Before construction of a house begins, a solid architectural plan is drawn up to guide the construction team. Your real estate business should start the same way. A real estate business plan can seem daunting to create, but it is essential for building a strong and lasting business. When done correctly, a real estate business plan can help you define and measure your goals and focus on growing your business.
Here are the steps you can take to create your first real estate business plan.
See your business plan as a model for success. What are your goals? What steps will you take to achieve these goals? How will you measure success? When developing your real estate business plan, be sure to include these seven key elements.
Step 1 – Develop your real estate mission statement.
Your real estate mission statement is pretty straightforward. He answers the question: “What am I doing?” It should clearly define your goal and include your specific value proposition or the benefit you provide.
Think beyond everything, and try to find out what will be your noble goal that will guide your real estate business. Is it to help couples find their first accommodation? Do families find a place to grow up together? What really inspires you about real estate? Either way, this is your mission statement.
Step 2 – Perform a SWOT analysis.
SWOT is a standard acronym used for developing business plans. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT analysis is an assessment of yourself as a real estate agent and the landscape of the industry in which you operate. Knowing who you are up against and how you are better (or worse) than those you will compete with will help you set strong goals for seizing opportunities, building your strengths, and improving your weaknesses.
Step 3 – Set Specific Goals.
What do you want to accomplish in your real estate career? Do you want to earn $ 6,000 per month? Write it down. Do you want to sell 12 properties per quarter? Write it down. Your goals may change along the way, but that’s okay. Consider your short and long term goals. Separate your real estate business goals into these two categories to make sure your short term goals fuel your long term goals.
Step 4 – Develop a strategic plan.
What strategies will you put in place to achieve your specific goals? Be as specific as possible and don’t worry if you are unsure of how you are going to perform. Your real estate business plan should be a living document, evolving as your business and your capabilities grow. For example, maybe you want to attend two real estate conferences a year, but you are not sure you can afford it. Write it down anyway. This is where you plot your biggest and best ideas.
Step 5 – Consider your schedule.
What is your timeline for achieving each of these real estate business goals? Do you want to configure your real estate website in the next two months? Increase your sphere of influence by 50 contacts in the next three weeks? Get your broker’s license by the end of the third year? Adding a deadline to your goals and strategies will help you stay accountable and focused on achieving specific goals within a certain time frame.
Step 6 – Define your target audience.
What type of properties will you buy and sell? Commercial? Residential? Who will be your target customers? Luxury home buyers? Are families moving to the region? Defining your audience and your market, and considering your market as well as your goals, will help you target your strategies. If you are unsure whether a particular strategy will help you achieve your goals, you can revisit your real estate business plan. Reassess the relationship between strategy and goals, then make appropriate adjustments.
Step 7 – Determine your systems and processes.
Determine the specific systems and processes you plan to use to achieve your real estate business goals. Keep track of the systems you might want to operate in. For example: will you use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to track customers and their needs? Do you have specific marketing programs that you plan to use?
Develop an action-oriented real estate business plan. Make sure your real estate business plan is results-oriented. Each step must require action on your part and you must be disciplined enough to perform those actions. It is up to you to drive your success. Take some of these tips or take them all, but always take the time to assess your real estate business goals and how you plan to achieve them.
Yazir Phelps is the Director of Marketing at Real Estate Express, a national leader in online learning for pre-authorization, continuing education and professional development. Phelps has over 18 years of experience in marketing, fueling the growth of Fortune 500 organizations, and over five years of experience working directly with real estate professionals. His extensive experience in generating demand for products and services encompasses strategies critical to a successful career in the field. For more information, please visit www.RealEstateExpress.com.
