Competence, Referrals and Health
Three Goals for 2018, and Beyond
Debbie Reynolds encouraged us to share 3 goals we have for the year and talk about how or why we chose them, why they are important, how we will track them and so on. I gave it a lot of thought before committing to a post, not because there were no goals but more about what I wanted to share.
Goal #1 – My Health
In my mind this is really the most important, no matter what the other goals are, since without good health the other stuff pales in comparison. And while none of us know how long we have on this earth, not taking good care of your health could certainly hasten that departure, or at least make life hard to enjoy along the way.
As I’ve gotten older the concerns about good health have escalated, and more little issues, and some bigger ones, have cropped up. I have always been in good health, and overall still am, but there are matters that were not around a few years ago, other than my bad back which is decades old (pain is managed pretty well with regular chiropractor visits).
I get a physical every year, which typically is fine, and ongoing blood tests to monitor cholesterol and my thyroid level (following a removal of one lobe and a cancer scare a couple of years ago) are a continuing reminder about trying to stay as healthy as possible. Bt sometimes stuff happens no matter how healthy a life style you try to lead!
In terms of my goal, I plan to continuing to eat well (and yes, I will likely continue to eat sweets in moderation – sorry Barbara Todaro ), with lots of vegetables and fruits, and trying to eat as much organic as possible. I rarely eat red meat but am not vegetarian. I monitor my weight and with plans to exercise more than I have been hope to shed a few pounds where I have gotten softer.
I’ll continue with regular primary doctor visits as needed, and others if necessary, and will maintain the stretching I try to do and my chiropractor sessions to manage my back and neck issues and pain.
Goal #2: Competence
As part of my planning this year I selected “competence” as a focus.
The goal is to continue striving to be as competent as possible in my real estate business, by learning new things continually, including here on ActiveRain, to learn from mistakes (and avoid them whenever I can), understanding the market, improving my marketing (along with making some key decisions about what to do and not do that is in the works), to get better at converting Internet leads, among other things.
There really is no specific end goal to reach as far as competence is concerned. For me it’s a continual striving to be as good as possible, and being honest about the things I need to improve on or learn more about. In addition to adding to my knowledge base my goal is to get better at managing those pesky personal habits that sometimes get in the way…procrastinating, not saying “no” when I should…and prevent me from being my best, personally as well as in my business.
Goal #3: Referral Business
My third goal is to continue working on growing my referral business with, hopefully, a greater percentage of business coming from clients, vendors, and agents I know (CRS, ActiveRain, and others) and even those I don’t know but who know or find me.
The percentage of my business that comes from referrals, not including repeat clients, varies from year to year – in 2016 other than repeat clients it was 100%, but typically it ranges from 30% - 50%.
I’d like to consistently be in the 50%+ range every year (and of course continue to have repeat business each year). I also get some referrals that don’t end up buying or selling for a variety of reasons, and I would like to improve on my success rate where I can. But with some referrals sometimes there is nothing I can do, or it can take a long time, even years.
I track where all my business comes from so it’s easy to tell if a buyer or seller is a referral, and who referred them – agent, client, vendor. But I also am focused on building my referral base, for in-bound as well as out-bound referrals. I love incoming referrals but like to share as many going out as I can, too! Here are a few things I am doing...
Staying in touch with clients as much as possible – more cards, calls, personal meetings, emails, etc. this year
Reminding clients about my referral business when appropriate
Adding to my database of agents I know and who know me here on ActiveRain
Growing my CRS connections through volunteerism, attending local and national meetings (like the CSR Sellabration in Dallas) and meeting as many agents from around the country as I can
It will be interesting to look at and reflect on these goals each month this year to see where things are, and make tweaks as needed.
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