You may be supplied a workspace/computer/phone station by your broker, but there will be plenty of times when working from home will be more productive. The trick is in making your surroundings function well enough to keep distractions, temptations and timewasters to a minimum.
Here are a few tried and true home officing techniques that will help:
Create a private office. Depending on your space availability, you can use a spare bedroom or the dining room table, but the goal of creating a dedicated office space is to separate your work life from your private life. Make sure you have lots of light, a comfortable chair, organizers, and enough tabletop space. Mixing your child's homework and household bills with your marketing pieces can cause something to get overlooked or lost, so don't allow clutter to accumulate. Keep regular working hours. While some of your time won't be under your total control, you can keep distractions and temptations at bay by letting family, friends and clients know your working hours and availability. "If you have clients in different time zones, make them aware of your hours," advises self-employed public relations/real estate specialist Hugh Siler. "If not, they'll assume that 8 a.m. their time is your time." Dress for success. Even if you don't have appointments, you'll feel more professional if you are showered and dressed as if you are going out to the office or a showing. You'll also be ready in case something comes up and you're needed at your broker's, or at one of your listings. Keep phone messages updated. You don't want clients wondering why you're not answering your phone, why you're saying it's Friday, when it's the following Wednesday, or why you're saying you're still on vacation when that was the same message a month ago. Needless to say, return calls promptly, during the time you designate, but if that time is going to be delayed, reflect that in your phone message. For example, "I'm showing homes today, so I'll be returning calls between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m." Work a schedule. Not only do you have to get business, you have to work the business you have. That means disciplining yourself to a schedule where you divide your time between prospecting, education, marketing and client servicing. Prospecting includes making calls to people you know. Education might be continuing education classes or distance learning such as taking the ePRO designation class online. Marketing might include creating fliers, buying newspaper ads, updating your website or inputting data into the MLS. Client servicing may mean getting an out-of-town seller's home cleaned and staged, creating a feedback report, or searching listings for a buyer. Make Opportunities for Networking. Make sure you attend MLS meetings, broker sales meetings, and sponsored networking events. While others may skip MLS tours in favor of learning about housing inventory from photos and virtual tours, nothing takes the place of seeing a home for yourself and meeting the listing agent to establish a professional rapport. Be prepared for behavioral changes "If you have a home-based business, you might find yourself eating out for lunches and dinner more often," confides Siler. "The itch to be around people, chat with others can be tough. One way around that is to regularly schedule business and social lunches and dinners that force you out of the work space." Keep yourself motivated. Some people do better with a boss nearby to crack the whip, but as a self-employed salesperson or broker, you will have to motivate yourself. Try not to use your office for any other activity but working. If you need some help focusing, hire a coach. Delegate tasks to a virtual assistant that you don't want to do yourself. Reward yourself when you find faster, less expensive, more efficient ways to do things with more time off, money in a piggy bank, or other treats. Take breaks when needed. Stand, stretch, or grab the leash and take your dog for a walk around the block. Just don't be tempted to go to the den and turn on the television. Don't feel guilty -- you can always do more tomorrow. Make a to-do list and stick to it as much as possible. If you don't get everything done, don't worry about it. Just make sure you got the most critical jobs handled. If you have to take off to pick kids up from school, or to watch a practice, do it. That's the joy of being self-employed -- you don't need permission to work how you want to work. But the best way to keep guilt at bay is to be able to look back on your day with a sense of accomplishment. So, if you don't complete the to-do list, write down what you did do so you'll know how you spent your time and where you might improve.
