New Year’s resolutions, as you may know from experience, are at risk for failure. Especially if you don’t have a strategy to make them stick. The good news is: You’re already ambitious. You wouldn’t be in the real estate business if you weren’t. Research shows that to succeed at New Year’s resolution, you have to set realistic, positive goals. Instead of focusing on past failures or inadequacies, look at your real estate business and envision its growth and how you can make that happen. Here are 5 resolutions every real estate agent should make:
1. “I will improve my email etiquette.”
This sounds like a small thing for a resolution, but it will make a big difference in your business. Real estate clients have high expectations of their agents. And if you don’t respond to an email within a day, it could send the wrong message – you’re not on top of things or you’re not too concerned with them. Set yourself 10 to 30 minutes a day to read your emails and respond to them. Since your career doesn’t have you seated at a desk between the 9 and 5 like the average job, you’ll have to dedicate the time every day to your emails. Make it the same time every day, and it will become a habit.
2. “I will update my website.”
Your business website is your resume and portfolio. And while it is great that you have one (and if you don’t, get on that!), you should make a New Year’s resolution to update it. Online is such a fickle space and design trends are constantly changing. If you created your current site more than three years ago, it’s time for a new design. Research the sites of some popular and successful agents and make note of what you like and don’t like. This will be helpful for your website designer/developer. And if you’ve made your website more recently, it’s still a good time to update it. Add new client testimonies, recent professional accolades (brag about that award!), add social media buttons, add a listings platform (if you haven’t already), get a new headshot, and update anything else you can think of.
3. “I will learn a new skill.”
Real estate is a multi-faceted career. Your skills range from customer service, legal know-how, sales, and the list seems endless. The reason you make New Year’s resolutions is because you know there is room for improvement. Make 2017 the year you add to your skills. Give yourself a skills evaluation, and find out how you can better serve your clients and grow your real estate business. Maybe you need to get better at the financial side of things. . Perhaps you need to take better home photos. If your blog audience has plateaued, learn about SEO (search engine optimization) to boost readership. These are small things that can make a big difference. Consider taking a seminar at your real estate board or simply have a pow-wow with a professional to learn some tricks.
4. “I will set financial goals and write them down.”
Creating a business plan is key for every real estate agent and it is a great New Year’s resolution. How do you want your real estate business to improve? What strategies do you have to achieve your business goals? You likely did this when you first got your real estate license, but you should really have a business plan with set goal dates, say six months to a year from now. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can even be just one page. Just do it!
5. “I will have better follow-through for my clients.”
It’s been said that you only have one chance to make a first impression, but we’d argue that a last impression makes all the difference. After all it is your clients who will give you future business through referrals. They will tell friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances about their experience with you, and that is only as good as your last interaction. Check out this article that offers a timeline on following up with clients.
