Why you need a business plan
A well thought-out annual business plan is key to building a successful real estate career. After all, you can’t reach your destination if you don’t have a map. Watch as Locations Coach Atau Sakuma shares the benefits of thorough business planning and complimentary coaching to help you get to where you want to go.
What to include in your business plan
With your goal board as a starting point, an effective business plan should include:
- Your annual budget
- Lead-generation strategies or “pillars” you want to focus on
- Real estate activities you’ll need to do to support those pillars
Want to take your business plan a step further? Locations encourages agents to take into account the following when business planning:
- Digital engagement goals (e.g., how many clients are using your mobile app or have signed up to receive monthly emails from you?)
- Skills you want to improve
How to determine your budget
If you’re not tracking your income and your expenses, you might be spending more than you’re taking in. We’ve created an online budgeting tool made just for Locations agents to help them get a better handle on their spending. However, a simple Excel spreadsheet works, too.
You’ll want to subtract your fixed costs (like Realtor® dues, taxes and E&O insurance), as well as your personal expenses (like health insurance, mortgage, retirement savings and vacation fund), from your income to see if you’re just getting by or if you’re meeting your goals.
Download our sample agent budget.
Set yourself up for success
Did you know that about one in 40 real estate conversations will lead to a transaction? With that stat mind, an agent who’s aiming for 20 sales a year will need to have 800 conversations a year! Don’t assume that those conversations will just happen. Build those opportunities—from phone calls to lunches to client parties—into your business plan and your budget.
Ask yourself: Where does my business come from? And how can I add even more business next year? Fortunately, when it comes to lead-generation strategies, “more” and “new” aren’t necessarily better. According to Atau, agents should have at least two solid strategies, or pillars, on which to support their business—but don’t pick so many that you’re not able to keep up with them all.
Your pillars could include:
- Farming
- Online leads
- Open house
- Referrals
- Social media
Activities that support your pillars
Whichever pillars you choose, you’ll need to plan for the activities that will help you to achieve your overall goals. In addition to budgeting for material items, remember to account for coaching and professional development costs, if these services are not offered by your firm.
Real estate activities could include:
- Client/prospect lunches
- Consistent CRM use
- Join a community or non-profit organization
- Pop-bys
- Networking
- Newsletters
- Sit open houses
- Real estate reviews
With clear goals in mind, a good estimate of your annual income and expenses, and a list of the strategies and activities you want to apply, your business plan is the blueprint to building your most successful year in real estate yet!
Ready to take your business to the next level? Do you have a solid plan of how to get there, and will you have enough time and money budgeted to reach your goals? Locations’ complimentary coaching can help—contact us today, and let’s make a plan!
