In December, I’m doing blogs on business planning. Check often for complimentary forms and training.
Do you have a business plan for next year? Is it in a format that I could actually follow if you delegated running the company to me? I doubt over 5% of the brokers could answer that question a�?yesa��. Yet, we all talk about the importance of a business plan. In my earlier blog, I discussed points 1-5. Here are next five of ten critical points you must have in your business plan to make it a plan that actually works for you, not just a thesis that looks important on the shelf!
6. Create a robust recruiting plan.
Create a recruiting plan that you can actually follow! I mentioned having a plan for each of the focused areas above, and I mention recruiting again because so few managers have defined, easy to follow recruiting plans. No wonder they put off recruiting because theya��re a�?too busya��! Yet, consistent, tenacious recruiting is the basis for profitability.
7. Don’t stop at the goals; get to the activities.
Break down the goals into activities and measure the activities. For example, break down recruiting results to numbers of recruiting calls, appointments, and hires. Then, you can analyze your time management and optimize your time.
Click here for a checklist of what you need in your recruiting strategy.
8. Put deadlines to all your action plans to hold yourself accountable.
Put deadline dates in your activities and put them on your calendar. Ita��s what you do every day that has a relationship to the results you said you wanted. A mistake brokers make is that their daily schedules have no relationship to their stated goals! Theya��re too busy in a�?crisis managementa�� to do the things critical to their success: recruiting, selecting, and training.
9. Assign people to carry out your plan.
Put the names of the people who will carry out the activities, so you know to whom you will delegate. For example, a recruiting postcard campaign can be delegated to a company, a member of your staff, or a mail outsource. Put down who these entities will be, so you can actually use this plan to delegate the activities. It will save you so much time and clarify to your staff exactly what you want.
10. Use a proven system to write your plan.
Use an organized process and system to write your plan. The a�?plansa�� I have seen arena��t really a�?plansa��a��theya��re just a small portion of a plan. The most important part of planning is the thinking part. Find a great system that teaches you how to think through your plan. Therea��s nothing more important to your business than profitabilitya��and thinking through your plan before you launch your actions assures profits.
As Dwight D. Eisenhower said,
Planning is everything. The plan is nothing.
New Business Planning Program for Managers
Do you find it difficult to get your agents to plan? Do you put off doing your office plan? Here’s your solution. This all-new program does several things for you:
2 webinars teach your agents how to plan using Carla’s strategic planning system
14 planning documents are included to guide your agents right through the planning process
3 webinars for you:
1. How to Create a Great Office Plan
Included: 22 office planning documents to make it easy for you to stay on track and create a great plan
2. How to Convince your Agents to Plan
3. How to Integrate your Office and Agents’ Plans
Also: Hundreds of dollars of bonuses included. See more at Come See 2012: Beyond the Basics of Business Planning. Why not build a great office plan and get every agent a real strategic plan–one that’s inspirational all year?
