By Joeann Fossland
The 1st Quarter of 2008 is done. Tax Day has come and gone and you either filed or got an extension. Both of these events should have given you a reason to look at your numbers. How’s it all look? Are you on track? Is the money you are spending to build and keep business paying off for you? I hope you have taken a look at the numbers and know the answer to both of these questions.
The 1st Quarter of 2008: Are you on track?
By checking in at the end of each quarter, you can to make those important course corrections if you aren’t on track. Most people never do this. They set goals and then hope it all happens. To ensure you will end the year on target, the shifts you make along the way can make that crucial difference. Some corrections could be to re-examine the prospects you are targeting to see if they are the best prospects given conditions right now. Perhaps you need to add a farm area. Or see your previous clients or sphere of influence more often. Do you need to focus more on buyers or on listings in a higher range? Is it time to add consulting services or auctions to the ways you can serve the needs of today’s consumers. There are opportunities in every market.
Tax Day: Is the money you are spending to build and keep business paying off for you?
Between the first quarter reckoning and the information you can glean from your taxes, you should be well informed where the money is going. Don’t just pay your taxes….spend an afternoon looking at all of your expenses. Which gave you some verifiable business? NAR statistics show that over 80% of the average agent’s marketing dollars are spent in the media that give the lowest return (newspapers, magazines and direct mail). Do you know what brings you the best return? Can you leverage that and do more of it? Look at your business and determine what resulted in the buyer or seller using you?
The market is too competitive for most to survive as a “me too” REALTOR. You must use tools to Wow! them. You must offer services to differentiate you and to serve their needs in a way that will seal the deal for you. Make sure to explain why they will benefit from the service. For instance, when describing your PowerSite, don’t just tell them you will be creating a site just for their home, demonstrate what it will look like, explain how it will bring more traffic and what the benefits of having all the documents posted are. Many agents will give a list of the tools they use but never take the next step of explaining the benefit to the client.
To be successful in 2008, you must stay on top of your money and get very good at being an astute business person who knows where the results are coming from.
Joeann Fossland ePRO,GRI, PMN,
ePRO Certified Trainer, Master Certified Coach
Advantage Solutions Group: http://www.joeann.com/
Founder www.WebWomenGivingCircle.com
