2025 Business Planning #1 - What is Your Why?

Business Planning for 2025: Setting Goals and Strategies

As 2024 comes to a close, it is the perfect time for Realtors to reflect, regroup, and plan for the year ahead. Whether you had a banner year or struggled to hit your goals, creating a thoughtful business plan for 2025 can help you take control of your real estate career. Mike Ferrante of the 21 Mike Team at Century 21 HomeStar and Tony Geraci, broker-owner of HomeStar, shared their insights on how Ohio Realtors can finish strong this year and build a foundation for success in the next.

Step 1: Reflect on 2024 and Identify Opportunities

Before planning for the future, analyze the past year:

What worked? Did open houses bring in buyer leads? Were social media campaigns effective? Identify your successes and double down on them.
What did not work? Were certain marketing strategies or lead-generation efforts ineffective? Evaluate what needs to be adjusted or eliminated.
What opportunities were missed? Did you hesitate to implement a strategy, such as door-knocking or calling expired listings? 2025 is the year to seize those opportunities.

By breaking your year into these categories, you can create a clear picture of what to prioritize, tweak, or abandon as you head into the new year.

Step 2: Establish Your “Why”

As Simon Sinek says in Start with Why, understanding the reason behind your goals is crucial. Most agents’ primary motivators revolve around money—whether to fund a dream vacation, save for their kid’s education, or achieve financial independence. But understanding the deeper “why” will keep you motivated when challenges arise.

Mike Ferrante suggests starting every business planning session with this question: Why do you want to succeed in real estate? Your answer will fuel the passion and discipline needed to achieve your goals.

Step 3: Analyze and Organize Your Sphere of Influence

Your sphere of influence (SOI) is the most powerful tool in your real estate arsenal. As the year winds down, it is time to reconnect with past clients, friends, family, and acquaintances:

Reach out personally: A simple call or message to check in can reignite relationships. Use the holiday season as a natural reason to reconnect. ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
Organize your database: If you do not have a customer relationship management (CRM) system, now is the time to start. Whether you use software or a simple spreadsheet, segment your contacts into categories like hot leads, warm leads, and past clients.
Set follow-up schedules: Block out time on your calendar for regular follow-ups. Whether it is quarterly check-ins or monthly updates, consistency is key.

Tony Geraci emphasizes the importance of maintaining an organized database. “Successful agents can easily identify how many clients are ready to buy or sell in the next year or two. If you can’t do that, it’s time to get your database in order.”

Step 4: Set Clear Goals for 2025

Your goals should be specific, measurable, and actionable:

Units or Transactions: How many homes do you want to sell in 2025?
Income: What is your target gross commission income (GCI)?
Activities: How many calls, emails, or meetings will it take to achieve these numbers?

Once you know your average sale price, commission, and expenses, you can work backward to determine the daily, weekly, and monthly activities needed to hit your goals.

Step 5: Create a Budget

Too many agents struggle with financial management. To ensure success in 2025:

Track your expenses: Know your monthly operating costs, including board dues, marketing expenses, and personal living costs.
Set aside funds for taxes: Tony Geraci recommends earmarking a portion of every commission check for taxes and dues. This proactive approach prevents end-of-year financial stress.
Plan for investments: Allocate funds for marketing efforts like social media ads, mailers, or event sponsorships that can help grow your business.

Step 6: Identify New Strategies to Implement

Every year is an opportunity to grow by trying new tactics. In 2025, consider:

Open houses: Maximize this strategy by door-knocking beforehand and creating themed events to attract more attendees.
Social media consistency: Commit to posting regularly across platforms, balancing personal and professional content.
Calling FSBOs and expired listings: These are proven lead sources for proactive agents.
Video marketing: Create videos that showcase your listings, market insights, and your personality to build trust with your audience.

Step 7: Write It Down

The simple act of writing down your goals dramatically increases the likelihood of achieving them. Create a detailed plan that includes:

Daily to-do lists for calls and follow-ups.
Weekly and monthly benchmarks to track progress.
A calendar with time-blocked tasks to ensure you stay on track.

Tony Geraci advises agents to write down everything—business and personal tasks alike. “If you don’t have your day planned out, you’ll always feel behind. Put everything in your calendar so nothing gets missed.”

Step 8: Stay Disciplined and Flexible

Life happens, and routines can be disrupted. Whether it is a vacation, holiday season, or unexpected event, the key is to jump back in without hesitation. As Mike Ferrante says, “You can always start again. The important thing is to have a system that lets you pick up where you left off.”

Final Thoughts

Business planning is not just about setting goals—it is about creating a roadmap to achieve them. By reflecting on 2024, establishing your “why,” and setting clear, actionable goals, you can ensure a successful 2025.

If you want help with your business planning, the 21 Mike Team at Century 21 HomeStar offers tools and training to guide you. Visit 21Mike.com or reach out to Mike Ferrante directly at mike@21mike.com to start planning for your best year yet!

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