Time to Review Your Goals and Business Plan

By Cheri Alguire

It is the end of the first quarter and time to check the score.

Just as planning your goals for the coming year should always begin with a look back at the year in review, so planning your business for the rest of this year should take a look back at the first quarter. Business planning isn’t just a numbers game, but also an accounting and analysis of the year’s overall progress.

Begin by asking the hard questions:
• What happened in your business this past year? Past quarter?
• Did you meet your goals? If not, why not?
• How did you accomplish your successful goals?
• Where did your business come from?

From there, analyze the specific sources of success or failure.
• Were your lead systems facilitating your goals?
• Did the number of listings support the number of closed transactions?

And yes, now analyze the numbers: closed sales, closed commissions, expenses, how many listings taken, how many listings sold, how many active? Quantify where the business came from in comparison to your goals: how many sales from sphere? Referrals? Websites? Print media? Signs? Other lead-generating systems?

Also take a look at the team. Who do you have working with you and what are their roles? Did they support last year’s business? Did they reach their goals? Were their goals congruous with your business plan? And let’s not forget that important last count: the one where you evaluate yourself, including how many hours you worked per week and how much vacation time you took during the course of the year or quarter.

Think of this business in review task as a report to imaginary shareholders in the business. They would need a reminder of last year’s goals, a comparison to the actual numbers, an analysis of the year’s operations and relative success, and an evaluation, ultimately, of your business strategy. The success of the past year forms the basis of your business plan for the next. You are able to determine if you need to completely overhaul your “to-do” list or merely fine-tune it. You are able to focus on the past year’s strengths in order to maximize their results for the future. You are also able to isolate weaknesses or “misses” and problem-solve them to a positive resolution.

The business “flashback” in review cannot be ignored if you hope to continue to grow your business into tomorrow. The necessary steps to planning for that future can only happen once you’ve seen what came before. That is when you learn not just from your mistakes, but from your successes. It’s then you can set the new goal and create the plan. It’s then you can focus your time and resources. It’s then you can make accountability a part of the process. It’s then you can move forward with the confidence that you have planned for an incredible year ahead.

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Coach Cheri Alguire helps Real Estate Professionals, even those who hate numbers, analyze and understand the numbers in order to create a more profitable business. Find out more at http://www.prorealestatecoach.com/ or http://www.RealEstateBusinessPlanningGuide.com/

How Your Vision Drives Your Goals and Day-to-Day Actions

By Cheri Alguire

As values drive your life purpose, vision drives your goal setting and your day-to-day actions.

I took this photo on a hike last month in Gold Canyon, AZ. It was a rainy day that had a brief burst of clear skies that enabled this hike and great photo. I have titled it “Vision.” It is my desktop background picture right now. If you can’t see the photo in this article, please check on www.RealEstateMoms.com

You know the old saying: “In order to know where you are going, you have to remember where you have been.” In naming your vision and setting goals for this year, truer words were never spoken. You need to first analyze where your business has been this past year before you can actually envision where you will be next. Vision is the big picture, the WHAT you will do (as opposed to the WHY.) In framing that picture, first decide what you want to leave out. For example, what is it that happened in your business last year that you never want to see happen again? Then you can follow up with the next question: What is it that worked well, and that you are proud of, that you want to be certain to repeat? Vision begins here.

My desktop picture reminds me every day about this vision I had for that hike and the vision and perspective I found hiking that day. My vision for that hike determined my steps and the path I took. My vision for my business does the same.

Some people believe that visionaries are gifted with natural talent or good luck and that we mere mortals cannot hope to dream in such vast landscapes. However, as Richard Koch reminds us in the 80/20 INDIVIDUAL, many times a visionary result is simply a rearrangement of something which already exists. Take, for example, that recurring annoyance or conflict from your business last year and put someone else in charge of it. Or, conversely, take a small idea which made a big difference in value for your customers, and assign a team to develop and improve upon the idea for this year: to make it bigger, monumental, even! All of this is vision.

Ask yourself the hard questions:

• What did you accomplish this year?
  
• What was the most challenging part of your year?
  
• What goals did you set that you did not achieve?
  
• What were the reasons?
  
• What did you actively do to drive your business last year?
  
• What factors do you feel drove the business without you: in other words, where do you feel you were out of control?

Then play the flipside:

• What were your successes?
  
• How did you celebrate them?
  
• What do you want to duplicate and what are the steps that are necessary?
  
• What is it that you value most that you want to see reflected in your business practices?

Again, only after analyzing where you have been can you paint the canvas in vivid color of where you will be next year. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces come together to form the whole once you have identified them.

And remember, vision implies seeing: you must picture it in your mind before you make it your reality!

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Business and Life Coach Cheri Alguire helps her coaching clients focus their goals and acts as an accountability partner to ensure daily activities keep you on track to that vision. If you would like to create your business plan around your goals and vision, check out her 17-part Business Planning Guide at www.RealEstateBusinessPlanningguide.com or find our more at http://www.CheriAlguire.com

The Importance of Setting a Goal

by Cheri Alguire

If you're like most people, every January 1st, you begin the year with a new set of resolutions. Whether that goal is to lose weight, earn more money, stop smoking, exercise frequently, or even something as deceptively simple as calling your mother more often, the decision you made to make a change is essential. You can't succeed unless you start.

Half-Marathon – Setting My Goal
I will never ask you to take something on that I myself wouldn't do, or haven't already accomplished. In 2004, a past coaching client of mine, Valerie, asked me to join Team Emily to run a half or a full marathon for charity. ME – the person who, at that point, thought running had to more to do with dashing to the grocery store on my way home from a meeting – was being asked to run a marathon. It's okay to laugh!

I could only run (okay, jog) for maybe twenty minutes on the treadmill before working out. My son Blake, a high school senior at the time and All-State Cross Country Runner, was the runner in my family. I knew if I was going to agree, I would have to work hard. After all, I had never run for more than a mile at a time, and even that took me a good half-hour to finish. This would be 13.1 MILES!

Nervous about the commitment, I still decided to go ahead with it, thinking that it would help me get in shape. I have to admit a small part of me thought that my past client Valerie would forget I'd even agreed, because the half-marathon itself wasn't for another year. But, a little voice inside my head fueled my excitement. The excitement grew to the point where I imagined myself telling my colleagues, family, and friends that "I ran a half-marathon!" Wouldn't that be cool?!

So set that goal, and tell as many people as you can. That is your first step!

What about you? What resolutions did you set on January first? What goals did you set for yourself? For your real estate business? For your family? For your life? Think about those goals. If they were worth setting, aren’t they worth telling someone about? Tell someone, anyone about your new goals. It will help it be more real. You can even share it with me. I would love to hold you accountable to your goal! Just send me your comments. I will post your goals here to inspire others and maybe even remind you of your own goal from time to time!

If I can run 13.1 miles, you can set and accomplish that goal of yours! Make it a GREAT year!

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Cheri Alguire is a real estate, business and life coach who partners with you to help you take your business and your life to the next level of success. For more information on Cheri Alguire's book 13 Lessons Learned in 13.1 Miles, visit www.13lessons.com For more information on Cheri Alguire and Next Level Services, Inc, can partner with you to take your real estate business to the next level, please visit www.ProRealEstateCoach.com