Raj Bhaskar’s app was specifically crafted to help entrepreneurs handle their finances — Hurdlr is designed to help agents handle taxes, expenses and more. “There are so many folks who are great at sales, but they’re not managing the business properly, and that’s what we really wanted to help them do,” he explained.
He’ll be talking about how to re-think your personal financial goals for the new market at an exclusive session at Inman Connect New York, January 29 through February 1 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. We chatted with Bhaskar about how agents can prepare for shifts in the market and more.
Tell us a little more about your session. How will it address how the industry can embrace the shifting market?
My session is going to focus on how agents should sharpen their focus and their spend in particular, those two things — so they not only survive in the shifting market but can thrive. The focus is on that; it’s basically how they make money and save money. If we’re going to drill down further, it’s really about three key parts. One is focusing on productivity, two is streamlining their expenses, three is leveraging tax deductions.
What do you think are the biggest opportunities to focus on in the real estate industry right now?
Financial focus is certainly what I’m all about, because it’s the core. If you don’t have the foundation and you don’t know your key numbers, commissions and expenses, and taxes, those three components make up your profit and your take-home pay. If you don’t keep an eye on that, you just start losing money willy-nilly. Outside of financials, it’s all about what is that goal that they’re setting, what are the things in their funnel to hit that goal? And that goal is a financial goal.
Knowing the market limitations — is the disruption that’s going on going to remove a couple of transactions out of their year? If so, that means they need to bump up the top of the funnel, have more appointments and contacts to make up for that. Things like that, but all of that affects the financials. Brokerages are trying to focus on productivity, but even they are mostly focused these days on lead generation, which is probably where agents get it, too.
What are your hopes for the next 12 months, and what will you be working on?
Personally, I hope to make agents more profitable. We’re supporting entrepreneurs, and when entrepreneurs are doing well, that helps their communities. We already automate all the financial tracking for real estate agents; now we’re going to start automating business planning as well. We ask them how much money they want to make this year and in less than two minutes, Hurdlr will set up their goals, the expense budget, tax budget, how many appointments they need to make that converts into listings and sales. It’s a numbers game; you’ve got to have a certain number at the top to get to a certain number at the bottom.
Discover the opportunities in a changing market at Inman Connect New York, January 29 – February 1. Jumpstart 2019 with tactical takeaways, unlimited networking and thought-provoking speakers. Learn more.
Thinking about bringing your team? You may qualify for special group perks! Contact us to learn more.