Real estate agents are people, too. You have personal lives. You have emotional ups and downs in addition to financial ups and downs. The following steps, continued from part 1, ensure that your 2012 Business Plan works for your business and your life.
1. What will be the evidence? What will you have that you want and how will your life change? This will be the clear indicator of your strengthened skill at the end of 2012.
a. What do you want to stop or start doing, do more of, buy, practice etc?
b. What daily or weekly actions will you take, every day or every week to ensure that you strengthen that skill?
2. What is the one greatest weakness that stands in the way of your success?
a. Do you want to strengthen that weakness or successfully strategize around it so that you can succeed without it? How will you do that?
b. What daily or weekly actions will you take, every day or every week to ensure you strengthen or strategize that weakness?
c. At the end of 2012, how will you know you have succeeded?
3. Quickly, without analysis, what amount of income, sales volume, or number of sales would give you the indication, the confidence that you are well on your way to the success you imagine? Translate your answer into all three; income, sales volume, and number of sales.
4. If you are an experienced agent multiply the number of sales you want times two (for new agents multiply times three). Then divide by 40.
a. For example 20 sales x 2 = 40. 40 divided by 40 = 1.
b. That is how many new clients you need each week to achieve your goal. (In the example one new client each week for 40 weeks) For most agents it is a shockingly small number.
First Huge Key to Success: Focus on results instead of activities. Throughout the year, instead of focusing on the number of activities (calls, mailings, blog posts etc.), focus on achieving this number of new clients each week. Focusing on the activities leads to frustration and self-criticism. Focusing on the results, new clients, stimulates motivation and provides insight into what is working in your business and what needs your attention. This simple shift in focus is the reason that our coaching clients are so successful year after year even in difficult and challenging markets.
Second Huge Key to Success: You are about to set monthly sales goals. To have control over your business and motivation throughout the year you must set your goals by contract date instead of closing date. That is, if the contract is signed by the buyer and seller in March and will close in May, then count it toward your March sales goal. Setting goals by closed dates is a costly mistake. It is the reason that so many agents find it difficult to be motivated and can’t stick to a business plan throughout the year.
5. Write down your sales volume and number of sales goals for 2012.
a. Choose one of the two (sales volume or number of sales) and chunk it down to monthly goals for January through December. Do not simply divide the number of sales by 12. You are likely to sell more in some months than others. Ideally, get your history of sales by month for the past one, two, or three years so that you can discover any patterns that will make these monthly goals even more relevant and motivating. Then set monthly goals for each month.
b. Calculate the other number for each month; sales volume or number of sales.
Rich Levin is a real estate coach and productivity expert.
For more information, visit www.RichLevin.com.
