Creating a Business Plan as a Real Estate Agent
In this blog post,, I’m going to share with you my strategy for an effective real estate agent business plan.
One of the most overlooked parts when becoming a real estate agent is not fully understanding that you are starting an actual business. Many new agents often think that they’re an employee and they retain that employee mindset as they “just wing it” and hope for the best.
Business plans can be difficult, time consuming and honestly, downright boring. This may lead many people to ask if they’re actually necessary.
One of my key tips is to know that your business plan is an evolving document – meaning you will be constantly evaluating and tweaking it as you go along. So don’t think you have to predict the future, you just need to set a goal. Remember, goals are dreams with an action plan attached to them.
So where should you start when creating a business plan?
Start by sticking with what has been successful in the past. Or if you’re new, start with the basics. The people who know you, like you and trust you, then expand from there. Above all, you must be consistent in the delivery of your plan. It’s not that complicated, but a little coaching or mentoring always helps.
- A consistent marketing plan
Content marketing is king in my world. In my opinion, static marketing, such as bus benches, billboards, and the such are a waste of money. Some would argue against this, but hey, it’s only my opinion. I just see them as an immeasurable waste of money. I would rather put my time into providing content that brings value to the end consumer and showcases my experience and my knowledge in my field. For most people, this content will be their first introduction to you and your services from consistency. of execution, people get to like you, if you produce content that brings a value, and over time, they will learn to trust you. Once you have trust, they will do business with you. My favorite platform for the distilling of content is YouTube for long videos, then take those long videos, chocolate love and create micro content for Instagram and Facebook. - A consistent prospecting plan
So don’t be fooled. All the marketing mentioned in the previous point will never surpass good old fashioned phone call. I’m not talking cold calling. I hate when people call me when wanting to sell me stuff. Why would I ever do that to someone else? Honestly, it goes against my Canadian sense of hospitality. I know some agents that swear by it, but it’s just not for me. So pick up the phone. Write some handwritten thank you cards, get out and have coffee or lunch with people that you already know. Nothing creates a deeper relationship than a little face to face time. Remember, the golden rule is that you need to prospect two hours per day, five days a week. - A consistent internet strategy
Now this is the top of the funnel strategy. Remember this traffic plus offer equals money. We talked about content marketing, but now we’re talking paid search ads via Google AdWords. Now, this is truly a numbers game as the conversion rate is low, however, as opposed to bus bench ads and billboards. These leads have intent meaning they are searching to get information about real estate in your area. - A database management system
Know who you talk to, who you need to talk to, and how to follow up with him. Keep your database lean and up to date. Don’t waste time with the C and D buyer sellers work those warm and hot leads. - A farming strategy
This is the real estate equivalent of playing the long game. Do you want to be the number one agent in a certain area or a certain building? Think about consistently delivering direct mail to the neighborhood each and every month plus geo targeted internet ads for those areas. This will convert over the years like I said it’s a long term strategy. - A referral system
Take a look at how you are connecting with agents from other areas. Get to be known as the go to Agent for your city. Have a consistent plan to reach out and introduce yourself to other agents and most importantly, when to follow up with it. Work your referral system in the same manner you would your database and prospecting. Then on the flip side of that what do you do when you receive a referral from a present or a past client? How do you say thank you for your referral. We all want to work by referral so have a system to really show how much you appreciate those that are fans of your business already. - Expenses
You need to look at how much money you are going to invest in your real estate business this year. Otherwise known as expenses. Remember, you’re running a business and you have to project expenses along with revenue. First, consider how much you invested last year and what your ROI or return on investment was. If you’re new consider how much do I have to invest. Secondly, have a look at the expenses that actually produced results. Make a list of your activities, the amount spent and what the results were that were produced.
Here are 3 rules for your business expenses:
- You must constantly be measuring because you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
- Look at your past expenses and determine if you received a favorable return on the investment in your business.
- Focus dollars in areas that generate results. Now a simple rule of thumb for marketing dollars. You should invest a minimum of 15% of your gross income that’s dollars for commissions, splits and or fees to your broker in marketing dollars. Again, measure and manage accordingly.
So there you have it, folks, a blueprint to an effective business plan. Just like George Foreman said, plan the work and work the plan.
I hope you found some value in this blog post. If you have any questions or simply just want to reach out please be sure to comment down below or better yet, hit me up on Instagram.
Until next time, I wish you all the success in the world. You deserve it.
- Colin
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