By Patti Brotherton

 

Managers ask their agents to have a business plan, but it is amazing to me that managers don’t have really concrete, easy to see plans for their offices.   When I started managing an office, I knew what my company expected of me, but I didn’t have anything that was specific in terms of when and what I was going to do.  So, I developed an easy plan that worked really well for me.  Read on.

 
Month by Month Task List
Break down your most important duties as a manager by month. Take a sheet of paper and divide it into twelve-month segments.  In each month, write down what you want to accomplish that month.  Categories can help.

 

• Sales Meetings - Start with your sales meetings.  What are the topics you are going to cover in that month and how many are you going to have?  Are all of your sales meetings going to be at your office or are you going to plan one or two at a nearby restaurant?

 
• Training - Next plan what specific training class or classes you are doing to have during any given month.  Some months you might be doing one-on-one’s instead of a general training class.

 
• Incentives - Next write down what incentives or contests you plan for your office.  You might plan to give certificates of commendation each month as well as have a farming contest where each person who actually farms gets so many points based on the number of mailings, door knocking, calling in their farms.  The agent with the most points after three months wins something like free mailings for the rest of the year, a computer, etc.

 
• Recruiting Calls - Next write down the number of recruiting calls and appointments you are going to make that month.  When it is written down, it is a commitment and you will do it.  Just saying that you are going to make recruiting calls, but not actually having a schedule or a number in mind doesn’t work very well.  Next write down any special office promotions that you plan to conduct such as an open house extravaganza or a special giveaway.  If you know when you are going to do this you will know how to budget for it.

 

• Sales Volume - The last item on your calendar would be the sales volume you believe your office should have for the year, month-by-month.  All managers know their own market places and when the majority of the sales are made.  This also makes budgeting easier.

 

Having all of this information on one sheet is fantastic!  You can gauge how you are doing all year.  After a month is over, write in another color ink what the actual results were.  You had so much in sales volume and so many recruiting appointments and so many agents join you.  You can keep focused on what is important for your office.   
 

Concentrating on what brings your office revenue is much more important than just showing up each day. 
  

Patti Brotherton is President of PAB Performance Partners.  Patti’s company was formed to reach a broader base of agents, managers and companies to help them in any way possible to do more business, to improve their business, to help them balance their business and generally improve the quality of their professional life.  Patti believes in individualized marketing programs, including graphic design, as well as business systems that have proven to work in many different market places.  Copyright© 2000-2001, Patti Brotherton.  All rights reserved.  For additional information about Patti’s presentations and company services, please call the Frog Pond Group at 800.704.FROG (3764) or email susie@frogpondgroup.com; http://www.frogpondgroup.com.