In football, a team executes plays on the ground and through the air to advance the ball towards the end zone. The ultimate goal of the team with the ball is to get into the end zone for a touchdown or at least come away from a drive with 3 points for scoring a field goal.
While a touchdown could technically happen on any play from scrimmage, it’s more likely going to happen when a team gets inside their opponents 20-yard-line. This area before the end zone is commonly referred to as the “Red Zone” and the team that can best execute inside it will have more opportunities to win games than teams whose drives stall once they get close to scoring but come away without points or settle for a field goal when they could have scored a touchdown.
It’s no secret that scoring inside the “Red Zone” isn’t easy, even though you’re closer to the goal line. The shortened field actually shrinks the amount of space for passing routes and running lanes and allows the defense to play on a smaller field. As of today, the Seattle Seahawks have the best Red Zone conversion at 86.21%. Not surprisingly, the Seahawks are one of the best teams in the NFL. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s no surprise that the NY Jets (the worst team in professional football) have only converted on 27.78% of their visits to the Red Zone. In the college game, of the teams that have been in the Red Zone more than 20 times in the 2020 season, the Florida Gators have converted 31 of 32 visits, an unbelievable 96.9% of the time (25 TDs and 6 FGs).
Where Is Your Red Zone
Real estate isn’t a “score quickly” kind of business. A true real estate transaction can take weeks or months, even years in some commercial deals. And when you truly think about real estate as a relationship business, many of our deals that happened this year began as a relationship years ago. It just so happens that the lender, title company, and buyers and sellers finally came together to “close the deal.”
Getting a house in contract is the equivalent of entering the “Red Zone” of real estate. Regardless of the momentum you had when the contract was ratified, now is when it starts getting tough. Execution needs to be precise, everyone needs to know what they are supposed to be doing, and mistakes are magnified and can be crucial to making across the goal line.
Do you have a good “in contract” check list? Do you follow it? Do you communicate with all parties…even when you are pretty sure everyone is on the same page? An extra phone call, email, or text probably wouldn’t hurt. Showing up early is a smart move. Asking questions is never a bad idea. Just because you might know what is supposed to happen doesn’t mean the Realtor on the other side is well-trained and professional.
Knowing that your affiliates and partners such as your home inspector, lender, attorney, and title company are focused and great at executing when the end zone is near, you’ll be able to breathe easier and execute for your customers and clients when it’s needed most.
Building relationships, solving problems, and having fun will get you down the field but once you enter the Red Zone of real estate, it’ll be your competence, confidence, and consistency that you’ll need to trust to put another score on the board.