How Do We Use Insights to Drive Action?

In today's data-rich and data-hungry world, we often get the message that data equals value. But does it? If the answer to my question is 42, well then—what should I go do with that information? Often, it's only after we've put in immense effort to arrive at the answer, "42," that we realize we didn't get the value we were looking for.

What if, instead, we focused on insights—and the value of being able to act on those insights?

For example:

• Joe is the top-performing agent in your office in terms of sales volume, but he negotiates lower-than-average commission rates, so he's only an average contributor to company dollar. According to your numbers, coaching Joe on how to negotiate higher commission rates could increase your company dollar by 15 percent.
• Gail and Amy are your top two producers, and they contributed 47 percent of your total company dollar in the past quarter. Pay special attention to retaining these high-caliber professionals, perhaps through rewards like trips, free advertising, or other perks.
• Rafael is planning to spend the same amount on digital marketing as he did the previous year, but 75 percent of his closed deals last year were from referrals. Work with Rafael to put together high-touch thank-you baskets instead of digital marketing since his best leads come from referrals.
• Understanding which outside brokerages your agents close the most deals with will allow both you and your agents to identify high-quality sides to work on and improve closing rates. You can also use that same data to identify brokerages that have agents who close more deals with your brokerage more frequently—this can help you recruit agents who already work closely with your brokerage.

Looking for the insights that drive action—rather than just tracking metrics we think we should know—helps you identify the most effective ways to drive your business forward.

To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.