Annual Business Checklist for Real Estate Agents

According to Mark Twain, "the secret to getting ahead is getting started." And when you're running your own real estate business, there's a lot of work to do.

We've highlighted some important tasks to keep your business running smoothly and the best season to complete them so that you have ample time to grow your business while keeping your tools and systems up to date.

Autumn

Autumn is back to school season, so while the kids are filling up their backpacks and meeting their new teachers, do some studying up of your own. Find out what's going on in your area and make sure new clients can learn everything they need to know about working with you online.

• Update your testimonials. Reach out to your past clients and ask them to leave a testimonial for you online. Be sure to post these on your website and social channels as well.
• See what your competitors are up to. Do a little research to see where and how top agents in your area are advertising and consider if their strategies could help your business.
• Verify your business online. Start with registering yourself with Google My Business and then work on verifying your business with other major search engines.

Winter

Getting ready for the holidays makes winter a busy season for most people, but that doesn't mean you can't still find time to move your business forward. Consider taking time to learn and implement some new techniques that will help you start your new year right!

• Watch a webinar or two. Each month, the Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar series hosts an industry expert who shares their tips and personal experience to help real estate agents grow their business.
• Verify online profiles are accurate. How many social media profiles and online directories have you enrolled in over the years? Go through and make sure your contact information and designations are up to date on each site.
• Create a new drip email campaign. Staying in touch with your current leads and past clients is easier if you have a good library of premade emails ready and waiting, so grab a cup of cocoa and make time to create a new campaign.

Spring

Spring cleaning isn't just for your home and car! It's a great opportunity to check up on the tools and systems you use year-round to make sure they're up to date and still the best option to keep your business running smoothly.

• Update CRM. Make sure the contacts in your CRM are all correctly labeled and have up-to-date contact information.
• Update marketing materials. Take some time this spring to update your business cards and other branded marketing materials. If you haven't already done so, consider adding your social handles.
• Clean out and organize your email. Email programs like Unroll.me can show you what newsletters and email lists you're subscribed to so you can remove yourself from anything you don't need. After that, it's just a matter of making sure your contacts are organized and tagged in a way that makes sense.

Summer

Summer is the busiest season of the year for many real estate agents, but that doesn't mean there aren't some quick, easy tasks you can work into your schedule to help grow your business.

• Take new headshots. Your headshot should illustrate what you look like now, not what you looked like three years ago. It's all part of the trust-building process.
• Create a neighborhood video. Show off your local expertise by filming a video sharing information, features, and amenities of a neighborhood where you do a lot of business. Share your video on your website's neighborhood page for the area.
• Update your website with fresh graphics. Do the photos on your website still reflect what your city and neighborhoods look like? Are they crisp, clear, and high resolution? If not, go ahead and take some new photos for your website.

This list of tasks will help keep your business running smoothly. Pass that feeling of accomplishment along to your leads and clients by sharing the free Home Maintenance and Inspection Schedule with your clients. Just download the checklist and add your contact information for a quick, easy, and helpful resource to share with your contacts.

To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.