Business Planning: A Framework for Better Decisions in Real Estate
A business plan can seem like another document to complete before the year begins, but Matt Mullin’s experience showed how much can change when the process is used to bring clarity to the business.
During a recent Coldwell Banker Premier Realty sales meeting, Matt Mullin, Head of Strategic Growth and Talent Development, shared that he spent his first six years in real estate without a business plan. He was making good money, but he was also working six or seven days a week, feeling scattered and overwhelmed, and constantly looking for the next solution.
What changed was not a complicated planning system. It started with a few simple questions about what he wanted to earn, where the business would come from and what he needed to do to create it.
Start With a Simple Plan
Matt said he was initially dragged into business planning “kicking and screaming.” At the time, he felt his business was already working, until changes in his personal life forced him to reconsider how he was using his time.
The conversation that changed his perspective started with three basic questions: How much money do you want to make? Where is it going to come from? What are you going to do to get it?
From there, Matt developed what he called his “napkin business plan.” It included only a handful of numbers and commitments, such as how much business would come from buyers and sellers, how many of each he wanted to work with and what he wanted his schedule to look like.
Simplicity Can Still Produce Meaningful Results
The plan may have been simple, but Matt said the process helped reveal things he had not been seeing in his business.
Over the next few years, he said he was able to double his net income while working less and experiencing less stress. Productivity per person within his group also increased by approximately 25% to 30%.
For Matt, the experience changed the way he viewed planning. The value was not in creating a lengthy document. It was in taking the time to make deliberate decisions about the business before the demands of the year started making those decisions for him.
Use Your Plan as a Framework for Decisions
Matt described the business planning process as a framework for decision-making, especially when the day-to-day realities of real estate begin to feel chaotic.
Instead of looking at each page as another form to complete, he encouraged agents to see the process as a series of questions that create space to reflect before moving forward.
He summarized those questions at the highest level as: Who am I? What do I want? What price am I willing to pay to get it? As Matt put it, “Feelings are fleeting, frameworks are forever.”
Know Who You Are and What You Want
For Matt, understanding who you are means looking at your personality, gifts, strengths, weaknesses, values, passions and desires. That self-awareness can help you recognize whether the way you are currently working actually fits you.
He also encouraged agents to get specific about what they want, including income, how they want to spend their time, who they want to work with, how much they want to work and what they want in their personal life.
From there, the planning process becomes a way to compare those priorities with the reality of your current business and identify where changes may be needed.
Dig Deeper Than Your First Three Goals
Matt shared an exercise that had a significant impact on his own planning: instead of writing down only three things he wanted, he created a list of 100 things.
He said the exercise became more revealing as he moved deeper into the list. By the time he reached the 40th, 50th or 60th item, he could see that some of his existing activities and schedule were not aligned with what he actually wanted.
The exercise helped expose questions about how many hours he was working, the types of clients he was serving and how much time he was spending with each client.
Let the Numbers Expose the Gaps
Matt emphasized the importance of being honest when reviewing past performance. His point was not to judge low numbers, but to use them to identify decisions that still need to be made.
A gap might show that an agent needs to improve a skill, use technology or AI, bring in another person, or choose a different approach. Not every weakness needs to become a personal strength.
He connected this idea to another principle that has influenced him: “Exposure is the gateway to expansion.” Looking honestly at the gaps can make it easier to determine what needs attention rather than continuing to avoid the issue.
Make Your Activities Match the Business You Want
A plan can reveal when the activities on the calendar do not support the results an agent says they want. Matt gave the example of an agent who expects a certain average sales price from future listings but has not identified any activity that puts them in front of sellers at that price point. The goal and the activity do not yet connect.
He experienced a similar realization in his own business. When he wanted to spend more time working with listings while most of his time was going to buyers, he had to start setting different boundaries and making different choices about which clients he would work with.
Your Schedule Forces Decisions
When Matt and his wife had three children in two years, he was working six or seven days a week with few boundaries, and about 90% of his business came from buyers.
Setting clear working hours meant having fewer hours available, so he had to make different decisions about how he used that time. His business plan helped him think more intentionally about factors like average sales price and the balance between buyer and seller business.
Use AI to Help Reveal Blind Spots
Matt also discussed how AI can support the reflection process. Agents can provide AI with information such as their personality profile and use it to explore potential strengths, blind spots and areas that may deserve more attention.
That does not mean every weakness needs to be fixed personally. Matt encouraged agents to consider whether the answer is to improve the skill, use technology, bring in another person or find another way to get the work done.
The goal is to use that information to make better decisions about the business rather than treating every gap as something the agent has to solve alone.
Create a Listing Website With AI
Matt also demonstrated how AI can be used to create a single-property website.
Using a listing description, sales price, active status and property photos, he demonstrated a website generated from that information. From there, the site could be customized by changing images or wording and adding features such as a field for clients to email the agent.
His example showed how agents can use AI for tasks such as building and editing a website without needing to be a programmer.
A Plan Should Lead to Action
The sales meeting repeatedly returned to the difference between creating a plan and actually using it. A business plan is most valuable when it continues to guide activities, scheduling and decisions throughout the year.
Matt’s experience shows that the process does not need to begin with dozens of complicated metrics. It can start with a clear understanding of what you want, what needs to happen to achieve it and whether the way you are currently working supports those goals.
The real value comes from using that framework to make more intentional decisions about the business and life you want to build.
To hear Matt's full presentation, watch the sales meeting recording. You can also attend an upcoming Coldwell Banker Premier Realty event or schedule a VIP call with Matt to learn more about the resources and opportunities available to agents.
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