Business Planning is generally taught in some version of these three steps:
DREAM BIG – Envision what you want for you and your family next year…a beach vacation, contributions to your child’s college fund, new car…whatever it is, really picture it in your mind and focus on it.
SET GOALS – 30 Closed Transactions, 75% Listings, 2 Referrals per Month.
TAKE ACTION – You start prospecting, holding open houses, contacting your Sphere of Influence and you’re on a roll of the excitement of a new Business Plan so it’s easy…
Until it isn’t. It’s easy to keep picking up that phone for the first month or two. Kind of fun to be meeting with your Past Clients for lunches and coffees…until it isn’t.
Why does it stop being easy and fun? Why do you start straying away from that Business Plan and before you know it, you’ve lost sight of your dreams, goals and taking action becomes more sporadic and harder. You’re still working hard but not necessarily reaching your goals and realizing those dreams.
It’s not your fault! There are 3 more, extremely important steps, to building a Business Plan that actually Works! Here they are:
- Conduct a Business Analysis – How can you possibly set goals to move your business forward when you don’t know where your business currently IS? There’s a 7 Step Business Analysis process that will guide you through this process so that you can finally set goals based on the true state of your business, skills, strengths and weaknesses – ensuring success!
- Create Strategies – Most of us were taught to set goals (like number of closed transactions, referrals, etc.) but not the process of creating the specific STRATEGIES for how to accomplish those goals. This step includes not just identifying strategies but also developing and using Strategic Maps for each strategy to ensure success.
- Remove Barriers – When we’re being realistic with ourselves, we know that obstacles, roadblocks and problems will inevitably arise to keep us from reaching our goals. The secret to success is anticipating these Barriers even before they happen and being prepared to overcome them.
When you add these 3 Secrets into Building your Business Plan, you’re ready to build the best year yet in your business. Want more guidance on how to implement this into your Business Plan? We recently offered a live, online class: 3 Secrets to Building a Business Plan that Works! Click here to watch the video of this powerful class and learn about a special offer to help you implement it right away.