End of Quarter Business Tasks (AKA: Dotting Your i's and
Crossing Your t's)!
End
of Quarter Business Tasks
(AKA: Dotting Your i's
and Crossing Your t's)!
It's
that time again--time
to
take a moment to prepare for the last half of the year!
2008 Q2 is over and it's time to perform those end of quarter
business tasks (AKA dotting your i's and crossing your t's)!
I always find myself at the end of every quarter wondering what
happened to the last 90 days! I haven't kept my stats as I
should as I can't seem to get to everything that I want to do
to keep my business in tip-top form! Now, more than EVER,
this practice is essential to the growth of your business.
So, set your
goals and tweak them to increase your success. Be ready to
simply read and analyze your statistics at the end of the month by
doing the following:
1. First and foremost, office
organization will help you in the long-run!
Even if all of your stats are online, your receipts are likely stuck in
several drawers or stacks on your desk. File them away,
keeping tabs of each and every one of them. Organize your
client folders--file them in an organized (alphabetized) fashion.
2. What is your
marketing ROI?
Keep up with your marketing
expenses. If you haven't been diligent in
keeping up with these, pull them all together and create a spreadsheet
with each marketing expenditure. I use an Excel spreadsheet
and, believe me, I didn't design an elaborate one; all you do
need to know is the cost of each item and it's return to your
business. What was the response from the marketing
item? Is it something that is worth repeating next quarter? I
could go on and on about print vs. online but, just remember this
age-old advertising fact: If the publication is produced each
week, then you have a 7-day life, monthly = 30-day life. I
can tell you that in the last four quarters, my marketing online has
served my business FAR more than any print that I have used.
And I mean FAR better!
3. Be certain that
your sphere of
influence
is up-to-date. Are you keeping up with new
addresses, emails and phone numbers? 4.
Have you signed up for that civic organization?
This is a great source for contacts but, most
importantly, it allows YOU to give back to YOUR community and
learn even more about the community that you're trying to
sell. Rotary International is the organization that I
participate in and I simply LOVE it! The dues are money
WELL-spent and the satisfaction that I get from being able to
participate in such a fine organization is better than anything I've
ever done community-wise.
5.
Your CPA will love you if you use Quicken and have all
of your commissions
tallied according to property sales and dates
received/deposited. It's so much easier than having
to add them at the end of the quarter.
6.
Wrap up those quarterly
taxes since everything is already posted--right?
7. Client checklist:
Are you keeping up with everyone on your SOI list? Following
a mailing (snail-mail or email),
what
type of responses are you receiving from them?
8.
Designations:
Have you started that class? Better to do it
now! You WILL learn something in these classes that will
better serve your business.
9. How's that website working for
you?! Are you getting the return on your investment (not only
money but, time)? Tweak it or hire someone to do that for
you! Compare your website returns with your other means of
advertising. Remember
the spreadsheet?!
10.Review your business plan.
Do as I
SAY, not as I DO! We should be reviewing it on a
weekly basis and make the necessary adjustments so that we're not completely
off at the end of the quarter (or year, for that matter)!
Remember:
It's much easier to catch up one or two quarters (bite my
tongue) than at the end of the year!
About the
author:
Debe
Maxwell is a Charlotte Residential Real Estate Broker, Certified
Neighborhood and Relocation Specialist who can assist you with the
purchase and/or sale of real estate in Charlotte, NC or any place in
the country by connecting you with a relocation professional in your
destination of choice. Debe has created a team of professionals
throughout the country to ensure that you enjoy a
smooth transition to your new area. These professionals are experts in
the field of relocation and can serve many purposes beyond a simple
home search. The destination service is of no cost to you! Please visit
www.TheMaxwellHouseGroup.com
for your relocation and/or your local needs.
Debe Maxwell- HELEN
ADAMS REALTY - 704.491.3310 - Debe@DebeMaxwell.com
Copyright
© 2008 By Debe Maxwell, All Rights Reserved.. *End of Quarter Business Tasks
(AKA: Dotting Your i's
and Crossing Your t's)!!*
Debe Maxwell
;)
;)
Thanks! it is evedent that you are no ordinary Realtor. Your outline shows organization and organization leads to success. Thanks again the post!