Are you focused with a game plan?

Take a look around you, are you surrounded by people who are just going through the motions, too busy worrying about things they can’t control, blaming the market, the brand or the weather for their lack of success. Let’s take a quick reality check for these people - It’s not the market, it’s not your brand or the weather it’s YOU!.
So what characteristics do you want to see in people around you at the moment… For me it would be are they focused, they have a game plan to the end of the year and more importantly how do they intend to start the new year. That plan needs to be in place now before you go away on the Christmas break.

I read an article last week that I found fascinating about a documentary called “Yes Madam Sir”. It's about Kiran Bedi, India’s first woman to join the Indian police force and who later made her mark as a fighter for social justice. Evidently she was fearless in facing her challenges which ranged from saving people from burning buildings, creating community schools or running India’s toughest prison with 10,000 inmates. She was the first and last police office to tow away the Prime Ministers car because it was parked illegally. As described in this article in one situation, where angry rioters brandishing swords had run amuck and her own police regiment had scattered, Bedi armed with just a baton, single-handedly faced off the rioters. When a BBC reporter later asked her “Were you scared?” Bedi responded “Not at all...because my mind was focused.” (taken from newsletter – Greg Nathan Franchise Institute)… The movie Yes Madam Sir is a must see.

I caught up with my previous CEO from the old firm the other day and he said something interesting to me. The tedious tasks are actually the most dollar productive and when we are working in a market that is buoyant we don’t really need to do the tedious tasks however in a changing market focus on these will make the difference.

What are these tasks well here are few you could consider:

· How awesome and up to date is your database. By this I mean that every person you come into contact with is on the system with a category and a contact plan in place. Data is the key to your success.
· You call every person from your OFI list and qualify them, enter them into your database
· If your OFI numbers are low then work your database of potential buyers
· You put potential buyers into your car and drive them around the area looking at options on properties, you need to make sure that every buyer who walks into your sphere of influence is qualified
· You are constantly working on your negotiation skills
· You are pricing your properties correctly and keeping your vendors up to date with what feedback you are getting from opens and inspections. There should be no surprises for vendors on auction day or during the private sale process
· You intend to have long term marriages with your clients not love affairs – by this I mean that once you have sold the property you don’t just move onto the next client. You ensure that you have a contact/communication plan in place to keep in touch with all past clients.
· Have in place a one page plan that keeps you focused on the key numbers, how many calls do you need to make, how many face to face appointments per week, listings converted, sales made. Tick these off every week, if you are off track you will know and you can make adjustments no point in getting to the end of the month or quarter and then reviewing your performance – its too late by that stage, you cant make any changes.

Like Kiran Bedi you need to have complete focus on what you need to do to be successful. No point in focusing on things you can’t control such as the market, what is occurring in china or Europe or interest rates. Your focus needs to be on the plan you have in place to be successful and remember the basics of real estate always work no matter what market you are working in.