Well, 2012 is drawing to a close. What a year it’s been!

I’m thrilled that we’re seeing a recovery of the housing market in most parts of the country. We’ve been through a tough couple of years, and it’s such a great feeling to see us coming out on the other side. I’ll be talking more about my predictions for 2013 in the coming weeks, so watch for those Zebra Reports in January!

If we’ve learned anything at all in recent years it’s that the real estate market is in a constant state of flux. You always knew that – right? But we kind of forgot about it when times were good.

Well, there’s one thing that’s a constant in any real estate market … and that’s you!     

Most agents approach their real estate business with the same energy, the same attitude, the same skills – and the same results – each and every year.

Oh, occasionally we make a resolution that “Next year I’m going to …” You fill in the blank! Do you resolve to make more money? Spend more time with family? Increase your lead generation? Get better at keeping in touch with past clients?

Too often the resolution is something that sounds great (and if we implemented it, actually would be great for our business), but typically that resolution falls by the wayside. The estimates vary a bit, but between 69% to 88% of resolutions fail.

Think about that for a moment: a failure rate of 88%.

Did you make a resolution last December to improve your business in some way in 2012? If so, how did that work for you? Are you one of the proud 12% … or are you with the majority who had a willingness to make a change but couldn’t make that happen?

I’m not trying to discourage you from making resolutions to improve your business next year. In fact, I think you’re crazy if you don’t do just that. If you’d done any business planning at all for 2013 you probably want to make some resolutions for and about your business.

Here’s how you can be successful in not just making, but in keeping those resolutions. It’s what I do, and I promise you that it works.

It’s simple really – trust me! Just two little steps:

1. Make your resolution or resolutions. Let’s say it’s to increase the number of transactions you do each month from 1 to 3.
2. On the first day of every month in 2013, make a note that says: How many transactions last month? If you use a paper calendar, highlight this with a red circle. If you use an online calendar, create the message in red.

Taking this simple step will bring you much closer to achieving your goal. You see, you need year-long focus on your resolution to achieve it. Too often our resolutions are made in December or January, thought about in January or February, and a distant memory by April.

When you see a bright reminder on your calendar each month, you will be much more likely to focus. You’ll have an opportunity to check your progress, and plenty of time to figure out the adjustments you’ll need to make in the next 30 days if you didn’t reach your goal.

Once you are focusing on the resolutions, you’ll begin achieving them. And once you are successful at achieving one resolution, it becomes a simple thing to add more – supercharging your business or your life.

I encourage you create resolutions for your business and your personal life in the coming weeks. Just be sure to implement my fool-proof method, and see if you don’t have success!