OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN 

October 6, 2006
Issue #4 

No, this month’s letter isn’t about Britney Spears greatest hits. Do I seem like the kind of guy who would be into that stuff? I’m more like the kind of guy who would be listening to no music and writing this from his island getaway on beautiful Beaver Island (I am now an official member of the Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce) but this isn’t about me, it’s about you.(Where have I heard that before?) So… What’s the point? 

Every year about this time, planning season arrives. Every year most people do the same things: either nothing or grudgingly fill out some form that is supplied for a plan or the really ambitious ones write a 45 page novella spelling out all the wonderful work they are going to do but don’t really intend to do. None of the above is a good course of action. 

Real estate has changed in the last year. Sales are not quite coming so easily. How are you going to generate sales next year? If you do the same things you did this year, chances are pretty good you are going to get the same results. For some people that might be OK, but for the majority, better results are needed. The starting point for better results is a plan. 

Your plan should be for you. It should be meaningful to you. The length and form are not important. It should be in writing. The more specific your plan is the better. 

What should your plan cover? Start analyzing your business from this year and last year. Where did you get your leads? Which leads turned into appointments? How many appointments did it take to get a listing, a sale? How many listings taken actually sold? What was your average sale price? Look for trends. Were you getting your leads from different places? Average sale price going up or down? Were your sales or listings bunched in one area? What are you good at? 

That analyzing is hard work. Real estate is hard work. Free time is good. Money is good. Analyzing the past gives you direction for the future. Goal = more free time and more money. Means to the goal = analyzing your past business and planning for future business. 

You’ve analyzed your past business, now what? Plan to spend more time with your best source of business. Think about what you can do to expand that source. If your sphere of influence is 150 people, try to expand it to 250. If past clients are your best source of business, figure out a way to get referrals. This is the easy part. 

To really get better results you should have three good sources of business. Cliché- "Don’t put all your eggs in one basket." Look at opportunities you haven’t pursued. What about a great web site? (Have I mentioned that I help improve agent web sites?) What about out-of-town owners? What about renters? Expireds? FSBO’s? Home Buyer or Home Seller Seminars? Joining Groups? Investors? Builders? Look around; see where others have had success. 

You can’t just say I’m going to pursue expireds. Write down the actions you are going to take. I’m going to call 5 per day. I am going to develop a special package for them, etc. Develop a system for tracking results. Figure out when you are going to review your progress and what you are going to do if things aren’t working out. 

A few final thoughts on this subject. Plan in fun time, education (address weaknesses, learn something new, or polish skills), how much you are going to invest in your business, and let someone else in on your plan so that you will be accountable to them. (Did I mention that I coach agents and that one of the key benefits of coaching is accountability?)  Finally, stop doing at least one thing you always do that produces no results. 

Don’t end up like Britney doing the same thing again. Take planning seriously; it really can make a difference. This newsletter just scratches the surface of the subject. On my web site, you can find 7 Steps for Guaranteed Real Estate Success and the Coachalizer© which are helpful for planning. 

Monthly Tech Tip

You are at a great site on the Internet, then you click on a link and can’t get back to the site you were on or you just want to have 2 or more sites or pages of the same site open at the same time. To accomplish this, all you have to do is click on File in the upper left hand corner of your Internet browser, click on New, then click on Window. You will have 2 copies of the same page open. Easy!