Failing to plan is planning to fail. In the real estate world, the stakes are high and errors can cost you a lot. But a mistake such as failing to reach out to potential clients isn’t the common reason that you incur losses more than profits. Sometimes the cause of it is failing to study the local housing market, competitors, and even yourself.

That’s why it’s important to make a battle strategy before representing clients in buying and selling a house. Here’s how to make a proper plan that would make you successful in the real estate business.

1. Write an executive summary

The first step of real estate planning is to make a summary of who you are, what services you offer, where you operate, and where you serve. An executive summary is typically written from a third-person perspective. The example goes like this:

“Wilhelm Schmidt is a real estate agent who serves first-time homebuyers in Downtown Los Angeles. He offers title, mortgage, home-buying, and home-selling services and legal advice.”

2. Define your mission statement

A mission statement is the foundation of your business plan. It is also its support that must clearly state your business’s goals and guiding principles. Like an executive summary, a mission statement should be written in an active third-person tone. For example:

“With the drive to help first-time homebuyers find their dream house, Wilhelm Schmidt provides clients with a smooth and transparent service - even teaching how the real estate market works.”

3. Perform a SWOT analysis

The SWOT analysis is a technique used for identifying the characteristics that could affect your business. It stands for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal - meaning they are more about you like your knowledge about the business, your confidence, and the financial resources you currently have.

Opportunities and threats on the other hand are external. They are usually found in the real estate market or your existing and emerging competitors. Because a SWOT analysis identifies things that could impact your business, you’ll be able to capitalize on your strengths and opportunities while creating plans on how to avoid and go around potential pitfalls.

4. Establish your sales and marketing strategy

Sales and marketing strategies are also the results of your SWOT analysis. Here’s an example of them: If your threats are the existing and emerging local competitors and the analysis has shown you their executive summary and mission statements, you can revise your real estate agent’s identity in a way that is unique but at the same time outperforming them.

Or if your weakness as a real estate agent is lacking the resources for advertising, you can opt for more affordable ways to expose your brand in the real estate market such as writing newsletters or sending email campaigns.

5. Make a document of your real estate business plan

Once you have made an executive summary, mission statement, SWOT analysis, sales, and marketing strategies, it’s time to put it into paper. It’s even better to use Google Docs or Microsoft Word since a real estate business plan isn’t a static document.

You need to save everything in a way that you can regularly review and alter as needed. The need to make revisions will even be more frequent as your business grows and new competitors emerge from the market.

There are more tips on how to create a solid and effective real estate agent’s business plant. I want to share everything with you so I’m making this a 3-part blog series. Stay tuned for the second part.

In the meantime, please take the time to read more real estate topics. Check out the articles below:

• How to Close More Real Estate Deals
• 8 Real Estate Trends to Watch Out for In 2021
• 5 Questions Successful Real Estate Agents Ask Themselves
• 10 Things That Real Estate Agents Should Master
• 8 Tips for Real Estate Agents When Working from Home