Strategic planning creates an advantage for you by utilizing the model of attraction marketing. It is a smart way of reaching your goals with the least amount of wasted time. When you are focused on providing value based on consumer needs, people come to you. In the old days, hard work, commitment, effort and self-discipline were taught as the way to produce results. They did, but there was a high physical, emotional and spiritual cost. Burnout usually followed. Glib scripts and manipulative techniques no longer produce results. One-to-one marketing and a relationship based referral business are the 21st century way to connect with prospects.

During your annual planning, you will be most successful if you strategize some future scenarios. Large corporations have employed this technique to position their products and services to the future needs of their customers. Shell Oil, in what has been recognized as, perhaps, the premier planning process of any large corporation, uses the future scenario process. Their planning involves long-term global thinking that transcends national boundaries and is designed to have a positive influence in the world. Creative new ways of thinking that extend beyond the normal hierarchal leadership models have been utilized to provide extraordinary results. Bringing this type of strategic planning into your real estate business can greatly expand the direction for a future that could give your business the advantage for the 21st century.

With a strategy, you aren’t always working on the goal itself, but rather on improving or positioning the relationships, the environment, the resources and flow and even yourself. When you’ve devised the right strategy, the plan becomes obvious and more than a set of linear steps (more, harder, faster.) This series of articles focuses on the strategies that you could implement, so let’s look next at building a team of synergistic partners.

The Team Strategy

Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto! Success in 2001 may be directly proportional to the number of strategic partnerships you build. Most successful agents in the 20th century built a small team of industry-related partners to help them deliver good service to their clients. Success for the 21st century agent will require an expansion of this team beyond the obvious. AOL is a good example of forming partnerships in an expansive way. How many different ways did AOL get its latest version on disk to you? I even got one recently in a snack on an airplane trip.

People like doing business with people they know. Even better is doing business with people who do business with them. Think of al the service providers you use…your hairdresser, dentist, CPA, banker, grocer, travel agent, masseuse, etc. Are all of these people on your team? Ask yourself, “How many different people think of me when they think real estate? Do they have my cards, brochures or information to pass along to their clients?”

It is not only more fun to focus your prospecting and build your business by going vertical with those you already know but it let’s you make more with less struggle than to build horizontally.

Steps To Build Your Team

• Start with your target markets. What services or products might they also be interested in? Match your partner’s services to the needs of your market. Look for new partners when you have identified some products or services that would be a fit with your target market.

• Focus on adding partners until you have 100! A goal could be to identify and add 5 partners each month. Through Coachu, I have available a great list called Team 100 (www.joeann.com/team100.htm) to expand your thinking and to give you some other business categories.

• Create cross promotions with your partners. Cross link your websites. Share databases and expenses for mailings or emailings.

• Don’t overlook the obvious. Do you have relatives that could be good partners? How about your maid service, parents you meet at soccer games?

• Put together a personal Board of Directors: a small group that you meet with on a quarterly basis who will support you in brainstorming and building your business. Good people to ask to be part of this are your banker, financial planner, other entrepreneurs or small business owners.

• Include your family! The more they know about what your goals are and what’s in it for them, the more supportive they’ll be in helping you. And from a tax standpoint, hiring your kids is a great move!

Build a big team. Think expansively. Create some ways of making it fun and profitable for all involved. When you have 100 people marketing for you, you’ll never have to worry about where the new business is coming from!

Published: May 7, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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.