Episode 029 - Mid-Year Review 2020 Ever hear the expression, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?" We all talk about doing better at our craft, but how do we know if we are moving forward? Are you close to your numbers? Do you know your metrics? In B's experience, many agents are great at their craft, but not so great at tracking their business. They're too easily satisfied with being "close" to their planned numbers. We are midway through the year, so now is a great time to either review what you have done, or create metrics so you can review them at the end of the year. A healthy business plan will include tracking ALL of your numbers, not just sales you have closed. Where are you on your business budget? Your client contact plan? Your customer satisfaction? If you don't know the answer to those questions, you'll want to listen to this episode. SHOW NOTES 00:38 – Angie, we are helping you today, but today it is only Angie. 01:37 – Mid-year review; Coronavirus, murder hornets, riots, landslides, what is coming up for the next six months? Aliens? 02:40 – Talking about how far we have come with the podcast and also about things agents can do because we have room for change. 03:05 – Song of the Episode…that we don't play (doggone copyright rules): Smashing Pumpkins, "Perfect". This was their mid-career album. 05:20 – Quick debate over how perfect B is. 05:30 – Agents should tracking metrics. Did you set goals for 2020? They probably changed due to Coronavirus. 07:08 – Agents are business owners and are likely making mistakes: lack of planning, lack of follow through, lack of tracking and lack of review. 08:22 – What has the first part of the year look like for you? Look at what you have done so far. How does it compare with your plan from the beginning of the year? 09:30 – There is still half of the year left to kick things in gear. Maybe you haven't hit your goals, but there is still plenty of time to get after those goals. 10:05 – Cate: use a goal checklist. Review your numbers from what your goals were and where are you now? Phone calls, emails, contacts? What do you need to focus on to finish out the year? 10:34 – You can also make corrections now. Example: marketing "touches" with clients. Maybe the quarantine changed your numbers. Revise your numbers if needed to account for what you couldn't do over the past six months. 11:30 – Cate: If you aren't going to be able hit your numbers because of the happening in the first half of the year, adjust those numbers and go at them hard for the second half of the year. Do something to offset what you couldn't do. Be flexible. 11:54 – Do NOT beat yourself up. Things happen and you need to be flexible and adjust when necessary. 12:36 – A big problem for many people is that they don't even know if changes are needed. They don't have anything written down and don't know what might need to happen. "I want to sell more", that is not specific. Be specific. 13:10 – Have a trackable metric. What is more? Be specific on what "more" is. 13:45 – Cate: acronym SMART – Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant & Time bound. 14:10 – Some agents will have some numbers written down. Many don't. It is the middle of the year…you still have time to do something. 14:48 – Cate's Side Note Tangent: Cate's goals from 10 years ago…be debt free, building a dream home, trip down east coast, Santorini, Greece, pilot's license, lake house on Wawasee, gallop on a horse (not trot or jaunt), flip a house, skydive, and learn Spanish. 17:46 – B's life goals: pole barn, retire with a beautiful lady at my side. 18:18 – Christian: drive at Road America. 19:07 – Things to include in your metrics: systems to handle your transactions and agents 20:08 – Budgets: with income & expenses (fixed and variable; annual vs. monthly) 21:20 – Cate: major life event changed budget and you need to change 21:50 – Time management: Do you have one? How is it going? 22:06 – Client satisfaction: surveys, third party company. Clients are not rating you as high as you thought. 22:40 – Get a business coach! B can help if you want his assistance. The cost you pay for a coach will be more than offset by the expenses & additional taxes you pay and money you spend. 23:22 – Between the Lines being transparent. The spinoff, Between Your Lines is not doing as well. We are not above having metrics. What are our goals and numbers? 24:45 – Christian: What were we going to do with the podcast? Make YouTube site, on iTunes and Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, expanded brands, websites…none of that existed or was used. Minimal use in 2019 to ramped up throughout 2020. 26:29 – Now all we need are listeners…more than just Angie. 26:40 – We passed 1,000 downloads much sooner than expected. 27:03 – We have work to do, but early on we are hitting high numbers with baby steps. 27:35 – We are proud of our creative team: Christian, Jordy, Kate Sowles and Mal. They have our back and make us look good. 27:52 – Another huge change, our email service providers from Mailchimp to Constant Contact, so our email list is growing. 28:35 – We are very proud of what we have done. We still have more to go. Getting into a groove. 29:15 – Producer Christian & Cate are much happier since they have been part of the podcast. 29:53 – Cate: baby steps are still forward steps. Small steps are okay and good. Don't get down on yourself. Be flexible and adjust when needed. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. 30:53 – Christian: Bill Gates quote. Keep end goal in mind. Don't have to do it all in one day. Keep moving forward. 31:45 – Quote from the Episode from B. If you want a hugely successful business, you need to have goals and metrics that are written down with timeframes that are achievable. 32:29 – Closing: Goals can make or break your business. Write them down, track them and change them when needed. It is NOT too late to do this. Make a change now. Take the time to get it down and you will be happier. 33:06 – Thank you for listening! Make your day legendary! SHOW LINKS What does "Evergreen" mean? – https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-evergreen-content-definition-dos-and-don-ts-2316028 Smashing Pumpkins, "Perfect" – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKYY8DxVZHE Stone Temple Pilots – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Temple_Pilots The Office – https://www.nbc.com/the-office SMART acronym – https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/smart-goal/#:~:text=SMART%20is%20an%20acronym%20that,Achievable%2C%20Realistic%2C%20and%20Timely. Santorini, Greece – http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/greek_islands/santorini Lake Wawasee – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Wawasee Road America Race Track – https://www.roadamerica.com/ Constant Contact – https://www.constantcontact.com/ Indiana Real Estate Institute – https://www.indianarealestateinstitute.com/ BETWEEN THE LINES LINKS Email brian@brianclee.com cate@craftsmanrg.com Web brianclee.com catelee.com realestatebetweenthelines.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestatebetweenthelines/ https://www.facebook.com/Brian-C-Lee-111822417027919/? YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcv4dHU39-b5_QVVCIhbcBA?