It’s that time of year when everyone is making new years resolutions.
I’m going to go to the gym this year and get fit.
I’m going to eat more healthy.
I’m going to resolve to be more disciplined in my business.
New Year’s resolutions are a promise we make to ourselves to do better at something.
As you sit and review last year’s results in your business, and as you start planning for the 2015 business year, here are 5 business resolutions you absolutely cannot afford to break!
Resolution #1: “I will write more regularly on my real estate blog.”
Blogs are the most effective low-cost and low-risk trust building tools.
But in order for your blog to generate any real results you need to invest the time to write high quality helpful content, regularly.
You can accomplish this in a number of ways …
Demonstrate your expertise over the market by writing a local market report.
Educate home buyers and sellers on the buying or selling process by writing long-form How To articles.
Scott Schang built a mortgage blog that generates 150+ qualified leads every month and has well over 15,000+ subscribers by doing exactly that. He has hosted dozens of webinars, writes new information-rich articles (almost) daily, and has demonstrated his market expertise over and over again.
But success doesn’t happen over-night, an effective content strategy definitely requires playing the long game.
Resolution #2: “I will follow up with my leads faster.”
InsideSales.com did a Lead Response Management Study that showed that responding to web-generated leads within 5 minutes lead to a 900% increase in contact rates.
Think about how a 900% increase in contact rates would impact your closing rate.
Do you think you’d schedule more listing appointments as a result?
Do you think you’d schedule more showing appointments with potential buyers?
This year, resolve to improve your lead response time and I don’t doubt you’ll close a couple of more escrows as a result.
Resolution #3: “I will invest more money back into my business this year.”
Inman News conducted a survey and generated a special report on real estate coaching’s payoff.
9 out of 10 respondents reported that their business climbed by 10% within their first year working with a coach. More than half of respondents went on to say that coaching led to an increase in their business of over 25%.
There’s no doubt that investing in your business can lead to improved results.
If you want to go from 8 transactions this year to 12, why not resolve to make an investment in your business to help you get there wether that’s investing in a couple of lead buy campaigns or finding an accountability coach.
Resolution #4: “I will do a better job following up with past clients.”
Every year you should be sitting down to review last year’s numbers and set this year’s goals. Trulia has a great 2015 business plan template for this.
As you review last year’s closings and outline all of your lead sources, referrals should be one of your top lead sources.
In fact, I spoke with an agent just the other day who indicated that his business is a mix of 70% sellers/30% buyers. And his easiest escrows were referrals from past clients. Referral clients were always easier to work with.
But you can’t expect to generate high quality referrals if you’re doing a poor job of staying in touch with past clients. So let’s resolve to change that this year!
Focus on developing exceptional customer service throughout the buying/selling process. Then, ask for a testimonial and a referral at the closing table and stay in touch even after the deal has closed.
Resolution #5: “I will take my personal brand seriously.”
85% of consumers use online reviews to evaluate local businesses. So in addition to your website, what are you doing to leverage online reviews and generate more leads for your business?
Are you collecting client reviews on places like Yelp, Zillow, Google?
If you’re not, this year is the year that you resolve to take your personal brand seriously.
That means publishing helpful content regularly on your website.
That means being a better curator and sharing insightful posts on social media while growing your network.
That means soliciting reviews on sites like Yelp, Zillow, Google and publishing those reviews with confidence on your website.
So that the next time a potential customer Google’s you, you’re ready to present yourself in a professional manner!
What Are Your 2015 Business Resolutions?
As you set out to have a better year in 2015, what are your business resolutions?
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