Imagine it is December 31st, 1999 and you are sipping your champagne as the new millennium is born. As you look back on the last year, you are grateful that it has been your best ever.

Life is good! Now, you can look forward to doing things for yourself and your family that had been beyond your reach. What do you want to do? Get a weekly massage? Put more into the college and/or retirement funds? Take a long vacation? What a feeling of freedom!

You know that the choices you made a year ago are making these wonderful choices possible today. You let out a big sigh of satisfaction.

Now, come back to today.

Where will you need to take your business to have this vision become a reality? Now is the time to plan the coming year. Now is the time to sow the seeds that will grow your dream. By having a clear picture of what this will look like, you will start in motion all sorts of resources to support your vision.

Let's take a road trip through 1999.

Get Your Bearings

Most people spend more time planning their vacations than they do planning their lives. So, as Microsoft says, "Where do you want to go?" Knowing the point from which you are starting and the location of the destination is critical. When you plan a vacation, you get out a map and plot how you want to get there. When you plan your year, you do the same thing.

What is your starting point? Take a look at the past 12 months of 1998. If you have your production computerized and can run a report: Bravo for you! If not, total your production dollar volume, your number  of units, and how each transaction was generated.

Determine What Worked This Year

You've gathered data on where your business came from this year. Now is the time to do some real thinking and brainstorming. Did your business come from signs? From ads? From referrals? For each category that generated business, gather the data on what you spent marketing to this segment. You should see some interesting information about how effective your marketing and advertising dollars are being spent.

As you planned that vacation, you probably had to make some choices about which roads to take. "Do you want the fastest and the shortest route?" is the question my trip software asks me. It seems silly to answer, "No, give me the slow, hard route!" But we do always have choices, don’t we? And we are very individual in what we choose to do and how to get there.

In choosing where to allot your spending next year, the road to take might be the "quickest and easiest route," but you will be better off to spend more where it is generating the most return. Leverage the strengths you have. Maximize your reach where it is working. Rethink your overall strategy.  

Focus on the Destination

Keeping the map available so you can refer back to it as the journey progresses keeps you on track and away from detours. If you have taken a wrong road, a course correction taken in time will save lots of out of the way driving.

Follow your plan, and you will end up in a place your really want to be - sipping champagne and calling the masseuse!

Now, hit the road and have a safe, happy 1999!

Published: December 24, 1998

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Joeann Fossland ePRO, GRI, MCC, PMN, SRS is a dynamic, international speaker and business coach. She personally coaches a small number of extraordinary agents who want to leverage their production results and have a life they love! She was recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Real Estate in 2008 by Stephan Swanapoel. Subscribe to her free Tuesday Tips, attend Fossland's Forums, free monthly tele-seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting Joeann.com or email her at . You can also connect at Facebook and Twitter.