Best Practices for Realtors: How to Meet Your Financial Goals in the New Year

You’ve put away your party hats and holiday decorations, and now you’re looking down the long open road of a new year ahead. Will this be the most profitable one yet for your real estate business? Maybe—but that won’t just happen through luck. Between personal obligations and the stress of running your own business, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and lose sight of your big-picture financial goals. Suddenly, another year is gone and you didn’t end up where you wanted to be.

This year can be different. Your financial goals are still well within reach… if you know how to achieve them. 

Create specific goals that you can meet.

Sure, every Realtor would likely say one of their goals is to make more money this year—but “add some zeros to my bank balance” doesn’t give you a lot to go on. Focus on choosing specific, actionable goals that you can realistically meet this year. Instead of “make more money,” you might set financial goals like “generate X new leads,” “eliminate X dollars of debt” or “reduce expenses by X percent.” Starting with a measurable goal allows you to work backward and plan the steps that will take you where you want to be by the end of this year.

Make sure your goals align with both your business and personal needs.

You’re a whole person, not just a Realtor. Aligning your financial goals with your personal and business needs allows you to set yourself up for a year that’s both professionally and personally fulfilling. You don’t want to get to the end of this year and realize that you achieved some short-term financial goals but created long-term damage in your personal life as a result.

Start by asking yourself what goals you want to achieve personally and what goals you want to achieve professionally. Take a look at where they overlap. If you want to put yourself out there and meet new people, generating more leads may be a good financial goal for you. If you want to spend more time with your family, cutting expenses may be a better financial goal because it might give you some breathing room to work fewer hours.

Don’t worry if you’re not sure whether your financial goals are realistic. We can work with you on a financial strategy including projections, a budget, and a tax plan. Find out if your goals are attainable with savings, or if they require a loan. If you need capital, we can also help you with introductions to bankers we trust. 

Balance expectations, research and strategy.

You’re the expert on your own life and business, so you should trust your instincts around setting financial goals—but we also urge Realtors to back up their goals using internal data and market research. Analyzing these kinds of data can help you see your own strengths and weaknesses, and identify market opportunities and risks.

This process allows you to turn your expectations into healthy, achievable financial goals. Business analysis and market research are areas where your CPA and business advisor can be of help. With the right goals in place, you can work together to form realistic strategies to meet your financial goals.

Work toward your goals across a set schedule and track your progress. 

If you’ve ever abandoned a New Year’s resolution by the second week of January, you know that you need more than good intentions to reach a new goal. You also need a plan with measurable steps and a realistic time frame. Creating that plan should be one of your first steps.

Start by thinking about how you’re going to track your progress over the year and what tools you’re going to need. If your goal is lead generation, set a per-month or per-quarter target. Some Realtors opt for customer relationship management (CRM) software for lead tracking, while others use social media analytics or manual programs like Excel. Keep in mind that cloud access makes tracking a lot easier. 

If reducing expenses is your goal, determine what reduction percentage you want to see per billing cycle. Make sure you have the proper practice management or billing systems in place to keep tabs on your progress. And don’t panic when a curveball comes your way! True, you want to have a strategy and a plan, but expecting the unexpected should be part of that plan. Stay flexible and be willing to readjust the plan as necessary.  

We’re here to help.

Every Realtor is unique, so you need a unique plan to match. The professionals at Abbott & Company LLC can help you ring in the New Year with a solid strategy for meeting your financial goals. Contact us today to get started.

by Mellinda Abbott, CPA

As a CPA and small business owner with experience in corporate America, Mellinda Abbott is a distinguished, invaluable personal and business tax advisor. She understands the everyday issues, compliance matters, best practices, and operational concerns of her clients. Mellinda prides herself on fostering personal client relationships while providing year-round, customized services to her clients designed to maximize savings, limit tax exposure, and, most importantly, to help her clients attain their financial goals.