Tips For 2025 | Stop Going Back To The Basics!

“It’s time to get back to the basics!” We’ve all heard it (and most likely said it) a thousand times in the past three years. While I certainly understand the concept and don’t disagree with it, I find myself wondering why we keep straying from the basics in the first place!

Think about it; if “the basics” are so important and so vital to our success that we are constantly reminded of our need to return to them, why do we continually stray from them in the first place?

Here is my tip for homebuilders and new home sales professionals for 2025: stop going back to the basics! We need to develop a set of disciplines around the basics of our business that become so engrained that it’s impossible to deviate from them.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Define “the basics”—What fundamentals yield success in new home sales? Understand what they are. I think the basics include prospecting, consistent follow-through, and follow-up, using a comprehensive sales process, using the CRM daily, delivering incredible customer experience, and mastery of product and process knowledge.

2. Develop good habits—Once you know what you must do to be successful, it’s important to create disciplines around those activities to develop strong habits. Most people give up on new routines before good habits can be developed. There is an often-repeated myth that says it only takes 21 to 28 days to create a habit. A study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology revealed that most people require an average of 66 days, but it can take up to eight months to form a new habit. When we understand how long it takes to change our behavior, we can set more realistic expectations for our growth and development.

3. Measure up—Keep track of your progress and hold yourself accountable for maintaining the fundamentals as part of your everyday activities. Resist the urge to be distracted by the shiny things or the next new thing in the industry. We shouldn’t ignore new trends or technology that can help make us more effective and efficient, but we must be careful that we don’t abandon the basics in our pursuit of success. Keeping track of our goals to develop behaviors rooted in the basics will help us to execute daily in the “blocking and tackling” which is vital for success.

Let’s resolve to make the basics so integral to our daily lives that we never have to go back to the basics again!