Jef Conn

By Jef Conn

The end of 2018 is drawing near, so if you haven’t yet written your business plan for 2019, now is the time. Don’t worry if you’re reading this after January 1, you can start today and plan the rest of your year. Let’s keep it simple and plan your 2019 business in five easy steps.

Step 1: Set an Income Goal

How much money do you want to make in 2019? Write it down. It’s okay to push yourself here; stretch yourself to do more in 2019 than you did in 2018. For example, let’s say your income was $60,000 in 2018. Then let’s make your 2019 goal $75,000. You can do it if you follow the next steps and stick to your plan.

@rawpixel, 2018. pixabay.com

Step 2: Set a Number of Closed Sales Goal

Look at 2018 and prior years (if you have them) and see how many closings you had. Push yourself to do more in 2019 than you did in 2018. Example: If you sold 20 homes in 2018, then set your goal for 25 closings this year. You can do it. Let’s use 25 for example purposes in the next steps.

Step 3: Determine an Average Sales Price/Commission Goal

How much should you make on each sale, on average, in order to meet your previous two goals? With goals of making $75,000 and helping clients buy and sell 25 homes in 2019, you need to take home an average of $3,000 on each sale. That’s completely doable. In fact, you can do more!

Step 4: Figure Out Your Appointments Goal

If you’ve been in the business a while, you might know how many appointments (listing appoints, showings, consultations, etc.) you need to have each week to get a deal done. If you don’t, that’s alright, you can start tracking that in 2019 so you’ll have more accurate data when you plan for 2020. As the saying goes, “What gets measured, improves.” If you’re new to the real estate industry or are just starting to track your business, ask your broker, a mentor, or a teammate for assistance. They may be able to help guide you on determining an accurate number. It’s alright if it’s not 100 percent perfect. That’s not the goal. Just get as close as possible. Let’s say you need four appointments for every deal, and you want to close 25 deals this year, this means you need 100 appointments this year. Breaking that down, that’s a little more than two appointments set per week. Those are some manageable numbers!

Step 5: Write It All Down

Your goal statement can be as simple as, “In 2019, I will set two to three appointments each week in order to sell 25 homes, while averaging at least $3,000 in commission per transaction, for a total income goal of $75,000.” Write it down and build your daily, weekly, and monthly prospecting activities around that.

That’s the type of plan you should focus on in 2019. Read these simple steps every week and review your  goals on a regular basis to motivate yourself to keep going.

Bonus ideas:

If you thrive on a little more detail, go for it. You decide how much information to put into your plan. My plan tends to have a few specific, actionable items to keep my business growing. Here’s a sample list of some of the items I have in my 2019 business plan:

• Email marketing twice a week.
• Spend two hours on prospecting for new business daily.
• Social media calendar – schedule 20 posts per month.
• Video marketing – create one weekly video about my market.
• Giving back – planned donations to my charities of choice. (You will be successful in 2019, so make sure you give back to the community that supports you.)
• Read 20 business books this year.

Accountability:

If you do better when other people check in on you, share your 2019 business plan with an industry peer, family member, or other colleagues. Ask them keep you accountable. If you do better alone, that’s okay, too. Just make sure you review this business plan often (weekly is great).

You can make 2019 your best year in business yet! It’s up to you to plan your success and follow through on it. If you find yourself not reaching your goals in the middle of the year, don’t stress. Take a deep breath, review your goals once again, and get back on track to finish out the year strong.

Jef Conn, CCIM, SIOR, is a commercial agent specializing in industrial, office, and investment properties with Coldwell Banker Commercial in Lubbock, Texas. Jef  served as the 2017 president of his local association and currently serves as Region 1 vice president and executive board member for Texas REALTORS®. Connect with Jef on LinkedIn or via email: JConn@CBCWorldwide.com