You've
heard this before. You KNOW you should do it. But you don't do it. It's
not complicated and it's not painful and you can do it in one day. It costs nothing. And yet you still
don't do it. It can increase your income, lower your stress level and
give you a positive attitude. So why don't you do it???
I've been searching for the answer to that question for years. I started
training agents 24 years ago and the first thing I have always told them do
is write down a business plan. Prior to real estate I managed
government-funded programs and we couldn't get grants approved without a
business plan. Some of them were hundreds of pages and took a couple of
weeks to put together. We are fortunate that real estate doesn't require
anything that extensive. But it does require a basic plan including a
SCHEDULE, a BUDGET and MATERIALS. You can even start by simply writing
down all the things you can think of that you need to do and have for your
real estate business. Once you have your list you'll start to see how to
organize it into a basic plan. Here are
some ideas to help you get started:
Begin your business plan with 3 general sections: (1) Schedule, (2) Materials,
(3) Budget. Obviously, we will always need flexibility and we always need
to be revising as we learn what works and what doesn't. . When someone
appears in front of us needing our services, we take care of them first
and amend our schedules later. If a family has 3 days leave for house
hunting you will be doing little else for those 3 days. You can
re-schedule some activities and delegate others.
(A) SCHEDULE. You should have an annual, monthly, weekly and daily
schedule. Use whatever format is comfortable - computer, minder, wall
calendar, combination, etc.
Types of MONTHLY activities:
1. Mass mailings ( email or snail mail): to geographic or demographic
farms, past customers, circle of influence, prospects and suspects
2. Education: physically attending training sessions, online courses and
seminars, reading printed materials or listening to CDs
3. Ordering supplies: office supplies, marketing materials, sales and
listing materials
4. Follow-up phone calls (past customers &
referral sources)
5. Networking & meetings with other than real estate , Holding
seminars
Types of WEEKLY activities:
1. Visiting your geographic farm
2. Submitting ads
3. Updating your website
4. Updating buyers and sellers
5. Previewing new listings
6. Going on listing appointments
7. Meeting with new buyer "suspects"
8. Meeting with your staff or office or other support personnel
Types of Daily activities:
1. Reviewing MLS
2. Checking email
3. Reviewing
pending transactions
4. Returning phone calls
5. Exercising and eating nutritious and regular meals (don't laugh - this
is the least likely thing agents do on a daily basis!)
(B)
MATERIALS.
1. Promotional materials such as post cards, email
newsletters, brochures, business cards, calendars, magnets, FSBO &
expired materials; selling and listing folders with all required forms;
disclosure brochures, etc; listing materials such as yard signs
& riders, keysafes, brochure holders, listing presentation; relocation
materials; office supplies. Find a reliable and well-priced source for all
the materials you need and keep your inventory up-to-date. You should have
a "stash" of the the materials you use regularly ready to
"grab and go". Nothing makes you feel more stressed than having
to assemble or find the materials you need for the your next appointment -
in one hour. Your well-organized materials will give you the confidence
you need to do a professional job and will set you apart from all the
"winging-it" agents.
(3) Budget. You should be spending 10% or more of your gross income on
follow-up with past customers, self promotion (farming, etc.),
advertising, networking and associations and equipment. Be sure to track the business
you do for its source so you will know where best to spend your money.
We
all wish there were more hours in the day. But having a written business plan
is a sure way of finding a lot of extra hours and making them more
productive. So DO IT - just do it...today.