Establishing best practices and habits that support hard work set you up for a long, successful career assisting people with their real estate goals. Routines work because the structure makes us more efficient and saves our most valuable resource: time. The following five habits can help real estate professionals become more proficient, prioritize their tasks, and better serve clients.
#1- Schedule Your Week
Being organized with a plan is critical to success. By scheduling your week in advance, you eliminate the guesswork about what you will spend time on during the day. Instead, you launch right into “doing” instead of “planning.”
Scheduling in advance has the added benefit of prioritizing your tasks. Tom Ferry talks about focusing on the HBUT, the “Highest and Best Use of Time.” We have a limited number of hours in the day, so we need to focus on the most impactful tasks. Advanced planning ensures you are finding the best way to spend your time.
#2- Ensure You Have Time For You
It is essential to prioritize self-care time so you can best serve your clients. The real estate industry operates with unusual and flexible hours. If you don’t effectively manage your time, it’s easy to find yourself overworking. A schedule that prioritizes work over self-care eventually leads to burnout.
High-performing agents reserve time for themselves into their schedule so they can maintain a balanced lifestyle. Taking time for yourself ensures you stay energized and invigorated to accomplish your work. Some ideas on what to incorporate into your routine:
• Do something energizing, like exercise. It doesn’t matter if it’s running, swimming, weightlifting, or a morning walk, select an activity you enjoy.
• Amanda Howard suggests that you find to spend time with someone that makes you happy and keeps your mind off all things work related.
• Spend 5-10 minutes in mediation or reflection. Try an app like Calm, Unplug, Simple Habit, or Ten Percent Happier.
• Tom Ferry recommends starting with a powerful affirmation like, “I’m a lean, mean appointment-setting machine.”
#3- Prospect or Network Five Hours a Week
Lead generation is something agents should be working on consistently to maintain their pipeline and create new business. Dedicate at least five hours a week on either prospecting or networking activities, which breaks down to a minimum of one hour a day in a five-day work week. Consistency and dedication are vital to lead generation.
#4- Touch Base With Past Clients
Include your past clients as part of your lead generation pipeline. The median duration of homeownership in the Huntsville area was ten years in 2018, but owners can choose to sell at any time. Your prior homebuyers are more likely to turn to you to assist with selling if you maintain a relationship with them.
Aim to offer your resources at least three times a week using various marketing channels at your disposal. These resources could be data like market reports, articles on property maintenance, or downloadable area guides. Taking measures to stay top-of-mind has the added benefit of encouraging satisfied past clients to recommend your services to their family, friends, and colleagues.
#5- Know Your Numbers
Build client trust and confidence by positioning yourself as the market expert. To offer deep market knowledge, make reviewing market activity part of your routine.
In addition to understanding the market performance, the best real estate agents know their numbers. Tracking personal metrics assists with goal-setting and creating a strategy to achieve goals. Regularly reviewing the numbers shows if your actions are helping you make progress.
Select a Brokerage That Supports Successful Habits
Amanda Howard Sotheby’s International Realty believes a routine and establishing good habits are vital steps towards building a successful real estate career. Incorporating these into your real estate business makes you a more efficient and knowledgeable professional. This helps our clients because it ensures you are delivering the best possible services. Through our mentorship program and other brokerage services, we are committed to helping all our team members create routines that help them succeed as a real estate agent.
