Managing your time in the real estate business.
First, this is something people struggle with in general, not just Realtors. However, in the world of real estate sales, it appears to be magnified even more as it’s a commission only business. If you’re being paid hourly or salary and mismanage time, for the most part, it's become accepted. Of course, it’s a contributing factor to the lack of productivity, yet, for the most part, things go forward. As a Realtor, you have a much shorter fuse before you find yourself out of time, money or both. As a commission only, independent contractor this should very well be your #1 priority.
Talk to us about your experience with having a schedule to follow, maybe what you did and any suggestions you may have for our agents in action.
When we think about having a schedule, we often have some amount of resistance to this process. Often, we feel it’s will be restricting and cause conflict with the discipline necessary to follow a structured schedule. I know this because it’s what I used to think myself until I changed how I looked at my schedule. Dr. Wayne Dyer has often said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” So true! Try it, take a step back and be open to other ways to apply meaning to things that take place in life. Instead of seeing your schedule as something that is “hard” to follow or stick to or we resist by saying things like…”I left corporate America and got into real estate so I would be able to have more flexibility in my day…(as a side note, that way of thinking is a quick way to find yourself, back, working a corporate job) I want to suggest doing what I did years ago. Going forward, I want to recommend you look at your schedule like a GPS. It tells you how to get from one place to the next.
What did people do back in the CA gold rush days in the late 1840’s - early 1850’s? We’ve all seen them, the maps with the dotted lines that eventually lead to gold and their riches. I know it may be a silly way of looking at it, yet when you imagine you have a big X on your map (these represent your goals/dreams, the things you’re most passionate about) and you follow a dotted line (which represents the daily tasks to complete along the way to reach your destination - your goals) you are now connecting in your mind...‘when I follow this process (schedule) it is leading you, closer and closer, with each step you take to accomplishing the goals you I have set out to achieve. Isn’t that better than all of the other negative emotions we typically have when we have attempted to follow a schedule in the past? Trust your schedule and be thankful for it...it is a tried and true system for you to strike your goldmine!
Bottom line on this, we do it every day, when we don’t know how to get somewhere and need directions, we rely on a map, GPS or some kind of system to help us get to our destination. I trust this is making sense and I am getting through to you - following your schedule is the KEY to getting to where you want to go. It’s your friend, not the enemy.
Let’s look at some tips from Todd of ways he’s learned over the years to help manage his time and follow a schedule for success.
Start your day at the same time each day - Treat your business as if it was a “real” job. What would this mean? That you’re accountable for your actions, production, showing up on time, leaving when your “shift” is done (not early) you need to conduct yourself in a manner that wouldn’t get you fired. What was interesting is how often I noticed the agents in my coaching schedule that were having success, were the ones that came from a previous job/career that had a very structured day and they carried it over and treated their real estate business the very same way. Simple, have some kind of consistency in when you begin working each day.
Establish a consistent morning routine - If you’re having a challenge managing your day, focus on mastering your morning routine. Tell your clients and family you're on an appt until noon each day. As I would take on a new client, I would let them know how I operated and what I would be doing throughout the day. (Of course, we need to know this to be able to do this) This doesn’t only demonstrate your professionalism; it sets proper expectations for how to communicate with you. The morning routine is 8a - Noon. Nothing, unless it’s a true emergency can get in the way. A true emergency life or health matters, someone’s safety, is at risk or major issue with a child. It’s something to think about in advance, how will you define what can cross this line? If you don’t get really clear, you will notice distractions somehow finding a way to pop up.
No drama zone - Easier sometimes said than done. Drama is the #1 productivity killer. Are you constantly in crisis mode? Are you reacting to life or responding? Why? If you’re willing to take a step back, you may be able to get a clear picture what’s causing this. Sometimes, we do this to ourselves and don’t know how else to behave. It eats up precious time and zaps your energy. It also will drive people away from you. Sellers/Buyers can see the drama coming a mile away and won’t have any interest working with you.
Watch out for technology traps - We need to realize that things like our phone, emails or text messages or worse, Facebook, Twitter and the rest of them … if you haven’t noticed, are consuming our lives. These tools are either working for you, or against you. When you are focused on your lead generation time, (a Realtors ONE Thing, staying in the 20% activities that bring you results) don’t allow technology to get in your way. If you were on a listing appointment, sitting with the seller at their kitchen table, would you stop in the middle of the presentation and check email, respond to a text or answer your phone? Of course not, yet for some reason we don’t treat our appointment (time block to lead generate) the same way and wonder why we’re not going on more listing appointments and closing more deals Simply put, these tools can be great assets to you or robbing your time and ability to accomplish your goals. Be honest, to some degree technology is distracting us, some more than others. What is it costing you?
Track your time, every hour for three days - This isn’t for anyone, only if you’re really ready for a change. If you really are serious about making improvement with your time management skills, you have to take a look in the mirror and get really honest with yourself. Don’t be afraid to see what’s really happening. If you want to something to change, I encourage you to take inventory of exactly what you did each hour of your work day for three days in a row. Don’t sugar coat it, leave something out or go easy on yourself. Be 100% transparent and write it down. At the end of the 3rd day, you will have an opportunity to review exactly what you’re doing with your time. I’ve done this several times and can be an eye opener if you will follow through and of course, honestly note what you’ve done with your time.
Color code your day - After you’ve tracked your time, you can now go back and issue a specific color to the various activities you’ve noted. You can pick any colors you wish. I recommend taking a highlighter, let's say one that is yellow, orange and green.
Green: Highlight everything in green when you did something that was an income producing activity. Examples could be lead generation/prospecting, lead follows up calls, going on a listing appointment, showing property or negotiating a contract. All would be activities that can lead you to income. Obviously, we want to see a lot of green if we want to make a lot of green.
Orange: Highlight everything in orange when you did something income servicing. Examples could be calling your listings with feedback on showings, dropping off a sign, lockbox, or making a flyer, inputting a listing in the MLS etc.
Yellow: Highlight those things you could have delegated to someone else. When you really examine this, you didn’t have to be the one to complete that task. When we can get some leverage on our time, we can free ourselves up to get more “green time” on our calendar. What is your time valued at? (If you don’t know, figure it out) As a simple baseline calculation, let's say you take two weeks off each year as unpaid vacation time. Then you would be working 50 weeks of the year, and if you work a typical 40 hours a week, you have a total of 2,000 hours of work each year. In this case, you can quickly compute the annual salary by multiplying the hourly wage by 2000. Example: Your hourly pay of $37.50 is then equivalent to an average annual income of $75,000 per year. If you’re making $150K, of course, that’s $75.00 each hour. My point is this...if your time is worth $40, 50 or $75 per hour, why would you do a task someone you can hire out for $12 an hour? Often, we can find admin type support that is paid at the closing. Don’t jump to conclusions or make assumptions about the terms someone would accept. Keep seeking out the right people to help you get your business moving in along more efficiently.
Check in/out with a co-worker, coach, family member or all of them - I remember, at times I would call someone at a key point in my day to “check in” as a form of accountability. If you are having a hard time getting to the office in the morning, then go ahead and arrange with someone that you will call them at 8:30 am every day for a week or two, in order to begin making that a new habit. Or, if you want to commit to lead generating for an hour each day, call when you begin and again when you end. If you’re really wanting to play at a high level, go ahead and report out what your results were. ie: calls made, contacts made, appointments set, leads generated, etc. Don’t hide from doing things that will lead you down the path you wish to be on. We only have to apply the new discipline as long as it takes to become a habit.
Begin a 66-day challenge - When we’re looking to change a habit, in this case working on improving the use of our time, keep in mind it will take some time to see the results we’re seeking. Patience is key! We often hear about doing something for 21 days, and it’s a habit. That may be the case for some, I have studied this (being a certified trainer on The ONE Thing Book), and there is research out there to suggest it can be as little as 18 days and as many as 261 days. The authors tell about a researcher that found 66 days to be what is referred to as the point of automatically. This means the new behavior is at the point where the individual no longer has to exhibit energy for the desired behavior to occur...it occurs naturally or “automatically.” Pick something (recommend one thing) you want to see change and the goal is to do that for 66 consecutive instances. Most months have 20-21 work days M-F. If you were to do this Monday through Friday, it would be just about three months to complete. Each day you execute the new activity, you get to check off one day, then two, three and so on...the goal is you can’t break the cycle. The days must be consecutive, don’t break the chain or you have to begin over at day 1. This should be a fun way to install a new habit into your life. Make a game of it. What you’ll notice is once you get past day 4 or 5, you begin to “protect” the momentum you’re building and don’t want to have to start over. Something as simple, yet challenging as a 66-day challenge can really begin to set you up for great things to come.
How important it is to know your market statistics and position yourself as the goto expert and trusted resource in your marketplace?Fact: I would venture to say 97-98% (or even more) of the
Fact: I would venture to say 97-98% (or even more) of the agent's industry-wide DO NOT know the market #s. Have you ever had someone ask you “how’s the market”? What do you say? How effective is your response? What message does it convey about you, your knowledge and professionalism/expertise? Typically, when someone asks this type of question, as a whole, many of us respond in 1 of 100 different ways. Why? Unfortunately, for the large majority of agents, they’re NOT prepared and haven’t rehearsed how to respond effectively to one of the most commonly asked questions of our friends, acquaintances or when we come into contact with the general public. Of course, there're several opportunities to put this into practice, and we’ll cover a few of them today.
What’s interesting (and somewhat surprising) is the vast majority of agents have some kind of response, however, do they REALLY know what is going on in the market? What I mean is what they’re saying information they own? Or, a combination of bits and pieces of information being picked up here and there...consciously, or even unconsciously? Ask yourself, when you answer this question is what you say coming from what you’ve taken in from EXTERNAL sources (what you've taken in from the outside) or is it INTERNAL sources (from your own doing, effort and research)? After 1000’s of coaching conversations with agents, I know this is (for whatever reason) something that, in general, our industry could become more proficient in. Today I thought we’d talk about the importance of really owning your numbers, what stats are the key ones to be aware of and having a firm grasp on exactly what is going on in your market, being the true expert in your area and a trusted adviser. I realize for some agents, knowing your market statistics comes more naturally as it’s more inline with the personality style you lead with. While others, it may not be something that comes easily, it requires you to get out of your comfort zone and be more analytical. Either way, no matter what your personality may be, if you want to be an expert, we’re required to have this knowledge.
What #’s are to track? I would start with the following, of course; you can track others if you wish...these are the ones I have focused on and have allowed me to have a clear understanding of what was going on at all times.
This includes:
Total Inventory - The cities you service, could be certain subdivisions.
As an example, look at the large city as whole, for me that would be Dallas/Fort Worth. Then maybe go more specific to the county(s) you service. Then the city(s) you specialize in and as granular as the specific neighborhoods you specialize in. It just depends on how informed you want to be.
New Pending Sales - MOM and YOY.
Homes sold/closed sales MOM and YOY.
All new listings brought to market MOM and YOY.
Homes that have expired/canceled Mom and YOY.
When I say MOM, an example would be last month 78 homes sold, this month 59 homes sold. That would mean closed sales were down approximately 25% month over month. OR last month total inventory was 6450, this month total inventory is 6675 which tell us inventory has increased roughly 3.5%. Year over year is the same thing, just taking into consideration what happened last year at this time of the year. Of course, you can look at these #s over whatever period of time you need to based on what you’re attempting to determine. Knowing MOM and YOY allows you to keep up with trends and shifts in the market in real time, vs. after the fact. Bonus: What the current absorption rate is for the area. 18 sales last six mo, that’s three sales each month, currently, have 12 active listings = four months of inventory. What does the inventory tell you about the market?
5 Ways To Use Market Statistics To Your Advantage:
You won’t trip over words anymore or be caught off guard.-
-Never find yourself grasping for what to say, feeling awkward when someone is asking “so how’s the market.”
-You’ll demonstrate your professionalism and be perceived as the go-to expert.
No longer be susceptible to the buzz around the office or what the media is reporting.
-We have to watch out for SNIOP’s. Susceptible negative influences other people.
-Often times we’re picking up on other people’s comments around our offices or in the news. If you don’t know what the actual market numbers are, then it leaves you wondering what is reality. Wondering doesn't serve us well and brings on uncertainty and unnecessary anxiety. Pull your #’s regularly and put an end to this.
If you’re newer in the business, it will immediately give you credibility.
-We’ve all been there, we’re newer in the business and feeling a little insecure about our overall knowledge. (even seasoned agents have these feelings) Nothing boost confidence more than tracking you market stats and closely watching trends.
-This is a sure way to disguise your lack of time in real estate because no one would sense you’re newer to the business when you can carry on a higher level conversation that includes so many precise details about the market conditions.
-I’ll add it can’t hurt any anyone, no matter how long you’ve been in the business.
Great content to use while prospecting, at your open house or door knocking.
-People know when you’re they’re talking to a professional. Think back the last time you were looking to hire someone...you could clearly know just by speaking to them if they were on their game or left you wondering.
-Keeping current with these statistics allows you to have the edge when someone makes a statement about something to do with the market. In the past, you may of let it go, brushed it off, or found yourself backed into a corner stumbling for what to say next. Now, knowing your numbers, you will be able to respond appropriately, take a stand or make your point with fact and no emotion or misinformation.
Give yourself absolute confidence when pricing a new listing, writing an offer for a buyer or during negotiations.
-Again, it comes back to doubt or certainty.
-Pricing is everything when taking a listing. It allows you to know when you can push the limits or need to be more conservative. The numbers tell a story & show you the best path and strategy to use.
-Use this to determine how you make an initial offer when working with a buyer.
-Give yourself and your client the edge when negotiating a deal. I’d bet you the other agent doesn’t have the knowledge you will be bringing to the negotiation table. Use it to your advantage.