What is holding you back?

I often look at my agents and wonder what really is holding them back. They have so much potential and business sitting in their database that just needs to be prospected. However, most of them do not do anything extra to convert leads to sales. If it wasn't for our software, they would most likely be struggling more than they already do.

Tonight I was looking at the leads in my system. I do this often, but right now my goal is not as much of what they are or are not working, but what is really holding them back. I've been talking about mindset alot lately. Mainly because I've had to adjust my mindset recently to get to a new place in my mind. Yes, even I can get down and negative sometimes. Luckily I understand the power of positive thinking and how that affects my daily life. I was able to change my mindset pretty quickly.

So what stops most people from succeeding? To me, the biggest part of this is the lack of confidence in themselves. Others don't feel they deserve to be successful as they never have been and think that is for others. Others are so afraid of failure that they figure if they don't try, they can't fail. Of course those of us who know, know that not trying is failure!

There is only one thing holding you back right now. Just look in the mirror and you will see that person. You have so much power in that brain of yours, that if you can unleash just a little bit of it, your business will rise dramatically. Become more positive and believe in yourself and your life changes...just like that! I like to say to people, "get yourself out of the way". Sometimes you are your own worst enemy.

So here is the answer: Set a Goal, Honestly Believe You can Accomplish This Goal, Work 80% of your time at revenue generating tasks and work Full Time! If you follow these steps your life changes. Does it take hard work to reach your goals? Of course it does! Go for it!

Have you thought about 2011 yet?

I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but it's time to start thinking about next year. But, before you can look at your future, you need to look at what you did this year that worked, and didn't work. I often like to reflect on both my wins and my losses. In business, at least for me, I have always learned more from my losses.

So what worked this year and what didn't?

1. Print - I spent a bunch of money this year testing different print programs and concepts through postcards and print ads - Results - Loss!

2. Radio - I spent a couple thousand dollars per month for 3 or 4 months - Results - Loss!

3. Internet Marketing and Lead Conversion - As I have for the past 9 years, I spent the majority of my marketing budget on Internet Marketing and Lead Conversion - Results - It's a winner!

I'm sure that if I continued both the post card program as well as our radio campaign I would have started to see some results. However, when I look at the dollars spent verse how those dollars would perform through our Internet program, it's a no brainer. Let's take a look.

I spent about $8,000 on Radio ads. I received around 5 or 6 calls and no business. $8,000 in Internet Marketing equals 800 leads. 800 leads, even at 1 out of 50 leads being a sale, would have been 16 sales. Of course we are closer to 1 out of 24 leads being a sale which would have equaled around 32 sales. And why do I test these other options?

I don't have my print numbers handy, but I can tell you that either myself or one of my Agents spent $1500 per month over 6 months which resulted in 1 listing. $1500 per month equals $9,000. I'm not going into the math again, as you can figure it out from here.

So let's look at next year. What am I thinking?

1. Increasing sales and closing ratios - We have been stuck around 4% for a few years now. My goal is always to increase our sales conversion rates. This year we plan on working to develop our LCA program. I talked about it in a recent post, but it's just a matter of time before our office breaks out! One interesting note, over the last 18 months we had 703 customers come to the area who didn't buy because they have a home to sell. This is approximately 500 customers this year that couldn't buy but would have if their home had sold. Even if half those 500 we showed homes to bought, our conversion rates increase dramatically and instead of having 325 sales or so this year, we have 575 sales this year.

2. Increase Agents - I have been wrong in my count of Agents this year. For some reason I had thought I had 18 full time Agents. I don't, I have 14 full time Agents. My goal for the first quarter is to find 4-6 new Agents to get up to my 20 Agents hopefully selling 40-50 homes per year.

3. Expenses - One of the problems with being the person who always invents the wheel, my expenses usually run high. This year I'm going to work on lowering my expenses 20%.

So that's what I'm thinking of at the moment. Of course this is just for my brokerage. I have other plans for 100MPH Marketing Software and The Real Estate Success Network. Running multiple businesses has always been fun to me. It's a little challenging in this market, but I'm very excited about the future and I know that we are geared up and ready for when the market starts to make its comeback!

So have you started thinking about 2011 yet? It's time to start putting your goals and action plans together. Don't wait until the year is over already because you will start too late. I'll be doing our goal setting and action plans with my staff the second week or so in December. If you need any help with your goals and plans, don't hesitate to contact me. I'm always here to help!