Like the budget, writing a production plan for success is a lot about numbers. Black and white. Hours, dollars, and widgets. There is a sensible layout to follow. You map out the big picture by breaking down your transactions to quarterly and monthly goals. You examine the buyer sales, listing sales, and number of new listings it takes to produce the income needed to support the budget. Easy, right?
Well, straightforward, maybe. Easy, no.
Production planning is as much about problem solving and perspective as it is about the numbers. Why? Because you know you will not always hit your numbers. (If you do, you probably were not challenging yourself enough during the visioning process.) And not hitting the numbers obviously means you have a problem. You may be overspending the budget and/or underproducing the income. Not hitting the numbers for an entire quarter might not just mean a problem, but a genuine crisis.
So it is important when production planning to focus not just on target numbers, but on the potential problems related to production so that you can plan proactively to stay in business with a smile. Lets look at some Givens.
#1You are in control of more than you think. If you chart the numbers for first quarter and fall short, what do you do? (First of all, you always review the numbers.) If first quarter is lean, be prepared for you and others to blame outside influences. Oh, the market. Oh, those fickle buyers. Oh, those unrealistic, so-and-so sellers. Oh, those banks. Slap yourself and your teammates awake! The market is what the market is. Buyers and Sellers are simply responding to it. YOU are the expert. YOU need to take control. Take control of their expectations. Take control of your own emotions. Adjust your numbers if necessary for the rest of the year, but take control of your sales. If you were successful before this market, there is absolutely no reason you can’t be successful now. You have the experience and the skills. If you are new to this market, you have no excuse to be anything but successful because you don’t know the difference! If you were three sales short in the first quarter, plan now what it takes to make up those three in quarter two.
#2 There are some things you cannot control. Let go! A teammate’s sudden divorce is going to affect your business. No doubt about it. Can you influence that event? No. (Even if you offer the unhappy couple an all-paid expenses weekend at the Poconos in a heart-shaped tub, their relationship will not change because of your generosity and desperate attempt at keeping your top buyer agent happy and productive.) Curse fate all you like, but know that the teammate will have court dates, down days, and need extra time off to be with the kids. Let go off the idea that life is unfair and provide as best you can for the loss in production through your own efforts or added staff. Know that these things happen. Deal.
#3 Not to overuse and abuse the often quoted, Attitude is Everything, but it is. The mindset you get up with every day determines the success of your production plan. Is the market everything you read about in the papers or hear about on the TODAY SHOW? Is the sky really falling? If you believe it, your numbers certainly will reflect that view, (and you will need to hope that your spouse doesn’t mind supporting you for some time to come.) On the other hand, if you wake up each day seeing opportunity and, yes, fun in the current real estate market, your numbers will bloom and grow with every positive step. It’s not a Pollyanna world, but neither is it Oscar the Grouches. Your perspective determines outcome.
Plan for the numbers. Plan for the problems. Plan for success.
With the constant bad news about the economy, everyone is talking budget these days as if it were a new and exciting phenomenon—just discovered!
How to save a buck
How to budget for a successful future
How to make your dollar stretch the farthest
The truth is that there is nothing new, trendy, or sexy about budgeting. A well-planned budget is simply the most practical aspect of your business plan—and one of the most important. It’s also not that much fun. But if you think about it, if you have completed the other parts of your business planning guide, you’ve done the hard part already. You’ve already analyzed where you spent your money last year and how well it returned your investment. You’ve articulated the vision for your business in the next year, five years, and ten. You’ve written down the action steps to achieve that goal. Now it’s just a matter of the numbers.
The easiest way to tackle this job is with a good software program like QuickBooks, but you can also manage the old-fashioned way, by hand on a chart, if that’s what it takes to get you started. The budget records your total income, gross and net. It includes the numbers for your current expenses, plus those you anticipate adding under your new vision. It breaks down the expenses and itemizes them so that nothing is overlooked, creating a potential drain on your cash flow down the line. And remember: cash flow is the goal.
When the numbers are complete, if you don’t like the result, you need to remember to reevaluate the plan. If your marketing exceeds your income, for example, then you must make a decision: slash the marketing budget or make more money. Either way, your budget needs to “show you the money.”
Approach #1: Gary Keller reminds us to “lead with revenue” when budgeting. He cautions only to spend the money that the business has generated and avoid the “Field of Dreams” mentality of expecting business to materialize if you spend enough money on marketing, desk staff, quality equipment, etc.
Approach #2: Write down the number of marketing dollars you will need for the next year to reach your goal then do the math. How many lists will you need to carry in order to create that cash flow? How many will you need to sell? How many buy sides? Those are your numbers to live by.
Truth be told, a combination of these approaches is probably the wisest course, but regardless, the budget is the budget and you stick to it. (That’s the unsexy part.) But don’t worry about that because this axiom can serve you well when some annoying vendor tries to convince you that you really must buy his refrigerator magnets by the gross with your logo embossed on them in order to be a success at the next home show. You now have your ready-made excuse: “oh, we set our marketing budget last October.”
The budget might not seem to be your best friend at times, but it should be your wisest adviser—the one you trust with your most important decisions. Accordingly, spend enough time with it to do it, and yourself, justice. Your business, and your profit/loss statement, will thank you.
It is almost time to begin creating your Business Plan for next year. One important part that is often overlooked is what I call the Development Plan. A Development Plan helps you to look at your overall business in different specific areas.
A great story is told by Jeffrey J. Fox in HOW TO BECOME A MARKETING SUPERSTAR. It is the story of Pablo Picasso, dining at an elite New York City restaurant and being approached by a socialite who presumes to ask him for a drawing.
Fox relates, “Picasso grabbed some paper, and with pen and pencil, promptly sketched the waiters passing parfaits. As the woman reached for the sketch, Pablo Picasso said, ‘Madame. That will be $10,000.’ Shocked, she replied, ‘But that only took you five minutes.’ ‘No, Madame,’ replied Senor Picasso, ‘it took me fifty years.’”
Fox tells the story as a parable for understanding—and charging--your worth. (And come to think of it, that part of the lesson applies here, too: a solid development plan will help you avoid the folly of cutting your commission fees.) But we recognize Picasso’s remark about the fifty years as a clear symbol of the value of a development plan. It takes time to plan, but the plan should have long-lasting consequences that shape the course of your business down the road and, ultimately, your desired profit. A development plan, in effect, defines your practice.
A development plan can be as simple as a list. But it is an essential list. On this list you need to itemize the changes needed in the next year to improve your business. On it you should include:
Marketing and Lead Systems
What kind do you need to bring in the number of leads?
Sales and Servicing Systems
Technology
What about Facebook?
What about Twitter?
What about Texting?
People and Staffing
Do you need an office manager?
Support Systems
Training
Policies
What are they? And are they written down?
Procedures
Ditto
Team Development
Retreats
Celebrations
Training
New Ideas
What is next?
This is the place where you name your dreaming: what is it that you want to create? To revise and perfect? To research? To implement? What kinds of systems and practices do you want to employ? What people and roles?
At the development stage, you may be looking at assistants, additional agents, coaches, mentors, equipment, programs, and education. (Budget concerns are for another day.) In development, we identify what it will take to produce your desired outcomes. Put them in place, and the path toward your business future is paved.
As a super small business owner, it is important to know your value. “Your value” is determined by what you have to offer the consumer. It is important to remember that consumer perception is consumer reality. Every business owner on the path of success must be able to answer the following question from a consumer’s point of view. (We all need to answer a version of this very basic question and answer it very, very well.) The question is: Why should a consumer work with you instead of another business or professional? Your answer should compel the consumer to select you, and keep the consumer from moving on to one of the next businesses.
Your value proposition is your personal thirty second ‘elevator speech’ answering the WHY question: Why should potential prospect pick you? This thirty second answer will prove to be helpful at a networking event, a social gathering, answering a prospecting call, responding to an email, or anytime you are in contact with your potential clients. Like all thirty second answers, your answer needs to be well thought out and planned.
Your value proposition planning begins with listing all of the products and services you provide to consumers. Your list may include: your products and what makes them the best, your market knowledge, negotiation strategies, process knowledge, one-stop-shopping and the list goes on and on. All of the products and services business owners provide can be viewed as the ‘features’ business owners provide to consumers. However, simply giving a potential buyer a list of features is over-whelming and full of jargon. This list has meaning to super small business owners, not to ‘Joe Consumer’.
From your initial list of products and services or features you provide, comes your list of benefits or your value proposition. Your value proposition will compel a potential client to pick you.
Here is the step-by-step process to building your value proposition:
Step #1 List all the products and services that you provide for consumers. Step #2 Determine which three products and services of yours are the best. Step #3 State how you provide the three services. Step #4 Clearly identify what benefit your client gets from each of the three services. Step #5 Write down the three benefits and practice verbalizing them until you are comfortable saying them.
Now that you have a value proposition, you may want to evaluate it. Will your value proposition be compelling enough for consumers to want to work with you? Is your value proposition giving the message you intended?
It is important to reevaluate and test your 30-second commercial or value proposition to make sure it continues to grow and evolve with your business.
YOU know how special you are. YOU know that you outshine the competition. The question is: does your potential client?
Helping clients understand the value you provide to them is essential in prospecting and keeping business. Let’s face it: consumers have plenty of YOU to choose from, and national research shows that they see very little difference among you. It is therefore up to you to be able to articulate and to demonstrate what it is that makes you their best choice; what it is that makes you unique and valuable.
First, know what clients want and know that those wants may change. You must identify what consumers expect and need. NAR data from 2008 states that today’s buyers and sellers are selecting agents for a number of select reasons:
• They want a quick response. • They want expert advice and guidance. • They want a skilled negotiator. • They want accurate market knowledge. • They want a “track record.” (Reputation matters.) • They want someone they can trust.
If you are able to show clients that you have expertise and skill in all of these areas, you have begun to prove your value.
In addition, a good buyer’s interview will help you determine your clients’ individual wants and needs. Listening is a key component in this step. If you can then paraphrase back to the clients what they have described, they become convinced that you know and understand them, and what’s more: that you are willing to accept their “requirements” and work accordingly on their behalf. (Also, be prepared to be flexible because those “must haves” might suddenly shift to “would be nice to haves,” while entirely new criteria surface as primary.)
Second, remember: it’s not about you. It’s about them.
A useful motto here for the real estate professional is: “check your values at the door.” You may take their criteria and show the clients the best of the best in that price range, only to find out that they are solely comfortable with homes more modest or unassuming. You may be appalled to discover that their top choice is across from an apartment complex or major highway, but if you remain non-judgmental and validate their reasons, you have proven your value as a listener to their needs. On the other hand, if you try to argue them out of their first choice or convince them they are wrong, (because obviously you are the expert!) then you risk alienating the clients you are supposed to serve, if not lose them all together.
Finally, know and verbalize exactly why clients should work with you. And P.S. the answer isn’t “because I give good service.” You’d better give good service: that’s a bottom-line expectation of all consumers! What do you do above-and-beyond service?
Jeffrey J. Fox, in HOW TO BECOME A RAINMAKER, reminds us that we should always be able to answer the question, “Why should this customer do business with us?” Make it your mission to be able to answer that question for your business--the same way every time. And make the answer true.
Now in the current market and more than ever, you may be tempted to define your clients as any and every one who walks past you down the street. Everyone needs a place to live, right? Concerns over the economy and a desperate need for lead generation may persuade you to apply the salt-shaker method of marketing: sprinkle it all over and hope that something sticks! But this panic-mode thinking could be the biggest mistake you make all year, resulting in wasted time, money and resources. In order to get the most of your marketing efforts, in this economy especially, you need to follow the rules of niche marketing. In-N-Out Burger fast food restaurants are a perfect example of niche marketing. Never meant to appeal to everyone, never meant to take over McDonalds’ or Burger King’s market share, this successful hamburger joint has a limited menu consisting of only three different sandwiches: the hamburger, cheeseburger, and the "Double-Double" (double meat/double cheese.)
Though times have changed since the chain opened its first restaurant in 1948 in Baldwin Park, California, little has changed at In-N-Out. The menu - burgers, fries and drinks - is still the same basic menu customers have always enjoyed. Have they expanded their menu to have other kinds of sandwiches and entrees? No. Loyal burger eaters know that when they want a good quality burger, IN-N-OUT is the place to go. They do not spend marketing money advertising the latest Chicken Sandwich Spectacular because they don’t have one. They focus on what they do best. As a small business owner, what lessons can you learn from IN-N-OUT?
Now is exactly the time to refocus your time, money, and resources in a similar manner. When all three may be in short supply, it only makes sense to concentrate on your niche, the group of people most assured to bring you certain returns, the group of people you want to work with and concentrate on.
If you don’t know them already, choose who those people are.
Who best benefits from the specific services you offer—and deliver--better than anyone else?
Who already has benefited from your services and is now a “Raving Fan?”
Who do you know who “talks up” your services and serves as your Goodwill Ambassador?
After you have determined the WHO, analyze the WHERE.
What do these groups you have identified have in common and where do they come from?
Are those who benefit most from your services within a certain age group? Geographic location? Job or organization?
Those who are your Raving Fans are clearly past clients and referrals, but where do you find them now?
The Goodwill Ambassadors are clearly your sphere, but where do you find them? The family tree? The immediate neighborhood? Church? Clubs?
Then of course, you must apply the HOW. How will you reach that target once you have identified it? If seniors are the most likely to respond to your services and inventory, you will probably not concentrate solely on internet strategies But similarly, if you have a Gen-X or Y population clamoring for your services, you need to be well established with the latest technologies, communication platforms including social media networking sites, and expertise. Know how to reach your clients and where to spend your time and money.
And remember your goals. If you are planning to double your business within the next five years, then the HOW must include the resources you will need to market to and service your niche.
Don’t succumb to the fear that if you don’t court every potential client, you won’t have any clients at all. Make your niche as carefully designed a part of your business plan as your budget. If you focus your time and resources and serving the burger-loving clients the best way you possibly can, you will attract more of the same. Leave the chicken-lovers to someone else.
This is the true key to Niche Marketing!
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Coach Cheri Alguire has helped thousands of super small business owners and real estate professionals find their niche. Find about her book Branding & Marketing Mastery or her business planning guides at http://www.CheriAlguire.com
No, I did not mean “Business” but if you tell me how your “Busyness” is, I bet I can tell how your Business is doing. We too often spend far too many hours attending the busy-work of the business, which leaves us a day late and a dollar short of our goals.
What is on your to-do list for today? Are these items that will get you closer to your goals, or are they just things that you HAVE to do. I can almost bet that if you are getting up every day and just plowing through a seemingly endless to-do list, that your Business may be “surviving,” but you are not “thriving.”
An important way to tell if you are doing busy work or not, are ask yourself the following questions:
1. Which goal will doing this activity get me one step closer to? 2. Can someone else do this for me?
Sometime things don’t really need to be done at all. And sometimes, things need to be done, but just not by you.
You will need to prioritize those items that have to get done by you. If the majority of your business over the next five years will come from leads generated from referrals and sphere, then the “have-tos” are clear: contact and service well that group of people. Invest your time and money in that quadrant of contacts. Stay away from the nagging “to-do” list that says you need to update the expired system that you drafted two years ago and have failed to implement yet.
Next, ask some hard, frank questions of yourself and your business.
• First, can you reach your goals alone? In order to achieve the numbers you’ve put forward, do you need to expand your human resources?
• Second, do you need a different business model than the one you are currently using? (Told you they were hard questions!)
If you are looking to increase your production by half-again as much in the next five years, perhaps you can obtain your goal within the status quo. But what if you are looking to double your business in five years? Or quadruple it? Is it reasonable to think that you can succeed under the same manner and with the same number of people that you have been previously?
You know the answer: undoubtedly not. As a matter of fact, this can often be the tipping point of decline and/or failure in a business, when you fail to realize that you, alone, cannot be chief cook and bottle washer and grow your business. A team or staff to support you may become essential when planning for your future goals The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Don’t Work and What To Do About It, by Michael Gerber, talks about this at length in his book.
It’s all about the numbers today in terms of goals and in terms of human resources. Plan accordingly.
That is why Part 9 of my 17 –Part Business Planning Workbook is on the numbers. You need to figure out what kind of Production you will need over the next 1-5 years in order to hit your personal goals. Your business is about supporting your life; it should not be your life.
If you are caught up in Busyness, your business has become you life, and is no longer just supporting it.
One question I get a lot doing my coaching and speaking is “How do you come up with the “numbers?” Maybe this will help:
WRITE THEM DOWN.
Next year’s goal: what is the magic number for closed production (in millions?) For your 2-year goal? For 3, and 4, and 5 years? What about gross and net closed commissions? Average Sales Price? Number of Transactions? Number of Listings? You must chart each out and write down the number.
For next year and the four to follow, what is the magic number for new listings, for example? Where will the business come from? What is the lead source? Referral. Sphere. Website. Farm. Expireds. What about buyer-generated sales? Where will that business come from? What are the lead sources? As you define these categories, you begin to identify your target market and where to spend your marketing dollars (and your time!)
Numbers tell you so much about your business. By focusing on your numbers and reaching your goals, you are able to plan your priorities, staff your Business accordingly and keep out of Busyness!
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Coach Cheri Alguire has helped hundreds of real estate professionals, super small business owners and Moms, keep out of Busyness and in a Business that is thriving. To find out more about Cheri Alguire’s Business Planning Guide visit http://www.smallbusinessplanningguide.com/ or http://www.cherialguire.com/
Many people attack the problem areas in their business with the mantra, “When things get tough, I just work harder.”
This is a philosophy that looks admirable on the surface, but actually can adversely affect our goals. Surprisingly, the answer isn’t necessarily work “smarter,” either. The true answer to problem areas in business might be at the very core of our selves and our lifestyles.
When business planning, we strive to define goals, to establish and maintain the systems that support those goals, and to manage our time and resources accordingly. What we often do not do, that can result in serious problems, if not outright disaster, is plan for our selves. And we’re not just talking about the last time you had a vacation (without the cell phone.) We are focusing here on all the aspects of your life that allows you to recharge your body and mind in order to sustain your personal and business success.
Imagine a balance wheel that is drawn around your being. It would include health: diet, sleep, exercise, and relaxation (a.k.a. stress management.) Like any visual of this nature, if your self-assessment of these elements is lop-sided, you have identified the problem area(s) that limit your success.
Dr. Paul Pearsall, in his book TOXIC SUCCESS: HOW TO STOP STRIVING AND START LIVING, has labeled this tendency toward constant motion/drive in work while ignoring the self as “toxic success,” and reminds us of the 19th century folk hero, John Henry, who infamously tried to manually out-produce a steam-powered drill with a hammer and pick, but died after “winning” the race. He warns us that a single-minded focus can delude us into thinking we can control any and everything while we ignore our internal energy fuel gauge.
Focusing singularly on the business while wolfing down fast food—or not eating at all—obsessing on the market while losing sleep . . . our habits become self-defeating. This critical area is also what Stephen Covey refers to as “sharpening the saw,” in his book THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE, and he urges us to pay attention to it in our every day lives. Remember, too, that personal attitudes have a huge influence on how we approach our problems. Believing that problems are permanent and insurmountable pretty well predicts that very outcome. However, by focusing on the health of our being, we can also take control of those attitudes that eat away at our ability to problem-solve.
You probably already know the drill: time manage for your self the way your time manage for your daily appointments and office duties. Exercise and sleep should be blocked off on your calendar. Relaxation breaks should be allotted for in definite terms, be it yoga, vacation, reading time, or the social hour. Remember that your business can’t run without you, so taking care of you should be a primary focus in every day planning and in long-term vision. You need to do it!
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Coach Cheri Alguire has helped hundreds of Entrepreneurs and Real Estate Professionals create a Business and Life Plan that really works for all areas of your life. To find out more about her Business Planning guides for Small Business Owners and Real Estate Agents at http://CheriAlguire.com
It is the end of the first quarter and time to check the score.
Just as planning your goals for the coming year should always begin with a look back at the year in review, so planning your business for the rest of this year should take a look back at the first quarter. Business planning isn’t just a numbers game, but also an accounting and analysis of the year’s overall progress.
Begin by asking the hard questions: • What happened in your business this past year? Past quarter? • Did you meet your goals? If not, why not? • How did you accomplish your successful goals? • Where did your business come from?
From there, analyze the specific sources of success or failure. • Were your lead systems facilitating your goals? • Did the number of listings support the number of closed transactions?
And yes, now analyze the numbers: closed sales, closed commissions, expenses, how many listings taken, how many listings sold, how many active? Quantify where the business came from in comparison to your goals: how many sales from sphere? Referrals? Websites? Print media? Signs? Other lead-generating systems?
Also take a look at the team. Who do you have working with you and what are their roles? Did they support last year’s business? Did they reach their goals? Were their goals congruous with your business plan? And let’s not forget that important last count: the one where you evaluate yourself, including how many hours you worked per week and how much vacation time you took during the course of the year or quarter.
Think of this business in review task as a report to imaginary shareholders in the business. They would need a reminder of last year’s goals, a comparison to the actual numbers, an analysis of the year’s operations and relative success, and an evaluation, ultimately, of your business strategy. The success of the past year forms the basis of your business plan for the next. You are able to determine if you need to completely overhaul your “to-do” list or merely fine-tune it. You are able to focus on the past year’s strengths in order to maximize their results for the future. You are also able to isolate weaknesses or “misses” and problem-solve them to a positive resolution.
The business “flashback” in review cannot be ignored if you hope to continue to grow your business into tomorrow. The necessary steps to planning for that future can only happen once you’ve seen what came before. That is when you learn not just from your mistakes, but from your successes. It’s then you can set the new goal and create the plan. It’s then you can focus your time and resources. It’s then you can make accountability a part of the process. It’s then you can move forward with the confidence that you have planned for an incredible year ahead.
-------------------------------- Coach Cheri Alguire helps Small business Professionals, even those who hate numbers, analyze and understand the numbers in order to create a more profitable business. Find out more at http://www.CoachCheri.com
Let’s face it. The time to ask yourself, “Is my business running smoothly?” is NOT after you have just had a flat tire and are bumping down the road. The time to ask that question and analyze its answer is during the business planning process AND throughout the year.
A business is a complex machine with many moving parts. Well-maintained, it works smoothly and takes you where you want to go. But if just one part is neglected over time or overlooked, an eventual breakdown is certain.
To begin the process, take a look at your systems and how they connect to the big picture. Where, exactly, do they exist in the framework of your business and how efficiently are they running? Jennifer James, in THINKING IN THE FUTURE TENSE, reminds us that “systems thinking” can bridge the gap between reality and perception, and is probably the best way to problem solve (189.) Systems thinking “helps us understand that all parts of a business or a process are connected, and that when one part is challenged, all the others are as well” (189.) Typically, we may look at problems in isolation, but that may not solve the underlying systemic issues.
Let’s take an example of lagging sales. Agents are not making production goals; therefore, the cash flow or profit bottom line is not being met for the business. You could dismiss the problem as “it’s the market,” and continue to slump in sales. You could blame your team and look for new help. But if you look at all the systems that feed productivity: lead generation and marketing, listing systems, follow-up, people and support systems, you may be able to discover various cogs in the wheel that are preventing progress. Does listing inventory need to increase in order to produce leads? Are follow-up systems being utilized? Do team members need more mentoring or training? Could the answer to lagging sales be a team retreat that re-motivates and energizes the team members?
Systems thinking allows for and demands creative problem solving. Take Steve Jobs of Apple computers. Infamously “fired” at one time from his own company, Jobs loved the business too much to stay away from it. After creating PIXAR (among other projects) while on hiatus from Apple, he returned to regenerate not only the product (Macs) but the industry itself. While launching and perfecting iMovie (a consumer-friendly video-editing application) for the Mac, he realized that software wasn’t enough. In order to function properly, he concluded, it had to work in conjunction with several other components. He became committed to the goal that Mac would offer something unique by developing whole business systems for the personal computer. And of course from there, he made history: launching a little digital music business with iPod. (See pages 257-258 INSIDE STEVE’S BRAIN by Lenader Kahney.) Systems thinking was the key.
Systems thinking is not so much thinking “outside the box” as it is the wide-angle view. So pan the vista of your own business. What systems are in place? Are any missing? Of those that are operating, are they running as efficiently as they could be? Put the individual pieces together to create a smooth and successful whole. Problem solve with imagination and collaboration to fix issues that slow you down. Be cognizant throughout the year. Create and maintain a smooth-running machine.
As values drive your life purpose, vision drives your goal setting and your day-to-day actions.
I took this photo on a hike last month in Gold Canyon, AZ. It was a rainy day that had a brief burst of clear skies that enabled this hike and great photo. I have titled it “Vision.” It is my desktop background picture right now. If you can’t see the photo in this article, please check on www.RealEstateMoms.com
You know the old saying: “In order to know where you are going, you have to remember where you have been.” In naming your vision and setting goals for this year, truer words were never spoken. You need to first analyze where your business has been this past year before you can actually envision where you will be next. Vision is the big picture, the WHAT you will do (as opposed to the WHY.) In framing that picture, first decide what you want to leave out. For example, what is it that happened in your business last year that you never want to see happen again? Then you can follow up with the next question: What is it that worked well, and that you are proud of, that you want to be certain to repeat? Vision begins here.
My desktop picture reminds me every day about this vision I had for that hike and the vision and perspective I found hiking that day. My vision for that hike determined my steps and the path I took. My vision for my business does the same.
Some people believe that visionaries are gifted with natural talent or good luck and that we mere mortals cannot hope to dream in such vast landscapes. However, as Richard Koch reminds us in the 80/20 INDIVIDUAL, many times a visionary result is simply a rearrangement of something which already exists. Take, for example, that recurring annoyance or conflict from your business last year and put someone else in charge of it. Or, conversely, take a small idea which made a big difference in value for your customers, and assign a team to develop and improve upon the idea for this year: to make it bigger, monumental, even! All of this is vision.
Ask yourself the hard questions:
What did you accomplish this year?
What was the most challenging part of your year?
What goals did you set that you did not achieve?
What were the reasons?
What did you actively do to drive your business last year?
What factors do you feel drove the business without you: in other words, where do you feel you were out of control?
Then play the flipside:
What were your successes?
How did you celebrate them?
What do you want to duplicate and what are the steps that are necessary?
What is it that you value most that you want to see reflected in your business practices?
Again, only after analyzing where you have been can you paint the canvas in vivid color of where you will be next year. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces come together to form the whole once you have identified them.
And remember, vision implies seeing: you must picture it in your mind before you make it your reality!
Sounds like a loaded question, doesn’t it? What is it that you truly value in life?
• Family? • Job? • Security? • Freedom? • Usually all of the above, and then some.
But the crux of the question on values is: which do you value most and to what measure? At the core of your personality and your being are your values. They dictate what is most important, both in life and in business. They motivate you and direct you in your goals. It is essential, therefore, for you to examine and weigh those things you value most in life, for they help sculpt your purpose. You literally need to make a physical list which clarifies what you find most worthwhile and rewarding in life. You may even want to take this a step further and write your values in the form of a mission statement: a guiding declaration of your values and principles.
Another important reason to focus on values is to analyze its relationship to your lifestyle and business practices. Once you have identified your values and articulated them, hold those values up to your daily life and work. Are they parallel? For example, if you value physical fitness and health but haven’t been to the gym in six weeks, one of the things you regard most in life has been cast aside, and you are certain to be unhappy in the long run. To quote Ron Willingham in INTEGRITY SELLING, in order to be successful, “your purpose must be congruent with, driven by, and sustained by your values.” If one is out of balance with the other, you can’t achieve all you hope for or deserve.
Also remember that identifying and articulating your values isn’t enough. You must act upon those values in your daily life in order to fulfill your purpose. To say that you value honesty is both admirable and prudent. However if you do not conduct your business in an honest manner, do not make full disclosure, say, or turn the other way when in the face of an ethical dilemma, your behavior belies what you say you value. Ultimately you disengage from relationships because of trust issues, lose business, and disappoint yourself.
Values are at the center of your being and have the power to shape your behaviors: toward others, toward success, toward happiness. Stephen Covey reminds us in THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE that “the ability to subordinate an impulse to a value is the essence of a proactive person.” Proactive people act from an internal compass. They achieve because they keep those values in mind when they make choices and decisions.
Identify, articulate, and act upon your values. They will help you form your goals and accomplish your purpose.
Purpose is an understanding of what your life is all about. Purpose provides the foundation of our values, vision and goals. Purpose gives meaning to everything we do in our personal and professional lives. In essence, purpose is the why.
Yet not all of us recognize our purpose or can articulate it. As in any life journey, it is difficult to arrive at a specific destination if we do not have an end in sight. The journey also must be joyful and heartfelt. It is purpose that makes life worthwhile and rewarding.
So to concentrate on your purpose or direction, begin to think “On Purpose.” Ask yourself the reason(s) why you do the things you do, and answer honestly.
Once you review the answers, determine if you like what you see. Are you living your life “On Purpose?” Are you fulfilling the intention of your values and ideals?
One key to discovering your personal purpose is in understanding the way you make a difference for others. Once revealed, understanding the way(s) you make a difference is the knowledge you need for building successful relationships. Your personal and professional success is built through creating value for others -- one relationship at a time. The importance of creating value for others as the theme of your purpose cannot be overemphasized. A self-centered or ego-driven purpose is doomed and will have a limited audience of admirers while an “other”-focused purpose creates synergy and provides shared meaning with others.
Discovering your purpose will give you insight into the value that you create for others. As you focus on how you can serve or create value for others, you build a platform for success. From this platform, your success and personal motivation grows and flourishes. We can see examples of this in all walks of life: from parenting to teaching, to coaching and mentoring, and beyond. The “pay it forward” rule multiplies the number of meaningful relationships we develop and nurture and thereby expands the richness of our personal, community and business lives.
Your purpose will also become your motivation to change, to take on new challenges and to improve all aspects of your life. Your purpose will become the catalyst for reinventing your self, your personal life and your business. Purpose becomes the passion, commitment and the desire to reach new peaks. The renewal of your purpose will only require an investment of your time. In the end, your purpose will provide you with a satisfying understanding of “this is why I do what I do everyday.”
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Business and Life Coach Cheri Alguire helps her coaching clients design their business and life plan so that they are truly living life ON PURPOSE. If you would like to create your business plan around your purpose so you too can live on purpose, check out her 17-part Business Planning Guide at www.SmallBusinessPlanningguide.com
I just found out last week that sometimes the best place to go to work on your business is a thousand feet up. I was in Mesa, Arizona for a Business Planning retreat, staying at a nice resort in a two-bedroom condo with my laptop connected with Go To My PC so it was almost like I was sitting in my office back in Orange County, California. I spend most of the fourth quarter helping my coaching clients create their Business Plan for the new year, that I have found January is the best time for me to really look at my own business.
Even with the great accommodations at the resort, I still felt like I need to “get away” even more as I was doing some of my serious goal planning. You see, I set HUGE Goals for myself, and the only way for me to do that, is to get away from the day to day distractions. Being at the resort was still a little too connected to my email, my virtual assistant and my Blackberry. So, in order to get in the right frame of mind, I decided to go for a hike on Sunday.
Now granted, I took my Blackberry with me, (they’re addictive, if you haven’t heard) and even had coverage half way up the mountain on my 5 mile hike. It did allow me to take some great photos from the top. I tried to email them, that is how I realized I didn’t have service up there. But what I did find up there was something I really needed! Perspective.
When you are standing at the top of a mountain and look down, the houses and roads disappear. All you see are valleys and hills and rocks and cactus. Lots and lots and lots of beautiful cactus. In fact, more cactus than this Minnesota native has ever seen before. Who knew that desert vegetation could be so green and flowering and beautiful? It is amazing what a little rain does to the desert. It is also funny the pictures I had in my head about what the desert was before spending this much time hiking in it.
I did the first hike to get a little exercise, but I soon found out that I was getting more clarity and more things worked through on my hike, than at any other time that week. So I went on three more hikes that week. The beauty and adventure of the Arizona desert was addicting, but so was the amazing clarity and perspective I got concerning my business and my life goals while on those hikes.
When the normal distractions disappear and you truly get away from it all, it is amazing the clarity you can get. Now you might not be able to get away to the mountains of Arizona, although, I would highly recommend it, but where can you go to get way from everything? Away from the Blackberry, the email, the phone, the kids, everything?! I encourage you to find that place. Maybe it is a hike or walk near your house, maybe it is a bubble bath, and maybe it is beach in a warm part of the world. Wherever you find perspective, go there often!
------------------------------ Coach Cheri Alguire helps her clients take their business and their lives to a new level of success every day. Check out her resources at www.CheriAlguire.com
It’s time to implement your business plan to ensure success in your real estate business. If you have completed your plan, now is the time to begin working that plan, one step at a time.
Surveys show only 3% of all agents have a formal plan. A 25-year study of Harvard Business School graduates showed that the grads who have a plan earned more than 100 times those who had no plan or a loosely defined plan. Your business plan is YOUR guide to SUCCESS, a silent partner, a daily reminder and your coach’s best friend for keeping you accountable and on course. A minimal plan requires three steps:
1) Schedule some time for yourself (alone) to think and reflect. Begin with a blank slate, (paper or electronic) and write down what is important to you and why. Take some more time and reflect on the following two questions:
What went great last year?
What was most frustrating for you to complete/accomplish?
Now, push yourself and answer “how can you be more?” Feel free to give yourself some advice. Remember, advice is free. It costs nothing. It only costs if you take action before you are fully prepared. The first cost of implementing change is your time, the time to plan. So make sure your plan is grounded. Take some time to look at your track record. Now, you are ready for the second step.
2) Review last year’s plan. Know your data: where your business came from and how you do business. Your data may support your answer for “what went great last year.” If not, you may want to revisit/add to “what went great last year.” Things are starting to shape up: you have a clear understanding (written down) of what is important to you and why. You recorded what was great and what was frustrating. Your advice for greatness in your notes. It is time to proceed to the final step.
3) Re-tool. Adjust your number of transactions, commission percentages, and how you do business. This is the action step: the place where you write your new business goals and break them into actionable steps. You are at the critical phase of your new business plan. Just as important as your new goals is the time and reflection that goes into your goal setting. And of course, the new knowledge you have gained about your business is of great value and the lessons your new goals will teach you during the upcoming year are the foundation for your future. Go for it!!!
• How can I work “ON” my business without loosing income?
The answers to these questions are found in Your People System. A simple People System has four basic components:
1. Team Members (Buyers Agents, Assistants…) 2. Expected Outcomes, 3. Training, and 4. Management.
Your People System allows you to:
• Double your income without working twice the time; • Go on vacations without a loss of clients or income; • Delegate tasks when they do not directly produce income to team members; • Offer your clients the highest level of service while fulfilling your fiduciary duties to them.
To maximize the potential of your People System, you must have specific and expected outcomes for each team member, and you must manage the expected outcomes. To increase “People Potential,” you must provide training experiences for your team. You must also constantly be on the lookout for new talent and, most importantly, be quick to identify aptitude in your current team members. Build upon and develop these newly identified aptitudes. The more you invest in Your Team, the higher volume Your Team will produce. Investing in Your People System will maximize the efficiency of your lead pipeline, and the end result will be a higher conversion rate and higher profitability. This is truly a win-win for everyone involved.
From a self-centered viewpoint, many agents believe they are “special,” and the public will only want to work with them. Don’t buy into this myth---Sell Your Team from the beginning. A specialized team can deliver a more consistent and a higher level of service than any single agent. Enjoy the benefits of delegating and managing.
------------------------------------------------------- Coach Cheri's Updated Real Estate Planning Guide is available now. If you would like more information on the People System in your business or any other information on making next year your best year yet by creating a real estate business and life plan for yourself that really will help you get to where you want to go, please check out my seventeen part eCourse at www.RealEstateBusinessPlanningGuide.com or find out more at www.RealEstateBusinessResources.com
How do I know which of my marketing strategies work?
Which marketing strategies are cost effective?
How can I capture the contact information for new leads?
How do I develop a lead pipeline?
Where do I get leads for my buyer agents?
How can my team be more productive?
The answers to these questions are found in Your Technology System. A Technology System should give you predictable ways of identifying prospects without requiring you or your team members to spend hours of time searching for names or contact information. Your Technology System should:
Assist you in managing your marketing.
Incubate long term leads.
Identify “hot” leads needing immediate service.
Communicate with your clientele.
And save you and your team countless hours of valuable time.
To maximize the potential of your Technology System, you must be sure the system is both compelling and capturing. Compelling technologies attract consumers (leads,) hold the attention of consumers, and show you the evidence that consumers return via the given technology. An example of this technology is a dynamic personal website. Capturing technologies give you a means of contacting and tracking consumers, for example, an effective 1-800 number and/or text messaging. Working at full potential, a Technology System will assist you in identifying cost-effective marketing strategies, give your team contact information on leads, and save everyone valuable time. The result will be a productive use of time and more sales!
One area I address in my Business Planning Guide is your Business Support System, but many people do not understand exactly what makes up a Support System. A well developed Support System is a recipe for SUCCESS. The four components of a simple ‘Support System’ are: Financial, Family, Sphere and Coaching. The financial component is made up of business savings and tax planning. The family comprises of your core relationships and activities that define your belief system. The sphere component offers referrals at little to no cost to your business. And coaching gives you a set of neutral eyes probing, and an active voice challenging, your current practices and direction. The overall function of your Support System is to give you and your business: security, energy, enjoyment and vision. The result will be SUCCESS.
The financial component of your Support System is best directed by an accountant. Have your accountant establish quarterly tax payments based upon the expected gross income to the business. Set up a proactive savings program to prepare for three months of business expenses: there may be an unforeseen illness; you may lose team members, or there may be a shift in the market that you were not expecting. The result of focusing on your financial component will be a reduction of financial pressure.
The family component of your Support System provides you with the core of why you work. Who you are and what you stand for are truly defined when you are away from the job. You must allocate time; schedule and protect your time away from work. Being in touch with and actually being involved with your core beliefs will renew your personal energy and passion, and as a result, you will perform at a higher level when you are working.
The sphere component of your Support System adds joy to your business. There is nothing more rewarding than providing service to a past client or a past client’s referral. No convincing, no selling your team, no overcoming objections---just being yourself and having fun doing what you do best. And the process? It is simple: just ask. “Who is next to buy or sell?” Simple and inexpensive.
The coaching component of your Support System offers a necessary challenge to your business. “It won’t work here,” or “not in this market,” or “I can’t do that,” or “it’s not my style . . .” on-and-on go the excuses. For all agents, the coaching process is simple but challenging: just listen and then act. Throughout the coaching process, you will be challenged to work “ON” your business: Listen to challenge. Set goals and establish timelines. Define actionable steps to complete. Measure the results. Dare to push your limits.
How is your support system? If you want to set yourself and your business up for success, it is very important to look at each of these areas, analyze where you can make improvements, and create a plan to do those things.
No matter how talented or how much natural ability an individual real estate agent possesses, his/her natural talents can and will only take him/her so far. No matter how gifted an individual may be, everyone will eventually hit a ceiling or, for most of us, a plateau of production. There is no “if” in this statement but rather “when” it will happen.
So the real issue is: how will you climb beyond the plateau or break through your ceiling of production? For the seasoned Realtor, the answer lies within the rigor of his/her ‘lead systems.’ For the successful team of Realtors, the answer lies within the volume of leads that the ‘lead systems’ generate. The single most critical element for consistent cash-flow in a real estate business is its pipeline of leads.
It is critical that the individual agent or the team leader designate specific blocks of time to work on his/her lead development systems. THIS TIME IS TIME SPENT “ON” YOUR BUSINESS. Lead Systems are the life-blood of your business. The lead systems produce sales; sales provide the revenue for prospecting/marketing; and prospecting/marketing generates new inventory and further future leads.
To completely understand the vital role lead systems play in a real estate business, it is important to utilize traditional and electronic marketing as ways of prospecting. Traditionally, there are many hands-on, time intensive, marketing/prospecting strategies, for example: handwritten notes or cards, warm calling and door knocking. With the arrival and development of electronic marketing and prospecting, however, agents have the ability to manage leads and, to a degree, predict the volume of leads in a less time intensive manner. Regardless of the strategy you employ, the result is the same: more marketing and prospecting means more inventory, and the result is a greater number of leads.
It is vital never to permit your lead system to stop or stall out. If your lead system falters, your entire business becomes vulnerable to changes in the larger market. Remember: your pipeline determines future sales---three, six and twelve months out.
Once a real estate agent has a property listed “for sale,” it is vital to create and utilize the three components of the Inventory System. The service component focuses on feedback, communication and providing proof of your worth/value to the property owners. The pricing component categorizes your inventory as homes “priced to sell” and homes “priced to produce leads.” This may be helpful in determining which homes receive a greater number of resources (ads, open houses, mailings.) And the lead capture component highlights your exposure and response strategies (a new price, for example, may mean re-blogging, re-contacting all past inquiries, or running a special ad).
To maintain a healthy inventory it is paramount that a seller service system is implemented and consistently followed. Your system can be any combination of written, verbal or web-based activities. The information included in your service system should include any and all activities performed by you or your team related to the property. Also, include marketing and feedback specific to the home and general market updates, trends and summaries. Remember, it is important and easier to show your worth to the sellers who have agreed to pay you than to search for new sellers every three to six months that might want to pay you.
This model of business planning and goal setting for Real Estate Professionals breaks the process down to four parts and seventeen steps.
PART 1: The Big WHY It is important to first look at who you really are and what your core values are. These things will drive you and carry thorough to your business.
Step 1 - What is your purpose? Uncover your purpose, what provides the foundation of our values, vision and goals.
Step 2 - What are your values? Know your core values which dictate what is important in both life and business: how business should be conducted, your view of humanity, and your role in society.
PART 2: Vision – Goal Setting This is where you take a hard look at where you are at and figure out where it is you are going in your business and in your life.
Step 3 – The Year in Review Recognize what it is you have done this year, celebrate the accomplishments and also look at what may have stopped you short of reaching a goal.
Step 4 – Is your life in balance? The Wheel of Life, sometimes called the Balance Wheel, will help you visualize your current situation, providing a snapshot of how you see your life today.
Step 5 – Is your business running smoothly? Using the Balance Wheel concept on your business can help to determine what areas are causing your business to not run as smooth as it could be.
Step 6 – Looking at problem areas By focusing on areas that have been your weak points this year, you can determine what steps things may need to be in your plan for this year to avoid similar situations.
Step 7 – Business Review Take a look at the results of the last 12 months. Did you reach your goals and achieve what you wanted?
Step 9 – Production Goals Work the numbers. Create specific number goals for the next one to five years.
PART 3: Creating an Action Plan to Achieve Your Goals All Real Estate Professionals know they need a Business Plan. By following these steps you will create a plan that will help you hit your business goals.
Step 10 – Define Your Niche and Value Proposition Become a specialist and build perceived value. Know your true value and learn to articulate your value proposition to your clients.
Step 11 – Lead Generation/Marketing Plan Recognize what specific changes to your current plans are necessary to make in order to reach your goals.
Step 12 – Define Your Team Organizational Structure Understand the organizational structure of your team.
Step 13 – Development Plan Capture all of those things you have wanted to research, create, do, perfect, delegate and implement in your business.
Step 14 – Budgeting Review your expenses for the current year and include any new marketing and development changes.
Step 15 – Production Plan Create and monitor goals on a monthly basis in order to hit your production goals for the upcoming year.
Step 16 – Time and Delegation It is important to make sure you have time management and delegating strategies in place to work this plan you are creating.
PART 4: Achieving Your Goals: How do I get there from here? By breaking your large goals into smaller steps you will always know what you need to do next in order to keep working toward hitting your business and personal goals.
Step 17 - Creating a Master Project List Change your goals into “projects” to actively work on over the next twelve months, and from this create a “Master Project List.”
Coach Cheri's Updated 2009 Real Estate Planning Guide: Available Now If you would like more information on how to do these four parts and seventeen steps and create a business and life plan for yourself that really will help you get to where you want to go, please check out my seventeen part eCourse at www.RealEstateBusinessPlanningGuide.com
If you own a residential property that is declining in value, here are some ways to make the losses less depressing.
Trim property taxes. If a house has lost value, have it reappraised by the municipal assessor. Consider petitioning — or even suing — to get back taxes overpaid in the last few months.
Deduct a home office. Some people avoid the home office deduction because it requires deducting depreciation, but if the property has lost value, this isn’t an issue.
Sale-leaseback with a relative. If you're convinced your property is due for a big price correction and you have equity in the home, then sell now. For example, if you have a $1 million home that has been appraised at $1.8 million, you can sell it and take home $500,000 of the $800,000 gain tax free — due to an exemption on profits from the sale of personal residences. Sell the property to a trusted friend or wealthy relative and then become a tenant and pay the buyer rent at market rates — a much more attractive amount than Treasury bonds are paying now. When the housing market corrects, buy the property back.
Invest in housing futures. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange sells investment instruments that trade based on house price indexes for each of the 10 largest U.S. cities. You can sell futures, buy puts, or sell calls on this market to hedge losses in the value of your home.
When you're planning your to-do list, make sure you take a look at the work that you're planning for yourself. How much of it is really important? And of that, what needs doing most urgently? Most people do the easiest and most enjoyable things first, without taking into account what really needs doing. It feels good to cross things off your to-do list, but if they aren't the things that really need to be done, you're not accomplishing as much as you may think.
Start with Urgent AND Important Work
When you make a list of what needs doing, mark each item with a 'U', an 'I', or both. Begin with those items that are marked urgent and important, even if they're things that you're dreading doing. Look for any entries on your to-do list that you've marked neither urgent nor important. Copy them on a separate piece of paper and cross them off your main to-do list. You can refer to that new list when you've finished everything else. Also, take a close look at items that you've marked urgent, but not important. If they aren't important, why do they need doing quickly? Be realistic. Start with what really needs doing.
Learn to Say No
We often feel pressure to do favors for others, or to sign up for every lunch-and-learn, or special event that comes along. To keep yourself on task, go over your schedule thoroughly before committing to new things. When other agents, or even clients ask you to do favors for them, tell them that you need to get back to them before you say yes. Then take a good long look at all the facts. Don't be afraid to say no. You may be surprised at how reasonable people can be when you say no. Explain why you need to say no, and be honest yet firm.
Remember the 80/20 rule, otherwise known as the Pareto Principle, named for the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. This principle states that 80 percent of our activities produce 20 percent of the results, while only 20 percent of our activities produce 80 percent of the results. Make sure that you are spending your time on the activities that produce the greatest results and you'll see a giant increase in your productivity.
A Real Estate Business Plan is a necessity when it comes to making sure that your Business and Life goals are being reached. Setting up action plans is the only way to prevent yourself from getting caught up in work that isn’t aligned with your goals. Coach Cheri’s Real Estate Business Planning Guide will help you set action plans and realize your goals. For more information, go to www.RealEstateBusinessPlanningGuide.com
Real Estate and Life Coach Cheri Alguire has partnered with hundreds of Real Estate Professionals to help them become more successful in business and in life. Coach Cheri is also an expert at helping Real Estate Agents and Managers maximize their time and advance their careers. Learn more Coach Cheri's products and services at www.RealEstateTimeManagement.com
This model of business planning and goal setting for Real Estate Professionals breaks the process down to five sections and fourteen steps.
SECTION A: The Big WHY
It is important to first look at who you really are and what your core values are. These things will drive you and carry thorough to your business.
Step 1 - What is your purpose? Uncover your purpose, what provides the foundation of our values, vision and goals.
Step 2 - What are your values? Know your core values which dictate what is important in both life and business: how business should be conducted, your view of humanity, and your role in society.
SECTION B: Vision – Goal Setting
This is where you take a hard look at where you are at and figure out where it is you are going in your business and in your life.
Step 3 – The Year in Review Recognize what it is you have done this year, celebrate the accomplishments and also look at what may have stopped you short of reaching a goal.
Step 4 – Is your life in balance? The Wheel of Life, sometimes called the Balance Wheel, will help you visualize your current situation, providing a snapshot of how you see your life today.
Step 5 – Business Review Take a look at the results of the last 12 months. Did you reach your goals and achieve what you wanted?
Step 7 – Production Goals Work the numbers. Create specific number goals for the next one to five years.
SECTION C: Creating an Action Plan to Achieve Your Goals
All Real Estate Professionals know they need a Business Plan. By following these steps you will create a plan that will help you hit your business goals.
Step 8 – Define Your Niche and Value Proposition Become a specialist and build perceived value. Know your true value and learn to articulate your value proposition to your clients.
Step 9 – Lead Generation/Marketing Plan Recognize what specific changes to your current plans are necessary to make in order to reach your goals.
Step 10 – Define Your Team Organizational Structure Understand the organizational structure of your team.
Step 11 – Development Plan Capture all of those things you have wanted to research, create, do, perfect, delegate and implement in your business.
Step 12 – Budgeting Review your expenses for the current year and include any new marketing and development changes.
Step 13 – Production Plan Create and monitor goals on a monthly basis in order to hit your production goals for the upcoming year.
SECTION D: Achieving Your Goals: How do I get there from here?
By breaking your large goals into smaller steps you will always know what you need to do next in order to keep working toward hitting your business and personal goals.
Step 14 - Creating a Master Project List Change your goals into “projects” to actively work on over the next twelve months, and from this create a “Master Project List.”
If you would like more information on how to do these fourteen steps and create a business and life plan for yourself that really will help you get to where you want to go, please check out my fourteen part eCourse at www.RealEstateBusinessPlanningGuide.com
Real Estate, Business and Life Coach Cheri Alguire has partnered with hundreds of Real Estate Professionals and Small Business Owners to help them become more successful in business and in life. Coach Cheri specializes in Group Coaching for Small Business Owners, Working Mothers, Real Estate Agents and Managers. Learn more at www.RealEstateBusinessResources.com and www.RealEstateBusinessPlanningGuide.com
RISMEDIA, August 28, 2007-If you have never been in this situation, you will be, so let’s get it over with. You’re in a seminar with a hundred other agents and brokers when the discussion leader asks, “How many of you have a business plan?”
A few hands go up.
“How many of you have a written business plan?”
Most of the up hands go down.
It doesn’t matter right now if your hand is up or down. The truth is that everyone is working on some kind of plan. In general, these plans can be grouped into three categories:
(a) A visual plan (the first group of hands that went up) (b) A written plan (the hands that remained up) (c) A plan by proxy (everyone else)
The Visual Plan
There are agents and brokers who have their goals and systems so clear in their minds that they don’t need them written down. These people are easy to identify, because every action they take is leading them toward some goal, and every move they make is efficient. They can tell you how many appointments they need to make in order to get a listing, and how may contacts they need to make in order to get an appointment. They are driven, intense and dedicated to their mission, but they never get tired or burnt out. If you ask a visual planner why they are doing a particular task, he or she would be able to connect that task in a reasonably linear fashion to a long-term objective like retirement, time freedom, business ownership, wealth or community service.
We all imagine ourselves in this category, because it sounds easy. However, successful business people with this kind of focus, knowledge and energy are rare.
Planning by Proxy
The most common type of plan is the proxy. To plan by proxy means that you give your power to another person. In other words, you look to your broker, your mentor, your loved ones or someone else’s plan for guidance.
Here are three reasons why you would plan by proxy:
(1) You have complete faith that your broker, your friends, your relatives and your competitors will see to your success (2) You are willing to leave your income to chance (3) You are willing to devote all of your waking hours to your business
Absent your own clear goals and objectives, you will naturally fall into activities and tasks that someone else determines. Marketing guru J.R. Ridinger, owner of Market America, says it like this: “If you are not working toward your own goals, then you are working toward those of someone else.”
The Written Plan
If you fancy yourself as a visual planner but you are suffering with time, money, health or relationship issues, then you might want to take a shot at a written plan. If the very thought of planning makes you shudder because a plan seems inflexible, irrelevant and difficult, then approach the process in a flexible, relevant and easy way. In fact, national real estate trainer Carla Cross sees the planning process as a key element of the plan.” The planning process is just as important as the plan itself,” says Cross. “The process gives you a way to think through your business.”
The first step in the process is to get to high ground. Turn off your cell phone, sit down with a journal and a pen and start writing a statement of intent. Write down what you want to achieve and why. Don’t worry about the number of listings you want to take or sales volume or awards or any other external objective. Take some time to get right down to the core of what you want. You might even try writing out your epitaph. Hopefully, it won’t look like this:
“Suzie was a real good real estate agent. She took two listings a week and never missed floor time.”
Once you have your ultimate goal in mind, let it go. Focus instead on the daily tasks-the things that you have control over, like the number of open houses that you will hold, how many people you will add to your database each week, how often you will touch base with your client base and what you will send or take or say. Don’t focus on outcomes-concentrate on the activities that will produce outcomes. That’s an important distinction.
“Too many new agents set a goal to get a dozen listings but don’t have any logical action steps to get there,” says Cross, who coaches agents on business planning.
Without a plan, our activities tend to be random. Bob Smith got a listing by advertising in the paper, so we take out an ad. A salesperson calls us and we buy into an Internet lead service or we put our name and face on hole #10 at the local public golf course for $250 a year. We knock on doors, we hand out cards, we hold open houses, we hold client appreciation parties, we create newsletters and we send out mass mailings. All of these can be good if done for the right reasons. These activities can also eat up all of your valuable time, and time is your most valuable and most limited resource.
In the end, whether your business plan is visual, written or adopted by proxy, it answers two basic questions:
(1) What am I doing? (2) Why?
Here’s an example: Let’s say you are scheduling an open house for Sunday morning. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”
If the answer is, “Because my broker told me to,” you might want to rethink your planning process. You are working on your broker’s plan.
If your answer is, “Because I am making contacts to build my database.” Ask again, “Why?”
“So that I have a database of 200 names by the end of the month.”
“Why?”
“Because I want 1,000 names in 90 days.”
“Why?”
“So that my business is based on referrals, Internet leads and follow-up.”
“Why?”
“So that I have more time to spend with my family and a steady stream of business.”
“Why?”
“So that I am making a six-figure income within two years without working 24/7.”
Keep asking the question, “Why?” until you get to the final answer, whatever that is. Perhaps you want to sell your business in five years so that you can spend all your time with your family and travel. Whatever the ultimate reason, every task should fit into the model. Even down time. Why are you relaxing right now? So that you can be more effective when you are working. Why are you golfing? To refresh your body and your mind. Why are you reading this? To become more effective and efficient with your time. Why? To reach your ultimate goal, whatever that is.
If your answers lead you to your own, personal mission in life, then you have a plan that will get you up in the morning, fire you up through the day and keep you going through the hard times. RE
Joe Cooke is an author, speaker and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in marketing and management. In addition to earning a master’s degree in Taxation and a law degree, he has held real estate licenses in both Washington State (as an agent) and Oregon (as a broker).
As a super small business owner, it is important to know your value. “Your value” is determined by what you have to offer the consumer. It is important to remember that consumer perception is consumer reality. Every business owner on the path of success must be able to answer the following question from a consumer’s point of view. (We all need to answer a version of this very basic question and answer it very, very well.) The question is: Why should a consumer work with you instead of another business or professional? Your answer should compel the consumer to select you, and keep the consumer from moving on to one of the next businesses.
As values drive your life purpose, 
