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As 2001 begins, the 3% of agents that
operate with a written business plan have an edge. If you are part of that elite
group, you are probably reaping the rewards that come from knowing what you
want, where you want to go and how you are going to get there. Vincent Van Gogh
observed, "Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small
things brought together." If you've been planless, but are ready to
face the new year with a resolve to raise your standard of greatness, spending
time creating the plan for 2001, will be the best time you spend all month. I am
not, however, talking about developing simply a linear plan that just looks at
your numbers. You are more than your numbers and the plans that tend to empower
and guide all year are ones that include your life plan as well as your business
numbers. Author David Kekich says, " An hour of
effective, precise, hard, disciplined - and integrated thinking can be worth a
month of hard work. Thinking is the
very essence of, and the most difficult thing to do in business and in life.
Empire builders spend hour-after-hour on mental work... while others party. If
you're not consciously aware of putting forth the effort to exert self-guided
integrated thinking... if you don't act beyond your feelings and you take the
path of least resistance, then you're giving in to laziness and no longer
control your life." So let's take a look at some of the pitfalls
that could trip you up on the way. Here are the biggest mistakes that I see with
clients in my coaching practice: The 10 Biggest Mistakes When Doing A Yearly
Plan. 1. Not Planning Time To Think &
Create A Plan To fully design and create your plan, I
recommend at least a full day. Plan a retreat with your team, or go away
for a weekend without distractions. Working on it piecemeal when the time shows
up is a sure way to fail. Timeblock NOW an appointment with yourself to work on
this. The time will not show up-you
must carve it out. 2. Failing To Gather ALL The Data From
Last Year Even if you have a car full of gas, know
your destination and have plenty of money and supplies, if you don't know where
you are starting from, you will struggle with arriving where and when you want.
You have to know where you are to know what road to take. In pulling together the information you
need, include more than just the total production and number of units. What was
the SOURCE of each transaction? What was the cost of each listing? What was your
NET profit? What was your close ratio on listing appointments? Each piece of
information will inform you about where your strengths are
and what untapped business is waiting for you. 3. Incrementally Increasing Your Goal Based on Last Year's Results Usually an agent will set their yearly goals
by choosing a number that is somewhat above last year and then using some
formula to tell them what their monthly and weekly actions should be. This is
rarely exciting and energizing and usually results in having to work more, work
harder or work faster. Playing small or safe so as not to "miss" the
goal rarely leads to creative and inventive actions for getting there. It will
result in more of the same with more work. 4. Not Factoring In Reserve Do not fail to take into consideration that
crises will occur and stuff will happen. By figuring what needs to be produced
to hit the goal and not allowing for reserve, you will fall short and feel it is
not going to work, or be frantically running on adrenaline at the last possible
moment to pull it off. Always assume you need 20%-30% more. 5. Not Knowing The WHY This should really be #1. WHY do you want to
produce what you want to produce next year? If you attained your financial goal,
or the number of units you want to close, what would that give you? If you
attained that financial goal, WHY would that be important. Are you working to
accumulate more stuff or to have a certain quality to your life that is joyful?
The WHY is the key to your motivation and your willingness to be in action. Keep
asking yourself, "Why do I want this?" or "what will getting this
give me?" until you get to the bottom of what is REALLY important to you.
These reasons are your values. Miracles happen when you know your values and
your work reflects and expresses them. 6. Not Planning The WHO Speaking of the WHY.... there is also the
"WHO". You are a human being, not a human doing. A tall building
requires a deep and strong foundation. Your personal foundation must be deep and
strong to enable you to soar with ease. Does your plan for the year include time
for yourself, your growth, your family and your interests? The first piece of
your planning should be how much time off you will take next year.
The second piece is to design a perfect workweek. If you did nothing else
this year but worked on your own personal development, I know you would probably
have the best year ever. 7. Not Leveraging The New Opportunities What gave you success last year is not the
key to your future success. In fact, if you aren't radically shifting the
way you deliver your services and reach people, you may not be in business much
longer. What new ways of marketing do you need to employ? How can you partner
with others that may be interested in the same target markets and may help
create a win/win? What new market segments or niches are, as yet, unserved? Who
do you have an affinity with that is a perfect new niche? 8. Not Designing Strategies To Optimize What You Already Have Are you leveraging your best clients and
customers into your referral engine? Have you thought about how you can increase
their loyalty and increase the value you provide them? The cost of finding new
prospects is much higher than creating more business from folks who already know
and love you. Get creative here! What other strengths do you have that aren't
being optimized? 9. Not Making It A Big Enough Stretch To Cause Real Excitement Thinking small rarely inspires. It's those
impossible dreams, realized, that are able to stimulate our thinking and
actions. When goals become a game to play, rather than a measure of whether we
are good or bad, we can let go of the attachment to a result and just find some
innovative and fun ways of expressing our commitment to excellently serving our
clients. The money flows when we love what we do and we have a big enough game
to play. Boredom or striving for the ordinary results in playing too small a
game. 10. Not Creating A Structure for Support Even with a good plan, not having a way to
stay focused will trip you up. Do you have a partner to keep you on track? A
coach who can see the big picture? Most folks find, when left to their own
accountability systems, they are prone to sell out on themselves. A coach
actually knows you can do more than you think and reminds you of who you really
are, instead of buying into the excuses that seem reasonable. Accountability and
focus are both critical for the implementation of your plan. Now is the time to create or fine-tune your 2001 plan. Take a look through the Top 10 Mistakes and then consider a plan that will enable you to envision the accomplishments you'll be proud of having achieved when December 31st 2001 rolls around. And make sure you make regular course corrections as the year unfolds to stay on track! May 2001 be your most profitable year ever. |
