This post comes to us from the Market Leader blog:

SWOT analysis is one of the basic concepts taught at business school. The problem is, however, the only business school many real estate agents go to is the School of Hard Knocks.

But that's OK—you can be a graduate with honors of Hard Knocks University and still benefit from performing a SWOT analysis on your real estate practice.

You may have all of the energy, drive and passion in the world; but without some sort of plan in place, even the most enthusiastic agents can suffer from massive diffusion, and find themselves confronted with too many tasks competing for the next hour of their time. As a result, none of their projects get very far, and the ones that do are poorly aligned with their needs and circumstances.

The Basics

The standard SWOT analysis, as we know it, was developed by Albert S. Humphrey, a successful management consultant in the '60s and '70s. Humphrey was looking for a tool that went beyond maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses; he wanted one that addressed how those strengths and weaknesses interacted with the broader business environment.

SWOT stands for:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Threats
• Opportunities