Strategic Business Planning: Step Off The Roller Coaster

New REM/AX Carriage House Nashville Realtor®, Brad Smith said “Real Estate agents are always busy and have so many things taking your attention away.  I have a plan to keep focused, stay on track, and focus on my goals.”

Preparing a plan might seem an unnecessary expenditure of time and effort. However, clarifying and defining your direction based on hard data and using strategy to plan your activities, transforms vague ideas of what you want into a powerful tool for accomplishment. 

“I’m not a numbers person, I’m an ideas person” said Tom Wilser, a RE/MAX Broker and Team Leader in Portland Oregon. “I can look back and find patterns that I cannot disagree with. Now I know which direction to go in. I know what’s effective and what habits to change. For example with Symplifi I can see the average days to sell, price and commission. It gives me a perspective to build rapport”.

Strategic Business Planning Requires Three Steps:

1.      Define your Mission Statement -- The mission statement defines your business purpose and serves as a high level direction. The mission statement can remain unchanged for decades, while your goals and action plans may change annually, depending on the competitive environment.

2.      Set Goals -- Goal are the targets you want to hit, such as increased income, more growth, better partnerships, more referrals or development of your unique capabilities, Goals are the measurable criteria of your Strategic Plan that tell you if you are on your way to your ultimate win.

3.      Determine Action Plan -- The action plan is where the rubber meets the road. It is comprised of the tasks that will enable you to meet your goals.

“Your action plan is like a daily business plan.” said Tom “You only get to the annual plan if you do the daily plan”.


Once you have completed your plan, it should be evaluated at least quarterly to see how effective you are in meeting your mission and goals.

With just a small amount of effort and time, you can create a powerful strategic plan that gives you an overview and makes the difference between success and failure. With a plan you can determine your best course, one that will yield maximum profit. Without a plan, you don’t have a smooth course at all.