Category: Productivity

3 tips for dealing with burnout

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By Ashley Harwood

It’s only February, yet many agents are already struggling with burnout. Without consistent rest and recovery time, of course these agents are exhausted. Who wouldn’t be? We’re humans, not real estate-selling robots. So, why is there so much guilt around taking a day off? As small-business owners, we experience a very common “hustle and grind” mentality in this industry. “Work hard, and you’ll be successful.” “If you’re not meeting your goals, put in more hours.”

Yes, hard work is important, but what’s even more important is strategically doing the right activities (lead gen) and balancing those activities with plenty of rest. Now, rest doesn’t necessarily mean taking a nap, although it absolutely could mean that. The definition of rest is allowing your brain to unplug and your energy to recharge.

It will look different for each of us. It could be taking a walk, reading fiction, binging a Netflix show, going on a little road trip to explore a new area or having a long lunch with a close friend. You choose your own adventure. The point is to do whatever it takes to step away from the details and stress of real estate and allow the brain to focus on something else for a day.

Consistent rest has several benefits: It allows the brain to tap into creative problem-solving and better handle stressful situations in a rational manner, it helps us be more patient, it’s vital for our physical health and building a healthy immune system (yes, getting enough sleep at night is a big part of this, too), and it simply makes us nicer people and better agents. When we are well rested, we are able to keep our clients and co-broker agents calm.

Taking days off is easier said than done, yet it’s critically important to building a sustainable career and avoiding burnout. Extreme burnout can lead to getting physically sick, which will force you to take time off anyway, and you’ll lose valuable momentum. And wouldn’t it be more fun to take a planned day off than a sick day?

So, here are three tips for taking days off consistently:

1. Use the buddy system.

Taking days off is easier for agents on a team — there’s always someone to cover. For solo agents, it can be challenging, and for solo agents without the budget for an admin or a virtual assistant/transaction coordinator, it can be extra difficult. So, partner up. Find another agent in your office who’s in a similar situation and cover for each other. Make sure you include their contact info in your email auto-responder and change your voicemail message.

2. Pick a day of the week strategically, and plan it in advance.

For most agents, weekends are busier with showings and open houses than weekdays. Look back over the past few weeks and decide which day of the week is typically slower for you. That’s a good day to choose as your day off. Of course, the day can change, and it doesn’t have to be the same day every week. But choosing your day off in advance, getting it on the calendar and protecting that time is key.

3. Realize there are very few real estate emergencies.

Most things can wait a day. They really can. When you have a solid, trusting relationship with your clients, they won’t fire you because you didn’t answer them for 24 hours. For anything that really is time-sensitive (like an offer), well, your colleague in the office is covering for you. No problem. There’s no science behind this, but most agents find that whenever they go on vacation or step away from their business, that’s when referrals tend magically to pour in.

If you’re currently feeling exhausted or burned out, I’d highly recommend scheduling a few days off ASAP. Find someone to cover for you. Tell your clients you’ll be unavailable but that they’ll be in your colleague’s extremely capable hands. Then, when you come back to work, you’ll have fresh eyes and a renewed spirit, and your productivity will skyrocket. Try it and let me know how it works for you.

Ashley Harwood is the founder & CEO of Move Over Extroverts, a coaching/training company for introverted agents. You can reach her at Ashley@MoveOverExtroverts.com and check out her website at www.moveoverextroverts.com.

Bring good news, cure curiosity and be an advisor

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Amy Corr & Kevin Van Eck, @properties

Fall is the perfect time of year to schedule a real estate review with our clients. Like financial planners and advisors who meet with their clients annually, we have an opportunity to position ourselves as advisors in reviewing their real estate assets and the markets that surround them. It’s a great excuse to touch base and deepen relationships through sharing our expertise and insights.

This year has brought a unique opportunity where we’re able to share great news about current home values and the market outlook for 2022.

Advisor vs. Salesperson

The goal of the review is to position ourselves as an advisor, to extend our value and relationship outside of a transaction and to generate referrals from our past clients and current homeowners. We must enter the annual review as a resource, not as a pushy salesperson.

Keep It Simple

A full comparative market analysis isn’t necessary. A majority of those we’ll connect with are not looking to sell, so spending hours sourcing relevant properties and comparables is wasted time. Instead, prepare a general overview of what’s taken place over the last year. This can include using tools like InfoSparks or BrokerMetrics to produce a one-page summary of the market, and you might also include a one-line report showing similar listed and sold homes. Keeping it simple allows us to maximize our time in creating and delivering reviews without overwhelming homeowners with unnecessary information.

The Process

Start with your past clients that purchased 12 months ago, and work backward. Once you have your list of clients and packets, reach out with a call. Connect as you normally would and state the purpose of your call. That you are an advisor, much like a financial advisor, and would like to talk through an annual review of their real estate. A key phrase is to let them know that you’ve “prepared a packet,” so that they understand that you’ve already put equity into the review. Ask them for 10 minutes in the coming week to review, whether in person or virtually. You might even state that you understand that they’re likely not currently looking to buy or sell, but that many of your clients are interested in understanding what’s happening in their market. There may be some that are too busy or ask you to just send it to them. That’s OK, but know that the most effective way to connect with them and foster the relationship is face to face. The least effective way is to email the review, so your final effort, if unable to meet in person or virtually, should be to put it in the mail.

The Meeting and Closing Questions

During your meeting, catch up with each other by asking F.O.R.D. questions (family, occupation, recreation, dreams) to connect and hear if they might have life changes coming. Begin the review by highlighting a few interesting stats that illustrate what’s happening in their market — just give them the high level. If you’re asked about the value of their home, let them know that you would need to create and present a complete analysis, and that’s typically done when someone’s interested in selling. You can then ask if they have been thinking about selling. In wrapping up the meeting, there are two important questions:

What are your long-term plans for the property?

Is there anyone you know who would find a review like this valuable?

This is another opportunity to learn future real estate needs and to walk away from the meeting with introductions and potential referrals.

The annual real estate review allows us to stay in touch with past clients, position ourselves as a resource and generate referrals. The best part about the timing this year: We get to deliver positive news.