The recession has made quite a negative impact on the majority of businesses in the United States. It’s certainly changed the way some businesses do things. But there is at least one vital area of business that we real estate agents cannot allow the economy to change.

One of the most significant trends I consistently noticed in my real estate business was the number of homes sold as a percentage of the new leads generated.

This one finding completely transformed my business because it allowed me to narrow my focus. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have both said that “intense focus” was the key to their success.

Before mynumber tracking breakthrough, I would run around every day like a chicken with its head cut off. I chased every shiny object. I would hear a new strategy and I would be off to implement it. I didn’t focus on any ONE thing and therefore I didn’t make much progress.

Based upon my consulting of hundreds of real estate agents, I am currently noticing that the majority of you have the same problem. Especially now in these tough times, folks tend to chase whatever they think they can get their arms around.

There are a lot of shiny objects out there for us to chase. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Tracking numbers allowed me to break out of this cycle. I finally realized that the most important thing I could do each and every day within my business was to:

Generate New Leads

If 100 leads turned into four sales, then 200 leads would lead to 8 sales. I finally had instant focus. I realized that I didn’t need fancy new business cards or the special palm pilot to check the MLS on the road.

I simply had to generate leads every single day.

This lesson has been ingrained in me every since. Lead generation remains my No. 1 business focus. I do something every single day to generate new leads. Generating leads for your business is like feeding your body.

With no food, your body starves. With no leads, your business starves.

I know the real estate market is slow. But do not use that as an excuse to stop marketing. This is a huge mistake.

In fact, I would suggest that you market more now than you have in the past. I’m marketing my business more today than I’ve ever marketed it before. In fact, I’ve actually increased my monthly lead generation goals from 2008.

It’s that simple: If you want to sell more, you have to generate more leads.