The salespeople we coached this year produced an average of one listing or sale per person per week. All year. Many of them reported that 2020 was their best year ever. How in the world did that happen?

I think the answer goes back to something Floyd said to me early in March when I asked him how we can best help people during these difficult times. He said, "Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't."

The pandemic imposed all kinds of new "can'ts" on the practice of selling real estate. Things changed. Rules changed almost daily. Nobody knew anything for sure. But some people still had to buy and sell real estate. And some people still wanted to buy and sell real estate, and they wanted to do it safely.

What did the "can" people do? They figured out how to work from home. They figured out how to qualify a buyer and show houses remotely. How to hold open house on facebook live. How to do a listing presentation on zoom. How to negotiate offers via teleconference. How to do a drive-by closing. How to serve their clients safely.

Technology and circumstances have changed the way we do almost everything in real estate. But they haven't changed the need to do the basics skillfully and consistently. The basics never change.

Mail, call, see. The most basic marketing system for building and maintaining a Book of Business. Those who continued consistent marketing found the majority of their business coming from repeat clients and their referrals.

5-90-10. The most basic prospecting and lead generating system. Those who continued to schedule their 5-90-10 sessions, and who actually increased their number of weekly sessions, generated more leads and found less competition than ever.

SMART Week. The most basic time management system. Those who religiously blocked out appointments and color coded were able to maintain balance, despite home schooling and multiple people working from home. And those who consistently wrote down their Top 5 Things To Do each day found the focus and attention that allowed them to stay on task amid the chaos.

When the going gets tough, the weak get going and the tough get back to the basics.

I would love to say that everything is going to be easier and safer next year. If it is, that will be wonderful. If it isn't, we now have the foresight to predict who will thrive and who will be sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to go back to normal.

The Floyd Wickman Team blog by Mike Pallin