I have coached many agents over the years and the first question I ask them is, “What is your vision for your business?”

Without a clear vision for your business, you’re unlikely to ever achieve your business goals. For example, agents tell me all the time that they want to make so much money so that they have financial confidence. However, what they are focused on is a financial goal. That’s just one goal; it’s not a business vision. A vision defines what you want your business to represent and how you see yourself operating your business. A vision is clear and specific. A vision can help you reach your business goals.

For example, let’s say your goal is you want to do 100 transactions this year. What kind of quality of life do you see yourself having while you work on that goal? What steps are you willing to take to achieve that goal? What steps are you NOT willing to take to achieve that goal? What kind of people do you want to work with? When you start answering these kinds of questions, then you are starting to create a business vision. You must know your vision first. Only then can you start to set realistic steps for achieving that goal.

Once you have a clear picture of your vision, then think about a plan to get there. A good plan has two critical qualities. First, it must be simple and easy to follow. Second, it must be something that you can do consistently each week in your business.

If the plan is unrealistic from the start and it doesn’t work into the day to day demands of your business, then you will never get it done. It will sit on the shelf and gather dust. At most, you might just feel guilty about it, but you will never achieve it.

Execution is the gasoline in your business. It is what guarantees that you will reach your goals. An agent may have a great vision and a very detailed plan, but if they are not executing on that plan they will never reach the level they wanted to. Your plan must be simple – you need to break it into simple steps that you can fit into your life. If you can’t fit a step into your life, it’s not simple enough yet.

The final part of the puzzle is the need for continual assessment and reassessment. In our company we hold a company-wide meeting every month. We go to a nice meeting space where we are not distracted by phone calls or emails and we brainstorm together. We look at our business and we are honest with ourselves about what is working and what is not working. This is our time to bring up issues and concerns. We are consistent about how often we have these meetings, we have consistent rules, and we use these meetings to keep ourselves consistently aligned with our vision.

When you define your business vision, set achievable steps for getting there, and when you are consistent by keeping that vision in your focus, you are setting yourself up for success.

Be honest. Ask yourself, have you truly implemented each of the items above? Do you just have a goal or have you looked beyond the goal and defined a vision for your business? Have a strong vision of how you want your business to be. Execute your plan for that vision in steps that fit into your life. Be consistent. If you do this, success will come to you!