4 minute read
Business Planning
Power Planning Your Business Plan
Are you flying by the seat of your pants?
Before setting out on a trip most people have some sort of plan. Typically, we would have a destination in mind, a mode of transportation, a route, and how much money it will cost, figured out before we set off. After all, most of us wouldn’t risk leaving our precious vacation time, and dollars, totally to chance.
Now, think about your business as a journey. Have you thought through the year ahead with the same level of detail? Are you clear on your destination (goals)? Do you have a route to achieving your goals (strategy) mapped out? Or are you deciding on a course of action as you go along, without navigation aids, flying by the proverbial seat of your pants?
Only 3% have a written business plan
It’s remarkable that most of us will spend more time planning a week’s vacation than we spend on creating a plan for the very thing that funds our lives. Research from a variety of sources consistently tells us that only 3% of REALTORS® have a written business plan. In my experience as a business consultant and with my exposure to literally thousands
of REALTORS®, I have to concur that very few have taken any time at all to create a business plan and most are operating without clear goals.
Yet, when asked, REALTORS® consistently tell me they believe a business plan with written goals would help them to be more successful.
Why the gap between what we believe and what we do? Or, in this case, don’t do?
I’ve heard a lot of reasons for not planning, but these four top the list:
“I’m doing fine – I don’t need a plan.”
When I left consulting in the United States in early 2006, the average REALTOR® was starting to clue in to the downturn occurring in America’s residential real estate market. The media didn’t catch on for another few months. But the REALTORS® I was working with knew what was happening and were actively making changes in their businesses. They didn’t have a crystal ball but they did have the next best thing – a business plan. It was telling them they weren’t hitting their targets and adjustments were needed. They knew that when the wind direction changes, you need to adjust your sails. Those who adjust early are more prepared for whichever way the wind blows.
“I’m too busy.”
Being busy doesn’t necessarily equate to being profitable. Being reactively busy is typically less dollar productive than being busy as a result of your business strategy. A strategic business plan need not take more than a day to complete. Taking one day out of the year to work
ON your business instead of IN your business, is a small investment with a big Return On Investment.
“It’s too complicated.”
The complexity of your business plan is completely within your control. And, yes, the more complicated the plan, the more difficult it may be to carry out. A plan’s essential components are a relatively short list that start at the top and work down: what you intend to earn in gross commission, where your business will come from, how much you are going to work, what you’ll spend, and what you’ll need to do to make it all happen. It’s up to you to provide as much or as little detail as you need to stay on track.
“It’s a burden.”
People often confuse having a set of goals with having a plan. A list of goals, particularly if they are just raw production numbers, can become oppressive when there isn’t a strategy connected to them. Goals identify what you WANT; a plan tells you HOW to get it.
It’s a matter of knowing how
Regardless of the arguments, the root of virtually all resistance to business planning is simply not knowing how. Even when recognizing how important it is, the prospect of sitting down to write a business plan when we don’t know how to do it can be so huge and looming that we either get scared off or justify our procrastination.
Debra Harris is currently an instructor for Royal LePage’s Power Planning workshops. With over a decade of experience in real estate consulting, Debra has helped top producers across North America achieve greater productivity.
Your big advantage: Royal LePage Power Planning
Royal LePage REALTORS® have a great advantage for overcoming all the obstacles with our own Power Planning business planning workshop. The oneday program guides participants through the steps of completing a properly constructed, concise, annual real estate business plan. If you’re tired of flying by the seat of your pants, Power Planning can help you create an exceptional map to guide your year ahead.
