Business Planning (Part III)

The Seven Steps of Common Sense Business Planning

5. ASSEMBLE FINANCIAL DATA

After all the dreaming and planning, you have to express all those dreams and goals in terms of units, dollars and time. This cannot be left to financial experts. Your accountant is not trained to recognize opportunities that will help you achieve your dreams and goals. In fact, they might become organizational barriers to your attaining and sustaining success.

The numbers on the CASH FLOW PROJECTIONS and PROFIT & LOSS PROJECTIONS serve double duty. As guides to the future, they quantify the sales and operating goals, including use of personnel and other resources expressed in dollars and time; as control documents they provide the basis for cash flow and operating budgets. Use them on a periodic basis (monthly and year-to-date summaries) to measure progress towards the goals. Timely measurements allows you to change operations if problems (or opportunities) arise.

The BALANCE SHEET displays what your business owns and what it owes, and how those assets and liabilities are distributed.  Compare these patterns with industry figures- and PROFIT and LOSS figures as well- to get another means of seeing how well your business is performing.

Financial statements are designed to help you make better business decisions. USE THEM!

DO NOT LEAVE THEM TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT; THEY ARE FAR TOO VALUABLE AS SOURCES OF IN FORMATION AND CONTROL. THEY ARE YOUR COMPASS FOR STAYING ON-COURSE.

6. REVIEW FOR CONSISTENCY, COHERENCE and CONTROL

A complete and coherent plan, one that leaves no large area uncovered can make the difference between success and failure. From a banker’s viewpoint, completeness and thoroughness are so closely related that an incomplete plan is a danger sign.

A coherent plan fits together: one part leads to the next; the flow is clear and direct (and easy to manage, a huge benefit to any business). A plan starts with where you are, takes you where you have been into account, and shows you where you go next.

Key question to ask at all stages is:

DOES THIS MAKE GOOD BUSINESS SENSE and WILL IT WORK?

Even a tentative NO should be carefully examined. You want your plan to be SMART!

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic  and Timely.

 7.      IMPLEMENT, REVISIT, REVIEW and REVISE AS NEEDED

Regardless how well a plan has been written, nothing happens until it is implemented.

Nothing shows the weaknesses of a plan faster than use. The failure of a plan makes the problem easy to spot. It’s no accident that most business consultants begin the process of assessing a business by preparing a business plan, perhaps limited to resource review, cash flow and sales projections- in order to get the immediate problem(s) and evaluate h the best method for helping the client.

A plan that gets tucked away on a shelf is as helpful as a compass that is discarded   before sailing into a thick fog. Your business plan is a navigation system.  As Michael Gerber says in his book , THE E-MYTH, the system is the solution.

Your business plan is your system for success. It provides a destination (the objectives, checkpoints (the goals and benchmarks of the projections), a chart of the surrounding terrain and probable problems (the plan itself) and a means of determining whether or not you are ‘On-Course”. The CEO’S Compass, which you will learn how to use after creating a clear and comprehensive plan, will help guide you attain and sustain success in all situations.

Use your plan. Review and Revise it as experience dictates. You will realize that it is an invaluable resource. I t helps you become clearer about where you are going and makes getting there far more fun and easier.

REMEMBER: DISCIPLINE or DISASTER: IT’S YOUR CHOICE!

PLAN YOUR WORK,WORK YOUR PLAN!

Nick Callazzo has more than 30 years of experience consulting to banks, insurance companies and financial institutions as well as coaching executives to help them improve their personal and professional performance. In 1985, Mr. Callazzo founded Resource Specialists, a consulting group that focuses primarily on helping companies identify behaviors that impeded either organizational or personal success. A former U.S. Marine, Mr. Callazzo is currently working with FastTrac’s Entrepreneurial program for veterans in order to help them improve their business acumen and, possibly, their profit margins.

Business Planning (Part ll)

The Seven Steps of Common Sense Business Planning

1.      DEFINE THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES OF YOUR BUSINESS           

* What do I want the business to be like in 3-5-10 years?

* What sales volume?

* What profitability?

* What reputation?

* What size in terms of bricks and mortar, personnel, products and / or services?

* What net worth and capital structure?

2. STATE THE SHORT-TERM GOALS LEADING TO ACHIVINGTHE LONG TERM OBJECTIVES

Unlike long-term objectives, which are vague and defined in qualitative terms, short-     term goals should be precise, objective, and measurable. State them in terms of units, time and dollars. Financial projections   give more definition to the short-term goals.  Make the goals explicit (measurable and time-bound) and begin to set strategies  for  achieving them.

3. SET MARKETING STRATEGIES IN LINE WITH GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Now translate the goals, which should be aligned with your objectives, into sales of   actual goods and /or services. If sales are not made, projections and other plans fall apart; operating efficiency is valuable only if there is  a point to being efficient.

For business planning purposes, you need to determine what you can most profitably sell-including to what kind of customer, where, and in what markets. Keep the goals and objectives of your business in mind, and you will avert being shut out of some markets you want to be in, and may discover new applications and other opportunities.

Make your marketing plan precise!

• Do you have a marketing plan?
• What’s the advertising budget?
• Do you have a strategy for distribution?
• Do you have a strategy for expansion?
• Can you afford to be in multiple markets?
• Do you know your competitors and can you learn from them?

The first three steps of the business plan set goals and objectives and strategies for attaining them. The next three steps test those strategies.

4. ANALYZE AVAILABLE RESOURCES: FINANCIAL, PERSONNEL, and TECHNOLOGY

The most severe limitations on plans are, in decreasing order of importance, management and skilled personnel, other personnel, technology, material resources and money. Contrary to popular belief money alone is not the reason for not achieving goals.

Ask yourself, as you review your strategies, whether you have the resources available  to make  those  plans work. Take a management inventory,  If you rely on skilled technicians or professionals, include them in your planning. Other resources (except financial) have to be considered in light of both the personnel and rough plans established up to this point. Your marketing plan requires that products be available in enough quantity (and quality) to satisfy your market and those products must priced competitively.

For planning purposes, a personnel inventory is critically important. Good people can make an inadequate plan succeed. Inadequate people will prevent a good plan from succeeding. The ultimate test of your ability to manage your business is how well you understand and use all of the assets available to you.

Nick Callazzo has more than 30 years of experience consulting to banks, insurance companies and financial institutions as well as coaching executives to help them improve their personal and professional performance. In 1985, Mr. Callazzo founded Resource Specialists, a consulting group that focuses primarily on helping companies identify behaviors that impeded either organizational or personal success. A former U.S. Marine, Mr. Callazzo is currently working with FastTrac’s Entrepreneurial program for veterans in order to help them improve their business acumen and, possibly, their profit margins.

Business Planning (Part I)

Does Your Business Plan Make a Profitable Statement?

Business owners need to develop a business plan primarily for two reasons:

• To provide a roadmap for the direction of the business, and
• To use when obtaining financing from outside resources

If you don’t know where you are going in life or business, any road will do.

If you can’t describe your business clearly and simply, you simply don’t know your business!

One of the most common phrases that I have heard from entrepreneurs who are seeking help to get more sales, keep more customers or make more profits is “ what can a business plan do for me now that I have met all the requirements for obtaining financing.

But, if you have a mission (goal) to accomplish and others are relying upon you for achieving that mission, you need a comprehensive plan as well as the desire, determination and discipline to navigate the unpredictable roads to success. Discipline begins with developing a well thought-out and detailed plan (roadmap /guide).  A business without a plan will   never realize its full potential and it will be creating barriers to achieving its goals and objectives.

The business plan is the entrepreneur’s roadmap (compass). I t serves as the guide that reminds  the business owner what the business is trying to achieve. Also, just as significantly, the plan will help owners establish and determine rewards for meeting / exceeding performance goals as well as the consequences for non-performance. A comprehensive business plan is the   primary tool for monitoring and measuring the critical business factors so the business owner has the data necessary for making timely and effective changes to the business plan insuring continued success.

Before taking on the mission of writing a comprehensive and profitable business plan, a business owner must be able to answer and understand the following crucial seven statements:

1. What is the business or what will it be?
2.  What products or services do you plan to offer?
3.  What markets do you intend to compete? What is the size / expected market share?
4.  How can you deliver your products / services better than your competition?
5. What was the criteria for choosing your location?
6.  What type of management / personnel is necessary for your operation?
7.  What financing (or investors) is required to start and grow your business?

Together these statements will form the written policy of the business, risks you should not deviate from without data and compelling reasons. Policy establishes direction and lends stability to your business. Discipline and due diligence create the foundation for success.

Success is not something you are entitled to, it is something that is earned.

Bill, a colonel and head of the audiology clinic at a VA hospital for the last 10 years, had decided to retire from the Army and buy a hearing health clinic in his home town.  After several months of inquiring and spreading the word, Bill was informed that a practice was for sale.  He was excited about the idea and started the process of obtaining financing and starting his new career. His excitement and enthusiasm was based on his experience in the VA hospital system.

Although Bill felt he was more than qualified to buy the practice, the lender informed him that his presentation for obtaining financing was too general, lacked details concerning projected revenues, sales and marketing plans as well as specific goals and objectives. As a result, Bill was referred to me and we immediately started working on:

‘The Entrepreneur’s MBA’, Managing Business Activities, consist of ten modules and is supported with individual coaching.  If you would like more information, contact:

Nick Callazzo, President and Founder of Resource Specialist

A consulting group that focuses on helping entrepreneurs improve the personal performance and  productivity of employees and increase the profitability  and their enterprise.

callazzo@verizon.net or call:  610-580-6425 / 302-376-6108

Nick Callazzo has more than 30 years of experience consulting to banks, insurance companies and financial institutions as well as coaching executives to help them improve their personal and professional performance. In 1985, Mr. Callazzo founded Resource Specialists, a consulting group that focuses primarily on helping companies identify behaviors that impeded either organizational or personal success. A former U.S. Marine, Mr. Callazzo is currently working with FastTrac’s Entrepreneurial program for veterans in order to help them improve their business acumen and, possibly, their profit margins.

How to turn your business around now

By Bob Corcoran

“The moment one definitely commits oneself… all sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events … raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and … material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Goethe, the great German writer and philosopher, would have made a fine Realtor. His quote makes the point I’ve been preaching since I started in real estate consulting 20 years ago: When you make a commitment (I mean a full and true commitment), your whole world changes.

If you’re not where you want to be in your real estate business you need to spend some quality mirror time with yourself and ask this essential question: Have I made the truly deep commitment I need to make with myself to be the most successful real estate agent I can be?

I know, you’re saying, ‘Ah, Bob that’s hocus pocus, self-confirming hog wash.’ Say what you want, but I’ve seen it happen time and time again: Agents who commit fully are turning their businesses around and sometimes doubling their numbers in less than six months.

One client of mine, Andrew Duncan in Tampa, Fla., has doubled his business each of the last three years.

“Many agents are feeling down because of all the bad news in the media,” Duncan says. “And many have left the business, so the ratio of number of clients to agents is about the same as it was before the market went down. So the agents who commit and work to make themselves stand out can do, and are doing, quite well.”

So the first (and most important step) is to commit. And here are four more tips I’ve used and seen work in the real lives of agents all around the country:

1. Get a business plan that reflects your market. Duncan serves a heavy military population that’s very mobile. So he began this offer for clients: if they have to move within 12 months of buying, he’ll sell the house for free. “Yes, sometimes they do move within a year, but the amount of business we’re getting from that offer is more than making up for that cost,” Duncan explains.

That’s smart business. His business plan is focused very specifically on his market and it’s paying off.

2. Stick to an ideal weekly schedule.  You must manage your time. I give all my clients an ideal weekly schedule that they commit to following and it works wonders for them. E-mail me at Article@CorcoranCoaching.com and I’ll send you a free one.

3. Get focused on dollar-productive activities. An ideal weekly schedule will keep you focused on the four tasks you need to do all day, every day: list, sell, negotiate and prospect. Adjust your schedule and concentrate on these items.

4. Be held accountable. This is a tough one for many agents, but you need to have an accountability partner or get a coach who will hold your feet to the fire so that you get done what you must to be successful in your market. It’s easy to say you’re going to sell 100 houses but actually doing what you need to do to sell that many houses is a job for more than one person.

Let me hear from you. Are you feeling a need to turn your business around? If so, what are the factors at play? Do you feel you’ve sufficiently committed to your profession? Do you have a plan to overcome hurdles that are hindering your progress? Please send any comments or questions you have to Article@CorcoranCoaching.com or http://www.facebook.com/CorcoranCoaching.

Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker and author who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc. (CorcoranCoaching.com, 800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into the residential or commercial broker or agent’s existing practice.

We look forward to hearing from you.  Sign up TODAY for your complimentary business consultation. http://www.CorcoranCoaching.com/bpw.php

How to turn obstacles into opportunities
By Bob Corcoran

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill

I could spend this entire article moaning about the problems real estate has endured over the last three years, but I refuse to do it. And you should vow to yourself right now to never pay attention to any negativity. Everyone who knows me knows I believe success in real estate is about adopting a positive mindset. I’ve always been that way. Always will.

And while we’re on the subject of vows, I’d like you to make another one for yourself: From this minute forward, promise yourself that every time you see the word obstacle you say the word opportunity to yourself under your breath. And the same for the word problem or any other variant: hurdle, difficulty, pain, etc.

I’ve been coaching Realtors for 20 years now and there’s one word I’ve noticed that separates the average agents from the top producers is acceptance. Let me explain: acceptance that objections are a natural part of the sales process. Top producers get that. They accept that. And what’s more, they embrace that. They realize that if there were no objections in sales, everyone would be in sales. So the better you are at, first, understanding that you’ll see objections every time you sell, and second, learning how to overcome those objections, the better off you’ll be.

So let’s go for a test drive by looking at a couple of fairly common objections:

Obstacle #1: Overly cost-conscious sellers. You may have heard this one before: “If I list my home with you and buy my next home from you, will you cut your commission?” Of course that’s a question you’ll have to answer for yourself. But my take is, this is an opportunity to explain all the details of the work you’ll do to sell the house to justify your commission. Think value. And then share all the value you’re adding by completing each of those tasks as you put the home on the market.

Obstacle #2: Hesitancy from sellers. This is a very common objection, especially these days. It goes something like this: “I’ll sell my home when the values go up.” Here you have the opportunity to explore why they believe values might go up and just how much they think they might make if they do wait. Probe to learn the specific reasons behind these questions. You can’t solve the problem (or create an opportunity) until you learn what it is. Maybe they think interest rates will drop farther. Whatever it is, turn that problem (their hesitancy) into an opportunity by addressing their specific concerns. Yes, it’s entirely possible values might rise. But as more and more time week goes by, they’re also losing money they could have made by selling earlier. And interest rates, some believe, may be heading upward instead of downward so that could impact them negatively when they buy a new home. Just know and explain your local market in terms that creates urgency.

These are just two examples (And by the way, e-mail me at article@corcorancoaching.com and I’ll send you a free article with answers many common objections). But what I really want you to take way from this article is a fresh set of eyes that helps you view problems differently — no longer as hurdles, but as real opportunities – and not only in real estate, but in all aspects of your life. You may be surprised how this simple adjustment can change your life.

So as you move on in your life and career, think about where you want to be in the future. With a new vision, reaching your career goals can be a “problem” that actually becomes fun to solve. And, at the same time, you find yourself going in exciting and fulfilling new directions you may never have imagined.

Best of luck to you!

Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker and author who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc. (CorcoranCoaching.com, 800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into the residential or commercial broker or agent’s existing practice.

We look forward to hearing from you.  Sign up TODAY for your complimentary business consultation. http://www.CorcoranCoaching.com/bpw.php