This post was originally published in December 2019. Here is the new and improved version.
With the new year right around the corner, we’re excited to take a peek at the best new year resolutions for real estate agents.
We’ll give you some pointers on how to choose effective resolutions and how to boost your chances of success in your new resolution. And we’ll give you some specific resolutions to consider for your own business.
What Makes A Good New Year Resolution?
Before we offer some specific new year resolutions for you to consider, let’s discuss what makes a good new year resolution.
1. Focus on Leading Indicators, Not Lagging
Have you ever set a resolution for the number of listings, amount of GCI (gross commission income for the newbies out there!), or the number of closings? This is what most agents do. And it’s depressingly ineffective. These metrics are lagging indicators, the result of your daily efforts. And the results aren’t always within your control.
What is entirely within your control is the leading indicators, the activities that produce the results. Focus on things like the number of daily contacts, number of listing appointments, and time spent prospecting.
2. Hold Yourself Accountable
Accountability is a critical factor in successful resolutions. And the best way to hold yourself accountable is to enlist the help of your friends, family, and colleagues.
Share your resolution with people who will ask you about it. Because you’re more likely to follow through when you know you’re going to have to report back to people you respect.
And you can get creative with this:
- Promise your kids a vacation if you hit your goal; they’ll be all over you!
- Make a bet with a colleague. If you don’t crush your resolution, you’ll have to donate to the political candidate you can’t stand. And your colleague will post all about your donation on social media. That should put the fear of God in you!
- Post a progress tracker in your office where all your colleagues can see it. You know they’re going to give you grief if you start to fall behind.
3. Set SMART Resolutions
You’ve probably heard of SMART goals, goals that are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-Based
And that’s exactly what new year resolutions for real estate agents should be.
Get Specific
“Prospect more” is not a resolution; it’s too general. “Spend one hour prospecting every weekday” is a solid resolution. Whatever your resolution, remove the ambiguity and get specific.
Measure Your Progress
Maintaining motivation through an entire year is difficult. That’s why most resolutions fall by the wayside come February. To remind yourself of your goals and keep yourself motivated all year long, create a progress tracker, and post it where you’ll see it every day.
Set Achievable Resolutions
The sweet spot for a resolution is when it’s achievable, but not easy. You want to force yourself to really work for it. But if your goal is too difficult, you’ll get discouraged and quickly lose interest. Consider setting two targets: a primary goal, and a stretch goal that is more difficult. Aim for your stretch goal, but be proud of yourself when you hit your primary goal.
Focus on Relevant Metrics
Many agents are focusing on building their social media following (which is great!), but the number of social media followers you have is not necessarily a relevant metric for your business. If those followers aren’t becoming clients or referring clients, they’re irrelevant to your business goals. Focus on metrics that will move the needle: number of leads generated from social media, for example.
Set Your Deadline
You need to go into your resolution with an end date in mind, a date by which you plan to have achieved your goal. And when it comes to new year resolutions, this is easy. December 31. That’s your end date. At that point, you’ll reevaluate your goals for the next year.
The Best New Year Resolutions for Real Estate Agents
And now, here’s our list of the best new year resolutions for real estate agents…
1. Go On x Listing Appointments
Listing appointments are an excellent leading indicator of success. The number of listing appointments you want to aim for depends on your market. If you’re working the luxury market, you might just need 50 listing appointments to have a stellar year. If you’re in the $250K mid-level market, you may need more like 200 listing appointments.
2. Convert x% of Leads to Clients
Are you getting lots of leads, but having trouble converting those leads to clients? Then you need to work on your conversion ratio. This typically means:
- taking additional sales training courses/workshops/seminars to enhance your sales skills,
- spending more time practicing and perfecting your scripts,
- and/or improving your lead follow-up system.
Your percentage goal will vary by market and skill level. If you’re new to real estate, 3% might be a good goal for your first full year. As your skills improve, you could aim for 5 or even 10%.
3. Complete my Daily Prospecting Every Weekday
When you commit to prospecting every weekday this year, your business will be transformed! And when you follow a system for effective prospecting, you won’t even recognize your business by the end of the year!
If you don’t want to design your own system, you can get a done-for-you daily prospecting checklist on Etsy for as little as $5.
4. Publish One Blog Post Per Week
Considering the insane benefits of blogging, I am blown away by how few real estate agents take advantage of this (basically free!) method of marketing. Too few agents have the patience to blog consistently for long enough to see the benefits. Which is great news for the few agents who are willing to go the distance!
You might be thinking, but this isn’t a relevant metric. Just because I blog doesn’t mean I’ll generate clients from it. And you’re right. Blogging is a long-term strategy and won’t necessarily produce needle-moving results in just one year. Your first year, you might only see a few new leads from your blog, but the more you blog, the more content you give Google to index. And two years from now, you could be the top search result when people Google something like “moving to Springfield”. It just takes a little strategy and a lot of patience.
5. Add a New Income Stream to the Business
With the next recession on the horizon, now is the time to diversify your real estate business’ income.
The trick is to add an income stream that will be relevant to your real estate clients so you can continue building your sphere while bringing in recession-proof income.
Consider income streams like:
- Property Management: when the residential sales market slumps, the rental market typically picks up, so you can offer property management service for recession-proof income.
- Property Tax Appeals: when properties start losing value, you have an opportunity to make money appealing the taxable values of your clients’ homes.
- Credit Repair Services: lenders have more stringent credit requirements during a slow housing market, so you could help buyers boost their credit and qualify to become your clients.
Want more income-producing ideas? Check out 55 Ways to Make Money in Real Estate.
Do You Have a New Year Resolution?
Which of these new year resolutions for real estate agents are you going to tackle this year? Let us know in the comments!
