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75% of Realtors who become licensed are will never celebrate their second anniversary as a Realtor. There are a number of reasons for that: 1. Poor hiring practices. Fogging the mirror is not an adequate indication of future success in real estate. 2. Poor training. The days of "Here's the desk. Here's the phone. Bless you son, you're on your own" have passed. 3. Poor firing practices. If a Realtor has not made a sale in 90 days, he or she should be set free to be a success somewhere else. It's not going to be in real estate, with very few exceptions. 4. Poor time management. As a new Realtor you have little control over Items 1 -3. You always have control over #4. As a Realtor who plans to celebrate many anniversaries past number 2, you have to master time management. It's not only your most precious commodity, it's the one thing that you can't replace. There will be another house on the market tomorrow. You'll find another customer. But how do you replace the day that slipped away? Let me share with you a few tips gathered over 12 years of sales and management. 1. Get out of the office! There is no one in that office who will ever buy a house from you! Set aside one morning or afternoon per week to "be in the office". That's the time to review files, do follow up and talk with buyers and sellers. Tell all of your buyers & sellers: "Of course you can call me any time you need me, but I'm usually in the office only on Tuesday afternoons. If you call me then, I'll have your file right in front of me and I'll probably be able to give you an immediate answer." Start saying that to everyone and soon most of the calls will come in on "Tuesday afternoons". I'm not suggesting that it's going to be easy. Only that you'll group the aggravation. No use spoiling all of your week! 2. Never let a busy body sit down anywhere near your desk! You know who I mean. He or she may be the nicest person in the world. But "brief conversation" is an oxymoron to that individual. When she or he approaches your desk, spring to your feet, grab your coffee cup and head for the kitchen saying over your shoulder: "I was just on my way for coffee. Why don't you join me?" Get your coffee, sit down and visit till the coffee is gone. You end the visit by saying: "I've really enjoyed out little talk, but I've got to get back to work now." You can always leave someone in the kitchen, you can't tell them to get away from your desk! 3. Group your activities. Whether it's touring new listings, previewing homes, doing paperwork, making follow up calls or prospecting, commit a chunk of time to that activity and stick with it! For any given activity, you spend a lot of time getting ready, finding your supplies or finding your way. Maximize the preparation time by doing enough of that activity to show results. 4. Take a day off every week! You'll work harder, you'll work better and you'll be more effective if you keep things in balance. And that includes taking time out for you and your family. 5. Use a Daytimer or a Dayrunner or some system that helps you track your appointments, tasks, and activities. One place where you have everything including phone numbers, mileage, expenses written down. Even a follow up sheet for transactions in progress. 6. Get some help! If you're averaging much more than 3 sales a month, you could probably double your production with some assistance. |
