Archive for Real Estate
The Mission: Inspire Your Agents to Create Great Plans
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It’s time to do your #business plan! So, my next blogs will focus on helping you create that business plan–and getting your agents to plan. I’ll include some of the planning templates, too, from my business planning program (see below).
The Mission Creates Excitement and Inspiration
Do your agents have mission statements as part of their business plans?
Why is having a mission important? How should it guide agents? You’ve heard the talks about finding your passion. But, you see your agents being over-whelmed in their careers. It’s just too much to think big when they’re just trying to find that house or convince a buyer to work with them!
The Importance of Your Mission
This time of year, we’re encouraging real estate professional to create their business plans.
Why? Because, otherwise, you don’t know whether or not the actions you decide to take will fulfill your mission. This is also true of your agents.Tackling and Bringing Down your Time Management Challenges
If agents have been in the sales business a little while, they’ve already discovered that their biggest challenge is time management. How can they get done in a business day everything that needs getting done? That’s where your mission comes in. Creating your mission helps you prioritize all the things you’re supposed to do. It helps you decide what not to do. Most important, it helps you figure out
how to put YOU into your management and sales business successfully
#Free Business Planning: I have a gift for you right now, to help you assist your agents in defining their missions (it works for leadership, too). Click here to get this planning tool, which is excerpted from my unique online resource Beyond the Basics of Business Planning.
How About Creating a Real Professional Strategic Plan this Year?
Ready to step up to a real strategic business plan? Here’s help to you and to your agents. The leadership program of Beyond the Basics of Business Planning gives managers guidance in how to get their agents to plan. It gives them a #course on business planning if they want to teach it to their agents. Or, Carla will teach your agents with 2 webinars. Your leadership tuition includes all your leadership planning documents and all the agent planning documents and webinars. Check it out here.
Put in the Inspiration and Your Agents will Make Business Plans
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Note: Through November and December, I’ll help you with your 2021 business plans. You’ll find free documents from my business planning system for owners. Subscribe to this blog so you won’t miss a thing.
How to get your agents to create business plans–and they’ll love it!
Let’s get real. Your agents aren’t motivated to build that business plan–and we aren’t either. We know we’re supposed to write business plans. Yet, if your agents 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 and your agents 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. 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.
Your Vision Drives Your End Game
What will people say about your business when you retire? That’s your vision. It’s really important for you, as a leader, to have a clear vision of your business. It’s just as important for your agents to have a vision.
Click here for a worksheet on vision. Inspire your agents to keep the end game in mind. Why are we doing what we are doing? In a later post, I’ll give you another tool to inspire your agents to a great plan–and you.
Business Planning: Don’t Start that Action Plan–Yet!!!
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Business planning! Don’t start that action plan yet. Answer the 10 questions below and you’ll know exactly what to put in your plan for 2021.
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 #business planning checklists, processes, samples, and systems--ready to use, too.
Big Mistake in Business Planning: Launching Right Into your Action Plan
The most common question I get when I’m teaching business planning is, “What should I do next year?” or “What should I put in my action plan?”
That’s like starting at the end of a piece of music and working backwards (I’m a musician….).
Managers: Coach to These 10 Questions to Help Your Agents Create Great Plans
In future blogs, we’ll investigate parts of the business planning process that must precede creating the action plan. Now, let’s look at the 10 questions we must answer from our businesses this past year so we can choose the right actions for 2021.
You can use this with your agents. Grab the document here.
Getting serious about business planning? I can help.
Beyond the Basics of Business Planning, my unique online program, will show you exactly how to construct a strategic plan that will work for you for 2021.
Agents: 14 documents and 2 webinars walk you right through the planning process
$149
Leadership: All agent documents and webinars, plus leadership documents and 3 webinars to help you convince your agents to plan and involve them in the planning process
$249
Purchase here and create an awesome strategic business plan for 2021.
Bonus: Free Business Plan Coaching
Purchase by Nov. 23 and Carla will provide coaching to your business plan in a small group; 3 Zoom sessions to help you finish that plan–one per week, starting on Nov. 23. She’ll answer questions, and explore new ideas. This is a $500 value, FREE to you when you invest in Carla’s strategic business planning system now.
Don’t Start your Business Plan Yet
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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 #business planning checklists, processes, samples, 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! That’s why creating a real #strategic business plan is so important now.
(See the complete process, templates, and samples in Beyond the Basics of Business Planning.)
Biggest Business Planning Mistake
Yes, we all want to know what to do next year to be more successful. So, we want to create effective action plans. That’s great. But, if we don’t take the step below first, we end up with
badly thought-out action plans
indecision as to what to do
The point is: Don’t try to start with the action plan. Start with the analysis of your business.
Why Business Analysis?
Here are the tools you’ll need in your #business planning toolkit, whether a manager or an agent:*
- 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.
Real estate leadership: Here’s the #strategic business planning process I created to put together a strategic business plan for your office or company. After working with this and companies for years, I was able to customize the thought process to address our major concerns. Grab it here.
Complimentary Business Planning Webinar
Complimentary Webinar
It’s been a chaotic, year, where our best laid plans have been tossed upside down. That’s why doing a fresh, creative business plan is so important right now.
Register here for How to Build the Best Business Plan Ever. (complimentary webinar).
You’ll gain:
- A new way to think through your business so you have a plan that works
- The missing planning step that assures your plan will work for you
- The biggest change to make to thrive in 2021
- Insights with 10 questions to answer BEFORE you commit to action
- The seven best recommendations to put in your plan
Included: Strategic business planning handouts and 2 bonuses for managers
When: November 16 (Monday) 1-2 PM Pacific Standard Time
Register now.
I created the only internationally published book for real estate agents on business planning, and I can help you build exceptional plans.
Make an ‘Intentional’ Business Plan Now
Posted by: | CommentsIn November and December, I’m featuring business planning. Why? Because we’re all told to make business plans. But, it’s estimated that only about 20% of leadership and less than that for agents–actually have plans.
What is ‘Intentional Planning’?
It’s making a behavioral-based action plan–which answers the questions What are you going to do?
When are you going to do it?
How are you going to go about it?
The Science Behind this Component
A study in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology conducted with 8000 participants found that intentional planning was the key factor in a successful habit change. This approach increased the chance of successful change by 50-80%!
The ‘Secret’ to Change
We regularly declare our intentions. But, we rarely get specific about them. When we’re not specific, we don’t have a roadmap to chart that change. We don’t know the actions to take. In order to change our intentions from ‘general’ and ‘philosophical’ to action-based, we need to answer these questions:
What
When
How–what shall we practice? How shall we do it?
The Reason Most Business Plans Fail
As a manager and trainer, I’ve seen all sorts of business plans. I’ve seen all sorts of business planning templates. Unfortunately, many plans stay in the ‘what’–the philosophical statements or just the numbers. Inferior templates encourage this flawed thought process. So, people blithely create these business plans, focusing only on the ‘what’, set them on the shelf, and continue doing exactly what they have been doing!!! So, they get the same results.
Fire Up Your Agents with Intentional Planning
Here’s how to use intentional planning to fire up your agents. I’m always looking for tips in motivating others (and myself). I found a great article from my personal trainer. It says that ‘intentional planning’ is the biggest component to obtain your goals.
My Business Planning System ‘Forces’ This Thought Process
Having used those flawed plans and having seen my agents and other managers fail with them, I built into my business planning system and templates the when and how. So, My system actually forces the user to think through the whole process–to get to the weekly/daily action plans that will help change their business habits for the better.
How Specific is YOUR Plan?
The acid test: Could I take your business plan, follow it, and see results? If it’s not that action-oriented, you can’t follow it either!
As Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth Real Estate Agent and the E-Myth Revisited, stated
The integration of your systems is your business plan.
Be sure the business planning system and templates you’re following direct your thinking from the ‘what’ to the when and the how. Now you’re cooking!
Managers: As you’re counseling your agents, be sure their plans get to ‘where the rubber meets the road’. Could you follow their plan–or is it just a series of numbers or high-fallutin’ statements?
Complimentary Business Planning Webinar
It’s been a chaotic, year, where our best laid plans have been tossed upside down. That’s why doing a fresh, creative business plan is so important right now.
Register here for How to Build the Best Business Plan Ever.
You’ll gain:
- A new way to think through your business so you have a plan that works
- The missing planning step that assures your plan will work for you
- The biggest change to make to thrive in 2021
- Insights with 10 questions to answer BEFORE you commit to action
- The seven best recommendations to put in your plan
Included: Strategic business planning handouts and 2 bonuses for managers
When: November 16 (Monday) 1-2 PM Pacific Standard Time
I created the only internationally published book for real estate agents on business planning, and I can help you and your agents build exceptional plans.
Behaviors that Successful Agents Exhibit
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What are behaviors that #successful agents exhibit? What are the #attributes of successful real estate agents?
Make your list here. Now, compare it to the behaviors I listed in my book I wrote to educate prospective real estate agents.
What They May Exhibit that will Assure Failure
It may be easier to make a list of the behaviors that assure someone won’t make money fast enough in our competitive, self-starting business:
- Never had a job until mid-twenties.
- Still lives at home.
- Doesn’t have to make a living.
- Has never taken initiative to try something new.
- Hates having to reach out to talk to people.
- Loves technology; fears people.
- Has had 7 jobs in 7 years.
- Doesn’t believe in having to learn from someone or be led.
- Gives up easily.
What should I add to that list?
How to Use this Information in the # Real Estate Interview Process
Are you familiar with behavior-based questions? They are questions that ask a person about his past behavior. Why? Because past behavior determines future behavior. (Not always, just 95% of the time. Do you like those odds?) I don’t mean that what someone does specifically determines she will do that again. This is what I mean:
As you listen to a person tell a story about his past, listen for themes that run through the story. For example: One of the behaviors good agents exhibit is tenacity. They just don’t give up. They accept rejection and keep going. If someone or something is difficult, they wade through it.
The question: Think of a time in your life when you thought of giving up–a time when you really wanted something, but getting it seemed difficult or out of reach. Describe what happened.
Don’t interrupt. Don’t ask another question. Just hum, agree, or probe. Find out all you can about that story. As you listen, ask yourself:
Does that person have enough ________________ to be a success in real estate?
Your turn. Look at my list of behaviors. What should I add?
I’m updating my book for prospective agents. Please help me create a book that’s different, insightful, and helpful to both the prospective agent and the manager/interviewer. Thank you!
What Should An Agent Know Before Committing to Real Estate?
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What should an agent know before committing to real estate as a career?
After interviewing dozens of would-be agents, I had compiled a stack of paper that I handed out to interviewees. I was trying to educate them so they could make a good career decision. One day, one of my recent recruits said, “You should put that in a book.” So, I did. Now, I’m creating a new edition of the book. I’ve renamed the book
Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Won’t Teach You in Pre-License School.
What should be in the book? What’s most important for that would-be agent to know? What mistakes do would-be agents make in choosing companies? What could I add to make
Saving Management Time
From all those interviews, I found I wasn’t really interviewing. I was educating. What could I include in the book that would save you interview time, and prepare the candidate for a real interview?
What misconceptions do would-be agents bring into the business that cause them to start slowly or fail?
Blast-Off for Launching Right
I’m planning on having the edits done by Dec. 1, so the eBook will be available a few weeks after that. Please add your experience and expertise so I know the contents will be useful to real estate managers.
Just leave me a comment and contribute to our industry. Thank you!
Covid: How Coaches have Been Affected–the Survey
Posted by: | CommentsRecently, Real Estate Bees, a real estate educational site, asked us coaches about our opinions and business as #COVID hit the industry and #real estate coaches. You may be surprised at some of the responses. It’s a pleasure to be named one of these #real estate industry experts –along with my cohorts on this site.
Here’s the article:
Covid Impact on Real Estate Coaches.
How has this business pivot affected your business?
How to Organize your Virtual Presentation for Greatest Impact
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How to Organize Your Virtual Presentation for Greatest Impact
You had three hours to give your presentation live. Now, you’re going to give that presentation #virtually. Not so fast. You just can’t keep them riveted to you online for three hours! You’ll need to take out the paring scissors and cut your presentation to under an hour. Why? Because that’s all the time you can expect people to stay focused on you. If you wonder if that’s true, ask attendees how long they can stay focused on an #online presentation? When I asked, 50% said ten minutes or less. So, give up on the long, tedious virtual presentations. That means you’ll have to do some re-organization before you turn on that camera.
Overall Organization that Works
I just read an article in Training magazine by one of my heroes, Bob Pike. Author of 30 books, and founder of an international training organization, Bob’s advice is always expert, practical, and proven. Here are some of the points he made to create effective #virtual presentations, along with my points and comments.
Compare Your Presentation
Right now, draw your online presentation organization.
Do you have an introduction? How long is it? (no more than two minutes)
Do you have a planned ending? Does it involve your participants?
How long are you talking before you involve your audience? Are you involving them at the beginning?
How many times do you #involve your audience within those 45 minutes? (at least every 4 minutes)
How varied are your #attendee activities? How are you keeping attendee attention during your virtual presentation?
Give Me Your Rating
How would you rate the presentations you’ve attended lately–on a scale of 1 to 10? Why?
What Magic Johnson Can Teach Us About Business–and Life
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I can’t do it. It’s someone else’s fault. If only….I’ll never be able to. I tried that once. It didn’t work. It won’t work for me. Give me (you fill in the blanks) or else I can’t succeed.
You’ve heard all these reasons why someone can’t succeed. (Makes me depressed just reading this list.) So, it’s refreshing to hear someone speak about how to succeed—with no excuses. I don’t mean that we all don’t at times need a hand up. But, those are the few times. They don’t become our mantra.
I just watched a video where a UPS executive interviewed Magic. Here are some of Magic’s insightful comments.Dream it First to Live It
At age 16, Magic was a janitor while in school. He would go sit in the CEO’s chair and pretend he was the CEO; giving orders, making decisions, acting like a CEO. He said he always wanted to be an entrepreneur, not just a basketball player. Look what happened.
What are you dreaming?
On Not Giving Up
As Magic transitioned from famous, successful pro basketball player to businessman, he thought his fame would magically open doors and make him successful. He found it opened doors (they all wanted to meet him), but, it didn’t get him the funding he needed to expand his business. He was turned down ten times before a bank took a chance on him.
How tenacious are you?
Network and Lead Generate and Learn
Magic wanted to find out what was important to prominent people. He got the list of Lakers season ticket holders, and called up to 50 a day. Many met with him, and several became investors with him.
Are you lead generating with tenacity?
Tailor to your Target
Magic was an early investor in Starbucks, and has over 125 Starbucks locations today. He met with Howard Schultz, the founder and then president, and told him he needed to tailor his Starbucks businesses to his clientele. You can imagine where Magic wanted to place his Starbucks. He told Mr. Schultz he didn’t want that music that was in most Starbucks stores. He wanted Michael Jackson, Beyonce, etc. He didn’t want scones. You get the picture.
Are you targeting your marketing to your audiences?
Hire and Work with the Best
Magic says, if you find great talent, you don’t need to micro-manage them. This comes from his experience as a basketball player.
Are you affiliating with the best? Do you need to ‘up your game’ interviewing?
Shine Your Light on Others to Succeed
As you help others succeed, you’ll succeed. Magic says his reason for being in business is to help others. He’s helped thousands of minority business people launch businesses. This comes, too, from his experience as a basketball player. His mentoring others resulted in more success for everyone.
Are you providing a hand up to qualified, determined talent?
Learn from Everyone
Magic believes everyone has something he can learn from. He values each person and seeks their contributions. He says he loves to learn and he’s constantly learning.
Are you learning from those you’re around?
Add Value
Magic believes the secret of business success is to add value. When he meets with someone, he thinks about how he can add value for that person.
Are you adding value to those you work with, coach, or teach?
Does your Interview Process Need Polishing?
Check out this system for selecting winners. Save time, money, and training. See it here.