At some point during the year, your business will hit a slow period. As you know, this typically tends to fall right as Winter is kicking in and the holidays are in full swing. Time to take a break and binge watch Netflix until your phone starts ringing again, right? WRONG! This is actually the most crucial time of year for your business if you want to start the new year off strong. Go ahead and take your family vacation whether you’re visiting the grandparents or skiing in the mountains. Enjoy the holidays, but don’t let your business slow down! So let’s get ready to pop the champagne and ring in the New Year’s already growing client list! Get out a pen and paper and craft your plan!
- Get in touch with past clients. Host a client appreciation party, send them a handwritten card or stop by with a bottle of wine, an ornament, christmas cookies, etc. to thank them for supporting your business. Another idea would be to support a charity and reach out to let them know how they could help. It could be collecting mittens and hats for a shelter,
- Ask yourself the question: What is the overall brand of my business? You should do this every year. I don’t mean your logo and colors (although that could play a small role). Look at your website, your social media accounts, your client communication style. What is the message you are conveying to your clients? Does the feel of your brand match your ideal client? If you don’t have a clear message in your brand, now is the time to figure out what you want that to be and how you’re going to communicate that.
- Don’t neglect your social media. You want to stay in front of people now more than ever! Your friends and followers are going to be seeing their families during the holidays and you want to be the first one they think of when the topic of real estate comes up – and it always does. Remember to be a resource before you’re a realtor. Share helpful content such as community information, holiday events, gift guides, where to shop local, the best places to get Christmas trees, the list goes on and on!
- Set up your social media plan for next year. Do you have a social media plan that you follow? Is it ready to go so when the New Year starts you are ready to be on a consistent schedule of posting and interacting. You want to stay top of mind all year round! Create a calendar that you can use to plan your content. Or download my free copy here!
- Set your goals for next year and decide what changes you need to make. Do you need to hire an assistant in the next 6 months to keep your business growing? Do you need to implement a more consistent marketing plan? Can you find ways to be more efficient and set up automated processes to save you valuable time? Don’t forget to evaluate yourself too. Where can you grow? From work life balance to expanding your skill set, what do you want to work on for yourself? Decide what you need to do and write out your action steps and how you’re going to make sure they are followed.
- EDUCATE YOURSELF! Take in all the content and all the things that you can do to help you better your business. Take your energy and focus on what you can learn while you have the time. Read a book that will inspire you, watch what other successful people are doing in the industry, perfect your listing presentation, watch YouTube videos, strengthen how you will overcome objections, the list goes on and on. Not only will this motivate you for your next busy season, it will spark creativity and give you ideas that you can implement into your business.
If you didn’t know what to do to make the most of your slow time, now you have some action to take! Instead of feeling sorry for yourself that business is slow or complaining that you don’t know where your next client is coming from, put these steps to work and you won’t have anything to worry about!
Cheers to rocking the end of the year!
Chelsea
