The countdown is on for the new year, which means it’s time to put the pieces in place to kick off 2020 with a bang. And we’re here to make sure you get the right goals down on paper before momentum fizzles.

How to Create SMART Goals for Real Estate Success

 
You’ve probably heard of SMART goals, but if you haven’t, (or haven’t been using them) it is a way to give yourself actionable items that you can achieve and that will steadily grow your real estate business.
 
SMART refers to goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
 
The benefit on using this methodology for your real estate business is that it sets tangible numbers that you can track. You have a concrete measurement for your deadlines throughout the year. A goal such as, “generate more listings in my farm area” does not fit the bill! If you give it the SMART treatment, “generate 20% more listings in my farm area by Q3” you’re giving yourself more tangible (and thus, more achievable) objectives to work with.
 

1. Specific Real Estate Goals

 
First, state exactly what you’re trying to accomplish, and hone in on the daily activity levels that are necessary to accomplish your desired results.
 
If you’d like to goal yourself at a certain amount of closings this year, this is where you drill down to your daily work to get you there, like how many calls you will make each day in order to generate more leads, more clients, and more opportunities for sales.

2. Measurable Real Estate Goals

 
What gets measured gets improved, so here you need to address how your activity levels will be measured. If you’re lucky enough to have a CRM that tracks activities, this can be simple, or perhaps you’re manually going to log how many calls, appointments, etc. you make.
 
Come up with a specific number that accurately defines your goal. You can use percentages (20% increase) or specific numbers (increase by 1,000 visits) to determine your number.
 

3. Achievable Real Estate Goals

 
Unrealistic activity levels will not happen, so be sure that while your goals are challenging you, they are not impossible. Not only does this go for realistic activity levels, but you also need to take things like past performance, your budget restraints as far as advertising, marketing, etc. and internal resources and manpower available to you.
 

4. Relevant Real Estate Goals

 
You want your personal goals to align with the larger goals of your business as a whole. If you work in a team, make sure your goals are in line with what the business wants to accomplish. (If they aren’t aligned, you may need to have a conversation to adjust expectations, or consider finding a team/franchise that empowers you to achieve the success you desire.)
 

5. Time-Bound Real Estate Goals

 
This is probably one of the most critical components. If you’ve effectively set a measurable goal, it must include a time frame. Don’t be too harsh or too lenient with this. Take an audit of past data and insights into your marketing strategy, and incorporate those results into your future plan.
 

Real Estate SMART Goals in a Nutshell

Short term goal (weekly or monthly):

Increase website visitors by 10% (50 per week to 55 per week) by July 10th, 2017.
Increase seller leads generated by 10% (20 per month to 22 per month) by August 15th, 2017.
 

Mid-Length Goal (quarterly):

Increase new seller leads by 10% (30 each quarter to 33 each quarter) by the end of Q3, 2017.
 

Long-Term Goal (annually):

Increase closes by 25% (20 per year to 25 per year) by December 31, 2017.
 

Where to Use SMART Goals for Real Estate Success

 
When making SMART Goals in Real Estate, it’s helpful to think of some categories when you can set goals and grow your business for the year. Here are some ideas to get you started:

 

Lead Generation SMART Goals:

• Increase website visitors to 2,000 per month by June 30, 2017
• Increase followers of LinkedIn page to 250 by the end of the 3rd quarter in 2017
• Increase blog subscribers by 40% by March 31, 2017

Lead Nurturing SMART Goals:

• Improve response times to leads to 24 hours maximum by July 2017
• Hit a lead conversion ratio of 2.5% by the end of the second quarter of 2017
• Hit an email open rate of 35% by September 30, 2017
• Hit a customer conversion ratio of 3% for email marketing in 2017

Branding SMART Goals:

• Improve online presence with weekly refreshes of blog content by July 2017
• Update your social media profiles and content by March 2017
• Schedule and attend one networking event each week by February 2017

Team SMART Goals:

• Hire a licensed team assistant to handle nurturing and prospecting tasks by April 2017
• Engage in training sessions for any software systems to boost performance by May 2017
• Audit in-house technology and evaluate the need for a system to spur growth by June 2017

Personal SMART Goals:

• Pursue a continuing education opportunity like an industry conference or class by August 2017
• Make consistent time with an industry mentor or coach by March 2017
• Designate 2 hours per week for educational webinars or classes

A Growth Strategy for Real Estate Success

 
These goals are your growth strategy. Write them down, create action plans around them, and make sure you celebrate your milestone moments and make any tweaks or corrections that will help you stay on track. The goals shown above are samples of some of the things you should be thinking about as you develop your online lead generation strategy and start to grow your business. We’ve got more help where that came from too.

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