Powering Through 4th Quarter by Cassie Walker Johnson

October is upon us and we are on the home stretch for 4^th Quarter. While many consider this a time to catch our breath as traditional business slows down, I see this as prime opportunity to speed up. While I am a huge advocate of time off, slowing your business commitments could mean crucial lack of earnings for 1^st and possibly 2^nd quarter of 2018. The key to continuing your success is developing a plan. Here are a few suggested components to consider:

1) BLOCK YOUR CALENDAR Plan ahead now and schedule time blocks for your family, additional work commitments and most importantly “me” time.

2) HAVE A HOLIDAY STRATEGY A few years ago I started developing a Holiday Plan with the help of Financial Life Coach Mikelann Valterra. Each October I review the coming months and then complete my Gift List and Holiday Plan for both personal and professional budgets. Her 6 Tips to Keeping Holiday Sanity have not only helped me drastically reduce spending around the holidays, but also focus on what’s most important as “sometimes the simplest things get the highest ratings.”

3) SEEK EDUCATION If you are a licensed Broker, this is a good time to catch up on required clock hours. Personally, I am looking forward to scheduling a bit of “me” time to get my creative juices flowing such as this local wreath making class.

4) PLAN 2018 Right now, not in January. Do not let complacency take hold. Now is the time to get your plan together so you can kick off 2018 with intentional direction. This includes:

Marketing – determine how and when you will reach your sphere via mail, email and person-to-person engagements. I have developed a Marketing Calendar for 2018 that helps my brokers put a plan together in an organized visual tool with financials. I’m often asked what percentage of income should be allocated to marketing. Each situation is different based on income levels and marketing plans, but as a general rule I typically reccomend spending 5-10% of total gross commissions on your marketing.
Database – if only I had a dollar for every time I heard one say “I need to organize my database.” As you start thinking about holiday cards, this is the perfect time to cleanse, organize and categorize your contacts.
Business Plan – set goals. For some, this is a detailed plan with month-by-month incrementals for income and expense. For others, this is just a financial goal or number of transactions for the year. Regardless of what you do, set a goal that is within reach but far enough to push you a step or two out of your comfort zone.
Tax Prep – start organizing receipts by separating personal and business, then categorize expenses based on the activity. If you don’t already categorize and review weekly or monthly, start this time saving habit now. This is also is a good time to organize itemized deductions including charitable donations and expenses related to childcare, medical and household.

5) GET TO WORK If you have properly blocked out your schedule, you should now have a plan for work time. This should include sending personal notes and scheduling pop-bys to visit key clients. Also, don’t forget about clients that have not yet completed a transaction. In the case of Real Estate, fatigued buyers may be ready to jump in the market now that there may be less competition.

One of my favorite quotes is “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.” Staying busy in 4th Quarter will keep you on pace with your success. What you do today results in success at least 90 days out so make sure you have financial results already planned for 1^st Quarter of 2018.