The Secret Art of Relentless Follow-Up

Real estate is one of those industries that is always attracting aspiring entrepreneurs. There’s something about it, an allure, especially here in America, that calls out to young, ambitious people looking to get rich or searching for financial freedom. 

This is partially a function of history. Real estate is one of the oldest businesses in the world, after all, and has been the most consistent source of economic power in history. It is the perennial game of capitalism and for countless generations, the evergreen dream. Even in the tech- and finance-dominated world of today, real estate still holds a special place in our hearts. We have board games about it (think, Monopoly), a bunch of TV shows about house flippers, a whole industry of gurus running online and weekend seminars (mostly scams, by the way), and even a real estate mogul running for President. 

It's also an industry that presents in a particularly psychologically attractive way. Now that I have been in the business for some time (the better part of two decades!) and achieved some success, I get a lot of calls, emails, introductions, and even cold reach outs from people interested in getting into the business. As far as I can tell, besides the money, which everyone wants of course, people seem to be universally attracted by the apparent lifestyle advantages of real estate.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that many people seek things like financial freedom and entrepreneurship more so as a reaction against having a “job” than some authentically creative impulse.  Our popular mythology of entrepreneurship celebrates Archimedean moments of divine insight and inspiration, but for many people, the journey begins with a burning desire to simply break free from the soul-crushing feeling of having a regular job.  This is definitely what happened to me.  I only had one real job in my life and it nearly killed my creative spirit.  More on that some other day.       

By the way, I say all this without any judgment whatsoever. There’s nothing wrong at all with having a job. But if you are one of those people who feel the call to another life, you better take it!

Anyway, the reason that real estate is so attractive as an entry point for entrepreneurship is that from the outside it looks like a business where you earn money in a way that is only loosely correlated with how much time you spend working every day. That’s not totally or always true, of course, but it can be and that’s the point. The potential is there for a life where you aren’t tied to a desk or the clock and that looks incredibly appealing from the outside looking in.

For what it’s worth, the mythology around real estate being a great lifestyle industry is generally true. It’s not that you don’t have to work—because you most definitely do—but rather that because you ultimately make money by building relationships, making smart decisions, and waiting, you aren’t tied to your work in that same hour-by-hour basis as in most other professions and businesses. In that sense, real estate can be a business where you really can leverage your time. Usually, it’s the exact opposite that is happening and your time is the one being leveraged. 

If there’s one thing you learn in real estate is that you cannot leave anything to chance. Real estate is a business that is, at once, both very satisfying business and incredibly frustrating. It’s satisfying because, while there’s no such thing as “passive” income when you are trying to produce investment returns, real estate is a close at it gets. It’s frustrating because it’s a business with many masters—think investors, banks, partners, architects, engineers, various governmental officials…—and not everyone is working with your best interests in mind or even thinking about you at all. As such, to be successful, you must learn the secret art of relentless follow-up. 

First, let me give credit where credit is due. I learned this secret art from my great friend and longtime business partner John Young. John, a serial real estate entrepreneur with almost 5 decades of experience, is so good at this that it has become a part of his being. In working with him these last 15 years, it’s not like he sat me down and taught me some step-by-step process for learning the art of relentless follow-up; he just showed me day in and day out just what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur: the constant, almost obsessive, commitment to proactivity, the drive to create and make things happen, the will to not just follow-up but also to follow-through, to see that things are done and done right, the refusal to take “no” for an answer or feel helpless in the face of adversity… 

For the longest time, whenever people would ask me about real estate or entrepreneurship, using John as my model, I would discuss the idea of “developing the habits of entrepreneurship.” But recently, I was talking with another friend and mentor of mine, a phenomenal and very private real estate entrepreneur, and when I asked him what he thought was the key to success in the business he said: “Oh, that’s simple: relentless follow-up.”

This is such a good phrase for the real estate business but it applies everywhere, for it reflects the truth that success in entrepreneurship is way more about execution than it is about having a great idea. To be sure, creativity is part of the process and you need to come up with good ideas to be successful. But that’s the easy part. Turning an idea into reality is the real challenge. This is what differentiates someone like Elon Musk from the crowd. It’s one thing to dream up the idea for a space business based upon reusable rockets and quite another to actually go and do it.

Ultimately, relentless follow-up is about learning how to get things done. I know this doesn’t sound as exciting as “innovating” or ‘landing that big investor” or any of the other more popular components of entrepreneurial success that we love to celebrate but it’s way more important. The ability to get things done is the difference maker. As President Obama once so eloquently put it, it’s the single most important thing you can learn how to do.  

While it takes years to really master the art, I’ll leave you with a few tips on where to start:

• The key is to be relentlessly proactive and to learn the mindset of an owner, where not only do you faithfully, creatively, and urgently do what needs to be done but you do it with a sense of genuine responsibility. In other words, it’s about giving a damn and actually caring about what you do. 

• Whatever you do, don’t hide behind your computer sending emails. That almost never works! If you want to get something done in this world, pick up the phone or go meet someone in person. Whatever it takes. 

• Learn how to think ahead and mind the details. Consider everything that needs to happen to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Then, work diligently to see each step through to a successful conclusion, cleaning up whatever needs to be cleaned up along the way.

• Before you start asking for help or throwing up your hands in despair, be sure that you have really exhausted all your options. Learn how to be honest with yourself in answering questions: “Have I done everything I can here? What else can I do or try?”

• When it comes to working with others, as President Regan famously said, “Trust but verify.” In other words, don’t be lazy and leave things to chance. Just because you asked or told someone to do something, doesn’t mean it’s actually getting done. You don’t have to do everything yourself but you do have to see things through, with your own eyes, to the very end.

• Remember, there’s a thin line between being good at relentless follow-up and just being a jerk. Obviously, you want to err on being on the side of the former and not the latter! So, don’t be rude, short, or pesky as you are pushing to get things done. As long as you are kind, courteous, and respectful in how you push or ask for what you want done, everything will be fine.  

Relentless follow-up is essentially about being a professional and caring enough about what you are doing to give it your all instead of the bare minimum. And the beautiful thing about it is that you can turn it on at any moment. All it takes is one simple decision—to actually give a damn—followed by one small proactive step. Often, this is enough to unleash an avalanche of positivity in your life.  

Ps. If you have 12 minutes, aren’t afraid to cry, and want to completely change your outlook on life, watch this

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