It's time for that appointment you made with yourself – that time when you are going to look at how you did during the first half of the year, and figure out what you can do to make the second half better.
First, hold your calls and step away from the e-mail. This is protected time for you and your business. Next, pull out that file you created – the one with your financial information and a copy of your plan for the year – and start reviewing it. Compare how you did to your plan:
Are you on track in the important areas?
- Gross production
- Net proceeds
- Listings taken and buyers sold
- Where your business is coming from
- Advertising expenditures
- What is working? What can you do to take more advantage of a trend?
- What is not working as planned? Why is it not working? And most important, what can you do to get it back in line with your plan?
- From where you are at the end of June, what will it take to be back on track by the end of September so that you can hit your goal for the year at the end of December? (Note: "A miracle" is not an answer! There is a real answer that will work for you. Find it.)
- Where has your business come from this year? Is your marketing plan aligned so that you are spending money where your business is coming from?
Here's a great goal – meet your financial objectives for the year by the end of October. Then, you can relax if you want to, or go for a record year, or just get really picky about working with the perfect clients instead of the high maintenance kind!
Next: strategizing for the future. Regardless of how you've done so far, perhaps the most important action you can take from this business planning session is to look for trends.
- Are the niches you are focusing on the ones with activity? Look at the MLS data to see what trends emerge. If you do geographical farming, review last year’s numbers vs. this year's.
- What new areas are emerging? A young new home subdivision (3-5 years old) is a great place to establish a foothold as a guru before anyone else does.
- It is now possible to have real estate in an IRA, and this could be a great opportunity to generate sales that weren’t going to happen otherwise by contacting your clients to share this opportunity with them.
- With the low interest rates and refinancing frenzy, if prices do soften in some areas, we may see more repossessions. Building some alliances with lenders and banks now could yield new business in the coming months and years.
Wayne Gretsky said, "You'll always miss 100 percent of the shots you do not take." And "The fundamentals of the game are never going to change, but the things you're going to do, that changes."
Every marketplace offers individual and unique opportunities. The agents that are aware and awake to shifting before others see the trends will have an edge! Will you be there?
Patti Kouri, Accelerated Performance Coaching
Helping You Through Self-Made Limitations!
Will you Take My Challenge and increase your income? Here's what one student said:
"In 2006 I left REMAX and went to Prudential in West Chester OH. I was in a slump and Bob Daniel handed me $100 and told me to sign up for some Real Estate Game that Patti Kouri was conducting. It was the best money spent. Last year (2008) I did 100 transactions. It all began with you, Ms. Patti. My thanks." - Pamela Bensen
I've never heard that strategy of taking a yearly goal and then projecting numbers to hit it in 10 months...that's an interesting strategy to hit higher goals or to have well earned vacation time! And reduce stress!
I subscribed to your blog for just one reason. . .so I can benefit from your advice.. .thank you for this one