Plotting the course

When setting the bigger goals you need to think more broadly than just the tasks to be completed to achieve the goal. You know, the lists of activities you check off with no result. For instance, a stated goal that you want to grow you area of influence and activity by 20 percent before the end of the calendar year. This is no small task and demands some thinking beyond, “I will just do more.” Do more, how? To obtain that kind of growth you need a plan that will touch on a number of approaches so that all the eggs are not in one basket. Postcards into the area, attending community meetings, sponsoring a community event, writing something for the local paper, creating some content to go on a community web site, phone calls, direct mail campaigns are all useful approaches. Going to industry meetings and meetings of interest to your community are also great ways to build your sphere of influence and your brand name. You should be doing some amount of all of this.  Use the social media tools, you can not do too much here.

In each of the approaches above you need to have a specific goal in mind and measure against that. I have an open house I am going to do this upcoming Sunday. I am going to go into feeder neighborhoods over the next couple of days and deliver postcards letting these families know there is a house that has a great price in a great neighborhood within a couple of miles of your home—come to the open house. My expectation is that I will draw some people in with this approach. But that is not enough; I need to do more. I will announce the Open House through MLS, I will make sure it is on the home’s website. I will place some Craig’s List ads on line with the details. As I get closer to the event I will drop more signs in the yards and begin to make calls to all the agents who had people through the house before. I will write a couple of blogs about the house and it’s values and benefits. All this is done with time and thought and a little bit of money, not a lot.

I will call agents who farm the area as well and ask them if they have anyone who might be interested. The more people I speak with, the more likely I am to find the person who wants this home for their own. It is a numbers game and if I am not building the numbers, then I am not doing the best job I can for my client and their home. It is as simple as that. If I do all I can I will be building the habits of successful people whether I have success with this upcoming Open House, or not. As a Realtor® we need to control all that we can control and leave the rest for the market to determine.  Pay attention to what you are getting and build your numbers for your goals this week.  You will feel good about yourself no matter what the outcome.  While you are at the work, here is a trick, imagine it all coming together just as you are planning.  This will give you a bounce in your step that will draw that result towards you.  Good luck, have fun.