For any 2022 business plan, growth is one of the most important goals for real estate agents. But, let’s face it, you’re busy and planning gets pushed to the side when clients come calling. But, it’s critical that you set aside time to plan for the year ahead and create a roadmap to success for your business. As 2022 quickly approaches, I’ve outlined five strategies for agents to approach growth as you prepare your future business plans.
Perform a Business Review
One of the first steps to creating a business plan is to audit your past year’s performance. You should evaluate your business to see what was most successful and what needs improvement. Then, adjust your strategy accordingly.
It’s also essential to review areas of improvement in scheduling, time management, and efficiencies. Analyze operations, marketing initiatives, digital strategy, perform a property case study, and evaluate any analytics from recent campaigns. After reflecting on each of these, any change or adjustments are usually evident to grow and move forward in the industry. This will be the key to advancing in 2022.
Outline Your Goals
Once you’ve reviewed the past year’s business activity, it’s time to outline your top goals, no more than three, for the coming year. Documenting these helps you visualize your dreams and manifest them into reality. Hold yourself accountable by referring back to them each quarter or putting them in plain sight near your desk or computer. Checking in on these goals every few weeks helps create a benchmark for your progress and helps ensure you are staying on track.
Once the plans are outlined, map out three ways you can work to achieve these goals. For example, if your business is growing rapidly, consider ways you can have more support in the most needed areas. Or, if you want to reach a new milestone in sales success, reach for the stars but realistically detail how you can get there.
For instance, if you want to do more deals in the new year, look to see how many more connections you need to make to achieve this and then put an action plan in place to conquer that goal. Your business plan should be specific. Maybe you make more calls to your CRM, attend specific industry events, and procure networking opportunities. Setting small milestones throughout the year to keep you on track can aid in these efforts and allow you to course correct if needed.
Know Your Differentiators
Outlining what makes you stand out from your competitors is key for growth. Take inventory of your core competencies and differentiating factors that bring value to your clients and your business.
For instance, that can mean exceptional, white-glove service or perhaps a full suite of services including staging, creative marketing, social media, listing videos, and more that is included in your commission fee. Understanding how you bring a different perspective and edge to your client will ensure you know how to best market and present yourself and your business to new and existing clients.
Get creative
Think beyond numbers and focus on other aspects of your business. For example, do an audit on your social and digital presence. Now, more than ever, people are using digital platforms to search for property and a trusted real estate professional.
Create a plan to maximize your online presence. Your profile should highlight your story, market specialty, recent successes and be an authentic digital version of yourself. Develop new ways to present and elevate your brand identity in the new year. It’s vital to develop innovative solutions to reach new clients and showcase your listings in a digital form. Map out a timeline to ensure you’re continuing to apply a creative lens to your business.
Keep up with tech
There is no doubt that the role of technology in searching, buying, and selling a home is playing a more prominent role in our industry. Stay informed with the latest technology updates and advancements in the industry to find the best solutions for your growing business. This should be part of your business plan.
As experts predict another year of record low inventory and high demand, it’s essential to understand how to navigate clients through extreme market conditions and use technology to your advantage.
That said, using a real estate professional is more essential than ever, so don’t lose sight of your personality and level of service along the way. Look at how your broker is investing in technology that solves problems and creates ease in the antiquated transaction process without sacrificing the human touch.
Big data, predictive analytics, AI, and machine learning all have value. Agents must leverage them to drive strategy and provide data-driven inputs. Backed by PropTech data science, in 2022, an agent’s focus should be on how best to price a property for sale and negotiate on behalf of buyers to drive the most value in their purchase, both financially and emotionally. This is a crucial aspect of evolving your business for the years ahead.
If you want to level up your business in 2022, take what you know, and create new goals to propel yourself and your business forward. Take your time planning and creating a thoughtful and achievable path for success. Success is built with a strong foundation and innovating quickly along the way.