brian first began using the Outcomes Exercise about 10 years ago when he had a goal of running a marathon. 26.2 miles is a really long distance for most people to run and requires a great deal of training. 

Brian decided to list out the steps required to properly train for a marathon. It was at that moment that The Outcomes Exercise was born. As he made his list of the necessary action items for training for a marathon, Brian realized he would have to decide by when each of those items must be completed in order to run the already scheduled race. 

Step 3. Determine your “By When” Dates

The third step is to determine how much time you have, or are willing to take, to accomplish your outcomes. From this timeframe, you will be able to segment your action items and create ‘by when’ dates. The ‘by when’ date is the critical date by when you must have the action item completed. 

Going back to Brian’s marathon training – he set an outcome and listed the action items. Step three of Brian’s outcomes exercise would be to determine when each marathon training action item must be completed. For example, Brian knew his marathon was 90 days away. In this case, he had 90 days to accomplish all of his action items. Some of his action items were a higher priority and needed to be accomplished sooner. Brian says that mapping it all out this way was extremely helpful to him during his marathon training process.

Step 4. “By Who?” (Leverage)

Many people (yes, us included) are at times guilty of trying to do everything by themselves. There are three reasons people don’t delegate, and the truth is that most people will hit a roadblock without leverage.

Leverage can help us achieve our goals, and in the case of this exercise, our outcomes. 

Ask yourself “who do I have in my life that can help me complete some of these action items? By who (not me) can some of these items be completed?” then go delegate.

You can put accountability measures in place to follow up on the completion of these tasks. 

Do I have a business, or do I have a job?

Many real estate agents who are currently working on growing their businesses or building teams, or transitioning out of the business will find that the one key piece is leverage. 

In order to determine whether or not you should add leverage to your business is to ask yourself, “Do I have a business, or do I have a job?”

To differentiate between the two; to have a business is to have a person or persons to whom you can leverage a lot of your day-to-day tasks. This will free you up to accomplish a lot of the action items on your outcomes board.

Step 5. Measure It! Create Your Metrics 

The final step in the Outcomes Exercise is to create your metrics so that your success can be measured and tracked.

How will you measure your success in reaching your goals and achieving your outcomes?

Brian says he has a great way to measure and track his success at achieving his outcomes. He refers to this method as his ‘Win The Week Plan’. 

Brian begins by picking 3-4 action items from his outcomes board to complete for the week. He commits to putting these items on his calendar and intentionally blocking the time to complete them. He will check in on himself and anyone helping him (his ‘By Whos”) mid-week. If he isn’t on pace to complete the items by week’s end, he isn’t afraid to pivot and regroup in order to ensure he accomplishes the 3-4 items he has committed to.  

Brian also recognizes that there will be weeks where he will have zero growth toward his outcomes, which he admits is okay. He does, however, urge not to allow 2 or more zero weeks!

WIN the Week/Month/Year

The Outcomes Exercise is an amazing tool. If you are currently using a piece of paper or a thousand sticky notes to collect your goals, we would encourage you to try creating an outcomes board for yourself; and go win the next six, or twelve, or eighteen months. Continue breaking down your goals into actionable outcomes, the action items needed in order to achieve those outcomes, and the people around you who can help you meet your by-when date for those items. Create a focus on winning everything you can both personally, and professionally.

A Blueprint For Success 

Brian has found much success with The Outcomes Exercise both personally and professionally. His coaching clients have found it to be a valuable tool as well. 

One of Brian’s clients was able to purchase an investment/vacation property in Hawaii by mapping out the action items for their outcome. Brian has helped several clients prepare for extended vacations using the Outcomes Exercise. 

Brian adds that the only way you can take a two-week vacation when you’re self-employed is if you have systems in place and you have plans and you’re prepared.

One thing Brian says the outcomes exercise is not made for is everyday tasks, or just getting through the week. Typical tasks are not intended to be completed using the Outcomes Exercise. This exercise is best suited for the loftier goals that will move your business forward. This exercise is the blueprint for doing so. 

Final Thought 

Have you ever heard the saying “There are consequences for your actions?”.

The key message behind the expression very much applies to the Outcomes Exercise. There are outcomes for your actions; growth, success, goals, new heights, and forward-moving propulsion. Go ahead and take action!

Be Elite!

Debbie, Bill, & The MEC Team

Middleton Elite Coaching has valuable tools and resources to help you succeed in every area of your business. Check out our website for free downloadable tools and resources as well as our on-demand virtual skills courses and customized coaching programs.