Whether you’re a new agent building your foundation or a seasoned professional looking to grow your business, creating a business plan is essential. Sean Provencher, Founder and CEO of Endgame Coaching, joins Jason Mercer, TRREB’s Chief Information Officer, on TRREB’s Ready to Real Estate podcast to share tips to help you develop a successful business plan, set goals and manage your time effectively. They also discuss technology tools REALTORS® can leverage to their advantage.

Business Plan Basics

Having a business plan is important to growing and sustaining a successful business. “A business plan serves two purposes. It forces you to slow down and think about what you want your business to look like, and it gives you something to come back to and say, ‘Am I getting what I said I was going to get out of this’,” explains Sean.

 A plan gives you a chance to reflect on what’s working, what’s not, and make adjustments. Without one, you don’t know where you’re going wrong.

Setting Goals in Your Business Plan

Sean suggests starting your business plan with a clear and actionable goal. “Once you’ve set your goal, start working backwards and deconstruct into smaller chunks that you can do on a weekly basis,” Sean says. This includes lead generation activities, the number of cold-calls and follow-up calls you plan to make, social media posts, and more.

New agents should map out the time they need to complete these activities. This is called time blocking. It’s important to add these activities to your calendar first to ensure you reserve time for these tasks because they will help you enhance the service you provide to your clients and are key to growing your business. Sean also noted that you should leave buffers in your schedule in case a situation arises; you can still easily move around your schedule and complete all your planned tasks.

Technology Tools

“Choosing how you use your time, is how you take your business plan and transform it into a reality,” Sean explains. Using a calendar to time-block a task a couple times a week is far more effective than doing a task every single day for 30 minutes.

 Sean also recommends building standard operating procedures. It can include five things to do every time you add a lead in your database or establishing workflows. This will help you stay organized and save time when completing tasks.

Lastly, every REALTOR® needs a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. CRMs help REALTORS® manage their client relationships. They organize, track, and analyze client data leading to better service, personalized communication, and streamlined sale processes.

 “The agents who embrace technology will outperform those who don’t,” says Sean. Leveraging the right tools can be a game changer when running your real estate business. From streamlining your day-to-day tasks to boosting client engagement, and creating content, technology can elevate every part of your business.

Tune into the full episode on TRREB’s Ready to Real Estate podcast.