Many real estate agents laud the fact that they have freedom to set their own hours as one of the big perks of the career. That’s NOT to suggest that you have more free time than you would with other careers – in fact it’s often quite the opposite! And if you slack off, then you’ll fail to make a living working as a realtor – it’s as simple as that. However, it’s true that real estate agents can make their own schedule. But you absolutely must be smart about it.
Here at Real Estate Leads, our online real estate lead generation system in Canada has a been a big boost for new realtors looking to get a leg up on others when it comes to prospecting. Take advantage of it, and pair it with a solid schedule every week to start building up your client base.
Alright, on to this week’s tips for building a smart daily schedule for realtors.
Step 1 – Know Yourself
The first step might not be what you expected to see here. You need to be completely honest with yourself. Start with determine whether or not you are a morning person or an evening person. Next, when do you do your best thinking? Do you have a morning ritual? If so, what does it do for you? You get the idea. Know yourself and cater to your personal inclinations and you’ll be better set up to start developing an effective schedule.
Step 2 – Schedule Your Activities
The word may be a tad strong, but it’s important to have a work ritual. Real estate agents have several tasks that they need to do on a daily basis, and then others that need to be done on a weekly basis.Daily tasks will of course include checking email, returning phone calls, checking MLS listings, and previewing properties. Then of course you have prospecting, and Real Estate Leads is an ideal resource for that and a smart investment.
Time blocking is an effective way to determine how much time you should schedule for each activity. It helps you stick to the smart schedule you’re working to create.
Work with the concept that the task will grow to fit the time you allot for it. If you give yourself one hour to make 10 phone calls, for example, you should be open to the possibility that it’s not enough time to make 10 phone calls as effectively as you like. So maybe you make 7 effective phone calls rather than 10 less-than-effective ones. Put everything on your calendar, including both personal and professional appointments. It’s important when it comes time to schedule appointments with your ever-growing list of clients.
Step 3 – Maximum Flexibility
Be mindful of having a strong routine and sticking to it, but also be mindful of the need to be flexible. Properties will arrive on the market and certain clients will want to see them immediately, or a last-minute listing appointment may mean that you have to drop everything to accommodate a client’s wishes. These won’t happen often, but when they do you need to ensure your schedule can be reworked in the short term if necessary.
Step 4 – Realism, and Apply Yourself
Being a real estate agent doesn’t mean you need to work 7 days a week, and 10+ hours a day. Yes, that might bring you some impressive results (IF you’re using that time wisely that is), but you won’t have much of a life outside of real estate. Put your schedule together with a firm idea of how much time you’re willing to devote to real estate. In general your days will range from 4 to 8 hours a day of work. Apply yourself to the max during those times and really give it your all so that when you stop working you can enjoy your time off knowing you’ve done what you needed to do that day.
This is a big part of being successful – when you’re working, you’re getting after it 100% and using your time with maximum effectiveness. By designing a smart schedule and sticking to it, you will find that you become more focused on the activities you need to do to be successful as an agent. These activities will now be connected to specific goals and the way they contribute to them should be clearly defined.
Sign up with Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated leads delivered to you exclusively for your similarly exclusive area of any city or town in Canada. It’s a surefire way to boost your lead generation results for real estate, and a smart investment in your success.
We welcome any and all questions, and any feedback you might have.
