It’s business planning time, but don’t stress! Here are some helpful tips to get you on your way to a successful 2019. Remember, the process of planning is as important as the plan itself. If done correctly, you will identify and focus in on your priorities. That way, even when “life happens,” you’ll have your priorities in line, so you know where to spend your time and energy.
Start with your why.
Remind yourself of why you are building a real estate business in the first place. What will your business help you achieve in your life? Assess your health, family, relationships, finances and any other areas of your life that are important to you. Which areas need attention in the upcoming year? Acknowledge areas that are working well.
Define your goals numerically.
Working with your manager, a mentor or a coach, you should define the following goals for yourself:
- Desired monthly net income
- Annual GCI (gross commission income) goal
- Closed Transactions
Once you’ve determined those goals, calculate how many appointments you’ll need to make to achieve them. Ideally, you should get one piece of business from every six of your “Tier 1” or top contacts. For every 60 people in your “farm,” you should get one piece of business annually.
Organize your contacts.
When hiring a real estate agent, most people will choose a friend, relative or neighbor, according to the National Association of Realtors. If you don’t have your sphere of influence uploaded into your CRM (check out Moxi Engage if you haven’t already done so) and categorized with contact plans in place, you are missing out on business. In fact, if you want to stay top-of-mind with your database, they should hear from you at least every 16 days. Make it a goal to get this done for 2019!
Build your lead-generation plan.
Where will your appointments and new business opportunities come from? Whether you use social media, open houses, cold calling, Zillow advertising or anything else, create a plan to generate leads. Instead of trying a little bit of everything to garner new business, focus on excelling at 2 to 5 lead-generation tactics and become an expert in those.
Write Your Plans Down & Share Them With a Trusted Colleague or Mentor
Your chances of success increase by 78 percent when your goals are written down and shared with another person, who can help provide you with regular accountability check-ins.
Want to learn more? Long & Foster’s Professional Development department offers a host of business-planning courses through Success Path. Visit the Success Path calendar and click on the Specialty Class filter to sign up today.