In this month’s Agent Spotlight, we focus on and delve deeper into the topic of goal setting. We had the privilege of interviewing two successful and highly motivated realtors from the Bay Area: Jasmine Lee of the Jasmine Lee Real Estate Team and Selena Young. Both Jasmine and Selena are young, passionate, and deeply involved in the Bay Area real estate community. They understand the importance of setting and achieving goals, and each month, they dedicate themselves to defining the goals they aim to accomplish. Our interview today will explore their experiences with goal setting, the invaluable lessons they've learned from this process, and the advice they generously share to help fellow real estate professionals successfully reach their targets.

Meet Jasmine and Selena:

Jasmine Lee: With a reputation for her positive energy and creative problem solving, plus a track record of successful sales, Jasmine is a valuable guide to Bay Area buyers and sellers.

Selena Young: A Bay Area native, Selena brings local expertise to the team, along with an energetic attitude, precise attention to detail, and strong work ethic.

Quickfire Round:

What's your favorite neighborhood in the Bay Area to work in, and why?

S.Y: Wherever our motivated clients who appreciate our time and energy want to live.

Can you share a memorable or unique experience from one of your real estate transactions that stands out to you? 

S.Y: One of the most memorable transactions of my real estate career was my first one. When you first start out, you don’t really know what you’re doing and it can take a while to get the hang of things before you have your first sale. So the first sale really is one of the more memorable ones.

If you could give one piece of advice to homeowners looking to sell their property, what would it be? 

J.L: You can not underprice a home, but you can over-price it. 

S.Y: It’s critical to work with agents who you trust and have an open and honest dialogue with. The real estate market is constantly shifting and working with an agent that’s looking out for your best interest and can have the hard conversations of ‘your expectations may be off’ or ‘it doesn’t make sense to sell at this time’ is key to your success.

What's your go-to tech tool or app that you rely on for your real estate business?

J.L: Asana. It’s a project management app that we use to organize our checklists for all phases of the transaction, and we can delegate tasks to each other. We also use it for our day-to-day schedule.

S.Y: Absolutely agree. Also, we really love Canva for creating flyers, postcards, and social media banners.

If you could list any property in the world, regardless of location or price, what would it be and why?

J.L: Either a chateau in France, or a villa in Italy. Because saying “chateau” and “villa” sounds so much cooler than “condo” or “house.” Not to mention, you can buy a chateau or villa for less than $2M, and you cannot buy a single family home in places like Palo Alto or Atherton for that price.

S.Y: A midcentury styled home in Palm Springs or Mediterranean in Santa Barbara, mostly because those are some of my favorite design styles.

Setting Goals for Success: Can you share some of the key goals you set when starting your real estate careers? How have these goals evolved over time, and how did they contribute to your success in the industry?

J.L: When I started, a little over 9 years ago, I didn’t know how to set goals. My first year, I thought I was going to sell 25 houses and make half a million dollars in commission… Turns out, real estate is a lot harder than I thought. I still haven’t reached those goals, even now. 

As I started to learn more about how to set goals, I became more realistic, specific and strategic with how I thought about things. In my self-experimentation over the years with goal setting and achieving (or not achieving), I realized it is more about the action steps that we take - not necessarily the goal itself. Taking action to move the needle every day will eventually help you get to where you want to go.

S.Y: When starting in your real estate career, it’s incredibly important to know how much it costs to be you and work backwards from there. What are your expected personal and business goals? Coldwell Banker has a great spreadsheet that breaks this down. Then it’s easier to see how much you need to make to break even. Working backwards from the average sales price in your area, then you determine how many homes you need to sell to get you to that point and how many more you want to sell to not only survive but thrive.

Measuring Progress: Goal setting is crucial, but tracking progress is equally important. How do you monitor your progress toward your real estate goals? Are there specific tools or strategies you use to stay on track?

J.L: Accountability. Every quarter, Selena and I do something called “Fearless Feedback.” We review the quarter that just ended and talk about what went well and what we learned from. Then we check in with each other on our quarterly goals, and set new ones for the quarter ahead. Knowing that we have these conversations 4 times per year helps keep us accountable to the goals we set, and it helps us pivot if we need to change our behaviors in an effort to achieve our goals.

 And we are not fancy - we track our goals in the Notes app on our phones.

S.Y: In addition, Jasmine and I have another layer of accountability by meeting with a group of successful women in real estate every quarter to discuss our goals. We call ourselves the ‘Home Girls.’ There’s a saying that you’re the average of the five people you surround yourself most with, and meeting with our group to discuss our yearly goals, break them down to quarterly goals (and meet quarterly to review our successes and areas of improvements), as well as send out our top 3 priorities of the day helps add yet another layer of accountability. And a support system who are cheering on your successes and always there to help and provide advice on how to get yourself back on track when you start to stray.

Adaptation and Flexibility: The real estate market can be unpredictable. How do you adapt your goals and strategies when market conditions change? Can you share an example of a time when you had to pivot and how it affected your business positively?

J.L: The trick is to adjust the activities, not the goal itself.

The market can change on a daily basis, and there are a myriad of factors that influence it. Because of this, Selena and I are in a constant state of flow, ready to handle anything that comes our way. So it’s hard to remember a specific time that we had to pivot, since we are always adapting to various factors in the market.

S.Y: Being the calming force in an ever changing environment is crucial. As well as attending your brokerage’s office meetings and tracking the stats, in order to better understand the changes various markets are experiencing and using your wealth of knowledge to best guide your business and clients.

Collaboration and Accountability: Working as a team, how do you align your individual goals with each other's and hold each other accountable? Do you find that setting team goals helps in achieving individual success?

S.Y: We meet every quarter to give each other fearless feedback. During this time we revisit the goals we set as a team and have an open, honest discussion about our successes and areas where we’re falling behind. It’s also when we delve into what we want out of the future - what’s all the money for, if we’re not investing it in the things that bring us further joy and security? These meetings are just one of the many ways we hold each other accountable to our individual and team goals, as well as making sure we are aligned.

Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Goals: How do you strike a balance between short-term goals, such as closing deals, and long-term goals, like building a strong reputation in the industry? Do you have a specific strategy for managing these different types of goals?

J.L: I think it’s easier to hone in on short-term goals when you have the bigger picture, more long term goals in mind. All of the goals should be aligned so that they lend in achieving the next one. 

Writing the goals down increases the likelihood of achieving them by 42%, and the clearer you can get about what it is you want to achieve, the better off you’ll be. 

Setting Stretch Goals: Have you ever set "stretch" goals – goals that are ambitious and challenging to achieve? How do these goals motivate you, and what strategies do you use to overcome obstacles when pursuing them?

J.L: For the past 7 or 8 years, I’ve set ambitious stretch goals. And I’ve learned that it is not a fun feeling when you don’t achieve those big, audacious goals. It is much better, in my opinion, to set minimum standard goals. Then anything above that is like getting extra credit on an exam. 

Goal Visualization: Visualization is a powerful technique for achieving goals. Do you use visualization or other mental techniques to help you stay focused and motivated on your objectives? 

J.L: Yes. Every morning, we write in our journals. Part of the journal includes visualization, as well as gratitude and affirmations. You’d be amazed at how many things we’ve visualized that actually came to fruition. 

S.Y: I love that we do this every morning over a cup of coffee or tea and reiterate our goals, visualize that offer getting accepted or client into contract, remind ourselves of what we’re grateful for in our career and personal lives, as well as list out affirmations we may need to hear or reaffirm to ourselves. It sets the tone for the day and it’s incredibly important to have a holistic approach to your goals - not every one has to be career oriented. 

Sharing Success Stories: Can you share a memorable success story where effective goal setting played a pivotal role in your real estate career? What were the key elements that made that success possible?

J.L: When I first moved to Menlo Park, I wanted to meet people on the peninsula who would buy and sell real estate with me. So I enrolled in a gym in Palo Alto, and I committed to going every morning at 630AM for 90 days. I thought that if I was in there by 630AM, I would be surrounded by working professionals - aka, people who would be capable of buying and selling real estate nearby.

Out of the 90 days, I made it to the gym 83. And in that short experiment, I not only created a habit that was sustained for over 4 years, but I created relationships that will last a lifetime. So far, two real estate sales have resulted from my relationships with women from that gym. 

Advice for Aspiring Realtors: What advice do you have for other real estate professionals, especially those just starting their careers, on setting and achieving their goals effectively in this competitive industry?

J.L: Get a real estate coach, and actually listen to, and do, what they say.

S.Y: When you’re just starting out, it’s very easy to not know what you’re doing; because the license test really doesn’t prepare you for the day to day work you end up doing.I would highly suggest joining a team or partnering with a more experienced agent who will help guide you and get you on track. Also, real estate can be a very isolating industry, so having another layer of accountability really makes a difference in your business and experience.

On staying Motivated: Real estate can be challenging, and there may be times when you don't meet your monthly or quarterly goal targets. How do you stay motivated and maintain a positive mindset during these periods of temporary setbacks, and what strategies do you employ to bounce back and continue working towards your objectives?

J.L: When we don’t achieve what we set out to do, we reflect and figure out what we are going to change moving forward. We try not to live in the past. The past is not a productive place. 

S.Y: We lean on each other and our ‘Home Girls’ to discuss our new plan of action to achieve the goals we set or to adjust.

Time Commitment to Goal Setting: Could you give us some insight into the amount of time you dedicate each month to setting and refining your goals, and how this structured approach contributes to your business success?

J.L: Every month, I write my 10 commitments. This idea came from a mentor, Gino Blefari. Every month, we set 10 commitments that we are going to achieve, and we write them on our white boards in the office. It is important to have the goals constantly visible. We don’t take that much time to set the goals - maybe an hour or two on the last day of each month.

S.Y: I think it’s incredibly useful taking time out of the end of each month to focus on what our goals for the following month and having them up in our office so that we can always turn back to them and see what still needs to be done to move the needle towards achieving the yearly goals we set.

2024 Goals: Are you able to share any big goals that you’ve set for yourselves in 2024?

J.L: Going to France in January to have our annual retreat. We will enjoy a vacation together while we also plan for the year what we want to do. 

S.Y: Absolutely love our annual retreat. It’s a great time to explore a new area;  while also aligning our vision for the team, as well as, reviewing and modifying the strengths and weaknesses in our business.

How can people connect with you?

J.L: Instagram @realtortowatch

S.Y: Instagram @selshomes or on Facebook @SelenaYoungHomes

Are there any books, podcasts, Netflix series that you recommend?

J.L: Podcast: I don't really listen to many podcasts, but this one is great - it's about all different types of real estate investments people can make, so it touches on a wide range of investing topics. Obsessed with Real Estate Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-obsessed-with-real-estate-show/id1652527410

Books: My "bible" is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and then I also like to re-read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy every few years. They are both great books for people just starting out, but are also powerful to re-read as well. And then I also really enjoyed The Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. 

S.Y: Highly recommend the Bigger Pockets podcast for anyone looking to get inspired about real estate.