Page 103 - Social Media Marketing

84 Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman

Allan had learned that providing mortgages for homebuyers is a
natural outgrowth of a Realtor's job. We're always referring our
costumers to banks and other mortgage lenders. Why not pro-
vide the mortgages ourselves and capture that revenue stream? It
was an excellent and very lucrative suggestion, and I quickly acted
on it.

However, I found that you can't just open a mortgage company
on the back of an envelope. You need to plan for it, hire the right
people, train them to run it, and oversee the operation. You need
those assistants and technologies that I talked about earlier. In other
words, you need to write a solid business plan and then set up
a system so your operation runs as smoothly and with as little
intervention on your part as possible.

By taking a systems-based or modular approach, you can expand
your business by adding new pieces rather than having to rebuild
the entire business from the ground up. The key is to have pro-
cedures in place, hire the right people, and put a highly qualified
supervisor in place to manage the operation.

Plan the Work; Work the Plan

Before you launch a new business, you really need to know where
your new business is going. You already know that you want to
sell more product and earn more money, but you need a plan that's
more detailed and more formal: a business plan. By analyzing your
goals, both financial and personal, and having an idea of how your
new business is going to go from point A to point B, you can set
your new business (or division) on the right course from the start.

The only disadvantage of being a visionary is that our enthusi-
asm drives us to want to start right away. We already know that
there will be obstacles as in all ventures, but we are the type who
deal with problems as they arise. Planning ahead takes time and
delays gratification, but realize that anything worth doing is worth
planning. Fight the urge to forge ahead without a plan in place.
Take the time to gather input from your closest advisors. This will