New Years is kind of an annoying holiday.  Everybody you meet, whether you know them or not, wants to know your resolutions for the upcoming year.  Then everybody jokes about how nobody keeps resolutions.  Then somebody throws in the smart aleck comment about how they resolve to not make any resolutions.

That being said, is your business ready for '08?  Chances are, your '07 may not have been your best with the "market slowdown."  I put that in quotations, because saying that the real estate market slowed in '07 is like saying it snowed in '07 (while I'm sure it did in some places, it may not have in others).  Personally, '07 was by far my best year in real estate...that's a bit misleading 'cause I just started in '04, but it was still my best year yet.  Why, and how will I keep that going in '08?

I firmly subscribed to 2 basic principles taught by my company.  First, lead with revenue.  In '05 and '06, I was a real estate vendors dream.  Every sales pitch that came to our office meetings, every "can't miss" opportunity that was emailed to me, every get rich quick seminar that came to town, I was on it.  "If you just make one sale, this program will pay for itself" was like the song of the Sirens to me.  In '06, all I had to do was make 129 sales and all the gizmos and programs I bought would have paid for themselves.  No more.  Now I lead with revenue.  If I haven't already made the sale to pay for it, I don't buy it.  That's helpful for two reasons.  1) I have the money.  2) After making the sale to pay for the gizmo, I usually realize that I don't need the gizmo to make the sale.

The second principle that I subscribed to in '07 was that education is key.  Keller Williams doesn't try to hide the fact that they are a training and education company disguised as a real estate brokerage.  I am embarassed when I think back on the second rate, rah-rah sales pitch "training seminars" I paid $100's for in the past.  The free on-line training at KWU far surpasses the junk I was fed at these seminars, and it's free so it fit with my lead with revenue bit.  The travelling MREA classes (if you're not a KW agent, feel free to ask and I'll fill you in on our annoying amount of "Kellerisms"), ranging anywhere from free to $149, are also priceless.  Most recently I attended the business planning clinic here in Tacoma (taught by Jeff Sutherlin from AZ) and I am just plain excited for my '08.  Imagine that, my company helped me set up a plan, a map, a guide to get me to where I want to go!

I even took much of the info and taught "Know your Numbers" to my market center (Gig Harbor) and Tacoma's Market Center.  Knowing your numbers is key, and I am amazed at how many real estate professionals don't even know what numbers they should know, much less what those numbers are.  Before any non-KW agents think I'm pitching a company here, or dissing other companies, let me remind you that all MREA classes taught by KW are open to anybody, not just KW agents.  Feel free to ask and I'll send you a calendar.  KWU is exclusive to KW agents, but several other educational websites that Gary Keller hosts are open to everyone. 

So are you ready for '08?  Do you know your numbers?  Do you know what numbers are important to know?  I love this industry.  I love my career and my business.  I'm a numbers geek and I love stats.  I resolve to follow my business plan in '08, to take the necessary education to reach my numbers, and to make '08 even better than '07.  Happy sales to you and Happy New Year!