Business Planning Tip: the Production Plan can be more effective if you plan for the stuff behind the numbers

By Cheri Alguire

Like the budget, writing a production plan for success is a lot about numbers. Black and white. Hours, dollars, and widgets. There is a sensible layout to follow. You map out the big picture by breaking down your transactions to quarterly and monthly goals. You examine the buyer sales, listing sales, and number of new listings it takes to produce the income needed to support the budget. Easy, right?

Well, straightforward, maybe. Easy, no.

Production planning is as much about problem solving and perspective as it is about the numbers. Why? Because you know you will not always hit your numbers. (If you do, you probably were not challenging yourself enough during the visioning process.) And not hitting the numbers obviously means you have a problem. You may be overspending the budget and/or underproducing the income. Not hitting the numbers for an entire quarter might not just mean a problem, but a genuine crisis.

So it is important when production planning to focus not just on target numbers, but on the potential problems related to production so that you can plan proactively to stay in business with a smile. Lets look at some Givens.

#1 You are in control of more than you think. If you chart the numbers for first quarter and fall short, what do you do? (First of all, you always review the numbers.) If first quarter is lean, be prepared for you and others to blame outside influences. Oh, the market. Oh, those fickle buyers. Oh, those unrealistic, so-and-so sellers. Oh, those banks. Slap yourself and your teammates awake! The market is what the market is. Buyers and Sellers are simply responding to it. YOU are the expert. YOU need to take control. Take control of their expectations. Take control of your own emotions. Adjust your numbers if necessary for the rest of the year, but take control of your sales. If you were successful before this market, there is absolutely no reason you can’t be successful now. You have the experience and the skills. If you are new to this market, you have no excuse to be anything but successful because you don’t know the difference! If you were three sales short in the first quarter, plan now what it takes to make up those three in quarter two.

#2 There are some things you cannot control. Let go! A teammate’s sudden divorce is going to affect your business. No doubt about it. Can you influence that event? No. (Even if you offer the unhappy couple an all-paid expenses weekend at the Poconos in a heart-shaped tub, their relationship will not change because of your generosity and desperate attempt at keeping your top buyer agent happy and productive.) Curse fate all you like, but know that the teammate will have court dates, down days, and need extra time off to be with the kids. Let go off the idea that life is unfair and provide as best you can for the loss in production through your own efforts or added staff. Know that these things happen. Deal.

#3 Not to overuse and abuse the often quoted, Attitude is Everything, but it is. The mindset you get up with every day determines the success of your production plan. Is the market everything you read about in the papers or hear about on the TODAY SHOW? Is the sky really falling? If you believe it, your numbers certainly will reflect that view, (and you will need to hope that your spouse doesn’t mind supporting you for some time to come.) On the other hand, if you wake up each day seeing opportunity and, yes, fun in the current real estate market, your numbers will bloom and grow with every positive step. It’s not a Pollyanna world, but neither is it Oscar the Grouches. Your perspective determines outcome.

Plan for the numbers. Plan for the problems. Plan for success.

---------------------

Coach Cheri Alguire has helped hundreds of Super Small Business Owners, Realtors, Managers and Coaches create Business and Life Plans. Check out http://RealEstateBusinessPlanningGuide.com or http://www.SmallBusinessPlanningGuide.com/ contact us today at http://www.CheriAlguire.com

Is Your Real Estate Business Running Smoothly?

By Cheri Alguire

Let’s face it. The time to ask yourself, “Is my business running smoothly?” is NOT after you have just had a flat tire and are bumping down the road. The time to ask that question and analyze its answer is during the business planning process AND throughout the year.

A business is a complex machine with many moving parts. Well-maintained, it works smoothly and takes you where you want to go. But if just one part is neglected over time or overlooked, an eventual breakdown is certain.

To begin the process, take a look at your systems and how they connect to the big picture. Where, exactly, do they exist in the framework of your business and how efficiently are they running? Jennifer James, in THINKING IN THE FUTURE TENSE, reminds us that “systems thinking” can bridge the gap between reality and perception, and is probably the best way to problem solve (189.) Systems thinking “helps us understand that all parts of a business or a process are connected, and that when one part is challenged, all the others are as well” (189.) Typically, we may look at problems in isolation, but that may not solve the underlying systemic issues.

Let’s take an example of lagging sales. Agents are not making production goals; therefore, the cash flow or profit bottom line is not being met for the business. You could dismiss the problem as “it’s the market,” and continue to slump in sales. You could blame your team and look for new help. But if you look at all the systems that feed productivity: lead generation and marketing, listing systems, follow-up, people and support systems, you may be able to discover various cogs in the wheel that are preventing progress. Does listing inventory need to increase in order to produce leads? Are follow-up systems being utilized? Do team members need more mentoring or training? Could the answer to lagging sales be a team retreat that re-motivates and energizes the team members?

Systems thinking allows for and demands creative problem solving. Take Steve Jobs of Apple computers. Infamously “fired” at one time from his own company, Jobs loved the business too much to stay away from it. After creating PIXAR (among other projects) while on hiatus from Apple, he returned to regenerate not only the product (Macs) but the industry itself. While launching and perfecting iMovie (a consumer-friendly video-editing application) for the Mac, he realized that software wasn’t enough. In order to function properly, he concluded, it had to work in conjunction with several other components. He became committed to the goal that Mac would offer something unique by developing whole business systems for the personal computer. And of course from there, he made history: launching a little digital music business with iPod. (See pages 257-258 INSIDE STEVE’S BRAIN by Lenader Kahney.) Systems thinking was the key.

Systems thinking is not so much thinking “outside the box” as it is the wide-angle view. So pan the vista of your own business. What systems are in place? Are any missing? Of those that are operating, are they running as efficiently as they could be? Put the individual pieces together to create a smooth and successful whole. Problem solve with imagination and collaboration to fix issues that slow you down. Be cognizant throughout the year. Create and maintain a smooth-running machine.

----------

Coach Cheri Alguire has helped hundreds of Small Business Owners and Real Estate Professionals create and implement an effective Business Plan. For more information check out http://www.realestatebusinessplanningguide.com/ or http://cherialguire.com/

Get in the game and DO IT!

By Cheri Alguire

Learning a new skill, whether it be running, blogging, cooking, or anything requires far more than taking classes and reading books. After you have finished reading the books, and taking the classes, there is one thing left to do – do it! You can’t play in the game, if you are not in the game.

Books, trainers, teachers and coaches can help a lot. They inform, they help you understand the process, and they give you guidance when you need it, but that is not enough. If you don’t get out there and “do” it, you will not learn everything you need to learn. You need to put your knowledge to practical use.

What all this really means, though, is you have to practice. Lace up your sneakers and run, pick up those needles and knit, sit down and type your next blog posting. We’ve all heard the oft-said phrase, “Practice Makes Perfect,” and while very little in life is actually perfect, the phrase does hold great value and an undeniable truth. Anything in life that we want to get better at, we must practice at. And the first step is to just do it, try it, again and again.

Whether it is practicing running, playing a piano, delivering a speech, or any other skill, we all need continued practice in order to become successful in that skill. Each type of skill demands different muscles in your body to stand up and pay attention. Some, like running, are more about the physical body strengthening and changing with continued work. Others, like playing chess, are more about the brain stretching and learning the ins and outs with each game played.

What about you? What have you been studying, learning about, and gaining information on that you need to stop and just get out there and do? What is your game that you are playing in this thing we call business? Or in this thing we call life? Let me know what that might be for you. Isn’t it time you just got in the game. Isn’t it just time to DO IT!

-------------------------
Business and Life Coach Cheri Alguire has helped hundreds of Small Business Owners, Real Estate Professionals, Moms, recently divorced individuals, people wanting to run a half marathon and people who just want to play and new and bigger game in life to set and achieve goals they never before thought they could. Find out more at www.CoachCheri.com or at www.13Lessons.com