Week 1 (12.16 - 12.20)

My goals this week were focused on planning ahead for 2020. 

•  I finished my business plan. 
•  I analyzed my prospecting data (# of calls, personal notes written, face-to-face meetings completed, etc.) 
• I set new, higher goals for the new year. 
• I began brainstorming how to design and execute a brand new, completely online service for buyers. 

Business Plan...

While the business plan is more or less a living document that I always update and adjust... I can proudly say— it’s as complete as it can possibly be at this point in time. It feels good to have it behind me. Before I tackled it, it was haunting me. 

Here is a preview of some pages out of my business plan:

 

 

 

Analyzing my prospecting data...

One of the most important things to me is recording numbers— my calls, meetings, transactions and lead sources— as accurately as possible. First of all, it is the only way I can measure growth. Further, it allows me generate referral ratios and determine where I’m getting the most ROI for my effort. The referral ratio is my number of transactions that are referrals, to my total number of transactions. This is important because I strive to get my business to reach a point where all leads are referrals. This way I can spend more time on my clients and less time finding new ones. Plus, warm leads a best, am I right or am I right? 
My time is precious and while I’m in school it is limited. So, out of the business I get that is not referred, I want to know which areas are next best to invest in. That could be anywhere from open houses, business-to-business partner promotions to door knocking. 

Other things that I track religiously are my average commission earnings, average days til close, and what percent of my weekly goals I’m actually achieving. I try to make 25 calls a week, or 5 calls a day. When I track these numbers it’s painfully obvious to see when I’m slacking and when I’m totally on point. 

Complete online buyer service...

My completely online service for buyers will be a long term project. Traditionally, this idea is frowned upon and unacceptable in real estate. BUT... times are changing and I know better than the average 55 year old agent that the new generation of buyers lives online. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

This weeks activities

This week in particular I had a number of interactions with buyers of mine. 

Tuesday I met with one of my buyers that I have a business-to-business relationship with in addition to our buyer-agency relationship. At my office we discussed possible cross-promotions for 2020 as well as his position to purchase a home, in regard to what he's looking for and his timeline for purchase. He is particularly interested in finding rental properties that may/may not need some rehab work.

Wednesday morning I had a meeting with another investor-type buyer. We discussed the procedure for being a hard money lender, and how we could work together investing in Real Estate. We shared a mutual struggle in letting go of our hard-earned money to flip a house. We have a follow up meeting after the holidays! 
Wednesday afternoon I touched base with a buyer of mine who has fallen in love with a neighborhood of new construction, behind Letort Elementary. I sent her the optional floor plans to review... She is preparing her current home for the early spring market. For appropriate timing, she needs to begin the new construction process before selling her home, as it takes 3-4 months to build a home. It is clear her current home will sell fast, and she will need to line up somewhere to go! 

Thursday I sent out 3 month anniversary cards to buyers of mine that settled.... 3 months ago ;) Also, I finalized a contract and connected with the lender of a buyer who has also chosen the new construction route. All is squared away-- he really waited til the last minute to get everything done! He better have his lender docs in by today (12/23/19) or we are risking not having the mortgage commitment letter by January, 21. Come April, we will settle on his custom townhome. 

Friday I delivered poinsettias to a couple of my favorite buyers and businesses. Afterword, I door knocked an entire block within Crossgates to invite all of the neighbors to my open house this weekend. This is a fabulous way for me to meet more potential buyers in a neighborhood that I'm already working in. Unfortunately, we went under agreement for this particular listing of mine THE NIGHT before the open house. Consequently, no open house or opportunity to meet the neighbors I invited. Oh well! In the midst of my door knocking on Friday, I got a call from my boyfriends mother. She had a brother in-law looking for a place and he had liked this Crossgates listing of mine. I met him in the evening to show him the place, and then headed to show him one exactly like it in Hempfield Twp. I painfully await his decision! Although the Crossgates listing is not available anymore, my fingers are crossed he likes my Hempfield townhome the most of the places he's seen. 

That about wraps up my week. In the interim I was working on my business plan, marketing plans and lots and lots of paper work and communication for deals closing soon. 

Til next week!