Wow! Welcome to Q2. Three months of the new year have already flown by……And the next nine aren’t likely to slow down. So my question for you is… How are you doing? Have you achieved 25 percent of your 2021 goals yet? Are you on track? Or do you need to reevaluate your behaviors to catch up? Let’s examine these questions as a “progress report” and make sure you do what’s needed to achieve everything you set out to in 2021.
Appointments are the Lifeblood of Real Estate Success. Every real estate agent should know – and live by – this progression: Calls > Conversations > Appointments > Clients > Closings. Your 2021 business plan should have included how many of each of these you need to achieve your year-end goal. You also need to be tracking all these numbers on a daily basis. So get out your business plan, multiply your year-end target number by 0.25 and see where you’re at with your:
- Calls made
- Conversations
- Appointments booked
- Appointments won (turned the prospect into a client)
- Closings (break it down to sellers/buyers)
- Whether you like it or not, this business is all about prospecting and following up.
If you’re behind pace, follow the 5-5-4 plan every day. Make your calls until you’ve achieved:
- 5 conversations with people from your database
- 5 conversations with new people you’ve never talked to before
- 4 follow-up conversations
Here’s the thing: This stuff won’t happen if you just “hope” to get around to it. You’ve got to make it a priority. Schedule your prospecting block in your calendar and honor that time as sacred.
Now Let’s Talk Lead Generation. While we’re in the “review” mode, now it’s time to examine your lead generation efforts. Analyze each of your individual lead pillars to determine what’s working, what’s not, and what you can or should do about them.
- Are any methods excelling so much that you should double down on them?
- Can you identify pillars that are significantly underperforming or aren’t producing at all?
- What new lead pillars might you consider adding to your mix?
- How about social media: Are you sticking to a consistent posting schedule?
- Are you generating engagement with your posts? If not, how are you going to shake things up to drive engagement?
Finally, Examine Your Bottom Line. Your business plan should include line items such as total number of closed transactions, your GCI, expenses and your expected profits. Are you 25 percent of the way toward these goals? If you’re falling short of your GCI goal and feel like you’re already maxed out on time, you may be in the “stuck” category I wrote about a few weeks ago. If that’s the case, it’s time to invest in yourself by hiring help or outsourcing some of the admin work that’s keeping you “busy” but not “productive.” Are your expenses higher than you expected? How about transaction volume – are you above or below your target? Bottom line… are you on course to reach your profit goal for 2021, or do you need to rethink your behaviors?
What Do You Need to Succeed? In closing, I hope you found this helpful. If this was difficult for you, I’d encourage you to stop sticking your head in the sand and start confronting whatever is preventing you from achieving your goals. Tracking and measuring your numbers is what will keep you on pace for greatness, so make it a habit or find someone who will hold you accountable. Go get it in Q2 – with so much existing activity on top of the regular Spring market, it’s probably going to be crazy! Now is the time to put your head down and make things happen.
Strength and courage,
Wade
