By Dianna Kawell
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There’s nothing glamorous about setting up your annual business plan. But as business owners, we all need one. We talked with the following recipients of Women’s Council’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award™, who shared their expertise with developing results-oriented business plans to keep your business on track for success in 2010.

While many real estate professionals do not develop a business plan annually, the benefits are numerous. One important benefit, according to the REALTORS® we spoke with, is that your planning process will expose holes in your current systems and give you the opportunity to brainstorm ways to fill these holes. Analyzing your business may also expose areas that are causing you great stress, sometimes without creating more business.

Williemae Stanberry

REALTOR® Williemae Stanberry, ABR, GRI, PMN, of Pensacola, FL, is a 27-year real estate veteran. Stanberry is a woman who wears "many hats," with her real estate career and extensive community involvement. In addition to her role as real estate broker, Stanberry stays busy as founder/president of A Will & Way, Inc., a non-profit organization that offers counseling and assistance for women who are incarcerated, released and soon to be released from prison.

Stanberry starts developing her annual plan in the fall and reviews the plan quarterly throughout the year. How does she quantify revenue expectations to build her business plan? "Generally, I base my growth on the past years' production," Stanberry says, "but for 2010 I will use a different formula to compensate for what appears to be another lackluster year."

Stanberry carefully studies industry trends to develop her plan. "I read everything I can get a hold of relating to the real estate market, the economy, the local business climate and family trends," she says.

Stanberry breaks down her plan by long-term and short-term goals, monetary goals, professional training/personal development, marketing plan/personal promotion, customer satisfaction gauge (based on a client survey) and personal performance evaluation.

What advice does Stanberry have for the agent who has never made a business plan before? "A business plan does not have to be long and daunting," she says. "Start early and start with attainable goals. Then, adjust periodically to keep yourself motivated. Not having a business plan creates an atmosphere of mediocrity. You have much to offer, so why not prioritize and promote for optimal success."

Deborah Battersby

Deborah Battersby, CRS, GRI, PMN, SRES, of Bartlett, IL, has served clients in the Chicago suburbs for more than 25 years and served as Women’s Council’s national president in 1999. She’s been recognized in RE/MAX’s Platinum Club multiple times and has been a real estate speaker, author and trainer for a number of years.

Battersby usually begins her annual business planning in October by reviewing her previous two years’ results for income and overhead and reviewing her current year’s goals, along with successes and shortfalls.

According to Battersby, it’s essential to “be honest about my efforts and the results.” You have to look at, “What was the source of each piece of business? What generated the most revenue? How can I create more of that?"

Battersby evaluates market trends, including the types of transactions (foreclosures and short sales versus traditional sales), the number of units sold, the most successful price range, inventory and absorption rate.

Her tip for developing a business plan that gets results? “To maximize the power of any plan,” Battersby says, “chunk it down into bite-sized actions with short-term goals that can be used as measurements to determine effectiveness along the way.”

Dianna Kawell is editor of Women’s Council’s eConnect newsletter.

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