January comes and inevitably, goals and resolutions are thick in the air. Unfortunately, most of them are destined to fail and fade.
If you’ve ever said, “but this year will be different…” only to end up bogged down and discouraged as your daily tasks suck the life out of your good intentions…then you need an easy, step-by-step business plan — with all of the elements already in place to make your business a success.
It boils down to knowing which goals need to be set, and how you set them. No magical secret formula — just common sense applied to the business of real estate. But if you don’t feel like doing a bunch of number crunching — or trying to decipher annual projections — you can thank Smart Agents because we’ve done that for you.
History gives us an example of the real secret to success...each big journey is really a collection of little steps.
In 1911, getting to the South Pole was a big deal.
Two expeditions set out with that goal in mind. Both eventually make it, but only one team comes home. The successful expedition had a daily, consistent plan...to go twenty miles each day, regardless of their ability to go farther or faster. The journey — to and from — was broken down into those individual steps, enabling every man to complete the journey and return home.
The final destination is ultimately reached with small, daily advances…
How do you discover what your daily “twenty-mile-march” should consist of?
The answer is...Goals.
Sound simple? Of course, it does. We all have daily goals...sometimes it’s as basic as “get this exhausted body out of bed and to the coffee maker.”
Whether or not we have them in writing, goals really are a part of our everyday lives.
So, you already hold the key to your success.
Don’t downplay your ability to succeed by saying, “stuff works out for him because he’s got more money; she’s more disciplined; he has more charisma...” or “if I just had more time...”
YOU have everything you need: the ability to make goals. Now the important thing to know is:
How do we put that to work?
Set Your Yearly Goal
The old adage, “How do you eat an elephant?” is what’s at work here as you learn to operate your business with a “one-bite-at-a-time” mindset.
But before you can start that feast, you have to decide:
What’s my elephant?
Figuring out your elephant shouldn’t be a bunch of “guestimating” as you flail about grabbing at whatever numbers you think you might be able to succeed with in the next 12 months.
Don’t fall victim to the “Think Big, Dream Big, Shoot for the Stars” fairytale when determining your initial goal either. That’s responsible for failure more often than not since the “Big Dreamer” gets big-time frustrated when he’s realizing only minimal results, and his original plan is galaxies away.
No — what you need is a nice, “Goldilocks” kind of goal...not too big that you become frustrated and quit, (as statistics show most agents do, within the first twenty-four months of business!) and not so small that you aren’t really motivated or invested.
This “just-right” goal should be the one you start with, and then whittle down into daily, actionable pieces.
Get Your Goal Working!
Until you have a plan that you will follow through with, your goal is just an empty number.
In his bestselling book, "The One Thing," Gary Keller shares transformative, research-backed information when discussing how we should be looking at our daily To-Do’s;
“Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus...”
...Remember that elephant? It’s time to slice up your goal and create a new, entirely achievable and easily actionable business plan!
It’s Number-Crunching Time!
OK, sticking with the “just-right” mentality: How many homes do you want to sell in the coming year? (consider making your number a little bit of a stretch since you need to be inspired to work for it) Have a number? Good...
Now, subtract from that number from any sales that you won’t have to work to get, i.e.- sales coming from past clients and referrals...
Voila... that number is your new yearly sales goal, which you can now break down to create a daily plan!
Let me help you picture it for yourself.
Sally’s goal is to have 50 sales under her belt by this time next year.
She knows that she won’t need to market herself for at least fifteen of those sales, since they will come to her organically through past clients and referrals.
So, Sally now knows that in order to achieve her goal, she’ll need to work leads or plant seeds for
- 35 new sales this year.
- That’s three sales per month.
To get even more laser-focused, Sally wants to know how many listings she’ll need to stay on track...
- She takes the number of sales she needs per month (three)
- Then divides that by the percentage of listings that will sell, (75%) to come up with her monthly listing requirement, which in her case equals out to four listings per month.
It is a great benefit to know, specifically, the numbers you should be working with. It helps to keep you focused throughout your tasks and enables you to easily gauge your progress as you go.
So now that you (and Sally) have figured out your goal and how to break it down, you must now decide on your course of action...
The best way to find new clients.
Working Leads and Planting Seeds
Most people would agree that self-marketing can be a drag.
Worried about coming off as “that annoying salesperson” by pestering prospects, many agents stop short of any truly productive communication.
According to Emily Bauer of Propeller:
“80% of sales require five follow-ups after the initial contact,” but almost half of all salespeople give up after one.”
That means that only 8% (those who stick with it and reach out the prerequisite five times) are cleaning up with 80% of ALL the sales!
When you’re setting out to develop prospects and generate business, you need to go the extra mile and continue to reach out in order to nurture those leads all the way from contact to client.
Let’s start that process with...
Planting Seeds
Utilizing the Smart Agents books — we’ve worked out a general “plan of action” that’s guaranteed to land you some listings and create new business opportunities for you. It’s as simple as “planting seeds” in places like waiting rooms, restaurants and public buildings.
Smart Agents Books are the perfect “seeds” for you to sow.
Featuring a professional, knowledgeable and proven real estate agent- you- the book makes it easy for prospects to choose you.
At Smart Agents, we’ve compiled data from real-life results and discovered:
On average you’ll get one listing per month for every ten books you “plant.”
*Results may vary depending on skills, competition, listing presentation, etc.
Why use these books?
- You can utilize them for any type of home seller:
- Regular Sales
- Old Expireds
- FSBOs
- Foreclosures
- Inherited Properties
- The shelf life of a book is much longer than a regular business card — you can count on continued exposure over time.
- You can customize the cover — Send us a picture of your city, or purchase one from a stock photo provider, prospects will see that you are the expert in their area.
Use Your Book the Smart Agents Way:
Plant X number of books per day/week (depending on your goals), and then check on each book every two weeks.
Be committed to daily follow-ups, replant as necessary, then be prepared to reap a bountiful crop of new clients!
Real Life Results:
In Colorado, real-estate agent, Cindy, got 5 listings in 2.5 months just by placing the books in waiting rooms at hospitals, car dealerships, etc.
If you’re not busy planting seeds, you should be:
Working Leads
Follow the Smart Agents system, work your leads, and achieve your goals
FSBOs The Smart Agents Way:
*According to results, for every four FSBOs worked with this system, you’ll win one listing.
Want five? Add 20 FSBOs a month to your system. That’s working just one FSBO per workday!
Contact weekly for 12 weeks.
Send them the book.
Make all four of the following offers:
- See if you can raise the price
- Offer free pictures
- Show them your marketing plan
- Offer a No-Risk Listing
*Results may vary depending on skills, competition, listing presentation, etc.
Old Expired Listings The Smart Agents Way
*According to results, you’ll win one of every 20 old expireds you work with our system. 15% of folks who have an old expired listing still want to sell, and you can list about 50% of them!
- Cultivate 5 new leads per workday
- Call and ask if they want to sell
- Send them the book
- Contact weekly for 12 weeks
Continue to follow up until you make contact! - Reach out to five contacts per day
*Results may vary depending on skills, competition, listing presentation, etc.
Foreclosure/Auctions the Smart Agents Way
*Working 10 Foreclosure/Auctions (more than 60 days out) should win you one listing.
Want five? Work fifty Foreclosure/Auctions each month.
That’s cultivating just 2-3 new leads per workday!
- Contact weekly, 12 weeks (again — don’t give up until you’ve made contact!!!)
- Send them the book
- Knock on their door (sometimes face to face makes all the difference)
- Offer a Free Consultation
- Work 2-3 contacts daily
Be sure to follow up, since many will wait until the last minute.
*Results may vary depending on skills, competition, listing presentation, etc.
Inherited Properties the Smart Agents Way
*Work just 10 Inherited Properties this way and get one listing. Work fifty and win five!
How do you find them?
Get the leads from your local courthouse, then:
- Send your book to the Personal Representative
- Follow up until you contact them (persistence is key!)
- 2-3 Contacts per day.
*Results may vary depending on skills, competition, listing presentation, etc.
Now you know how to work smart and take your leads (and seeds) all the way from Contact to Client!
Let’s summarize that crazy awesome information:
- Set your goals for next year.
- Figure out how much will come from new business.
- Pick one strategy for new business (plant seeds or work leads).
- Break down your daily to-dos.
Good luck with your new Smart Agents strategy. We anticipate an amazing year ahead!
And don’t forget to break down your goals into small, daily tasks... not only will you stay motivated and on course — you will succeed in your real estate journey, one smart step at a time!
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