Using Your Data To Course Correct

With all the data in front of you, take a look at where you are on target and where you are not. Have you exceeded your goals? Are you behind? Perhaps you have a higher (or lower) average sales price than you projected and while your gross figures are in line, your number of transactions is down.

Perhaps you have higher (or lower) expenses than you planned and your net is on target, though your gross is not. Take time to examine each figure against your plan. Your goal is to have a clear idea of where you are right now with 25% of the year gone.

Now, identify any areas that are not on target. What actions have you taken to create the results you have created? For instance, you've spent 1 hour per week prospecting your sphere of influence and have sent a monthly newsletter and that has resulted in 2 referrals so far this year. Your goal was 2 referrals per month. To course correct, you will need to triple the amount of time you are spending in this area to triple your result. So planning to spend 3 hours a week focusing on prospecting here would be an appropriate course correction.

Similarly with the other items, determine what is working, what is not and what action fits your desired result. Then begin to adjust your schedule and working habits to reflect the course correction.

New trends or Shifting Marketplace Dynamics

In reviewing the present state of your business, it is a good time to do some additional strategic thinking. If you are doing the same things, but experiencing diminished results, it may be that there are changes in the marketplace that you have not taken into consideration. If you are not getting the same response from your farming materials, ask is it time to do something newer, fresher, or in a different way. Perhaps an email newsletter is an additional marketing component to add. Of course, nothing beats personal contact so phone calls might be what's needed, if you haven't done that in a while.

The other dynamic may be that the market is so hot, there are more For Sale By Owners. If that market isn't part of your prospecting mix, do you need to rethink it? Projections are showing the Empowered Consumer of the future is more likely to try to sell their home on their own. Do you have a program or services to reach this growing market needs?

Or, perhaps, you have been farming an area where the average turnover used to be every 5 years and now it is every 8 years. Take a look at all the dynamics, the obvious and the not so obvious. Is there a course correction that needs to be made to avoid being blindsided by changes?

Staying The Course

Based on your research, you now have some choices to make:

• Are you still committed to the original goals?
• If so, design the new action plan that will create the results you want.
• If not, do you need to increase or decrease and which ones?
• Now, design the actions to fit the revised goals

The real benefit of a quarterly review is to be on top of what direction you are headed. Just like the Apollo mission, without course corrections, you could end up lost in outer space. For this to be the best year ever, your course corrections can make the difference.

Published: March 24, 2000

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Joeann Fossland ePRO, GRI, MCC, PMN, SRS is a dynamic speaker and business coach. Co-creator of THE REAL ESTATE GAME® and NoBloggerLeftBehind.com, she provides coaching solutions to enhance your effectiveness and life balance. You can subscribe to her free weekly tips, attend free monthly tele-seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting Joeann.com or email her at .