I’ve got a sixteen-year-old son, and he always tells me to “stop worrying.” The truth is that I am not worrying, but I am advising or reminding.
As I was reminding him that he needed to share something with his teacher via Google Docs, I followed up by saying, “Don’t forget to send your teacher an email to confirm that he received the Google Doc.”
After I provided that advice, it struck me that this kind of parenting demonstrates how he will need to function in the real world to get ahead. I’ve worked with agents and had situations where I’ve asked them (after a weekend open house) if they sent out their thank-you notes or followed up with the seller as to the number of visitors. To which, I get a “blank stare” response, which indicates that it didn’t even occur to them that those two things would be the standard course of follow-up action.
Having a regimented routine is the key to success in real estate. For each and every listing (as an example), you’ve got to do the same exact thing. Take listing, order professional photography, put property on MLS, order and just listed postcards, make single property website and promotional flyer, hold broker open, pitch at marketing sessions, and the list goes on and on.
If you create a regimented routine for each aspect of your business (from open house to working with buyers to managing your database), you will send a more polished and professional message. When you appear more polished and professional, you will ultimately have more buyers and sellers in your pipeline and more referral partners in your back pocket.
It’s pretty ironic that people perceive real estate professionals as being independent and having the freedom to work when they want and do what they want. The perception is that we barely work at all.
Despite the fact that we are independent contractors (for how long, who knows?), we must follow a routine just as regimented and deliberate as that of a person who works on an assembly line. Unless, of course, you only want to close three to five transactions per year. If that’s the case, feel free to do whatever you want.
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