The start of the new year is naturally a time of reflection and planning.

Although it can be easy to slip into Autopilot mode after the holidays and carry on with the same day-to-day, business as usual approach - the most successful pros are asking themselves the following questions:

“What worked last year? What didn’t work? And most importantly, how can I/we do better this year?”

With this in mind, we have put together the following tips for planning ahead for a prosperous year.

1. Set Goals

No matter when you’re reading this, it’s not too late to set yourself goals for the year ahead.

If you’re stuck trying to figure out what goals to set this year, choose one (or all) of the goals we recommend below. These are real goals we’ve helped our clients achieve and we can help you to achieve them too!

- Ensure every open home, inspection & auction attendee is automatically recorded directly into my CRM 

- Follow up with every lead within 24hrs

- Ask every potential buyer if they’re also selling. Flag the ones who are selling in my CRM

- Send a weekly newsletter to my buyers and potential sellers weekly to keep them engaged.

Here at ReNet our goal is to help agents win & sell more listings with intelligent, intuitive and easy to use tools. You can even create, set and monitor individual agent goals within ReNet according to a range of metrics. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals - contact us today.

2. Freshen up your brand/website

Websites are like loveable doggies - which means that you’re (mostly) always proud of them, and love them to bits - but they tend to age a lot faster than you want them to!

The good news is that a well built website that provides you with management tools to update imagery and content will help delay the website aging process.

A question we’re often asked by clients is ‘How often should I update/upgrade my website?’ While there is no hard and fast rule here, there are a few guidelines to help inform your decision making process:

- How does your website compare to the websites of competitors in your area?

- Is your website more than 5 years old

- Is your website mobile responsive / does it look and function excellently on smartphones & tablet PCs

If you answer unfavourably to any of the questions above, it may be time to consider a new website.

Your website is your first impression. With it, you can build your personal brand, impress potential vendors, and win more listings. Unfortunately however an outdated website can drive business elsewhere.

If you do find yourself in the market for a new website or website upgrade, there are a number of factors to consider before signing on the dotted line, or spending any of your hard earned.

Get in touch with our experienced team to learn more about our website design process today.

3. Identify areas to improve/up-skill

Most successful agents will agree that there is always a new skill to learn or an existing skill that can be improved.

With technology playing an increasingly significant role in the buying and selling process with every year that passes, it’s becoming more and more important for real estate agents and businesses to improve the way they understand, incorporate and utilize the various technologies available in our industry.

Unfortunately, most real estate tech can be prohibitively complex, and tech-confidence/know-how can be a huge barrier to excelling. For this reason, we encourage all agents to rely on the support and training resources available to them.

Setting aside 15 mins a week (or month) to start a conversation with a tech wizz either in your office, or at a software or website company that you use, about a software or website feature you’d like to know more about - can be hugely beneficial to your future success.

At ReNet we provide a library of training & support materials, as well as a friendly support team who are always keen to help. We also offer one-on-one training and in-office classroom training for a more tailored support solution.

4. Create Routines

They say routine is the bedrock of efficiency.

Like many professions, so much of the day-to-day of real estate can often be broken down to a number of required steps & processes.

For new agents, new property managers, office administrators or first time office principals, remembering every step of every crucial process can be overwhelming.

Creating routines can be as simple as formalising or writing down each step of the day-to-day processes required for each role within your business. While this can seem tedious and therefore overlooked - having these routines set and quickly/easily accessible to new staff, staff returning from leave or staff covering unfamiliar roles etc can pay huge dividends.

With the right real estate software, creating these routines should be simple.

ReNet’s tasks & trails system, for example, saves you time and makes your job easier by allowing you to easily create reminder templates around all of your office processes & routines. Contact us today to learn more.

5. Look after yourself

Your mental health & well-being are just as crucial as any other metric of success, so take time each day to protect and cultivate both.

And when you need to take a break - come visit our wonderful beaches in Sawtell, in the Coffs Harbour region of the mid-north coast - and please drop into the ReNet office to say hi!