Setting Yourself Up For Success In 2021

Eden Sunshine

Vice President

Realty Executive

Every year, around the beginning of November, I lead a group of real estate agents through a business planning process designed to get them ready for a strong new year. All sorts of agents with ranges of experience attend. The time we spend together serves as a great reboot and time to get clear on their goals and actions needed to be intentional and productive in the coming year.

Here are several key ideas I share with the group each year.

#1 – Set clear and measurable goals. The goal must excite you. You need to believe the goal is realistic even if you are not completely sure HOW you are going to achieve it. Just set the goal.

#2 – Once you have a clearly defined, measurable and realistic goal established, the next step is to put a system in place to measure and track your progress. A major mistake many agents make is setting a goal and then neglecting to track the activities that produced the result.

#3 – Look to past behavior and activities to determine what you really need to focus on doing. As suggested previously, many realtors do not track their activities and the source of their sales. Therefore, they often do not know what they did to produce tangible results. A shot gun approach to your efforts is not a good business tactic.

In a conversation with an agent recently, she established that 100% of her business came from two activities. All her business came from her daily posts on social media and previous clients. She uses a variety of communication channels to touch base with her sphere at least once per month. This is her winning formula.

She does not farm neighborhoods, cold call, or advertise on the internet. She sticks with what works and, as a result, gets predictable results.

Carefully exploring past behavior, if you are an experienced agent, can help you determine what really works and to develop a more targeted approach to your business development. If you are a new agent, get into a great mentoring program that will help you establish a plan that will work for you. Check out www. joinrealtyexecutivesphoenix.com/mentoringprogram for the top rated mentoring program in Phoenix.

#4 – Regularly review your goals asking yourself this very simple question, “Am I on track with achieving it or not?” If you are not on track, then precede to #5. If you are on track, celebrate and confirm that you are going to continue doing the same activities that have led to your current success. Do not change anything unless you increase your goal. Then you probably need to increase your efforts in the same activities you were doing before. Add more calls, send more letters, knock on more doors. You are just scaling your previous efforts.

#5 – If you are falling short of your goal, and this is the tricky and most important part, you must determine the system or systems that are not working and need to be improved. Just focus on fixing those systems and stop wingin’ it. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Most of the agents I meet that are failing to achieve their goals, lack focus and intention and, quite frankly, are all over the place when it comes to building their business. The point is that if you are not achieving your goals, you have a systems problem. Fix the system and you will get your results.

#6 – Work your systems and do the activities. No excuses. Establish an environment of accountability. If you need someone to hold you accountable, get a coach or find a colleague who will not buy into your excuses for not doing the critical activities to achieve your goals. Bottom line: Keep your commitments.

In conclusion, set your goals, identify your most productive activities, revise your systems, if needed, and apply the discipline in doing the work. Doing so will make 2021 fantastic and productive year.

Eden Sunshine is an entrepreneur, the creator of The Level 7 System, a speaker, author and Vice President of Operations for Realty Executive in Phoenix Arizona. Eden has coached and consulted with over 300 of the top Real Estate agents and teams throughout the USA and Canada since 2003. Eden specializes in helping businesses become scalable, positioned for exponential growth and productivity while establishing a meaningful, high performing business culture.

Eden developed the Level 7 System, which is a one of a kind, simple and systematic business development approach that guides businesses to become scalable, systems driven with great cultures. He also has developed other ancillary programs like the Systemize Your Business in 90 Days Program. He is in the process of publishing two books: The Book on Building Great Businesses and Woo Hoo: Successfully Transforming Your Business and Your World.