Tom Ferry's Foolproof 2018 Business Plan Template

 

Warning: This exercise requires you to do some work …. And it will take a while.

But here’s the good news: The work you do will impact ALL of next year …. And it can be the key that unlocks your Best Year Ever (#BYE) in 2018.

It’s all about creating your 2018 business plan.

It’s not thinking about creating it, partially creating it or wishing you’d created it.

It’s about doing the work.

So here’s what I’m going to ask you to do:

• Open up your calendar right now.
• Reserve one full day in the next two weeks to create your business plan.
• Write it in with a permanent marker (or the digital equivalent).

Because completing your 2018 business plan might very well be the most important task you do in what’s left of 2017.

Step-by-step instructions to create your #BYE

I’m going to walk you through 10 important steps to completing your business plan.

I’m sharing the exact plan we use with our coaching members with you.

First, start by downloading your business plan here.

You may also want to schedule a meeting with your broker to review 2017, because the more information you have about what got you where you are today, the more effectively you can plan a successful future.

Once you have everything you need, find a comfortable spot where you can dig in and do the work.

Let’s begin.

Step 1: Break down your 2017 results

Hopefully you’ve taken my advice in the past and you track and measure all of your statistics regarding production and lead generation.

If you’ve been doing this, it will help to know your 2017 numbers for:

• GCI
• Sales volume
• Number of transactions (broken into buyers/sellers/leases)
• Average sales price
• Average retained commission percentage
• Lead sources

If you haven’t been tracking your numbers, the “Deal Tracker” in the business plan will help you in the future.

Step 2: Set your goals for 2018

Here’s where the actual business plan begins, on the “What You Want” page.

Fill in your 2018 goals for the following:

• Revenue/GCI
• Expected expenses
• Profit
• Savings and debt reduction

Step 3: Plan your attack

Break down your goals into sellers, buyers and leases, including what percentage each will contribute to your 2018 goal. Factor in your average sales price and your expected commission as well.

Then, determine how many transactions of each are needed and how many appointments you’ll require to reach that goal.

Step 4: Determine your “Daily Number”

You’ve now established how many appointments you need to achieve your 2018 goals.

The next step is to determine how many conversations will be necessary to generate your needed number of appointments.

If you know your numbers, use your average here.

If you don’t know your numbers, I estimate that most agents close one transaction from every 40 business-focused conversations conducted with a new lead or database contact.

Multiply your transaction goal by 40 to determine how many conversations you need to conduct.

Then, divide that number by the number of weeks you plan to work in 2018.

This will give you your Weekly Conversation Goal, which you can then break down even further into your Daily Conversation Goal.

While analyzing these numbers, be sure to note where your transactions are coming from and where you can seek out new growth opportunities.

Step 5: Choose your core lead sources

The next step is to analyze what lead sources have worked well for you in the past and which you will rely on in 2018.

What works? How can you do it even better? What do you want to add?

To keep things manageable, it’s best to identify four to six core lead sources that serve as pillars of your business. If you take on too many various lead sources, things quickly become overwhelming.

Step 6: Develop your strategic plan for each lead source

Here’s where things get time consuming.

The next step is to take the primary lead sources you plan to use in 2018 and build out a one-page strategic plan for each.

The more specific you are, the more useful this document will be.

You need to go deep into the tactics you’re going to use.

Consider this step creating your roadmap for how you will generate leads in 2018.

Dig in and do the work!

Step 7: Create your optimal daily & weekly schedules

Even having mapped out your plan to this extent, you can’t just hope it works.

You need to make it happen.

That means determining what your optimal day looks like to ensure you do the tasks necessary to achieve the results you desire.

The “Optimal Day” and “Optimal Week” worksheets will help you do this.

Give these some strategic thought, create them and then get them up and visible or programmed within your project management software.

Step 8: Conduct your self-inventory SWOT analysis

Part of building a business plan is taking stock of your own strengths and weaknesses so you know where you can improve in 2018.

The “Where to Improve” page will help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the coming year.

Evaluate yourself in each of these categories:

• Lead generation
• Organizational skills
• Wellness
• Lead conversion
• Mindset
• Communication skills

Then use 2018 to focus on those areas that most need growth.

Step 9: Identify your motive

You’re never going to perform to your full potential unless you have a reason.

So that’s the next question to answer:

What’s going to drive you?

What’s your “Why”?

Is it your own pride? Is it to contribute to your community? Is it to buy a boat?

The driver itself doesn’t really matter for this exercise.

What is important is having something that motivates you to do the work every day.

Step 10: Focus on the five disciplines

As 2018 arrives and you execute your business plan, you need to think about five disciplines of execution:

• Focus on your goal
• Act on your key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Keep your goals up and visible and scoreboard your progress
• Create a cadence of accountability
• Celebrate your wins!

Also, be sure to use the trackers for transactions, personal and business expenses and wealth within the business plan to measure your progress.

When you track and measure and inject accountability into your business, your results will go through the roof.

You have a lot of work ahead of you, both in completing your plan and building in accountability to ensure you put the plan into action in 2018.

If you need any help, let us know: tferry@tomferry.com

About the author

As the founder and CEO of real estate’s leading coaching company, Tom Ferry brings 30+ years of coaching experience to agents worldwide. His ever-growing influence impacts professionals through rigorous accountability coaching, the popular #TomFerryShow delivering free, fresh and relevant real estate tips weekly, highly engaging training events, two best-selling books, and as a noted keynote speaker.