Business planning workbook

Every exercise for a yearly business plan, on one page. Type your numbers and the math works itself out, from the income you want down to this week’s appointments and calls. Each part ends with a prompt you can copy into ChatGPT, Claude or any AI app.

The models and benchmarks come from Gary Keller’s The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and the Keller Williams Business Planning Clinic. This workbook is DKRE’s own and isn’t a Keller Williams publication. Full credits.

Your numbers stay with you. What you type is saved only in this browser, on this device. Nothing is sent to DKRE or anyone else, and there’s no account, until you copy a prompt into an AI app or tap Open ChatGPT or Open Claude, which sends that prompt to them. Clearing your browser data erases it, so print your plan when you’re done.

The page is loading.

You type in white boxes. Grey boxes work themselves out.

Four rules for the AI prompts (download the prompt card, PDF)

No client names, phone numbers or addresses in a free AI app. Totals and your own numbers only.
Check the math. AI can be wrong and sound sure of itself.
AI writes the draft; you send it. Canada’s anti-spam law (CASL) and the Do Not Call list still apply.
Ask follow-ups. “Make it shorter.” “What if I only work 44 weeks?” “Explain that like I’m new.”

Before you start

Getting started

Where I am today

My name, for the printoutOptional. It stays in this browser.

Which of these sounds like me? Tick any that fit. I already plan my business and run it from the plan, day to day and year to year. I’ve written a plan before and want to get more out of it. I’m fairly new to real estate and new to planning. I’m on a team and new to planning.

My numbers

Type these once. The rest of the page reuses them, so you don’t have to type them again.

1. Money I need in a year to cover my life and clear my debts

2. My business expenses in a year (a guess is fine)

3. My typical commission on one sale

4. Listing appointments I went on last year

5. Buyer appointments I went on last year

6. Listings I sold last year

7. Buyers I helped buy last year

8. Names in my databaseEveryone you could call or email: past clients, friends, family, leads.

9. My team: me plus

My three learning goals

Something I want to understand by the end

Another thing I want to understand

One more

How far I’ll take it

Pick the one you’ll commit toLevel 1. Finish a business plan.Level 2. Finish a plan and follow it.Level 3. Finish a plan, share it with a coach or accountability partner, and check my results against it every week, month and year.

Part 1

Models and mindset

A plan built on a proven model, powered by a reason that matters to you.

Skip to this part’s AI prompt

My Big Why

The reason that gets you to the phone on a hard day. The AI prompt at the end of this part helps you find it.

Why I do this work

My Big Why, in a sentence or two

What I want my plan to do for me

Tick each one you want Cover the money I need to live on Tell me how many appointments to go on each week Keep my business expenses in check Show me when and how to grow Show me where my leads are strong and where they’re thin Tell me when to hire help Save me time

My 4-1-1

A 4-1-1 is one page of goals: for the 4 weeks ahead, 1 month and 1 year. Each part below adds its lines, and Part 6 pulls them into your finished 4-1-1.

What clicked and what I’ll do

What clicked for me in this part

Three things I’ll do, each with a date

Action 1

Action 1: done by

Action 2

Action 2: done by

Action 3

Action 3: done by

Plan with AI · Models and Mindset

Find your Big Why

Six questions, one at a time, then your Big Why in your own words. Nothing to fill in.

Your prompt. You can change the words here before you copy it.

Open ChatGPT Open Claude

See a sample answer

A sample agent said: “Tired of shifts. I wanted to be home for my kids.” “Handing first-time buyers their keys.” “I’m never off. Texts at 10 pm.” “Weekends off, coaching soccer.” “Pay off the house. Help my parents retire.”

Their Big Why: I do real estate to build a business on my own terms, so I’m home for my kids and coaching soccer on weekends instead of answering texts at 10 pm. In three years I want the house paid off early, my parents helped into retirement, and more first-time buyers holding keys they didn’t think they could get.

If yours sounds like a greeting card, tell it “use more of my words”.

Written for a made-up agent. Yours will be different.

Part 2

The economic model

Start with the net income you want and work back to the appointments it takes.

Skip to this part’s AI prompt

Last year (actual)

Your real numbers. The appointments and sales come from My numbers, so they show your true conversion rates.

Net income last year

Operating expenses last yearCosts you pay whether or not a deal closes.

Cost of sale last yearWhat comes off each deal: brokerage split and fees, referral fees, agents paid per deal.

GCI last year: net + operating + cost of sale–

Net / operating / cost of sale, as % of GCIThe model’s benchmark is 40 / 30 / 30 (MREA).–

Sales last year (My numbers 6 + 7)–

Average commission: GCI ÷ sales–

Typical commission (My numbers 3)–

Listings and buyers, as % of sales–

Listing appointments that became a sale–

Buyer appointments that became a sale–

Appointments last year–

Appointments a month–

Appointments a week–

Next year (pro forma)

The same steps with next year’s numbers. Grey boxes work themselves out.

Step 1. The net income I want next year
My numbers 1 says you need –. Leave it empty to use that.
Step 2. Operating expenses (last year’s, or your best estimate)
Last year: –. My numbers 2, all business expenses: –.
Step 3. Cost of sale (last year’s, or your best estimate)
Last year: –. Steps 2 and 3 together are usually close to My numbers 2.
Step 4. GCI I need: net + operating + cost of sale–
Net / operating / cost of sale, as % of GCIMREA benchmark: 40 / 30 / 30.–
Step 5. My average commission on one saleYour own number. Commissions are negotiable; there is no standard rate.
My numbers 3 says –. Leave it empty to use that.
Step 6. Sales I need: GCI ÷ average commission, rounded to the nearest sale–
Step 7. Share of my sales that are listingsLeave it empty to use 50 / 50, the model’s example.

From sales back to appointmentsListingsBuyers

Sales––

% of signed clients who sell or buy
Listings taken that sell, %
Signed buyers who buy, %

Signed: listings taken, buyers signed––

% of appointments that sign
Listing appointments that sign, %
Buyer appointments that sign, %

Appointments a year, rounded up––

Fractions carry through every step; only the appointments are rounded up. The clinic’s handout rounds to the nearest whole appointment, so a count here can be one higher. Don’t know your rates? (75% and 80% for listings, 75% and 70% for buyers). You can type 80 or .8.
Step 8. Weeks I’ll work next yearLeave it empty to use 50.

AppointmentsListingsBuyers

A month––

A week––

All appointments a year–
All appointments a month–
All appointments a week–

My plans to improve

What I’ll do better next year, compared with last year

Build your 4-1-1: appointments

Year: net income–

Year: total sales–

Year: listing appointments–

Year: buyer appointments–

January: listing appointments–

January: buyer appointments–

Week 1Listing appointments: –Buyer appointments: –

Week 2Listing appointments: –Buyer appointments: –

Week 3Listing appointments: –Buyer appointments: –

Week 4Listing appointments: –Buyer appointments: –

Monthly goals are the year ÷ 12, rounded up, and spread across the four weeks.

Add a goal for the year

Add a goal for the month

Add a goal for each week

What clicked and what I’ll do

What clicked for me in this part

Three things I’ll do, each with a date

Action 1

Action 1: done by

Action 2

Action 2: done by

Action 3

Action 3: done by

Plan with AI · The Economic Model

Work back from the income you want

The words in this prompt come from the boxes above, so type your numbers there first.

Your prompt. You can change the words here before you copy it.

Open ChatGPT Open Claude

Check the AI’s math

The same numbers as your pro forma above. If the AI’s answer is far from these, tell it “show me each step”.

GCI needed–

Closings–

Listing appointments a year–

Buyer appointments a year–

Appointments a month–

Appointments a week–

Then add it to your 4-1-1. When the AI has answered, send it this:

From what you just gave me, write the lines for my 4-1-1 for this part of my plan: one annual goal for 2027, one goal for January, and one goal for each of the 4 weeks of January. One line each, with a number in every line.

See a sample answer

25 closings is about 1 appointment a week. $150,000 net + $60,000 operating expenses + $40,000 cost of sale = $250,000 GCI. Divided by a $10,000 average commission, that’s 25 closings, half listings and half buyers.

	Listings	Buyers
Closings	12.5	12.5
Signed (80% and 70% close)	15.6	17.9
Appointments (75% sign)	21	24
Per month	1.8	2.0
Per week (50 weeks)	0.4	0.5

What if 85% of listing appointments sign, not 75%? 19 listing appointments instead of 21.

Rates used: the sample agent’s (75% of listing appointments sign and 80% of those listings sell; 75% of buyer appointments sign and 70% of those buyers buy). Your AI may pick different example rates; tell it which to use.

Written for a made-up agent. Yours will be different.

Part 3

The lead generation model

Where your appointments come from: the people in your database and how often you reach them.

Skip to this part’s AI prompt

My top lead sources

Where last year’s business came from. Most agents find a few sources bring most of their deals.

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Source 4

My database

Names in my database today (My numbers 8)–

Names I keep in regular touch with

How I’ll sort my leads and contacts into groups, so each message fits

Event and get-together ideas for each group

My database math

Both ways round: what your database gives you now, and how big it needs to be.

My conversion rateLeave it empty to use 50%.

Appointments my database can bring in a yearContacts × 6% × conversion–

Contacts I need for my pro forma’s appointmentsAppointments ÷ 6% ÷ conversion–

The 6% rule (Business Planning Clinic, from The Millionaire Real Estate Agent): about 6% of the people in a database you touch 36 times a year buy or sell each year, and you win a share of them.

My lead generation plan

Contacts needed for my economic model–

Contacts in my database today–

Contacts to add–

Add each month–

Add each week–

Contacts I’ll have by the end of the year (my goal)Leave it empty to aim for the number needed above. A smaller first step is fine; your 4-1-1 uses this goal.

My lead sources now

Now 1

Now 2

Now 3

Now 4

My lead sources next year

Next year 1

Next year 2

Next year 3

Next year 4

Lead generation a day: calls, texts, posts, visits and notes

My town or area (for the AI prompt)

My touch plans

Leads are people you haven’t spoken with yet; contacts know you. Each group gets its own touch plan.

19 to Connect, for leads (MREA)

4 calls a year, one a quarter: details

12 emails a month apart (newsletter, market report or video): details

2 pieces of promotional mail (magnet, calendar or printed report): details

1 event a year: details

36 to Convert, for contacts (MREA)

4 calls a year, one a quarter: details

26 emails, every two weeks, each with something useful: details

2 events or get-togethers: details

4 pieces of promotional mail (magnet, calendar, market report): details

Calls a year: database × 4–

Calls a month: a third of the database–

Calls a week: a month’s calls ÷ 4–

Build your 4-1-1: database and calls

Year: contacts in my database–

January: contacts to add–

January: calls–

Week 1Contacts to add: –Calls: –

Week 2Contacts to add: –Calls: –

Week 3Contacts to add: –Calls: –

Week 4Contacts to add: –Calls: –

Put these in my 4-1-1 Year: 1 event for leadsYear: 2 events for contacts Month: call a third of my databaseMonth: send leads 1 thing of valueMonth: send contacts 2 things of value Week: email contacts something usefulWeek: practise my conversations every day

Add a goal for the year

Add a goal for the month

Add a goal for each week

What clicked and what I’ll do

What clicked for me in this part

Three things I’ll do, each with a date

Action 1

Action 1: done by

Action 2

Action 2: done by

Action 3

Action 3: done by

Plan with AI · The Lead Generation Model

Build your 36 to Convert

The words in this prompt come from the boxes above, so type your numbers there first.

Your prompt. You can change the words here before you copy it.

Open ChatGPT Open Claude

Then add it to your 4-1-1. When the AI has answered, send it this:

See a sample answer

36 touches, and only 4 are calls. Sample: Strathroy-Caradoc, 400 contacts, 2027.

4 calls: rounds start in January, April, July and October. Each runs the whole quarter: a third of the list a month, about 33 calls a week.
26 emails: one every two weeks.
2 events: strawberry social, Saturday June 19. Fall pie pickup, Saturday October 2.
4 pieces of mail: year in review (February), magnet (May), fall checklist (September), 2028 calendar (December).

Written for a made-up agent. Yours will be different.

Plan with AI · The Lead Generation Model

Quarterly call openers

Three ways to open a quarterly call. Nothing to fill in.

Your prompt. You can change the words here before you copy it.

Open ChatGPT Open Claude

See a sample answer

“Hi [Name], it’s [you]. No business, I just like checking in with people I’ve helped. How’s the house treating you?”
“Hey [Name], it’s [you]. I drove past your street today and thought of you. What’s new with you and the family?”
“Hi [Name], it’s [you]. I’m calling a few favourite people this week to catch up. What’s been keeping you busy?”

If they mention a move: “Oh, that’s big news. What’s got you thinking about it?” Then listen.

Written for a made-up agent. Yours will be different.

Part 4

The budget model

Where the money goes between earning it and keeping it. Spend as an investment, and hold each line to account.

Skip to this part’s AI prompt

What I pay for technology

My main platform, a month

My other subscriptions, a month

Which subscriptions, with what each costs a month (the AI prompt uses this)

Technology a month–

Technology a yearCompare it with the Communication and tech line in your budget below.–

My budget

Your GCI goal comes from Part 2. Type what you plan to spend on each line in a year; the model’s figure sits beside it.

My GCI goal for 2027, from the pro forma–

Cost of salesMREA %$ at MREA %My plan

Listing specialist(s)5%–

Listing specialist(s): my budget plan

Buyer specialist(s)25%–

Buyer specialist(s): my budget plan

Other cost of sale (brokerage split and fees, referral fees)–minimal

Other cost of sale (brokerage split and fees, referral fees): my budget plan

Total cost of sales30%––

Operating expensesMREA %$ at MREA %My plan

Compensation (pay for staff)14.4%–

Compensation (pay for staff): my budget plan

Lead generation9%–

Lead generation: my budget plan

Occupancy1%–

Occupancy: my budget plan

Education and coaching2.5%–

Education and coaching: my budget plan

Supplies and office1%–

Supplies and office: my budget plan

Communication and tech1%–

Communication and tech: my budget plan

Auto0.6%–

Auto: my budget plan

Equipment0.3%–

Equipment: my budget plan

Insurance0.2%–

Insurance: my budget plan

Total operating expenses30%––

Total expenses60%––

Net income40%––

–

The percentages are the MREA budget benchmarks (The Millionaire Real Estate Agent) for a large business. Yours will differ, and that’s fine: the point is to see each line next to the model.

My monthly profit and loss

Your budget, one month at a time, so you can hold each month’s real numbers against it.

IncomeA month

Residential income–

Commercial income

Commercial income, a month

Other real estate income

Other real estate income, a month

Total income (GCI)–

Cost of salesA month

Listing specialist(s)–

Buyer specialist(s)–

Other cost of sale (brokerage split and fees, referral fees)–

Total cost of sales–

Gross profit–

Operating expensesA month

Compensation (pay for staff)–

Lead generation–

Occupancy–

Education and coaching–

Supplies and office–

Communication and tech–

Auto–

Equipment–

Insurance–

Total operating expenses–

Total expenses–

Business profit–

Income below the lineA month

Interest income

Interest income, a month

Vendor and supplier income

Vendor and supplier income, a month

Profit share income

Profit share income, a month

Other income

Other income, a month

Total below-the-line income–

Expenses below the lineA month

Employee profit share

Employee profit share, a month

Other pre-tax expenses

Other pre-tax expenses, a month

Income tax

Income tax, a month

Total below-the-line expenses–

Net income, a month–

Plan lines are your budget ÷ 12. Residential income is your GCI ÷ 12 less any commercial and other income you type. Leave below-the-line boxes empty if you have none.

Build your 4-1-1: money habits

Put these in my 4-1-1 Year: update my budgetMonth: review my budget and adjust itMonth: fill in and review my profit and loss

Add a goal for the year

Add a goal for the month

Add a goal for each week

What clicked and what I’ll do

What clicked for me in this part

Three things I’ll do, each with a date

Action 1

Action 1: done by

Action 2

Action 2: done by

Action 3

Action 3: done by

Plan with AI · The Budget Model

Sort your P&L the KW way

Paste last year’s profit and loss below. Your subscriptions come from the box above.

Last year’s profit and loss: category totals, one per line. No client names.

Your prompt. You can change the words here before you copy it.

Open ChatGPT Open Claude

Then add it to your 4-1-1. When the AI has answered, send it this:

See a sample answer

56% net, well above the 40% benchmark. The sample agent’s last year, $250,000 GCI:

	$	% of GCI
Brokerage split and fees (cost of sales)	40,000	16%
Advertising	22,000	8.8%
Car	9,000	3.6%
Subscriptions ($275 a month)	3,300	1.3%
Office, fees and other	35,700	14.3%
Operating expenses	70,000	28%
Net income	140,000	56%

Cost of sales (16%) and operating expenses (28%) are both under the 30% benchmarks. Worth a look: no insurance line, and “Office, fees and other” is big enough to split into its own lines. Two CRMs overlap: cut the $90 one first.

Written for a made-up agent. Yours will be different.

Part 5

The organizational model

Who does the work as you grow. Tools and systems first, then people, one hire at a time.

Skip to this part’s AI prompt

How strong I am at each part of the job

1 is low, 4 is high.

1. Finding leads and turning them into appointments

2. Presenting to buyers and sellers and getting a signed agreement

3. Showing homes and marketing listings

4. Writing and negotiating offers

5. Getting deals to closing

6. Managing the money

7. Hiring

8. Training

9. Holding people to account

What a bad hire could cost my business

What I’ll get better at, and what I’ll hand off or get help with

Before a first hire, KW suggests its leverage and career-visioning courses.

Build your 4-1-1: people

I’ll hire

in this quarter

Put these in my 4-1-1 Year: use my economic, lead generation and budget models to set what I’ll invest and the return I expect Year: take KW’s leverage courses before I hire Month: sign up for career visioning

Add a goal for the year

Add a goal for the month

Add a goal for each week

What clicked and what I’ll do

What clicked for me in this part

Three things I’ll do, each with a date

Action 1

Action 1: done by

Action 2

Action 2: done by

Action 3

Action 3: done by

Plan with AI · The Organizational Model

Your first hire might be software

List what you did last week below and the AI sorts it into what only you can do, what a person could do, and what a tool could do.

What I did last week, one task per line

Your prompt. You can change the words here before you copy it.

Open ChatGPT Open Claude

Then add it to your 4-1-1. When the AI has answered, send it this:

See a sample answer

12 of 20 hours didn’t need you. The card’s sample week, sorted. Hours are rough estimates.

Only me, 8 hours: listing appointment, showed homes.
A person, 7 hours: chased a lawyer for documents, 40 showing texts, bookkeeping.
A tool, I check, 5 hours: listing descriptions, CMA write-up, social posts.

The job for the second pile: part-time admin assistant, about 7 to 10 hours a week. Chases documents, books showings, keeps the books.

Written for a made-up agent. Yours will be different.

Part 6

Pulling it together: my 4-1-1

Every number here comes from the parts above, so change a number there and this page follows. Add anything else you want to hold yourself to.

Skip to this part’s AI prompt

My 4-1-1 for 2027

The year

Net income–

GCI–

Total sales–

Listing appointments–

Buyer appointments–

Contacts in my database–

Another goal for the year

January

Listing appointments–

Buyer appointments–

Contacts to add–

Calls–

Another goal for the month

The four weeks of January

Week 1Listing appointments: –Buyer appointments: –Contacts to add: –Calls: –

Week 2Listing appointments: –Buyer appointments: –Contacts to add: –Calls: –

Week 3Listing appointments: –Buyer appointments: –Contacts to add: –Calls: –

Week 4Listing appointments: –Buyer appointments: –Contacts to add: –Calls: –

Another goal for every week

My action steps

From the end of each part, with their dates.

Plan with AI · Pulling It All Together

Build your 4-1-1 and a Friday check-in

The words in this prompt come from the boxes above, so type your numbers there first. It turns your plan into a 4-1-1 and a Friday check-in.

Your prompt. You can change the words here before you copy it.

Open ChatGPT Open Claude

See a sample answer

25 sales is 7 calls a day in January. The sample agent: $150,000 net, 25 sales, database 400 to 500.

	Listing appts	Buyer appts	Calls	New contacts
2027	21	24	⅓ a month	100
January	2	2	133	9
Week 1	1	–	33	2
Week 2	–	1	33	2
Week 3	1	–	33	2
Week 4	–	1	34	3

Every Friday, paste back: calls made, conversations, contacts added, appointments set and held, agreements signed.

Written for a made-up agent. Yours will be different.

Credits

The models and benchmarks on this page come from Gary Keller’s The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (with Dave Jenks and Jay Papasan) and the Keller Williams Business Planning Clinic: the economic, lead generation, budget and organizational models, the 40 / 30 / 30 split, the budget percentages, the 6% database rule, the 19 to Connect and 36 to Convert touch plans, and the 4-1-1. This workbook is DKRE’s own, in its own words, and isn’t a Keller Williams publication.

Made for the KW Lifestyles Business Planning Clinic, co-led by Jaime Wagg and Dan Kiekens, Keller Williams Lifestyles Realty, Nov 12, 2026.

The sample agent is made up. AI output can be wrong; check it before you rely on it. Nothing here is tax, legal or financial advice.

Business planning workbook

Getting started

Where I am today

My numbers

My three learning goals

How far I’ll take it

Models and mindset

My Big Why

What I want my plan to do for me

My 4-1-1

What clicked and what I’ll do

Find your Big Why

The economic model

Last year (actual)

Next year (pro forma)

My plans to improve

Build your 4-1-1: appointments

What clicked and what I’ll do

Work back from the income you want

Check the AI’s math

The lead generation model

My top lead sources

My database

My database math

My lead generation plan

My touch plans

19 to Connect, for leads (MREA)

36 to Convert, for contacts (MREA)

Build your 4-1-1: database and calls

What clicked and what I’ll do

Build your 36 to Convert

Quarterly call openers

The budget model

What I pay for technology

My budget

My monthly profit and loss

Build your 4-1-1: money habits

What clicked and what I’ll do

Sort your P&L the KW way

The organizational model

My future organization

How strong I am at each part of the job

Build your 4-1-1: people

What clicked and what I’ll do

Your first hire might be software

Pulling it together: my 4-1-1

My 4-1-1 for 2027

The year

January

The four weeks of January

My action steps

Build your 4-1-1 and a Friday check-in

Credits