It’s almost the beginning of a new year, and that usually means the start of new real estate goals, new ideas, and renewed motivation.

December is the time to look back and see how well you did sticking to your previous goals. Did you meet or exceed your real estate goals? Did you have as many closings as you had hoped? Did you complete the projects you wanted to start?

Real estate is a seasonal industry, so of course there will be better months than others. There are months where you’ve made more than average, and months where you are digging into your savings to survive. But what if we could examine those months and make small changes so our income is more steady? What would happen to your bottom line if you knew exactly when you should ramp up advertising, when it’s okay to cut back a little, when to start a project, or even the best time to schedule a vacation?

I’ve tracked my own sales for 14 years, and our company sales for six. I know when the best month is (hello June!) and the worst- February. Using this information, I know July is a good month to schedule a family vacation. I also know that January, February or May are great months to work on a project, whether it be reworking a marketing presentation, updating a database, or redesigning a website.

Using this data I can also figure out when I should ramp up advertising to fill the pipeline. With the idea that most sales take two months to complete, I can look at the slower months, such as January, and know that in November, we need to go full force with marketing and promotion.

Figuring out your stats is pretty easy. Gather up a list of all your closings over the years. If you don’t have one already, ask the person who writes your checks. Their accounting system should have the reports needed. You can choose how many years you want to review. I did as many as possible just to get a more consistent view. I made an excel spreadsheet, typed in the numbers, clicked “auto sum” and had my information!

To be successful in this business, you have to do some planning. You have to be proactive, not reactive. Before you start the new year, take a little time to review your stats and write your business plan. With a little upfront work, setting real estate goals and a couple tweaks to your timeline, you’ll see your income grow.

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Amy Gilpin, Associate Broker, Manager, ABR.

Fourteen years of helping clients. Six years of helping agents. All for this crazy thing we call real estate.

Production Realty  517-879-4141 Amy@ProductionRealty.com

 

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