The One Strategy That Will Change Your Business and Life Forever

The following is adapted from The Ultimate Real Estate Machine. 

The first time I was introduced to Jay Abraham and his body of work in real estate was in 2014. Jay was advertised as the keynote speaker for an event that I was preparing to attend. His accolades and achievements throughout his storied career caught my eye. 

During Jay’s keynote, he spoke of the Strategy of Preeminence, a concept that he has taught for decades across the world on the biggest stages for entrepreneurs, including high-performing real estate agents. I found his speech to be incredibly relevant, especially after studying highly successful companies like Disney, Ritz-Carlton, and Apple. 

On that day, my mindset—and by extension, my business—changed forever. Instead of simply hoping to grow, my company, Real Estate Expert Advisors, set out to be the preeminent and superior agency in our market. Hearing Jay’s speech, I didn’t even know what preeminence meant. I googled it in the audience and my life has never been the same since. 

I learned that, when you are a preeminent agent, you owe it to your client’s friends, colleagues, and family members to have an effective, reciprocal system in place. Loyal customers deserve to do business with superior service providers—and as a benefit of providing a superior service, 

you will generate a perpetual stream of referrals. Let me share with you what I learned and how the Strategy of Preeminence can radically transform your real estate business. 

The Strategy of Preeminence 

The definition of strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a major or overall aim. Preeminence, by definition, is surpassing all others—superiority, in other words. When combining the two definitions, the Strategy of Preeminence is a plan of action with the overall aim to surpass all your competition as being the superior trusted advisor in your market. 

With the Strategy of Preeminence, there’s no finish line. You’re on the pathway to greatness, always striving to become better for your marketplace and never settling for mediocrity. Similarly, The Strategy of Preeminence is not about a one-time sale. 

It’s about creating lifetime clients. You achieve this by always putting your clients’ best interests above your own and providing them with the highest level of customer experience. This does not mean generic pleasantries, but true strategic thinking to identify exactly what they need and then the ability to deliver that need. You must have the confidence and courage to give them what they genuinely need—even if you must educate them on what that is.

Make Everything About Everyone Else 

The Strategy of Preeminence presumes an attitude that everyone has the potential to be a future client. As the Preeminent Agent, you make a point of deciding that you are not going to wait for money to change hands before you start contributing and, guiding, counseling, advising, consulting, and protecting the other person. This kind of proactive customer service will always set you apart from everyone else in the market because most are not treating their current clients with as much thoughtful care as you would for perspectives. 

Your competitors will likely treat each transaction the same way, but true success comes from minding the individual details with each client. You must make everything about them—even when you run advertisements. Think about it: you might run an ad for some jewel of a property that is seen by millions, but the ad is only seen by one human being at a time. 

In that moment, you are not talking to a million people; you are talking to one person at a time. Put yourself in their shoes and speak to what they want from that property. 

You are Enriching Your Client’s Life 

Several years ago, Jay was advising a group of high-level real estate performers. He said: 

“Let’s look at a scenario. A family comes to you looking to sell their home. They thought they could only sell their home for $400,000 in six months, and you got them $440,000 in two months—a greater outcome than they thought possible. You enriched their lives.” 

You see, it’s about more than a sale. Not only did you sell the home for substantially more than they anticipated, but you also sold it quicker. You saved them four months of frustration, stress, and confusion they may have experienced with another agent. You gave them more money for retirement, to pay college tuition, or for added financial security in their savings account. 

Along the way, you befriended each other. The level of trust has increased tremendously since the first time they spoke with you. They have become not only clients but also very dear friends. Would you let a dear friend of yours make a poor decision in their life that would affect them for years? Would you let your dear friend’s friends make similar poor decisions? 

Therefore, you owe it not only to your clients, but also to all of the friends of your clients to let them know that what you do for your clients is superior. If these people bought or sold a home with another agent, there is a great chance that they could possibly sell their home for less than it is worth, or it could sit on the market for months, not sell, and the listing could expire. 

You Will Differentiate Yourself 

The key to the Strategy of Preeminence is to possess a different perspective from everyone else. You are not the same. You are decisively superior in your differentiation, and it is obvious for people to see. More importantly, your differentiation resonates with your target audience.

You will be so tightly aligned with what they want and need that you can identify the best choice for them in any given situation. There is a better solution to their problems, and you know how to find it. They have a right to get the best outcome whether they are sellers, buyers, or something else entirely. It is all about leadership, and you are leading everyone. 

This strategy will become the lifeblood of your business and a lifeline for future downturns, market shifts, and industry disruptors. It’s the foundational principle of how you will view and conduct business with your clients from here on. The value that you provide to your clients will become more meaningful, unique, fulfilling, and rewarding than you’ve ever realized. 

For more advice on becoming a preeminent agent, you can find The Ultimate Real Estate Machine on Amazon. 

Jason Williford is a serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, inventor, and consultant for high-producing real estate agents. He is a master in business strategy, strategic marketing, innovation, differentiation, agent production, selling systems, and referral generating systems, as well as training, recruiting, and mentoring real estate agents and inside sales agents. After years in the trenches of real estate, he set himself and his team apart with strategies and techniques that were learned in other industries and applied to real estate. His unique talents and knowledge fill industry voids for high-performing real estate agents and team leaders.