What are your real estate business goals for 2020?

Procrastinate much? Here it is almost December and where’s next year’s business plan? We don’t mean to nag you, but – really – it’s time to at least get it penciled out.

Today we offer up some tips for getting those real estate business goals out of your head and into an actionable plan to get 2020 off to a roaring start.

And don’t, for one second, think you don’t need to map out your real estate business goals

The late Yogi Berra said some pretty funny stuff, much of it illogical, but here’s one you can bank on:

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

In the real estate biz, that “someplace else” is typically washed up and employed in another industry.

The annual tweaking of your business plan reminds you where you need to go so that you end up where you want to be, or at least close to it.

But what you calculated in year one may not be appropriate for year-whatever-you’re-in-now.

Experts recommend that we should review and update our business plans at least once a year, especially if you’ve added a new service to your buyer or seller offerings, expanded into areas you haven’t farmed previously and if your competition has changed.

Hello – iBuyers have jumped into the competition pool

It may just be time to shift strategy and if you update your plan now, the new strategy will be in place just in time for the spring real estate market.

Speaking of competition

“If any disruptive competition emerged on the market this year, it’s important to include how they are changing the industry you’re in, and what your company is doing to react,” suggests Meredith Galante at SquareUp.com.

Even if the iBuyers haven’t invaded your market yet, they will eventually. How will this impact your plan? Read up on some ideas we offer here and here.

Next steps

Take some time to reflect on 2019. Did you reach your real estate business goals? If not, figure out why and what needs to be changed so that by the end of 2020 you’re a goal slayer.

Outline the steps you need to take to realize those goals. This includes drilling down to the number of contacts you’ll need to make to get the number of clients you’ll need to make the GCI you want.

It’s all about real estate agent marketing

How will you generate new leads and nurture past clients for referrals? This is where deliberation of various marketing strategies comes into play.

If you’re on a tight budget, be very discriminating when it comes to digital marketing for real estate agents.

Choose with care which social media platforms you’ll use; which types of direct mail pieces will give more bang for the buck and decide if you really need to waste time with videos that nobody watches and emails nobody reads.

Amp up the power of your real estate website by making tweaks here and there that will help generate more and better organic traffic. We offer tips, here.

Consider staffing

Once you get clear on your 2020 real estate business goals and operating budget, see if you can squeeze in a staff member. It’s a proven fact that when agents hire a real estate assistant, whether it’s for general admin purposes, marketing or whatever, their income increases.

Virtual assistance is something for the budget-minded agent to consider. You’ll spend far less money and still free up time to do the most important aspect of your job: list and sell real estate.

Review your customer service plan

Don’t have one? If your customer service is perfect, don’t bother strategizing on this one. But we think it’s safe to say that most agents could use a boost in the customer service they provide.

Customer satisfaction translates to real estate client referrals, which translates to less time spent generating leads.

Figure out ways to improve your service. To do that requires knowing where you may be falling short. Consider emailing a survey to every client shortly after closing. Tell them you are looking at ways to improve your clients’ satisfaction – everyone loves to help.

As you know, real estate client satisfaction extends beyond the close. If you aren’t holding at least one client appreciation event per year, make 2020 the year you start. We offer tips, here.

The new year (and the spring market) will be here before you know it. Use the winter doldrums productively by tweaking your business plan.

Who says you can’t sell in the cold? Use these tips to generate winter seller leads over the holidays

 

How do you advertise during the holiday season? Here are some of the best ways to run ads in winter: