The challenge with becoming an entrepreneur is being laser-focused on dollar-productive activities. When you first get into the real estate business, there is so much to learn and do! You need to learn the industry, implement systems, learn sales scripts, market your business, figure out your lead generation, and so much more. That’s a full-time job, and you haven’t even started to work with buyers and sellers.
Here’s why most agents fail: They get too busy working IN the business and fail to work ON their business.
By nature, this industry is radically unpredictable. Buyers decide to buy—and sellers decide to sell—on their own timetable. You have to be there at that magic moment if you want them to say “yes” to your services. The reality is, when a prospect is choosing an agent to represent them, they typically pick the agent they most recently had contact with! This mean you have to stay front-of-mind with your prospects on top of everything else you have going on. Add in the intensity of showing homes to buyers, servicing sellers, and prospecting—this is overwhelming unless you develop a plan to keep all the plates spinning and the income funnel full.
The plan is simple—but getting an agent to do it is the hard part.
No matter what’s happening, only you have the power to time block your day. This begins with blocking out dollar-productive activities by using a My Perfect Week Planner.*
This system visually helps you lay out a perfect week so that you’re able to establish a rhythm of daily habits that result in regular, consistent income. Think of blocking your time using a traffic light as an example:
• Red is for non-negotiable time. These hours are reserved for your personal “big rocks” -- family time, date night with your spouse, attending your kid’s soccer games, exercise, and getting enough sleep. No matter how urgently a client may demand your time, you will never change these items blocked in red. The dialog is simple, “I have an appointment scheduled at that time. I can meet with you tomorrow at 3:00 pm, or Thursday at 10:00 am. What works best for you?”
• Yellow is for time-blocking a daily prospecting hour. Most agents can come up with a million reasons not to prospect each day, but it is the key to getting paid regularly. Make a habit of blocking time each day, even if it’s only 15-30-minutes, five days a week, and stick to it. Whether you’re a prospect-phobic or simply believe prospecting is limited to cold calls, think conversation and engagement, not solicitation. Rotate through your sphere of influence and leads with scheduled calls to update contact information, share a save-the-date for your future client appreciation party, or just a quick call to ask how their job is going. These approaches are easy and friendly.
• Green is for money-making activities. These are appointments that are related to earning or receiving money, like closings, listing appointments, and working with buyers. The goal is to increase the green in your weekly calendar—and in your bank account.
Sit down at the beginning of each week to plan. Real estate has plenty of opportunity for busy work that will rob you of energy and income, so take control of your week before the chaos hits so that you can do those activities that serve and pay you first. It’s also a good idea to get a good coach to help you learn new habits to plan for success, and hire out the administrative work so that you can focus on being the CEO, building your business every day, one day at a time.
*To receive a complimentary copy of the My Perfect Week Planner, and other productivity tools, please click here.
