Better Goal Success Systems for Commercial Real Estate Agents
If you want to get anywhere in commercial real estate faster, goals are required. They help you as the professional understand where you are headed in the property market and why that is so. Clarity is really important.
Let’s say something now about the common experiences of setting these goals. Most agents think that it is a good idea and get the process underway; they set the targets and make decisions that they require and then they quickly forget about them. The pressures of the day and the business easily take over.
Our industry is complex and demanding; the real estate product requires knowledge and the skills of individuals require ongoing practice and improvement. Professional skills and business plans are necessary for all agents to help improve commissions and listings. Systems that help focus individual effort are a really good step in the right direction.
Here are some of the key strategies to bring into your annual business review and goal establishment plan:
- Review your market activities – It is really hard to set your new goals without understanding just where you are now in the property market and how that has been happening for you over the last 12 months. There will be all types of factors to look into; signboard counts, internet listings, exclusive listings, time on market, closed deals, commission rates, and size of listings. From these numbers you can understand your ‘average deal’ by type and location. It is a matter of asking if that ‘average’ property result profile can increase in number or type. The better and larger the property, the greater the commission. There is no point in saying that you will sell 5 top end larger properties if you have not entered that segment of the market yet. Be realistic in your goal analysis and setting. You have to be very good at what you do in the market and know about local property; to improve your listing size and quality, start by improving your market knowledge of the property type.
- Look at the business year realistically – The average business year is not something with a steady pattern of growth. There are local pressures of seasonal holidays, community economic change, and local business patterns to take into account. Real Estate listings and commissions usually come from 10 months of activity. The other 2 months are lost to seasonal holidays and market adjustments. Whilst you have to work for 12 months of the year to get good results, you will likely see 10 reasonable months of return. Your budget set for commissions and listings should take into account both the busy and the slower times of year.
- Review your actions – We sometimes forget that everything we have today is a direct result of our habits, actions and previous efforts. If we want the next 12 months to improve and change, then actions and habits need to be modified. Without that change nothing will happen. Look at the things that can impact on your business. By that I mean, prospecting, personal marketing, negotiation skills, and database management. If you have any weaknesses in those things, then practice and skill development will solve the problems.
Simple logical steps like these will help you improve your listings and commissions in the coming year. Take control of your market and bring about the changes that you require as a top real estate agent.