Active Rain Ambassador Paul McFadden has created a September contest, "What Have Your Learned About Growing Your Business?" There's still time to participate, so join in and share - we learn a lot from one another.
Since getting my license in 1996 and striking out on my own in the year 2000, there have been many changes, especially around technology and our use of it. I've changed, too, in how I run my business.
I've learned:
- Clients and potential clients want to hear from us. We're not bothering people by staying in touch. I've often received an email, or heard words like, "thank you for thinking of me" and "you've been so good about staying in touch all these years." It's not difficult to make a quick call or shoot a note to someone, letting them know about a house you saw that made you think of them, giving them info about a place similar to theirs that just sold. This summer I listed for sale 2 properties that I helped the owners purchase 8 and 9 years ago. I was honored they chose to work with me again, and it's good business.
- Creating and implementing systems brings peace of mind and make us more efficient. Make the templates for listings, for sales, for initial customer contact. Who enjoys waking up at 2:00 AM afraid that you forgot to place the home warranty on the sale that records in the morning, or neglected to put the 'for sale' sign up in time for tomorrow's open house?
- Treat your business as a business. It's essential to work ON your business as well as IN your business. Near the end of every year I spend 2 days to review the past year and make my plans for the upcoming year--what do I want to accomplish, and how will I achieve it? Each quarter I take one day (off-site is best for me, where I'm less distracted) to assess the prior quarter, adjust plans as necessary to stay on track, and plan the activities for the upcoming quarter. Each Sunday evening I review the past week, re-focusing and planning the week to come. Each day I track my progress and plan the next day. If you'd like copies of the weekly and daily forms I use, just send me an email. They might be helpful as starting points, to be massaged and changed to suit your particular needs.
With all the changes technology and experiences has brought, one of the things that remains timeless is: Never Cut Corners!
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