Missi Howell directly addresses camera:  Planning. It seems simple enough but many real estate professionals never do it. They're too busy chasing leads and transactions, leaving little time for goal setting. So what do you do when your funnel dries up? After all, real estate is about relationships.

I'm Missi Howell, Vice President and Managing Broker for Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville. Let's take five minutes to talk about how to put together a business plan that focuses on building relationships that feed your business.

It starts with mindset and goals. And, I don't mean just business goals either. I am talking about personal goals as well. This business gets hard and you have to be able to reach in your back pocket and pull out those goals to confirm why you're doing this. So, start with WHY. Most agents will say, I want to make a lot of money. The question is, why do you want to make a lot of money? What is important to you? Debt reduction? Early retirement? Sending your kids to college? A person's why will change over time but figuring out your why at that moment is vital.

For new agents, the next thing I do is have them grab a pad and pen, not the computer. Have them write down every single person they know, even if they only know a first name. Then, have them write down something that connects that person to their memory. Maybe you met at your kid's school or at a sporting event. This is the start of relationship building. I recommend that agents do not use the line, “Hi, I'm in real estate now so if you know anyone, pass them along.” Instead, tell them you're updating your contacts and came across their name and wanted to see how they are doing. Even experienced agents can do this with their current database or with people they met in the last year.

Your next step is figuring out the source of your business. Where do you think your business will come from and when-first, second, third or fourth quarter. Once you've done this, you can start marketing. 

Agents aren't going to market the same way to family and friends as they do to people in their farm area. If you're sure 50 percent of your business is going to come from family and friends, then your marketing plan for that half of the business will be different than if 100 percent of your business comes from a paid lead source.

Part of the marketing plan is developing communication routines with these people. Write down all the ways you want to communicate with prospects-phone, text, personal notes. Your goal with every communication is to get face-to-face with someone. Then mark down how much time each day you will spend making those calls and writing those notes. Build time into your daily schedule, which also includes meeting with customers, holding open houses, working floor duty, going on showing and listing appointments and so forth. 

I created an Excel spreadsheet where I list all the activities for marketing, farming and appointments. With new agents, I meet with them every week for the first five months. I help them establish the routines that will lead to continued success. I meet with experienced agents once a quarter. 

If you notice, I don't mention how much money they need to make, nor do I break down how many transactions they need to close to earn a certain sales volume. The truth is, if you're not doing the things we just discussed, the monetary goals are useless. You're probably not going to hit those numbers. With a relationship building business plan, you'll find that the sky is the limit.