New Year's resolutions. Yuck! You set them. Then for most people before January even ends, you have already broken them. I have never been one for making these resolutions. If you are in the real estate business, then you need to be doing what normal business people do.
Treat your business LIKE A BUSINESS. Take the slow time during the winter months to work on your budgets. Figure out what is and is not working. Then set some goals, both long-term and short-term for your business. Develop a strategic plan of action to make those goals happen. I call mine a strategic business plan, and I make sure to review and re-develop it at least once every quarter.
Maybe that is all a little too deep for your average real estate person, but it should not be. So here are a few tips on developing and then achieving your goals.
Just remember the acronym S.M.A.R.T. Your goals need to be:
(1) Specific. Clearly defined and written. If a goal is too vague, it becomes too hard to measure and plan for. If it is not in writing, then you probably are not serious about it anyway.
(2) Measurable. You need to have some way to determine how close you are to achieving your goal. That way you can make changes as necessary to continue moving forward.
(3) Attainable. A goal needs to be worthy of the time, effort, and expense involved to attain it. It needs to be something that you can thrust yourself into so that you are motivated to get it accomplished as scheduled.
(4) Realistic. A goal needs to be just out of reach but not out of sight. If the goal is too simple to accomplish, you just need to do it and get it out of the way. If the goal is too difficult to accomplish, you need to break it down into smaller goals.
(5) Timely and tangible. A goal needs a specific deadline to be accomplished by. This creates a sense of urgency to get it done.
Break your goals down into the smallest denominator that you can. If you have never sold or bought a house before, then selling 50 houses in 2011 might be unrealistic. However if you want to sell 50 houses in 2011, then that means just over 4 houses selling every month. If your ratio of converting listings/prospects into a closing is 1 out of 3, then you need to be working on 12 solid leads every month to get 4 to close. If 4 out of 5 leads are not good prospects, then you need to generate 60 property leads every month (or 15 per week / 3 per business day) in order to get 12 solid leads in order to get 4 to close. The numbers above are just for example, but hopefully you get the drift.
I spend approximately 30 minutes every Sunday evening planning out my upcoming week. This helps me get a jump start on Monday morning. On the last Sunday of every month, I spend another 30 minutes or so setting my goals and plans for the upcoming month; I base these monthly goals on my yearly and longer-term goals for myself and my business. Additionally every day before I close up shop, I spend about 10 minutes writing up a to-do list for the next day. I am not a morning person, so if I do not do this I would end up spending 2 hours the next morning floundering around figuring out what I need to do. Time management software like Microsoft Outlook can make keeping you on track very easy to do.
Regardless of what plans you have for the New Year, set a few goals. Even if you only accomplish half of what you set out to do, that puts you way ahead of where you would have been otherwise. I hope that 2011 brings you a fantastic and prosperous year. If you need help or advice with getting your real estate career on track, feel free to contact me.
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