There is just not enough time in the day!
Not only have you heard that saying a hundred times, I’m willing to bet you’ve also caught yourself muttering it aloud. Real estate is an all-consuming profession so it’s important that you stay organized and have a solid strategy to help you maintain a healthy work-life balance. Establishing good time management habits can make a huge difference in your day-to-day productivity.
We asked a number of our top-producing agents for some real estate marketing tips on what they do to stay organized and compiled a list of the best responses to help you maximize your time!
- Use the first 30 minutes of your day to plan your day
Don’t jump straight into emails and phone calls. Sit down and evaluate what workable hours you have available and plan out your day accordingly. By acknowledging what you need to get done first thing in the morning, you will help yourself stay on track throughout the rest of the day.
- Take notes when schedule conflicts arise
At the end of each day, compare what you thought you’d be able to accomplish with what you were actually able to accomplish to determine if you’re allowing yourself enough time for various tasks. If you have conflicts, double-book yourself, or simply run out of time for a specific activity – record what happened. As you start to see and address schedule conflict patterns, you’ll see improvements when it comes to your overall productivity
- Always prioritize your to-do list
A to-do list without prioritization is unmanageable and can leave you exasperated as you try to figure out where to start. The main goal of prioritization is to avoid having too many “on fire” projects that must be done in an unreasonable timeframe. Sometimes, this means pushing important tasks back a day or so – and that’s ok. It’s better to tackle important tasks when you have the time, focus and energy to give them the attention they deserve.
- Set appointments but leave time for interruptions
No matter how organized you are, there are going to be things that come up that throw your schedule off track. Some interruptions might pop up out of the blue – like a client canceling or rescheduling a showing – but other things, like a phone call from your mom, getting caught in traffic, or stopping for that all-important cup of joe – are regular occurrences that should be accounted for. Scheduling “buffer time” into your day to accommodate for these little interruptions will help you come up with a more realistic vision of what your can tackle in your workable hours.
- Come up with a good follow-up schedule
Voicemails and emails can pile up quickly. It’s easy to flag a message, move on with your day, then get swept up in something else and forget to reply. As you know, missing a message could mean losing a potential client. You work hard to land every client, so make sure late follow-up doesn’t negatively impact your business by scheduling time for follow-up on a daily basis. I recommend setting aside some time mid-day each day, between 11am and 3pm, to get caught up on any unanswered emails and voicemails.
- Use downtime to your advantage
There are certainly up times and down times in the real estate business – but just because business is slow doesn’t mean you get to completely stop working. By all means, cut back on hours, enjoy your time and even out that work-life balance, but also keep yourself on track so you don’t end up way behind as the busy season starts to rev up again. A little prep work in the slow season can go a long way toward helping you hit the ground running when things (inevitably) get crazy again!
- Don’t underestimate word-of-mouth marketing
Oftentimes the simplest things can be the most effective when it comes to marketing. This one is actually a personal experience I had. One day, I was at a workout class and a woman in the class introduced herself as an agent and shared her business card with me. I was new in town at the time, and a couple months later, a friend of mine asked if I knew of any good agents. I remembered the card, looked up the agent, saw she had great reviews and passed it along to my friend who ended up using her to purchase her first home. That 30 second interaction turned in to a healthy commission for that outgoing agent. Don’t underestimate the power of a quick introduction – a – whether it’s in line at the coffee shop, at a community event or even after a workout class! Keep business cards on you at all times and make it a goal to hand out a set amount per day or per week to get some time-saving marketing leverage in your area.
- Join a small business networking group
Don’t re-invent the wheel when it comes to marketing – learn from what others are already doing. Joining a local small business or entrepreneurial group can be a great way to find out how other local businesses are finding success in your community, and can help you leverage similar marketing tactics that you can use to propel your real estate business forward. You may find that just meeting for a couple of hours once a month is all you need to help keep you ahead of the curve (and ahead of the competition).
Pro Tip:
Join our Real Estate Agent Success Network on LinkedIn to connect with and learn from other industry professionals!
Take charge of your time!