ForeclosuresMass - ForeclosuresMass Monthly - Setting Goals - Focus Your Drive -- With Goals for '05! (January 2005)

People set goals in order to achieve them. Why, then, do so many people set goals but NOT achieve them? As a coach who works with real estate professionals and investors around the country, I regularly see two distinct patterns for this.

1. You know what to do - but you don't do it!
Or you don't do enough of it, or you don't do it often enough, or . . . you get the idea. There are many possible reasons that you might fall short on the action required to achieve the results you want, including:

Every obstacle listed here actually has a solution. Your unique combination of obstacles that you set up for yourself can potentially be "resolved." Once those are resolved, you, like my real estate clients -- agents and investors alike - are likely to get an unusually high degree of traction from 3 things:

These three things, built into your week, can bridge your gap between knowing what to do and consistently doing it.

2. You know where you want to go - but you don't REALLY know how to get there!
You know where you want to end up -- but you don't actually have a solid game plan for getting there. If you are in this category, there is great value in developing a strong and detailed business plan, based on two things:

* Next 37 17 investors only!

There is no single one-size-fits-all way to grow your real estate business, regardless of whether you are in sales or investing, residential or commercial. What's crucial is to grow your business in ways that are aligned with your values and based on your strengths. But they have to be methods that work! Investors and real estate professionals are by definition highly independent people. And many initially balk at a worksheet like the Monthly Goal Tracker. But it works! Your goals need to be translated into a detailed enough action plan that you know exactly what to be doing every week.

I'm not talking about having every moment of your life programmed . . . but there are people in the business who honestly don't know how many leads it takes to get a listing. Or how many appointments they have to book before they will seal a deal. So they don't generate enough leads or get enough appointments - and then they're disappointed by their results!

Having said this - and hopefully addressing some of the doubts that inevitably come up around goal setting, let's look at setting some goals. I recommend that you come up with 3 big business goals to reach in 2005:

One of your greatest assets is your own personal drive and ambition. Knowing how to channel that drive into focused, intentional, consistent action is key to your success. Harness that drive with goals for '05!

Sharon Teitelbaum, MA, PCC, coaches real estate professionals and investors by phone or in person. She has been a coach since 1995, and is a licensed real estate broker in MA. She offers an initial consultation at no charge to people considering hiring a coach. She can be reached at Sharon@STCoach.com, 617-926-8393.

Her new book, Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance, which will be available in late January, 2005, can be ordered at a pre-release price of $15 at her website, www.stcoach.com.

Sharon also coaches high achieving women with young children, and professionals seeking greater work-life balance.

Did you like this article? You May Also Like:

	Interview with the Expert: Strategies for Building Your Real Estate Network Cathy Toomey, Broker / Owner, Stone Ridge Properties Real estate agents are often the first people homeowners call before their home goes into foreclosure. In this interview, Cathy Toomey, a real estate broker, tells you how to build a solid network of real estate professionals - and how to use this network to find homeowners "motivated to sell."
	Nothing Succeeds Like Success: Jeremy Cyrier Jeremy Cyrier, The Cyrier Sales Team After learning that he netted $60k on a house he owned for just six weeks, we wasted no time in scheduling an interview with Jeremy Cyrier. Read our interview and find out what he's done to be so successful.
	Success Strategies: Negative Amortization - Useful Tool or Risky Tactic - or Both?! Trish Signet, Loan Officer, Summit Mortgage With interest rates rising steadily over the last few years, it's become harder for property investors and others to make the numbers work. Negative Amortization mortgages may offer an alternative, but as Trish explains, buyer beware.
	Nothing Succeeds Like Success: Brian Jones Reveals His Marketing Strategies Brian Jones Looking for new ways to market yourself as a real estate investor? Brian Jones, who closed five deals in 2006, shares some of his strategies - including classified advertising and contacting junk removal companies!
	ForeclosuresMass Tips: Maximizing the ForeclosuresMass Website Jeremy B. Shapiro, ForeclosuresMass, Corp. "There are 142 NEW Foreclosures in your counties!" Each week, a message similar to this one appears in your inbox, notifying you of all the new foreclosures that have started in your counties. With so many new foreclosures filed each week, knowing what to do with them is as critical as knowing that there are new foreclosures...
	Nothing Succeeds Like Success: Jennifer Wilson Jennifer Wilson In just 4 short years, Jennifer Wilson has grown her real estate investment practice from a standing start to one which expects to buy and sell 25 properties in 2006. ForeclosuresMass sat down with Jennifer to understand what's worked - and what hasn't - in her quick rise to the top!
	Negotiation Skills: Developing Strong Relationships... A Key to Success with your Contractors Richard Cohen, Negotiation Coach and Consultant As a property investor, you're challenged by the sheer number of contractors with whom you must negotiate. It can be a struggle, but as Richard Cohen explains, it doesn't have to be. Build strong relationships with these folks and watch your negotiations go smoothly.
	*Interview with the Expert: Don't Let Mold Become Your* Problem** Steve Goselin, EnviroTech Clean Air, Inc. Finding mold in a building can literally bring a real estate deal to a crashing halt. No matter how much or how little mold there is, as the seller you’re responsible for clean up – or selling the property “as is” with full disclosure. In his article, mold remediation expert Steve Goselin explains why mold is causing problems in the real estate industry and what you can do to ensure it doesn’t become your problem.
	Success Strategies: Blogging for Real Estate... A Primer for Starting a Blog Ted Demopoulos Blogging has definitely hit the mainstream - and with over 750 real estate blogs at last count - it's time you consider starting a blog if you haven't done so already. In his article, author and blogging expert Ted Demopoulos gives you his three success strategies for starting and maintaining a blog. The key takeaway: become familiar with the blogosphere and get to know other real estate bloggers before you jump in feet first.
	Feature Article: Keep Your Title Clean: Three Strategies for Preventing Title Problems Jacqueline Fitzgerald-Boyd Did you know you can create some serious Title problems when you transfer Title on your own? And, did you know that a Title problem can sometimes exist for more than 20 or 30 years without ever being found - and then bang, one day this hidden ticking time bomb becomes your major Title headache? It's true. Title expert Jacqueline Fitzgerald-Boyd talks about common Title issues and how you can alleviate them. (Hint: Title is more than simply a piece of paper.)