Top 10 Hacks to Run Your Business like a Business
All of the so-called “Secrets of Success” will not work unless YOU do!
There is No Silver Bullet
BUSYNESS does not make you money; a BUSINESS does!
Which are YOU running?
Most AGENTS Run a BUSYNESS
Busyness means that people feel that they are very BUSY, but…with what?
◆ They are reactive to what comes at them – calls, emails, texts
◆ They don’t block their time to get things done
◆ They don’t make a budget & stick to it
◆ They allow others to control their schedule
◆ They don’t PROSPECT or plan their marketing
- They hope
◆ They are constantly recreating the wheel - For everything
Does this Describe YOU?
Never Fear… Advisors Run A Business
◆ You plan time during the day to respond to calls, emails & texts
◆ You block time for DEEP WORK to get things done
◆ You have a Profit & Loss (P&L) Budget plan for everything
◆ You have scheduled time to work
- In your Business – with clients, deals, paperwork, etc.
- On your Business – prospecting, planning, analyzing & growing
◆ You have an active CRM for prospecting & a marketing plan
◆ You have systems in place for redundant tasks – for everything
How Many of You Does This Describe?
You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.
“
Tony Robbins
What We ALL Know
◆ PROSPECTING IS KEY & YET MOST / MANY OF US DON’T
◆ WE HAVE SEASONAL UPS & DOWNS
◆ OUR CLIENTS ARE DEMANDING… AT ALL HOURS
◆ THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN A DAY
◆ WE HAVE TO SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY ◆ THIS IS NOT BRAIN SURGERY!
Let’s Start Here…
REAL ESTATE IS A….
FULL-TIME FULL-CONTACT PROFESSION & IT WILL CONTROL YOU IF YOU DON’T CONTROL IT
Let’s Start Here…
10 Hacks to Help You SHIFT the CONTROL
Plans
Time Management
Budgeting ◆ Systems & Checklists ◆ Templates & Forms
Outsourcing
Prospecting ◆ Learning From Others ◆ Using AI
◆ Analyzing What Works Frequently
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
“
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
HACK #1: One Page Plans
We all hear we should have a Business Plan. DO YOU?
One Page is ALL you need for each plan
◆ Business Plan
– Overview of all of your planning
◆ Budget Plan (part of business plan)
– Controls & Informs your Spending
– Determined by your Goals
◆ Marketing Plan (part of business plan)
– Action Plan for Prospecting & Promoting
HACK #1: One Page Business Plan
This is ALL you need in order to have a Business Plan…
Know your target income
Know your expected expenses (comes from your marketing plan)
Know Your Competitive Advantage
Highlight that advantage in your messaging
Know who your Target Clients are & why
Know the best way to reach them
HACK #1: One Page Business Plan
This is ALL you need in order to have a Budget Plan…
Know your target income
Average Sales Price x Target Units x Average Co-op % x Your Commission
Know your expected expenses
Comes from your Marketing Plan
Track these Monthly as they happen
Actual v Predicted = $$ Variance
Need to know where you are in your income v cost
HACK #1: One Page Marketing Plan
This is ALL you need in order to have a Marketing Plan…
Know Your Competitive Advantage
Investigate what your competition is doing
Know Your Worth
Know how YOUR brand & your E&V Brand differentiates you
Highlight that advantage in your messaging
Know who your Target Clients are & why
Know the best way to reach them & how much they cost
Included in the budget plan
#1: One Page Marketing Plan
This is ALL you need in order to have a Marketing Plan… is a
Calendar
Time is the most valuable asset you don’t own. You may or may not realize it yet, but how you use or don’t use your time is going to be the best indication of where your future is going to take you
Mark Cuban “
HACK #2: Time Management Planning
In order to SHIFT CONTROL so that WE are in control we need to manage, protect & invest our time
Daily tasks (assumes an 8-9 hour work day):
◆ Prospect – connect with your database – calls, write notes, texts, social comments – 1 hour – morning time
◆ Email – Check, Sort, Delete, File & Respond to – 20 minutes 4x/day – decide when
◆ MLS – Check & Send – 5-15 minutes 4x/day – decide when
◆ Client-related tasks – transaction management, communication, preparation for meetings – 2 hours –after prospecting & in the afternoon
◆ Meetings – client & prospect meals, listing appointments, showings – 2-3 hours
◆ Deep Work – Work on one thing to improve your business each day – 30-45 minutes
HACK #2: Time Management Planning
Daily tasks (approximately 5 hours of building business):
Urgent tasks:
◆ Time Sensitive tasks requiring your immediate attention
◆ They are important and must be dealt with
− but get RIGHT BACK to work on what you were doing!
◆ Usually a Call or Text that comes in
◆ Remember:
− This is NOT brain surgery and almost anything can wait 30-45 minutes
− determine what is worth breaking your concentration for…
HACK #2: Time Management Planning
How Do I Do This?
Calendar EVERYTHING – events, tasks, work time, prospecting time, email time
Don’t Delete – just MOVE
Set Prospecting Time
Set Prospecting Meeting times – Goal is to fill them!
Set Alarms & Reminders – everything should beep at you to stop & start
Turn Phone Upside Down – use Focus feature on iPhone
HACK #2: Time Management Planning
You Are The Greatest Asset Of Your Company And Time Is Your Greatest Asset
Do not let everyone else control your time
Put the most important things in FIRST – Family & You Time
Put your GOALS in SECOND – Prospecting & Marketing
Everything else comes after that!
HACK #3: Budgeting
◆ The easiest budget format is to have Actual vs. Predicted vs. Difference
◆ Track them monthly
◆ Keep the categories simple
HACK #3: Budgeting
The easiest budget format is
to have
Actual vs. Predicted vs. Difference
But where do you start?
◆ Keep the categories simple:
− Personal Promotion and Marketing
− Listing Marketing
− Education / CE
− MLS Fees and Shop Costs
− Technology
− Travel
◆ Figure out unit costs for things.
− For example: if you send postcards to market yourself, how much is it to send 100 postcards? How often will you send them/ month? That is your monthly cost on that.
− Add in Adwerx, print ads, etc.
◆ Don’t forget to factor the cost to go to EVX and other Engel & Völkers events to grow your network!
HACK #3: Budgeting
HACK #4: Systems & Checklists
◆ We Do Essentially The Same Thing For Every Buyer Or Seller
◆ We Should Not Recreate The Wheel Each Time
◆ We Should Have A System Or Checklist For Everything We Do
HACK #4: Systems & Checklists
Systems & Checklists Involve Templates & Forms
All professionals use them
Doctors
Lawyers
Teachers
Inspectors
So why do we think we don’t need them?
HACK #4: Systems & Checklists
In Order to GROW your Business, what you do must be SCALABLE
You need to be able to bring people into your business to help you grow
Admin Assistant
Team Member
Buyer Agent
These people need to do things the way YOU have done them
You should be able to hand them an OPERATIONS MANUAL of how you run your business
Systems & Checklists
HACK #4: Systems & Checklists
HOW DO I DO THIS?
For the next 3 months, write down literally every step you take when you are on a new phase of a transaction
Planning a buyer tour
Negotiating a Contract
Taking a listing to Market
Create a Digital Checklist / Word Doc / Chime Checklist for Each Phase involving a client
After you have Client Checklists in Place, start on your Marketing Checklists
HACK #4: Systems & Checklists
HACK #5: Templates & Forms
Templates & Forms Are A Huge Part Of Systems And Checklists
◆ Again… All professionals use them – You fill them out when you arrive or they fill them out, while they are working to be sure they don’t miss anything
− Doctors − Lawyers − Teachers − Inspectors
◆ So why do we think we don’t need them?
#5: Templates & Forms
Gmail Templates
HACK #5: Templates & Forms
Chime Email
Hack #6: Outsourcing
In Order To Grow Your Business What You Do Must Be Scalable
We create Systems, Checklists, Templates, and Forms in order to be able to have concrete systems that we can turn over to other whom we hire so that they perform operations just as we would do!
◆ Hire a Virtual Assistant to do your Admin Work
− filing, preparation, paperwork, tour set-up
◆ Hire a Part-Time Assistant to help manage your listings
− sign riders, brochures, flyers, open house materials to the house
◆ Find a Graduate Student to help with promotion
− be your photographer, videographer, social media content creator
Hack #6: Outsourcing
GIG WORK
◆ Gig Work is a phenomenal opportunity for us in a post-pandemic world where people want to work from home or be hybrid
◆ Hire a Virtual Assistant to do your Admin Work
◆ Find a Graduate Student intern
Hack #7: Prospecting
CHIME provides the opportunity for you to put some of your prospecting on autopilot
Hack #8: Learning From Others
Study your Competition
◆ Create a Special Report in your MLS with Broker IDs so you can see what they have listed, sold, etc.
◆ Grab their brochures, listing information, etc. at their listings
− see how they write, what they include, how they look
◆ Follow them all on social media and track what they are posting & doing
Hack #9: Using AI & Automation
Chat GPT: Give it a question and let it answer it and give it some features of your listing and let it write your copy
Hack #9: Using AI & Automation
Automation – having systems that run automatically is a great tool
◆ Drip Campaigns - Rezora or Chime - set them up and stay in front of your prospects automatically - Seasonal campaigns on Rezora - Quarterly report...Q1 coming soo!
- New listing, change of price, uag sold campaign on rezora
◆ If This Then That – IFTTT
− If I post to Facebook, Then Post to Instagram
− If I add a contact to iPhone Contacts, add x Spreadsheet
− Send me a list of all New Contacts added to my phone each week
Hack #10: Analyzing Your Business
◆ The BEST Hack is the one you Use!
◆ Look at your business and adopt just one of these “hacks”
◆ Look for your greatest weakness and turn it into a strength.
◆ In looking at your competition, figure out how your business can better compete with theirs!
◆ Be brutally honest with yourself!
You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.
“
Tony Robbins
All templates and tools will be emailed out after the meeting!
Set up your business meeting with Valerie and me today.
