When was the last time you took a look at the health of your business? As a real estate agent you are a business owner. You owe it to yourself to take a moment every few months to review your business barometer. Now that the first quarter of 2016 is complete, it’s time to review how your business is changing – good or bad – and what you are going to do about it.

When I talk to agents about this, they intuitively understand the need for a business review. However, one of two things usually stop them from actually getting it done. One issue is task management skills, which you can learn more about in my previous blog post, Task Management, The Key to Getting It All Done.

The other reason agents don’t do their business reviews, today’s topic, is because they don’t know what kinds of questions they should be asking themselves.

Below is a list of questions that you ask yourself at the end of every quarter. A quarterly business assessment is essential if you want to stay on track to achieve the goals you have set out for yourself at the beginning of the year.

Questions to Ask Yourself

1. Did you reach the production goal that you planned for this quarter? If you did not reach your goals, what got in the way and stopped you? Was it market related, marketing or client related? There are certain things you can You can definitely control your marketing. It’s hard to control the market and often times even harder to control your client’s timeline. By keeping track of what you have done this quarter you make it possible to reassess your goals and take action towards them.

2. How do you plan to change your business goals for next quarter? How will you make up for the goals that you were unable to reach this quarter?

3. What one thing did you do on a regular basis this quarter that has made a significant improvement to your business?

4. What one thing did you intend to do this quarter, but failed to do?

5. How effective were your mailings? Did you do all the mailings that you had planned to do?

6. What seminars, conferences or educational training did you attend during this quarter? What did you take away from it?

7. What are the 3 things that you would like to adjust in your business for the next quarter that will help you to reach the goals that you set out to achieve?

8. Think about what occurred in the market. Did it prevent or enhance your ability to make more income? What one thing would you have prepared differently had you known what the market would be like?

Quarterly reviews are essential for taking your business to the next level. Agents that look at their goals on a regular basis are more inclined to reach and surpass their goals. Agents who do not review their business are more likely to repeat the same mistakes, to be caught unaware by trends and habits, and to get stuck in the same place.

Being able to look at your business objectively is an important skill that you will develop over time. For an agent, that means assessing production, marketing, advertising, client care, follow up and lead generation. By doing this on a quarterly basis, you will be better equipped to make needed adjustments to your business and win victories over your goals.