REPS: The Only Number You Need for Your 2027 Business Plan

It's that time of year again, business planning season. In the past, my brokerage has done all types of business planning sessions. From a full season that included CRM Month to paying Ninja Selling to facilitate to very in-depth emotional discovery to drive action, we have tried a lot of different things. This year, I wanted to keep it really simple.

I believe that 2027 is going to be a challenging year. This is rooted in affordability issues, high rates, and slow wage growth. Because of those headwinds, I didn't want to overcomplicate things.

Also, and not wanting to sound cynical, but I have been around the block a time or two and I know that most agents go into business planning with the best of intentions only to abandon their plan about two weeks into it, if they even start at all. This business planning season, I wanted a simple takeaway that didn't require a workbook or a lot of time.

The end result: one number.

What Is REPS?

So, I created REPS. REPS is all about consistent, daily interaction with the people that matter most to your business. That's a really loaded sentence right there. Let's break it down.

Consistent, daily interaction means doing activities that move the needle. Just like reps in a gym, these are items that can be counted. They are real activities built around interaction with the right people. A rep is not working on your brand or content creation or reading about the market. A rep is a concrete action. You can put a check mark next to it and count it.

The people that matter most to your business are the ones that are most likely to give you business or give you a referral. We'll dig into the details in a minute, but these are the important people in your life. They are close sphere, clients, friends, family, and others that you want to do business with next year.

So, the bottom line is that we need a number of reps to perform every single workday. We need to perform those tasks with the people that matter most. Every single workday.

The Math, Part 1: How Many People You Need

In order to figure out how many reps we need, we are going to build a reverse funnel. That funnel starts with money and then works down to a right-sized database and then breaks down into total touches, weekly touches (assuming four weeks of vacation), and then daily touches. The result will be one number that drives the whole year.

Let's get to it.

First, we need to know a net income number. This number is what you want to bring home after expenses, but before taxes. This is the real number. (I have a long-standing hatred of the GCI love that this industry shows.)

Now, add your expenses. All of them. If you write it off or spend it on your business, add it.

That number is your GCI goal. Set it aside for a minute.

What is your average sales price? If you are an experienced agent, look back over the last year and get your average. If you are newer, use your area average from MLS stats or ask your broker.

Multiply that number by .005 (that's half a percent). I know that seems weird, but go with it. This is straight out of Ninja Selling and you will see why in a minute.

That number is what each household in your right-sized database is worth. Note that I said household and not individual. Because some of the activities you are going to do are by household, this matters.

Now, bring back that GCI number. Divide the value per household into the GCI goal. That is going to give you the number of people you need in your plan.

Here's an example. Say you want to net $130,000 and your expenses are $20,000. Your GCI goal is $150,000. Your average sales price is $400,000, so each household is worth $2,000 ($400,000 × .005). $150,000 divided by $2,000 is 75. That's 75 households in your right-sized database.

Let's stop there and talk about activity.

The Activities: What Counts as a Rep

Now that we know the number of people, what are we to do with them? Let's talk about them from this very narrow perspective: these are people we want to build or maintain our relationships with through our activities. We aren't selling. We are putting ourselves in the right place at the right time on purpose. We are engineering luck.

At our brokerage, we are incorporating parts of the Workman Success Systems Top 50 Program, Ninja Selling flow, open houses, and simple CRM work. What you do is your thing. That said, here are some recommendations:

• Personal phone calls (use the FORD dialog: family, occupation, recreation, dreams; not a sales call)
• Handwritten notes
• Client events
• Coffee, drinks, or lunch with someone or a group
• Pop-bys or reverse pop-bys
• Real estate reviews

The goal is regular (think monthly) personal touches with the people that matter most to your business because we want them to think of us when the time comes for them to make a decision about real estate. This is top of mind awareness at its best.

Real estate is a contact sport. If you aren't out in the world doing things, you aren't around people who might want to use your service. Get out. Go to events, parties, community events, church, groups, etc. Be out there or be left out.

One last note on the activity part, be proactive in looking for reasons to reach out. Check the MLS weekly for price reductions and new listings. Do any of them fit the people you have met or are talking with on a monthly basis? Have AI scour your social for updates that matter like weddings, retirements, births, etc.

The Math, Part 2: Your Daily REPS Number

To start, the math here might be a little different for us than it is for you because of how we're doing things. For us, we are taking our top 50 and doing something with them every month. So, right out the gate we are doing 600 interactions with that group. If our number of households is over 50, we are taking the difference and multiplying it by four because we are doing something with that group quarterly.

So, for example, let's say your right-sized database for your plan is 75 households. 50 times 12 is 600. Then 25 times 4 is 100. So, the total number of live interactions we are going to have in 2027 is 700. That may seem daunting at first, but hold on.

Take that number, 700 in our example, and divide by 48 (the number of weeks you are going to work next year). Then divide by 5 (the number of workdays each week). The result is your REPS number. In our example, 700/48 equals 15 (round up). 15/5 equals 3. 3 is the REPS number.

It seems so easy. All you have to do is talk to three people? Yes, but only if you are doing it with the right people and as part of your plan. Just talking to three random people won't move the needle. Remember, we are putting ourselves in the right place at the right time on purpose.

REPS at a Glance

1. Net income goal + business expenses = GCI goal.
2. Average sales price × .005 = what each household is worth.
3. GCI goal ÷ value per household = your right-sized database.
4. Top 50 × 12 monthly touches, plus everyone else × 4 quarterly touches = total REPS for the year.
5. Total ÷ 48 weeks ÷ 5 days = your daily REPS number.

That's the plan. It is simple, but it also requires consistency to be effective. So, go do your REPS. Start today.

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Want to go deeper on planning? Watch 4 Must-Haves for Your 2026 Business Plan and The BEST Strategy to Build a Referral Business, or listen to Top 5 Ways to Create an Amazing Business Plan.