Ok, here we are at the first day of the year, There are 364 more chances to kill it in real estate this year. The question is how are you going to do it?
I’ve been doing this business for over 30 years now and although technology has changed a lot of things, several things remains constant. Here they are:
- You actually have to go to work every day. I know, you are an independent contractor and as such can set your own hours. But, let me ask you this…are you actually working enough hours to make the income that you want? What I see agents do that absolutely guarantees failure is this…they don’t put enough hours in every day to get any meaningful work done. So, why not start writing down what you do every day that can be classified as productive work? Do it for two weeks and then recap it. I’ll bet that you find out that you are lucky to get 20% of every working day devoted to productive work. Here is my definition of productive work: Any time that you spend talking or visiting with someone who can make a buy or sell decision can be classified as productive. Period.
- Know the inventory. Almost every market has a weekly meeting of agents who are “pitching” their listings. Then they hold them open for brokers and agents to see them. Get out of the house and start going to those meetings and start looking at houses. How in the world can you be knowledgeable about your market if you haven’t seen what is for sale? Don’t give me the tired line that it’s all lenders and title company people at those meetings. That may be so, but that’s YOUR fault because you aren’t there! Start going and take your colleagues with you!
- Take courses. Learn new things. Practice what you learn. If you aren’t learning new things about your craft you are falling behind. I hear too many agents tell me that they are not techie. In 2017??? You have to be techie…or you have to hire someone to do the techie stuff for you. Stop hiding behind “I’m not techie!” It’s costing you business!
- Get an accountability partner…someone who will hold you accountable to do what you say that you are going to do. It’s way to easy to say that you are going to do something and then you let excuses get in the way of actually getting anything done. Being accountable will bring that behavior to a quick end!
- Learn how to use the tools that your broker provides, who knows, there may be a solution there that solves that thorny problem you are having staying in touch with your past clients. And for Pete’s Sake, go to your office meetings! Not going means that you don’t know what is going on in your office!
If you will start doing these things, I am absolutely certain that you will have a better 2017 than your 2016! If you keep doing what you have always done, chances are that you’ll get what you have always got.
