Module 1 Know your customer and market 4 hAnalyse
Every sound business in real estate begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.
- In real estate: Know three client types: first-time buyer, investor, and tenant. Each needs a different checklist.
- Write the customer in one sentence: an owner, buyer or tenant. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
- List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
- Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
- Count the market in units: how many closed deals could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
- Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.
Worked example. Weak: 'Everyone needs a property sale, lease or management service.' Strong: 'Our first customer is an owner, buyer or tenant within 8 km of the centre, who today pays R$ 4.950 per closed deal and complains about delay. We target 4 closed deals a month by month three.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: ten customers are interviewed for real estate. Seven say price, two say speed, one says trust. Question: which first message do you write, and which interview record backs it? Model answer: lead with the closed deal price and speed promise, keep trust proof as the second line, and cite the seven price answers by date.
Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.
Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.
Module 2 Rules, registration and data duties in Brazil 4 hUnderstand
Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.
- In real estate: Agents must hold a registration with the real estate professional council (CRECI); check the title at the registry office before any offer.
- Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
- Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
- Find the sector rules for real estate: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
- Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
- Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.
Worked example. Checklist for a new real estate trader: 1) legal form (CNPJ, or MEI only if your activity is on the official list); 2) city operating licence; 3) sector licence or register; 4) tax set-up; 5) privacy notice; 6) written terms. Each has an owner and a date.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a neighbour says registration can wait until the first R$ 22.500 of sales. Question: what do you do? Model answer: do not delay; write the compliance table first, confirm the register, tax and sector licence with the official office, and start only where the table shows no open blocker.
Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.
Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.
Module 3 Design the offer 4 hCreate
An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For a property sale, lease or management service, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.
- In real estate: Offer a transparent file: title, taxes, debts, condominium rules, and an honest valuation range.
- Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (a property sale, lease or management service), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
- Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
- Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
- Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
- Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.
Worked example. Offer: 'A property sale, lease or management service, delivered within agreed time, checked against a written standard, price R$ 4.500 per closed deal. Proof: a dated record the customer can check and sign. Changes or cancellation by written agreement before work begins.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a customer asks for a discount from R$ 4.500 to R$ 4.050 per closed deal. Question: decide with numbers. Model answer: contribution falls from R$ 3.600 to R$ 3.150 per closed deal; offer an extra of value (for example faster service) before cutting price, and accept only if the lower contribution still clears break-even.
Longer notes. Define the service as a closed deal: the property type, the area of Sao Paulo, the commission agreed with the owner and the steps from listing to signature. Write what the agency does at each step: photographs, valuation, visits, negotiation and document checking. List the cost that belongs to one closed deal, such as photographs, copies of certificates and travel to visits. Keep rent, portal listings and salaries as fixed cost. Check the owner's title and the property's debts before you list it. Before you advertise, confirm the broker registration the agency needs and what a sale contract must state.
Extra worked example. A closed deal brings a commission of R$ 4.500. Photographs, certificate copies, travel and visits cost R$ 900 for that deal, so it leaves R$ 3.600, a margin of 80%. With 6 deals a month, revenue is R$ 27.000 and contribution R$ 21.600. After R$ 12.000 of fixed cost, the result is R$ 9.600. The fourth deal of the month is the first to pay the owner, since 4 x R$ 3.600 = R$ 14.400 exceeds the R$ 12.000 of fixed cost.
Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.
Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.
Module 4 Run the work step by step 5 hApply
Good operations make results repeatable. For real estate, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.
- In real estate: Run each deal through a stage list: enquiry, visit, offer, due diligence, contract, registry, handover.
- Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the closed deal, check, payment, follow-up.
- Name the key resource at each stage: a verified property file. Note what happens if it is missing.
- Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
- Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
- Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.
Worked example. Stage record: 'Prepare. Owner: lead. Time: 30 min. Tool: checklist. Record: signed sheet. Defect found on 1 of 2 closed deals last week; cause: missing check on a verified property file; fix: add check at start, review next Friday.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: of 6 closed deals last month, 1 had a defect traced to a verified property file. Question: what is the defect rate and what is your first action? Model answer: about 17 defects per 100; stop the cause (add a check at the start), correct affected customers, log the cause, and re-measure next week.
Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.
Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.
Module 5 Safety, quality and risk 4 hEvaluate
The most serious risk in this field is a defective title or a wrong valuation. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.
- In real estate: The main risk is a defective title or hidden debt: verify the registry, tax and condominium records in writing.
- List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
- For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
- Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
- Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
- Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.
Worked example. Risk row: 'Hazard: a defective title or a wrong valuation. Likelihood 3, severity 5, score 15. Control: written check before each closed deal, trained staff, log sheet. Owner: site lead. Review monthly.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a near-miss occurs: a defective title or a wrong valuation nearly happened but no one was hurt. Question: what do you do in the next 24 hours? Model answer: make safe, record the event, ask the five whys, add or tighten one control, brief the team, and set a review date; near-misses count as lessons, not blame.
Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.
Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.
Module 6 People, skills and service 4 hApply
People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.
- In real estate: Train agents to explain costs: transfer tax, registry fees, broker commission, in plain words.
- Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
- Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
- Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
- Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
- Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.
Worked example. Training record: 'Task: process a complaint. Shown 2 May; done with support 4 May; done alone 8 May, checked: apology, fix, follow-up call. Signed by lead.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a new hire completes training but a customer complaint shows a skipped step. Question: whose gap is it? Model answer: first the system: check the role card, the training sign-off and the checklist; then coach the person and fix the document so the step cannot be skipped.
Longer notes. Plan the agents' time from the visits that one deal needs. Record for each listing the visits made, the offers received and the days from listing to signature. Train new agents to check the owner's identity, the title and the property's debts, and to write a visit report the same day. Agree who answers calls in the evening. Keep each client file closed to people outside the deal. Give an assistant access to client papers only after confirming broker registration and the personal-data rules. Hold a short weekly meeting to review stuck files and agree the next visits.
Extra worked example. On average a closed deal needs 25 visits, so 6 deals need 150 visits. Both visit rates here are worked-example figures, not market data. One agent can make about 5 visits per working day, or 5 x 22 = 110 visits a month. The agency needs 150 / 110 = 1,36 agents. Adding two more deals needs 200 visits and 1,82 agents. One agent handles up to 4 deals a month (110 / 25 = 4,4), so a second agent only pays once the agency passes that line.
Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.
Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.
Module 7 Money: cost, price and break-even 5 hAnalyse
A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.
- In real estate: Commission income arrives late; keep a cash cushion of three months of fixed cost.
- Contribution per closed deal = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
- Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
- Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
- Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
- Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?
Worked example. Worked example, all figures in reais: price R$ 4.500, variable cost R$ 900, contribution R$ 3.600 per closed deal. Fixed cost R$ 12.000 a month. Break-even = R$ 12.000 / R$ 3.600 = 3,33, so 4 closed deals a month. At 6 closed deals a month, profit = R$ 3.600 x 6 - R$ 12.000 = R$ 9.600. These are teaching figures that belong to this example only; later examples and the case study use their own figures. Use your own.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: sales fall to 4 closed deals a month. Question: what is the monthly result? Model answer: R$ 3.600 x 4 - R$ 12.000 = R$ 2.400; compare with break-even of 4 closed deals and decide whether to cut fixed cost or raise volume first. Teaching figures only.
Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.
Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.
Module 8 Grow, measure and renew 4 hEvaluate
Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.
- In real estate: Grow through reputation: after every closed deal, ask for a short written review and a referral.
- Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
- Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
- Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
- Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
- Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.
Worked example. 90-day plan: 'Lever: repeat customers. Action: follow-up call after every closed deal. Target: repeat rate from 20% to 30%. Check: weekly count. Review date: day 45 and day 90.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: you can add 2 closed deals a month by one of two levers: a follow-up call to past customers or a price rise of R$ 450 to R$ 4.950. Question: how do you choose? Model answer: test the cheaper reversible lever first (the call), measure for 30 days, and only then try the price change, so you can tell which one worked.
Longer notes. Grow by improving the path from listing to closed deal. For every listing record the source, the number of visits, the offers and the final result, then compare sources by the share that close. Ask each client who recommended the agency. Keep a list of past clients and call each once a year. Review a listing that has had no offer after thirty days and change its price or photographs with the owner. Avoid promising a sale date, and keep every advert within the property-advertising rules. Keep the results in one table and compare each month with the last.
Extra worked example. The agency holds 40 listings and 15% close, giving 6 deals (listing counts and closing rates are worked-example figures, not market data). If better photographs and faster price reviews lift this to 20%, 8 deals close, which is 2 more. Each deal leaves R$ 3.600, so the gain is R$ 7.200 a month, or R$ 86.400 over a year. Those 2 extra deals take the monthly result from R$ 9.600 to R$ 16.800 on the same rent and portal fees.
Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.
Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.