An Expert Speaks: How to Position Yourself for a Successful Year in Real Estate

Do you have big real estate goals in 2016? Well-known business coach and consultant Mike Lindstrom recently shared his secrets for a successful year with the winners of the Agent Transformation Sweepstakes presented by PNC Mortgage. And now you can steal some of his top tips!

Lindstrom is a powerful orator who regularly gives talks for big names in real estate, such as Coldwell Banker, RE/MAX International, and Prudential. Watch the video to learn from this industry guru, and then download the accompanying How to Position Yourself for a Successful Year in Real Estate worksheet to put his guidance into practice.

No time for a video? Check out the written highlights on the next page.

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Taking your brand online

Most agents have a good sense of their personal brand. They've created flyers and business cards, and they're well acquainted with their "elevator pitch." However, many still struggle with translating that brand to the internet. According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 42 percent of homebuyers look at listings online before contacting an agent, so it has become crucial for you to make your mark there as well.

This year, challenge yourself to establish an online presence for your brand. If you don't already have an account, create a profile on Facebook and reach out to leads and clients. Consider setting up a simple website to promote your business and your listings, and make sure that you keep an eye on current trends by reading real estate blogs and magazines.

Even putting a small amount of effort in can make a difference. And if you're still not sure where to start, keep an eye out for our upcoming Expert Speaks post on using social media for real estate.

• To try in 2016: Set up a profile on at least one social media platform and update it weekly.

Setting specific goals

When it comes to setting goals for the new year, it's important to get granular with your aspirations. Rather than setting a goal such as, "I want to be the best real estate agent in my area," you might instead say, "I want to double my sales in a target neighborhood; I'll do this by learning about the community and becoming a go-to source of information on those properties." By making your goals more specific and more action-oriented, they become easier to measure.

When in doubt, focus on numerical items that can easily be quantified, such as number of listings you've closed or the number of new leads you reached out to.

• To try in 2016: Write down your top 3 specific goals for the new year, and how you plan to achieve them.

Time blocking

Time blocking is a time management technique that involves pre-scheduling specific "blocks" of time to dedicate to doing a specific task or tasks. With consistency and discipline, time blocking can be a very effective manner to cut down on procrastination and focus on some of the necessary evils of real estate, such as reaching out to leads, cold calling, updating your social media profiles, or prospecting. Time blocking is also an efficient way to segment your calendar to achieve maximum productivity.

• To try in 2016: Block off an hour twice a week to do a task that you know you should do, but regularly put off until later.

Writing things down

Journaling is a helpful way of measuring the successes that aren't easy to document with numbers, as well as a means of tracking your feelings and development as a professional in your field. Writing down your goals and your dreams can help them seem more realistic, and it can also inspire you to go after those things with greater motivation. Try keeping a journal to record your big wins, or consider writing about what the perfect professional year would look like to you. Then go out there and make it happen!

• To try in 2016: Write an essay to yourself about how you would like your year to go? How will you go about making that essay a reality?

Are you ready to make 2016 your most successful year yet? Download our free worksheet to help you get started.

To view the original article, visit the HomeFinder.com blog.