Happy New Year! You make New Year’s resolutions for your personal life, so why not make them for your professional life as well. If you’ve been meaning to improve on a certain area, or want to excel in a certain niche, the New Year is the perfect time to start. Focus on these five goals and, if you’re feeling extra ambitious, add more.

1. Tackle social media: If you aren’t very tech savvy, now is the time to develop your skills. Social media will help boost business. In fact, 91% of REALTORS^® currently use at least one form of social media. Our best practices for Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest can give you the information you need to promote generating leads from social media.

2. Develop goals and action items: Write out a list of goals and tangible action items for 2015. For example, your overarching goal may be to generate a certain number of leads a month, or grow your social media following by 100 followers month over month. Your action items may be to go to at least three networking events a month or start implementing social media advertising on your various social media channels. Regardless of your specific goals, this exercise will help you identify and keep track of your accomplishments throughout the year.

3. Localize business: Inman.com reported that the key to standing out from your competition is to become an “expert” in one particular location. This tactic can help improve business both online and offline; targeting a specific geographic area can push you to the top of Google searches, instantly increasing business. Focus on your area of expertise this year and you may see results.

4. Become a thought leader: People want to work with you because they trust your expertise and values. One way to generate trust is to show that you are a thought leader in your field. Write guest posts on blogs, get featured in media publications, and even start your own blog.

5. Network: Real estate is a business where referrals and testimonials matter. You are helping people with an important milestone – and they want to work with someone they can confide in. Attend networking events and keep in touch with friends, family, and acquaintances because you never know who will help you generate your next lead.

Use these goals to help improve your business in 2015. Good luck!

Recommended Reading:

-5 Ways to Reconnect this Holiday Season

-Email Etiquette for Real Estate Agents

-5 Essential Networking Tips for Real Estate Agents

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