UP AND RUNNING IN 30 DAYS: Real Estate Training and Coaching

How to Create a Great Opening for Effective Presentations

January 24th, 2020

Here’s how to create a great opening for effective Presentations

Do you have to get in front of 2 (or 200) and capture their attention immediately? If you’re an agent and you do buyer or seller presentations, you certainly do. And, if you’re in management, you do every time you start a sales meeting. You affiliates certainly have to quickly capture attention when you get in front of a sales meeting.

So, for all of you agents, managers, and affiliates, here are the secrets to getting their attention. This is how you launch ANY presentation any time you’re in front of people.

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Have you thought about how you start your presentations? Most of the time, we just get in front of people and say whatever we think of first. That leads to some big presentation mistakes, and costs us ‘sales’. Instead of stumbling through a presentation, why not organize it to grab their attention, persuade them to your way of thinking, and motivate them to action? You can.

In my resource, Knock Their Socks Off: Tips to Make Your Best Presentation Ever, I show a simple three-step format to create your persuasive presentation. No matter why you’re in front of people, we need to be

persuasive

Think about it. Real estate salespeople: When you’re doing a listing presentation, what do you want to happen? You want them to sign the listing agreement when you’re done. So, it’s extremely important that you organize your listing presentation using a persuasive format, not just an information-heavy dialogue flow.

In this blog, we’ll discuss great openings–one of the 2 most important parts of any presentation.

Grab Their Attention in the Opening

Have you thought about your opening? Or, are you nervously standing at the sellers’ door, worried about what you’re going to say? Are you hiding in your office because you dread doing that sales meeting? When we haven’t organized our presentation, we come up with some really boring, off-putting openings, like:

I won’t take much of your time, but

We have a lot to cover today (boy, that sounds exciting and motivating, doesn’t it?)

We won’t get through the outline/presentation (then, why do we have that outline?)

I know you don’t want to listen, but

I’m not really prepared (this happens in many presentations in front of 2 or 2000!)

You just open your presentation book, point to the pretty pages, and say, “here’s a keybox” (I’m not kidding. I’ve seen it….)

Great openings, yes? Yet, we’ve heard them dozens of times. You don’t have to settle for whatever comes ‘naturally’. Instead, make your openings

Provocative

Interesting

Different

Engaging

Motivating

The First Two Minutes are Critical

Recently, I attended a Train the Trainer’ session (yes, I still learn great stuff every day!), where the trainer said it was important to engage the audience in a meaningful way in the first two minutes of your presentation. I think that’s a great rule to follow today, because people’s attention spans are the length of a gnat’s eyebrow. So, the next time you attend a presentation, see how much time elapses before the speaker/presenter/trainer gets the audience into meaningful action. I don’t mean to ask a rhetorical question, either!

Want many more presentation tips for your next meeting, listing or buyer presentation, or sales presentation? Check out Knock Their Socks Off: Tips to Make your Best Presentation Ever.

In the next blog, we’ll talk about the other 2 parts of the presentation, and how to make them sizzle, too.

What mistakes have you seen presenters make in their openings? Let me know.

What do you do to grab their attention and interest in the first two minutes?

Let Me Help Your Trainers Refine Their Skills

I help associations and companies help their trainers become masters, try new methods, keep their audiences, awake, and become more creative. Contact me and we’ll talk about how I can help you.

Categories buyer presentation, Experienced agent, listing presentation, Marketing, New Real Estate Agents, presentation skills, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Sales Strategies
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If You Train: The Secret to Keeping their Attention AND Seeing Positive Change

by Carla Cross

January 17th, 2020

Are you rewarding the behaviors you want? And, if so, how?

In this series, I’ll be providing tips to trainers, managers, and coaches on how to get behavior change–in the most positive way. That’s the way to move people forward with confidence.

Whether you’re a trainer, a manager, or a coach, you want to see changes (for the better) in your ‘clients’. How can you accomplish that?

By catching someone doing something they should keep ‘in their repertoire’ and rewarding it.

One of the things I constantly hear as I train trainers nationally, or teach my Instructor Development Course, is that trainers want to be more engaging.

They want to keep their audience’s attention. I’ll be blogging about that during this series. Right now, I want to narrow this down and talk about one way to get and keep your audience’s attention–and it works to motivate anyone you’re working with:

Behavior that’s rewarded is repeated.

That’s the good news–and the bad news. Generally, when you compliment or reward someone for a good behavior, they will continue that behavior. But, in addition, people will repeat bad behaviors, too, if they are rewarded for them (the prisons are filled with people who demonstrate this truism).

Negative Nellies or Bash ‘Em Bobs?

To further complicate matters, some people were raised with negative reinforcement, and respond primarily to negative reinforcement (“you’re not good enough, you’ll never be able to do this, etc.”) These are the people who beat themselves up dozens of times in their heads for any mistake they make. In evaluations, they’re always hard on others. I had one of these people tell me, “You were great, but I only gave you 8 out of 10. I never give anyone a ’10.” Well, guess what, he is harder on himself that anyone else! That’s a tough way to live, but someone people always look at the dark side.

Accentuating the Positive

I don’t think, generally, that using negative reinforcement is a good strategy to employ, whether in or out of the classroom. So, I’m going to concentrate here on positive reinforcement, and specifically how to do it in the classroom.

Getting and Keeping Their Attention in the Classroom with Rewards

I just did an instructor update with the very capable instructors of the Realtors of South Central Kansas. One of the topics they requested was some strategies to get and keep the audience’s attention. Let’s zero in, then, on one surefire way to do that, and it’s quick and easy to implement. Not only does it keep people’s attention, it rewards them for those positive behaviors.

For example: What do you do, as an instructor, when someone does a great job in a role play you’ve set up? You reward that behavior. So, here’s the principle:

Use giveaways for great performance.

What do I mean? Here are some:

One of your favorite books (especially related to your topic)

A pamphlet or book you wrote (I have a small book, literally a ‘small book’ of Big Ideas, that is perfect for this. See it here.*

A CD or DVD

Starbucks card

Entry into a future seminar you’re giving/webinar, etc.

*I’m doing a presentation for Fidelity National Home Warranty Company next month, on how to present at sales meetings to grab people’s attention. So, guess what I’m going to be giving to the facilitators? You got it, the Small Book of Big Ideas!

You’ll Have Everyone’s Attention!

When you reward someone in front of others for a great performance, or being the leader of a group, or being reporter, you can be assured everyone will pay attention. You’re taking the spotlight off yourself and putting it on one of your audience members.

The big question: What are you doing with your students in the classroom that sets up an opportunity to provide positive reinforcement with rewards? (like role play, reporting, small group facilitation, etc.).

Remember, behavior that’s rewarded is repeated, and you’ll grab and keep their attention!

Categories action plan, inspiration, manager, Motivation, presentation skills, Real Estate Success, Training
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Are You ‘Coach able’?

by Carla Cross

January 9th, 2020

How coach able are you? (Not everyone is a good coaching prospect….).

This year, I’m featuring the myriad of ways we can all get better as ‘performers’. After all, real estate is a ‘performance art’, not a knowledge pursuit, rigit?

See below for my ‘coach ability’ evaluator’ to help you find out if you’re coach able.

Being coached by a competent coach is certainly one of the ways we all get better as performers.

Here are the two big attributes I’ve identified for coaching success, from my many years being coached (first as a musician and then as a real estate professional), and as a coach.

Do You Recognize Mentors or Coaches Who Partnered in your Success?

It is amazing to me how many real estate professionals say they ‘work alone’. They say they have nothing to do with anyone in their office, and impact no one. (Really? Our actions impact no one? That must mean we’re pretty insignificant…) While real estate success is certainly due to one’s efforts, to think that we are virtual ‘islands’ of knowledge and action is not only ludicrous—it’s dangerous. Before you fall for that ‘I alone am responsible for my success’, I have a question:

Who in your life mentored you, coached you, parented you, advised you, encouraged you—and set you straight when you needed it? How many people can you name? This can be positive or negative, too. We learn as much or more from a bad experience as a good one!

If you truly can’t name anyone, you don’t believe that others can help you ‘break through your ceiling of achievement’. Could that mean YOU don’t believe you can break through…..or that you have great fear of ‘being flexible’? Or, perhaps, that you can’t influence others?

How Accountable Are You Willing to Be?

This is actually the ‘biggie’. If you’re not willing to be accountable to your own actions—and to your coach—DON”T start a coaching relationship! I know many of you think accountability is a dirty word. It’s true that some coaches (sports, music, etc.) have accentuated the down side of accountability—being punitive, negative, critical…(There are a lot of inept coaches out there.)

No wonder people don’t want to be accountable if they think they will be punished for any wrong action (or inaction). But, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about a situation where you make a promise and keep it. In doing the promised action, you are guaranteed to get praise—and results.

The Natural Reticence to Answer to Anyone

I created an online training/coaching/accountability results-based program called Up and Running in Real Estate. I essentially put the principles and processes from my best-selling book Up and Running in 30 Days online. But, it’s now 8 weeks of planned actions—my business start- up plan step by step. I built in the parameters I have learned assure the greatest success:

• A coaching component
• Lots of encouragement
• Processes and systems that are ‘self-teaching’ and support the actions we want agents to take
• Accountability.

Guess what many participants do with the program? They do some of the work (they love the multiple choice tests) but don’t do the business-producing work. By their actions, they are not accountable to themselves or to their coaches. So, of course, they aren’t getting the results—and they can’t get appreciation and recognition—two big drivers to continue the motivation. How unfortunate!

My question to you: What times in your life have you been accountable to actions and to someone else—and enjoyed the experience? Are you running away from accountability because you haven’t experienced the ‘up’ side?

So, are you coach able?

Armed with the answers to the questions in this article, you can assess whether you will benefit from a coach. And, managers and coaches, you can help your potential client figure out whether she is a good candidate for coaching.

The Coach Ability Evaluator

I have been coached by the ‘best in the business, first as a musician and then as a real estate professional. I’ve learned what works. Because of my performance background, the coaching methods we use at Carla Cross Coaching are much different than most. From all these experiences, I’ve discovered who is coach able and who is not.

Click here to take my Coach Ability Evaluator.

Categories Coaching, Experienced agent, manager, mentor, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Training, Up and Running in Real Estate
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Got Your Business Plan Done? Here’s the System Plus Dozens of Tips

by Carla Cross

January 3rd, 2020

Got your business plan done? Why not get dozens of tips to polish (or start) that plan) by looking at the webinar I did a couple of weeks ago?

You’ll get guidelines to organize your whole plan, and you’ll get tips to assure that plan works for 2020!

Click here to see the video and get all the handouts, too. Happy New Year!

Categories Business Plan, database, expectations, Experienced agent, new agent business plan, New Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Technology, webinar
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Is Your Business Planning System Helping–or Hurting You?

by Carla Cross

December 18th, 2019

Is your business planning system helping–or hurting you?

In these blogs, I’m focusing on business planning, to help you get ready for a great 2020. Look for ready to use checklists, systems, and processes, in the blogs, too.

Everyone knows they need business plans. Yet, most people attempt to write a plan without a system–a guide–a map. If your business plan isn’t really a roadmap, it’s not doing you any favors!

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Here are some aspects to look for in your planning system.

Is it a System, or is It Just a Piece of Paper?

Be sure your business plan is a comprehensive, proven system, designed to take you through the necessary planning steps. Here are three areas you need to evaluate about a planning system before you start using it for your plan:

1. Customization. Is the plan customized and proven for your business? You need a system that is proven for real estate salespeople. See the end of this blog for a ‘flow chart’ of a complete listing system.

2. Specific analysis of your past selling history. Does your planning system give you direction in analyzing the most critical parts of your business in the past year? This is one area that most planning systems gloss over. Yet, it is the most important area for real estate professionals to assess. Knowing exactly what your business habits were–and the results of those habits–will lead you to make changes in your business, both in business habits and in budgeting.

For example: Do you know the ratio of your listings taken last year–to your listings sold–in normal market time? Most agents don’t. Why? Because they weren’t asked that question in their business planning systems.

3. Separates the “dollar-productive” activity portions of your business from the support portions. Many agents fail because they don’t do enough “dollar productive” activities, those activities that directly lead to sales and listings sold. That’s because the business plan system they’re using doesn’t differentiate between those activities and “support” activities. In her work nationally with real estate companies and agents, Carla Cross has analyzed hundreds’ of agents’ plans. She has found that the planning system itself, if it’s deficient, will lead the agent off-track.

All Activities are NOT Equal. Poor business planning systems are structured in a way that leads the agents to believe that all activities are equal in outcome. Not true. It all needs to start when the agent first starts the business. Up and Running in Real Esta te, Cross’s online business start-up plan and training program, has clearly prioritized activities, numbers, strategies, and dialogue. Agents shouldn’t ‘graduate’ to a long-term plan until they’ve mastered short-term planning. This program has a coaching component, too, so your manager can support your success.

Being critical of your planning system is really the first step in planning a successful year. You’ve made sure the system you’re using is going to lead you through a thought process that automatically creates a good business plan. Now, the only thing left to do is the implement your plan!

Click here to see the ‘flow chart’ of an effective business planning system.

Over a year in the business? Have you done over 8 transactions this last year? You need a comprehensive business planning system. Check out Beyond the Basics of Business Planning.

FREE! Want some free business planning help? Check out my recorded webinar at carlacross.com (just hit the ‘webinars and more’ button).

Categories action plan, Business Plan, Experienced agent, lead generation, manager, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Budget, real estate history, Real estate systems, Up and Running in Real Estate, webinar
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Business Planning: Do You Know Where You Spent Your $$$ Last Year?

by Carla Cross

December 7th, 2019

Do you where you spent your money last year? Knowing is critical to your NOT having empty pockets next year. In my upcoming webinar, I discuss the importance of 3 critical areas you must know to succeed next year. One of these areas is your budget.

Here are the surprising results of a study on how top agents spent their marketing dollars:

As you can see, agents spent their money NOT on the best sources of business, but on other sources.

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Why? Maybe because they thought these other sources were more interesting. Maybe they wanted to try something new. Maybe they didnt know where they had spent their money before, and just kept throwing it at these less-than-stellar sources.

So, be sure YOU know where your money went last year, and how big a bang you got for your buck. Now, youre ready to plan for 2020.

Join Me for a Complimentary Business Planning Webinar!

Whether you’ve been in business 20 years or 20 minutes, you need an awesome blueprint for a great 2020. Join us for this fast-paced webinar, where Carla Cross, who literally ‘wrote the book’ on real estate business planning, will help you do just that.

In this webinar, you’ll:

Get the blueprint the most successful agents and businesses use to create a plan that works. You don’t need a ‘fill in the blanks’ color by the numbers plan–you need a businessperson’s way to think through your business so you’re ready for anything that comes your way in 2020.

Gain the critical step usually left out in business planning–the step that can literally save your money and efforts from going down those dreaded planning ‘cul-de-sacs of frustration and failure

How to predict and project your 2020 results so you know your plan is going to work for you–not someone else!

Your gold mine right in front of you—and few agents are ‘mining’ it. You’ll save thousands in marketing dollars, lower your stress, and enjoy a much better business if you create the right action plan for 2020.

You’ll get some stunning and surprising statistics that will help you create the right actions for 2020, instead of guessing at what to do next.

Managers: You’ll gain tips on helping your agents plan–and how you can be a true support for their planning efforts. Just imagine what your profits would be like if every one of your agents had a workable plan?

Questions: You’ll have a chance to ask Carla your business planning questions, too. You’ll gain handouts from her business planning programs.

Space is limited, so register now! Let’s work together to create an exceptional 2020.

$$$$$$ 2 lucky people will win Carla’s complete business planning systems, too.

When: Dec. 12 (Thursday)

Time: 10-11 am, Pacific Standard Time (west coast)

What: Business planning webinar (join with your computer)

Register here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Categories accountability, Business Plan, Coaching, customer satisfaction, lead generation, Marketing, New Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success
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Inspect that Business Plan: Three Areas to Examine

by Carla Cross

December 5th, 2019

In these posts in November and December, I’ll be featuring business planning strategies. Watch for checklists, processes, and systems--ready to use, too. I want to help you create a great business plan for next year!

This post’s ‘gift’ is my after sale survey. See the link in the body of the blog.

Before you launch right into that business plan for next year, take a look back. Why? Your history will provide clues about how to save time and money for next year.

Here are three areas of your real estate career, that, with small adjustments, can pay huge dividends.

1. Where’s your money been going? It makes sense that the money you invest in your career should be giving you pay-offs equal to your investment. Unfortunately, many agents don’t know where they spent the bulk of their money last year. Go back over the past four months.

Add up the moneys you’ve spent to generate business in each of your ‘target markets’–those identifiable groups of people that you build programs around to get business (geographical farm, first-time buyers, etc.) Where are you spending most of your money? Are you getting a good enough ‘return on your investment’? You’ll use this analysis to build your budget for next year, too.

From working with agents in my business planning course, I’ve observed that

many agents don’t build a business plan around their best source of business: ‘sold’ customers and clients.

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Marketing surveys show that it costs six to nine times as much to get a new customer as to keep an old one. So, if you spend more money on your best source, and less on your other sources, you’ll optimize your investment.

2. What are your ‘success’ ratios? Most agents don’t know this one:

What are your ratios of listings taken to listings sold?

How many of your sellers are you making happy?

How many of those sellers are so delighted with your service that they will refer more people to you? In my opinion, a good agent should target a 80-90% success ratio in this area.

Why? We all know we need to promote ourselves. The most successful, believable promotions are based on our success records–what we’ve done, not promises. If you have a sign on your desk that says “If you don’t list, you don’t last”–tear it up. Instead, put up a sign that reads, “If your listings don’t sell, you don’t last. Small adjustments, big dividends. (Plus you’ll save lots of marketing dollars.)

3. How ‘delighted’ are your customers? Most so-called ‘business plans’ in real estate merely are goal-setting grids. Focusing only on the ends suggests that the ends justify the means. However, the consumer sure doesn’t think so! These goal setting grids alone lead agents to miss the point of the decade: Top-flight customer service begets more business. That is, not just what you do, but how you do it.

What level of customer service are you providing? Is it just good enough to get through the transaction? Or, is it so great that your customers and clients are thoroughly delighted? (Delighted consumers refer business to you–less cost and more effort equals big pay-offs, right?) What can you build into your business plan to assure that you’re regularly delighting those you work with?

One of the agents in featured in many of my books, Rick Franz, now provides surveys weekly during the time he works with buyers and sellers. He wants clients to know he cares how they feel about the service, and that he’s dedicated to providing the best service they’ve ever had. Pretty competitive, yes?

Click here to get my after sale survey, one of the dozens of strategies ready to use in my business planning system.

Although there are dozens of areas to scope in your plan, just taking one hour out of your day now to assess these three areas–and plan adjustments–will assure you make more money this year–and create a better, more pleasant long-term career.

Prepare for the 2020 Changes

You need a great, flexible business plan for these quickly-changing times. I’ve got it online for you. Check out Beyond the Basics of Business Planning. Everything you need to create a plan that ‘rolls with the punches’–and saves you time and money.

Categories Business Plan, Coaching, New Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, time management, Training, webinar
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Is 2020 the Year You’re Going to Get a Plan? (Or a better one….)

by Carla Cross

November 26th, 2019

Is 2020 the year you’re going to get a plan? It’s estimated only 10% of real estate agents have a business plan. Yet, almost all would admit that businesses operate much better with a plan. And, we’re in business for ourselves, right?

During November and December, I’m going to give you tips on business planning, plus, some business planning tempaltes from my business planning program (see below).

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Why Not Make 2020 the Year You Make a Great Plan…..

Whether you’ve never had a plan, or your plan sat on the shelf, all alone and orphaned through all of last year, why not decide to make 2020 the year you step up to a professional plan–a plan you use each day, week, month, and the whole year to

stay focused
stay on track
avoid wasting time
spend money wisely

Wouldn’t that make your professional life (and personal life) easier?

Help in Grabbing a Practical Plan–or Polishing your Planning Process

Each November and December, I feature business planning in my blogs (see Management in a Minute for planning tips for leadership). I want to give you information, and, most of all, motivate and inspire you to create a plan to serve as a practical road map to success in 2020.

Free Planning Documents for You, Too

In some of these blogs, I’ll be providing you planning tools, so you can have a proven process to follow. These are excerpted from my online ‘how to make a business plan’ programs, Beyond the Basics of Business Planning.

How to Get Ready to Plan

Right now, start thinking about what went right in your business this year, and what you want to change. See my previous blog, too, on what to analyze about your last year’s business. I’ll be offering you specific suggestions in my complimentary business planning webinar, coming up soon.

I want 2020 to be a year of growth and opportunity for you–a fulfilling year both professionally and personally.

Check Out the Easy Way to Plan Here

All these analysis tools for making your plan exceptional are all in one place–my online business planning program, Beyond the Basics of Business Planning. Take a look here. There’s a program for agents and a program for leadership. The leaderhship program includes the agents’ program, so you can share that with your whole office.

Also, check back to join my free busines planning webinar coming up in December (more later….).

Categories Business Plan, Experienced agent, goals, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, webinar
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Business Planning: The Analysis Tools You’ll Need

by Carla Cross

November 19th, 2019

Throughout November and December, I’m focusing my blogs on business planning, so you have plenty of information to create a great plan. Look for checklists, processes, and systems--ready to use, too.

Agents, managers, and trainers: If you’ve been in the business any length of time, you know how much more challenging this business is than it used to be! Yet, most of the information we are still getting is about day-to-day selling and managing. However, we’ve learned that

we can’t just keep completing tasks and get ahead. We know that, after we’ve conquered sales and management basic skills, we still have a whole group of skills to master. Those are called ‘business skills’,

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and they require as much dedication to master as do those sales and managing skills. One business skill is we need is analyzing your business.

Why Business Analysis?

If we don’t know where we’ve been, how can we decide on best strategies for the next year?

Here are the tools you’ll need in your business planning toolkit:*

Time analysis (watch my next blog for a questionnaire to analyze your time management)
Business plan activity review
Expense/budget review
Profit and loss statement review

1. Your time analysis. Do you have the analysis tools to see where your business is, and where you want to take it? With a time analysis tool, you can see what your priorities are. It’s amazing how many agents and managers have no idea where they spend the bulk of their time. Look at your schedule for the last week. Did you spend time in the areas that are most productive for you? If not, why not?

2. Business plan activity review tool. This allows you to capture the history of your business in a way that clarifies your direction. For example, does the tool you use ask you where you got your business last year? Does it ask you the percent of your listings you sold in normal market time? Managers, does your tool ask you the numbers of agents you interviewed, and your conversion rate? Find the tools that ask you the right questions.

3. The expense and budget review. How many agents have a budget? How many managers and owners? All businesspeople set budgets and review them. After all, it’s about profitability in a business, not productivity! At best, you want to use tools that are similar to the ones used by others at the same business level as you, so you can analyze like problems and solutions.

4. The profit and loss statement review. How many agents do you think have a profit and loss statement—and review it? I believe, less than 5%. Yet, if you don’t know where your money went, you can’t analyze its effectiveness. Use Quicken or Quickbooks to get a handle on your money.

Analyzing your business in these four areas gives you a great ‘handle’ on your business habits, your strengths, your challenges–and the areas you want to change for a more successful year next year.

*Grab All the Tools You’ll Need

All these analysis tools all in one place–my online business planning program, Beyond the Basics of Business Planning. Take a look here.

Categories Business Plan, New Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Success, Sales Strategies, time management
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How to Get Excited about your Business Plan (!)

by Carla Cross

November 7th, 2019

Is this you when you think about business planning? No wonder. Most times, the critical parts of the plan are left out–and you’re left with cold numbers.

Note: Through November and December, I’m going to help you with your 2020 business plans. You’ll find free documents from my business planning system for owners and an invitation to a complimentary webinar. Why not subscribe and be sure not to miss a thing?

Let’s get real. Your aren’t motivated to build that business plan. We know we’re supposed to write business plans. Yet, if you are like 95% of real estate professionals, doing that seems just like an exercise in futility. Most business plans don’t inspire.

Leaving Out the Magic?

There are components left out of most plans–components that put the inspiration and motivation into your plan and your agents’ plans. I’ll give you specific guidance for you to put that magic into business plans, so you are inspired every day to not only to complete the plan, but to use it as a very personalized and specific guide to your success.

Why Are Most Business Plans Useless?

Unfortunately, when most people write business plans, all they do is fill in some blanks with “guess” numbers. The problem here is that numbers in blanks aren’t inspiring. They aren’t motivating. They don’t call out and suggest to you that you should look at those numbers once in awhile!

What Really Motivates Us?

If numbers inspired us, we’d all be gazillionaires selling real estate.

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After all, we say we want to sell more homes than the average agent. We want to make more money than the average agent. You know the drill, and we’ve heard it from hundreds of agents hundreds of times. Yet, if numbers and money were motivators, our results would be different than they are. The fact is that money, in itself, is not a motivator.

It’s what we do with the money.

And that’s as individual as we are. Martin Luther King didn’t say, “I have a business plan.” He said, “I have a dream.” You must include the dream part–the emotional driver–of your future in your business plans to make that plan useful to you. To do that, include the three ‘missing’ parts of business plans that I describe below.

Building the ‘Why’ Into Your Business Plan

That’s the motivator. In other words, we have to have a big why. Most business plans don’t build in the why. So, they fall flat, and leave us cold. That’s why agents don’t want to go through the exercise of creating them. Managers always commiserate that they can’t get their agents to write business plans. You wouldn’t want to write a plan, either, if you know it wouldn’t help you with your business the next year.

The Tools to Find the ‘Why’

Most people think of business plans as projections of numbers. But, that’s not all there is to a real strategic plan. There are three parts of a business plan that provide that inspiration, that motivation. Those are the parts of the planning process that are most frequently left out:

our vision--why you’re in this business; how you see yourself after you retire
Your review–what happened in your business that will make an impact on your business in the future
Your mission–who are you in the business

In the next few blogs, I’ll show you how to create these parts of your business plan so you give yourself the inspiration and motivation you need to create and implement your plan.

Ready to create your plan? Take a look at my online business planning program, with all the guidance and forms you need: ***Beyond The Basics of Business Planning.***

Categories Business Plan, Experienced agent, mission, Real estate systems, vision
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Let Me Help Your Trainers Refine Their Skills

Is it a System, or is It Just a Piece of Paper?

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