Blog: Mistakes When Business Planning

How you practice is how you perform.  We have all heard this, but when it comes to planning your business it couldn’t be more relevant.  Which components are important to think about thoroughly in your business?

The one most people have an issue with is taking an honest look at marketing cost. Making sure agents understand how much they are spending per transaction in marketing on an annualized basis. It’s not because they don’t put their marketing into the planning part of their budget.  It’s more because they overlook expenses that should be included in client acquisition, and other marketing categories.

Items like franchise fees, trade organization fees, or certain subscriptions that help them market a property often belong in marketing budgets, but somehow get misplaced. The best way to make sure they’re not overlooked, is the suggestion that I received a long time ago.

“If you know something, be prepared to share it. If you don’t know something be prepared to ask an expert.” In this situation it’s clearly an accountant and whatever Tax Advisor an agent might be working with. If your agents aren’t working with someone specific, take this as a time to introduce them to someone you know and trust. It’s a great way to build your recruiting network with outside professionals, while at the same time benefiting your agents by helping them understand the business of real estate.

One last item I want you as a broker to consider is this: Business planning with an agent is not an end of the year or beginning of the year task. This plan should be revisited multiple times throughout the year. This not only keeps your agent’s productivity on track, but also helps with retention as they can see that you are invested in their growth as an entrepreneur.