2026 Real Estate Business Planning Summary

Key Takeaways from Verl Workman’s 2026 Planning Event

(Designed for agents & team leaders to build their 2026 plan TODAY)

1. Start with LIFE, not business

First question in your 2026 plan: “What do I want my life to look like in 5 years?”
Build the business to SUPPORT the life — never sacrifice family, faith, fitness, friends, or fun for finances.
Define your “Freedom Number” (the net worth or annual passive income that lets you make every decision without money being the deciding factor).

2. Embrace the Pressure → Joy Cycle

Pressure is a gift — it’s the catalyst for innovation and growth.
The “messy middle” is where new habits and breakthroughs are born.
Joy is a daily practice, not a future reward. Find joy in transformation (helping clients), not just transactions.

3. Set STUPID Goals (not SMART goals)

S.T.U.P.I.D. = Strategic | Transformational | Unrealistic | Purpose-driven | Innovative | Dynamic
“Realistic” goals are for sandbaggers. Set goals so big that even failing feels amazing (“fail up”).
Example: $500k goal → instantly quadrupled to $2M just by changing the question.

4. Build FOUR Pillars of Income (each pillar must be able to hit 100% of your goal on its own)

Classic Workman pillars (customize to your market):

Sphere / Top 50 + Past Clients (listings only)
Geographic farm or niche farm
FSBOs + Expireds + Circle prospecting
Agent-to-agent referrals (out-of-area agents) or Open Houses / Online leads / Paid leads

→ Focus 95% of your personal time on listings. Buyers are time-suckers. Every listing = 1.5–2 buyer sides + 6–8 leads/month.

5. The Math is Simple – Reverse Engineer Everything

Example done live on stage:

Goal: $500k net → became $1.27M net in <10 minutes
Needed 65 closings → built 4 pillars that each deliver ~65 listings
Added buyer agents on tiered splits (40/60 → 50/50) → leader exits production and still nets $737k+

6. Daily Success Habits = Predictable Greatness

Greatness is predictable when you track and do the right activities every day:

7. Avoid the Joy Thieves & Shiny Objects

Buying more leads, endless webinars, over-building tech stacks, social vanity metrics = “lures” that look pretty but kill your business.
Decision filter: Use the J.O.Y. framework before saying yes to anything new J = Just pause O = Own your purpose (does it align with your real goals?) Y = Yield to what matters most (say no to distractions)

8. Accountability = Love

Daily huddles, script practice, and tracking numbers are how you show your team (and yourself) you care.
Track KPIs daily — what gets measured gets done.

9. Use the Custom Workman 2026 Business-Plan GPT (free for attendees)

Requires ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo)
Takes your numbers and in minutes builds a full reverse-engineered plan with: Four 100% pillars Daily schedule & KPIs Staffing model (how many buyer agents, splits, etc.) Exit-from-production roadmap
You can upload last year’s plan and tell it “double everything” and it recalculates instantly.

10. Final 2026 Action Steps (do these this week)

Fill out the GPT form (QR code from event or reply to the email you received).
Open the GPT and answer the first five 5–6 questions (market, avg commission, exact 2026 net income goal, current team size).
Let it quadruple your goal and build your four pillars.
Print the daily schedule it creates and tape it to your wall.
Schedule your first 2026 daily huddle and commit to the habits for 90 days.

2026 is the year we stop driving our Ferrari in first gear.

Shift gears, use leverage (AI + systems + people), and go have the best year of your life — on your terms.

You now have everything you need.

Go fail up.

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