Did You Achieve Your Goals in 2016?

Have you put together your business plan for 2017? Did you achieve your goals for 2016?

Have you fully completed your 2017 business plan? Today, I wanted to talk about your 2017 goals.

Many agents think that with less than two weeks left in a year, there won’t be any business left to be done. Keep in mind, though, that if you’re working with a buyer, you really only have until mid-January to have any hope of closing in the first quarter. It also marks a great time to pick up the phone to wish them happy holidays and let them know how much you appreciate them.

If you haven’t done it, right now is really the time to work on getting your business plan for 2017 together.

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Right now is the time to work on getting your business plan for 2017 together.

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I can’t stress enough how much you should focus on what you’ll do to improve. How did your 2016 go? Did it work out the way you expected? I can say that with an 87% failure rate in real estate, most agents would say no. That doesn’t mean you’re in the wrong business or even on the wrong track, however. It could mean that you’re working with the wrong team or the wrong company.

As you move forward, you need to think about the sales skills and processes you need to improve upon. Where do you want to go in your business? What kind of market share should you go after? Do you have a database or are you just working off of a paper pad?

If you fell short on your 2016 goals, then 2017 might be time to ramp it up. If you have any questions for me about growing your business or you want to do some brainstorming, give me a call soon. I look forward to helping you!

Happy Thanksgiving, from Our Family to Yours

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, so today I wanted to take the opportunity to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Today I wanted to take a few minutes to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. We pray that you, your friends, and your loved ones experience great joy this time of year and have safe travels wherever you’re headed.

Make sure that you enjoy your time with your family. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. What we do in my family is take some time to think about what we’re thankful for and tell one another. As our children have gotten older, we’ve started to set more time aside each year to enjoy each other’s company.

We hope and pray that you experience the great joy and peace around Thanksgiving this year. We thank you for all you do, from our family to yours.

In the meantime, if you know anyone who’s looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate, please feel free to send them my way. I’d be happy to help!

5 Ways to Maximize Your Morning Productivity

Do you have trouble getting your mornings off to a productive start? Here are five tips to help you get the most out of them each day.

Mornings can be a struggle for everybody, especially for those of us that have trouble organizing our schedules. Here are five tips to help you conquer and maximize your mornings:

1. Prepare the night before. If you only do one thing, spend a couple of minutes each night organizing your to-do list for the next day. It might take you 10 minutes that night but could save you hours the following day.

2. Manage your energy, not your time. Be in tune with your biological clock. I know whether I’m more productive or less productive at certain times of day, so I make sure not to do any heavy business analysis after lunch, for example, and do all of my lead generation first thing in the morning.

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10 minutes of preparation at night could save you hours the following day.

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3. Set your intention for the day. I’m a firm believer in positive affirmations, and I think you’ll find that they can really help your outlook on the day.

4. Be grateful and positive. One thing I really enjoy doing is keeping a gratitude journal. I’ll write a positive affirmation in it as soon as I wake up, and have even gone so far as to send out an email detailing the things that I’m grateful for.

5. Focus on what’s important. Try to identify the one thing that you’re going to do today that’s the most important. This will also help you learn to say no to the things that are not worth your time because it’s the only way to get everything done.

As a bonus tip, decide to be pleasant, charming and confident today. Think about how you can be of service to other people, and help them in any way that you can. I also wanted to recommend a great book that I read recently called "The Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents" by Hal Elrod. It’s full of great tips that will help you maximize your morning productivity.

Follow these tips for your morning and you’ll thank yourself for the rest of the day. If you’d like any more tips on becoming more productive or you have any questions about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be glad to help you!