Behind the Scenes of Planning for Business Growth

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It's not easy to grow & sustain a business! You're going to have ups and downs. There will be days where you feel like you can do anything and days where it's setback after setback. It's all part of the process to long-term success. So, let's have a real conversation about what that looks like. Because whether you're an agent looking to reach your goals, or you work at a brokerage, on a team, as an admin, or in the industry - we are all focused on business growth. The truth is, I've learned some valuable lessons in owning Ideas for Real Estate and launching my membership and marketing services. So today, I'm taking you behind the scenes of my business to help you with yours!

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In addition to being a podcast host, I'm also a podcast listener. And my favorite types of shows are of course, marketing related, but also mindset and business-focused. It's inspiring to learn from thought leaders, and I especially like when people share their own experiences. It's one thing to hear, "here's 3 ways to be successful" as a podcast/blog title. It's another thing entirely to hear a true-life account of what it took to be successful, including all the messy and motivating bits!

And if you're here with me now, then I know that you are dedicated to improving and have goals you want to reach - I'm the same way.

My personality is to challenge myself, push to be better, and reach for the stars. Yet, accomplishing all you set out to do isn't easy. You need a plan. You need consistency. And you need to be aware of where you can improve and what you did well.

Because growing your business doesn't happen overnight! Instead, it's a continuous climb that takes hard work and even kindness to yourself. So, I thought it would be interesting to share with you what's going on in my business and how I'm planning for growth in the future, just like I know you are!

My Year of Learning

Before we can plan, I think it's so important that we're honest with ourselves. You can't look toward the future without recognizing what happened in the past. All the actions you take and strategies you use give you valuable feedback.

So it's important that you ask yourself, "how did last year go?," "what worked?," "what didn't work?" and have a nonjudgemental conversation with yourself.

I had to do this, and I've decided that 2022 was "my year of learning."

It was my first full year in my business, and while I've been in marketing for a long time and held executive leadership roles in my career, I've never done what I did last year. I'd never launched a real estate marketing membership!

With everything that's inside my membership, The Marketing Suite, I know exactly what I'm doing. Creating social media for agents is a well-honed skill of mine. Providing trainings and coaching sessions is something I'm passionate about. Creating content like email marketing and providing personalized agent support are all areas that I'm good at - and I'm not shy about saying that.

But actually marketing a Realtor marketing membership? That was new to me.

We tried marketing ideas that were a complete waste of time, and I was surprised to find other strategies were working so well. Yes, I'm an award-winning marketer and have experience, but that doesn't mean that there isn't room for me to grow.

When I look back at 2022, I don't see any "failures." Instead, I really do see all of the lessons I learned from what I tried. Whether it was a marketing idea or a business approach, each thing I did has prepared me to move forward.

A takeaway for you is this - you have to first try. It's that simple. If you want to grow, you have to take action. That action will either work or it will give you direction moving forward on how to improve. But if you're stagnant, nothing is going to happen for you.

Now, I definitely had success in 2022! And I think it's important that we don't spend all of our time criticizing ourselves.

I launched something that I've been dreaming about for years and am really proud of. Out of everything I did, my focus was on showing up and providing the absolute best for my members. And that's exactly the approach I took and was the core of all I did.

I successfully started a dream of mine and have gotten amazing testimonials along the way. I'm very proud of that! And whether you just got started or sold 100 homes, I hope you are taking the time to celebrate yourself as well!

But for all the things I did right, I found ways that I could improve. Those ways might range from ways to be more efficient to upgrades on what I was offering. And as you look towards building your own business, I recommend that you take the time to evaluate yourself, look for opportunities, and celebrate the wins along the way.

Learning is a good thing!

Getting Personal with Your Business

As we focus on our business goals, I think it's important that we don't lose sight of what's right for us personally as well.

There won't be any joy in accomplishing what you set out to do if you're a burnt-out mess when you get there.

I'll be honest. 2022 wasn't an easy year for me personally. If you've been following my story, then you know that I have some health issues that majorly impacted my life over the last few years. And in 2022, I had two more major hip surgeries that required more hospital stays, pain, PT, months on crutches, and impacted how I was feeling. That makes a total of 5 major surgeries in the last two years, and that's impacted what I'm able to do.

It was difficult to plan, when I wasn't sure if I'd be able to work. I have a history of the weirdest reactions like blurry vision for weeks, along with the emotional and physical drain of having health issues.

But because I'm me and unable to sit still, I decided to launch The Marketing Suite right before surgery #5 last summer. A lot of people might not think that was a good idea, but for me, it was something positive to focus on that I was passionate about.

Now, moving into 2023, I thankfully am improving everyday with my health, and don't have any more upcoming surgeries. However, I am planning for what I want out of life and is good for me.

Already on the calendar are vacations and time-off. I'm working on getting my husband to agree to a wellness retreat in Arizona (I'll let you know how that goes!), but I'm focused on doing what's right for myself.

I'm also working on my morning and evening routines as well. To fuel your business during the day, it's important that you fuel yourself. So, I'm starting and ending my day intentionally and in a healthy way. I might share more of what I'm doing in the future, but right now, it involves yoga that I can do, mindset exercises, reading, and more ways to unwind at night or start my day in a positive way.

I'm still figuring out what works for me, but already I've noticed a difference! And this is just a friendly reminder that how you treat yourself absolutely affects your ability to grow your business. And I plan to focus on my mind & body even more in 2023!

Putting My Business & Marketing Plan Into Action 

So, after reviewing last year and making a point to consider yourself moving forward, then you can start moving forward with your business.

Just like I recommend for agents, I did business and marketing planning in 2023. Which, if you haven't done yet, it's never too late to work on your marketing plan! Check out Episode 113 for more resources OR watch the replay of my Marketing Planning Workshop to get my exact process & plan template.

{Click here to see all the details on what’s inside The Marketing Suite}
and use code JOIN25 for 25% off your first month in the membership:

For my business, my Marketing Manager and I blocked out an entire day to focus on our 2023 plan. We analyzed the business, set goals, and went over marketing ideas and strategies for the new year.

But I think the most beneficial exercise was getting everything onto a calendar. If you don't have a deadline, you won't get whatever it is done. It's also helpful to visually see your goals in front of you.

So, we took a big 2023 calendar and wrote all over it. We included on it marketing campaign launches, goals for Marketing Suite new members, promotional campaign timelines, launch dates, and all of my live trainings.

We also planned out the entire year's worth of strategies and trainings that we would be focusing on in The Marketing Suite. For example, we have months planned where I'll host trainings & release resources for listing marketing, branding on social, video, and creative lead strategies.

Honestly, I am so excited about our plans! And that excitement leads to daily motivation, and it gives me a plan moving forward. I know exactly what I'll be doing this year because it's planned out, on the calendar, and works for my business goals.

If you haven't taken the time to do a similar exercise, you are missing out on such a transformational aspect of growth. Jumping from one idea to the next and not following any real path moving forward will make it much harder for you to reach success.

Leveraging Tools & Resources

After we had that plan, I took it and put it all into our project management software, Asana.

While I love knowing what the big picture looks like for this year, I need to know what all of my individual tasks are to get there.

For example, we'll be doing 3 major launches of The Marketing Suite this year (and I keep referencing The Marketing Suite because that's how I grow. For you, it might be "selling more homes" or "recruiting more agents."). 

Now, a launch is where you are strategic about selling. You are providing value during this time but also asking for business. As I mentioned, we have 3 launches on the calendar.

During these launches, there will be a lot of marketing collateral to create, videos to film, social posts to share, live events that I need to host, presentations to create, and the list goes on! What's on "that list" is what you'll find in my Asana.

Every webinar I'm hosting and the 25 tasks associated with it, will be in Asana. Outside of launches, all the ongoing marketing we need to do - from weekly emails to my subscribers to this very podcast - will have deadlines and action items.

Now, I'm a professional marketer with help and I've taken a lot of my corporate experience and applied it to my own business. You don't have to be as detailed as I am. In fact, it would more than likely be overwhelming and unnecessary if you're a real estate agent.

However, having a plan and a list of tasks with deadlines will be key to your success as well. So, find a tool that will help you stay organized and take the time to put a system in place that works for you. If you don't have a system, you can use the tracker in my Marketing Plan here.

Tracking My Big Goals 

Up next, let's talk about goals! My ultimate goal this year is to grow my membership. So, to do that, I didn't just set a big goal and say "done!"

I was more strategic than that! After I analyzed my past business and put all of my marketing campaigns on the calendar, I set my goal. For me, I set a goal for each month based on my promo schedule and from there got my year-end goal.

For most in real estate, that's backward from what you'd do because our businesses are different.

You might set a real estate production goal for the entire year and give yourself a monthly goal from there. For example, if your goal is to sell 24 homes, that would be two a month. If you have experience and transactional data, you might not spread it evenly and put more closings in the spring/summer vs the winter depending on your market.

The key though, is to track these goals and to check in regularly!

In addition to my membership goal, I have other goals that will lead me there. For example, I know that members join because of the marketing on my website, podcast, and social. So, I have specific goals to increase my podcast listeners, grow my email list, and get more followers on Instagram. Those smaller goals will lead to bigger ones, and those smaller goals have action items to support them.

For example, to grow my email list, I have plans to release some new, powerful free resources. Those freebies are planned out and on the calendar for release! So, stay tuned because I know you'll find them helpful!

I also have a goal that will help me reach new audiences. While I have this podcast, I've had to say no to a lot of opportunities to be guests on other people's shows. It was very unpredictable with my health, and I didn't have the bandwidth for it last year.

This year, I have a goal of at least 24 public appearances. So, whether that's me being a guest on a podcast, on a video series, or featured in a print publication, my goal is to be in new places other than my own channels 24 times. 

Setting these large and smaller goals will lead to me reaching my business goals at the end of the year!

I'm Enlisting Help 

Yet, I'm not doing it alone, and I don't recommend you do either! I have a full-time Marketing Manager who I've worked with for many years. If you're in my membership or have taken a course with me, then you've probably heard from Megan!

But the reality is, if you want to do more, you might need more help. In addition to working with Megan, I also collaborate with web developers, graphic designers, photographers, and more!

A marketing strategy I'm excited about in 2023 is influencer marketing. I even brought it up in Episode 117: Real Estate Marketing Trends in 2023 You Need to Try as something you should think about. I'll be expanding my referral program and introducing a real estate agent influencer program this year for The Marketing Suite. (Think you're a good fit to be an influencer? Email support@ideasforrealestate.com for more details.)

While I know this is an opportunity (it's one of the biggest trends for marketing right now!), it's not something I can manage and keep up with on my own. So, I'll be adding to my team to have a dedicated person to manage this. They won't be full-time, but they'll be working on this project. You can do this as well in your own business! Do you have something that's maybe even a few hours a month you can delegate to someone else?

As you grow, you'll often find that you'll be more successful if you invest in success. And if you need help, including support, a plan, and the marketing resources you need, check out The Marketing Suite & use code JOIN25 to save.

Don't ever be afraid to invest in yourself! I'm doing the same thing by betting on myself and investing in myself, and it's paying off!

What You Can Expect from Me Moving Forward

I'm doing this all behind the scenes because I want to grow my business. Admitting that is not a bad thing! Striving for more, aiming for excellence, and challenging yourself lead to personal and professional growth.

But that doesn't mean that my approach to Ideas for Real Estate is changing.

I'm still committed to showing up on my podcast, my blog, on social, and in all my free resources to empower agents with their marketing. I started Ideas for Real Estate to do just that and will always be here for you in the future.

For my students and members, when we grow, it gives me the opportunity to improve what I'm doing for you! To release new features, improve your experience, and be at the forefront of marketing.

Growth can be a positive, empowering process and even mindset! For me, it's pushing me to be the absolute best version I can be while improving how I'm able to help you with your real estate marketing.

I'll admit, there will be long nights ahead of me and road bumps I don't foresee. Yet, there's also opportunity and an intentional approach to how I want my personal life and business to look moving forward.

So, I hope that growth for you is positive as well, and that you found this look inside my business interesting.

Thank you for following along with my journey, and I can't wait to share all of the amazing content I have planned for you this year!

Want to level up your Real Estate Marketing?

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Plus, get live training and coaching sessions, email marketing templates, tutorials, professional support & more -
So join me in this month’s Marketing Planning Workshop -
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Here are some featured resources you might enjoy!

• Marketing Planning Training for Realtors

• Marketing Trainings for Realtors

• Get a monthly marketing plan including social media content, email marketing and more in The Marketing Suite

Looking for more? Don't miss these top related episodes:

• Real Estate Marketing Trends for 2023 You Need to Try

• Why You Need A Marketing Plan to Fuel Your Real Estate Business

• 7 Reasons Why Your Real Estate Marketing Isn't Working

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I’m Heather Colby, host of the “Ideas for Real Estate Podcast.”

If you like what you read here today, I’d encourage you to take a listen to the episodes. :