2017: What's Your Goal?
2:10 Minute Read.
It sucks to watch agents fail. I’ve heard too many times, “I guess I’m just not good at this business.” That’s simply not true. With decades of real estate experience, I have observed why agents get frustrated, burned out and eventually leave this industry. And all those failures have one common root.
Lack of planning.
Simply put, any agent who is unwilling to set and achieve small goals will never accomplish great success. But the opposite is also true – which is great news. If you are willing to commit to reasonable goals and activities, there is no limit to what you can accomplish. A career is like a road trip. No one sets out without a clear idea of the destination. I’m not suggesting that goal setting is a precise science. It requires evaluation and tweaking to fit your lifestyle. It’s an “OODA” loop. It requires continual Observation, Orientation, Decision and Action. The secret to making goals attainable is breaking each one down into smaller, easily managed actions that you can accomplish today. It will prevent you from aimlessly walking around a shopping mall when you know you should be spending your time more productively. Here’s a few thoughts about setting weekly, monthly, annual and life-long goals.
“Failure to plan is a plan for failure”
Lifelong Goals – I have three life long goals. They are all based on personal values. I want every client and agent I deal with to experience these three characteristics from me: honesty, care, and professionalism. These are worthy goals for anyone. And they have nothing to do with money. I learned a long time ago that a good name is more desirable than great riches. If you plan to be in business for the rest of your life, protect your reputation. It’s the guiding principle for everything else you do.
Annual Goals – Casting a vision for what you want to accomplish within the next year is also important for success. While income plays into this goal, it has more to do with how you plan to use the money you’ve earned. For example, the number of agents I plan to recruit, the communities we reach and the marketing systems that we are creating for agents are all a part of my annual goals.
Monthly Goals – We all pay our bills monthly so its appropriate to set monthly financial goals. Many agents struggle with this but its really quite simple (so says the accountant in me). You should know the answer to these three questions: 1) How much money do you need/want to earn each month? If you’re new to sales or budgeting, start out with a reasonable number. Don’t pick a lofty amount if you’ve never earned that much before. 2) What is the average commission you earn per sale? And 3) how many of your listing/buyer appointments turn into actual closings? Then, work the math. Trust the math. Math never lies. *Check out the example at the end of this post.
Weekly Goals – Should be based on activities that generate listing/buyer appointments. What activities do you need to engage in this week to generate more business? How are you reaching out to friends, your community, former clients and new contacts? What does your marketing plan need right now? What do you need to accomplish on social media this week? Are you talking to Expireds and FSBOs? Who are you connecting with? What appointments have you scheduled this week? If you accomplish your weekly tasks, your monthly financial goals will take care of themselves. If not, its time to re-evaluate which weekly tasks need to change.
If you really want more success in your career, set realistic, attainable goals. Some goals are financial while others are strategic. Make life long, annual, monthly and weekly goals. Take a moment and write down it down. Committing something to writing helps solidify it. Makes it real. It gives you something to measure your work by and holds you accountable. If you struggle with writing your goals, it may be a big red flag indicating you don’t really know what you want out of your real estate career – which is an entirely different post.
*For example, an agent wants to earn $5,000 per month or $60,000 this year. Their average commission is $5,000. That agent will need to close 12 transactions to accomplish that goal. ($60,000 / $5,000 = 12 closings) That agent converts about 50% of their appointments into clients. That means she’ll need to schedule 24 appointments this year to get her 12 closings. (12 closings / .50 conversion rate = 24 appointments) Or said in a different way, that agent will need to schedule 2 listing/buyers appointments each month to achieve her $5,000 per month or $60,000 annual goal.