Tag: residential real estate

3 Habits Successful Agents Use for Peak Productivity

Marci Sepulveda Leave a comment

One of the biggest struggles for real estate professionals can be maintaining peak productivity when the nature of the real estate business can have you pulled in a million directions. Being frazzled or appearing unorganized could, at best, detract from your professional image. At worst, it could cause you to miss valuable opportunities to grow your business. 

Let’s look at some of the ways you can plan your day for peak productivity and some real-life examples of how you can implement these strategies in your real estate business. 

#1. Identify the Times When You Are Most Focused

Some people feel most productive early in the day, while others feel the most productive over lunch, or even on Friday evenings. Spend some time paying attention to how you naturally work and when you feel the most alert. Then, once you know when you work at your best, block out this time on your calendar each day to work on the tasks that most impact your real estate business. 

You’ll never be able to gauge when and where your clients will need you next, but blocking out your “most focused” hours for lead gen or marketing duties can mean you’re knocking those items off your to-do list quickly. 

Pro Tip: Lead follow-up is one of the most important aspects of the real estate business. Use your most focused hours on personal follow-up. This is a great time to also make sure your CRM is up-to-date with your latest client touch-points. 

#2. Create Routines — and Stick to Them

One of the best habits an agent can adopt to increase their productivity is to establish set routines — and then stick with them. Develop a solid morning and evening routine that you can easily repeat each day, and you will naturally see your productivity increase. 

Morning routine habits, such as catching up on current events or a good workout, can set you up for success for the rest of the day. Likewise, a solid evening routine will help you wind down for the day and get on the right track for the next day. Reflect on the day, thinking of what you did well — and what you’d like to accomplish tomorrow. Lastly, make time to do something that you enjoy each evening, whether it’s connecting with family or friends, or a personal hobby.

Pro Tip: To maximize your productivity, consider creating a to-do list each night for the next morning. Then, prioritize those tasks to keep your day flowing. When you do this the night before, it sets the stage for peak productivity. 

#3. Don’t Forget To Ask for Help  

Seasoned real estate professionals know that — even at peak productivity — you can’t do everything alone. Whether you hire an administrative assistant, a closing coordinator or a buyer’s agent, sometimes operating at peak productivity means seeking help for the things that don’t make it to the top of your personal to-do list. 

Pro Tip: Hire help in the areas where you’re the weakest or don’t have the time to give your full attention (examples: your website, social media, CRM management, lead qualification). This will free up your time to focus on the other (more strategic) areas of your business. 

How Do You Prioritize Your Time? 

By understanding when you’re most productive, sticking to your key routines, and outsourcing when possible, you’ll quickly see your productivity increase. To learn more about designing your day for peak productivity and developing your professional image, sign up for our AgentEDU course Developing Your Professional Real Estate Image today.

_________________________

AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

 AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For almost two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.

4 Places to Find Local Market Data (Where Your Competitors Aren’t Looking)

Marci Sepulveda Leave a comment

As with any industry, a big part of a real estate agent’s success means keeping up with market trends and conditions and knowing the ins and outs of your community. But, outside of the data and statistics that you (and every other agent) can gain from your local MLS, where can you find valuable information to set you apart from the pack? 

Knowing that you’re only as good as the information you have and share, it’s important that you know where to look for trusted and reliable market data. Here are a few sources of market data that you may have not considered.

#1. The Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a great place to find out more about the median or average income in your local area, as well as how strong your local labor force is and more. This information can be very valuable when advising your seller clients whether it’s a good time to sell — or not. You may also learn of new companies that are coming into your market, which could be a good source for new buyer leads. 

Pro Tip: The BLS puts out local area unemployment statistics that you can sort on an interactive map linked here. You can use this map to drill down to your local market-level statistics. 

#2. Builder Associations

Local builder associations can provide pertinent information on how many new builds were started in your local market recently, or what the building growth is year-over-year. This can be helpful in determining the overall strength of your market. 

You can also use this resource to find out which finishes and features are popular with home buyers in your area. This can be great information to guide your seller clients in updating their house before listing.

Pro Tip: The National Association of Home Builders website is a great resource for monitoring national trends, as well as their Housing Market Index, which takes the pulse of the single-family housing market. 

#3. The Board of Education 

Information gathered from the local boards of education can help you become somewhat of an expert on local school zones, school ratings, and more. The Washington Post reports that good schools are one of the top deciding factors for home buyers with children, so being able to confidently give your clients through local school zoning information can give you a competitive advantage in the local market. 

It should be noted that the Fair Housing Act prevents agents from “influencing a buyer’s choice of communities based upon the buyer’s race, color, religion, gender, disability, familial status, or national origin.” It is best to point your clients to resources on schooling rather than giving your personal opinion, but having these tools ready for buyers can set you apart!

Pro Tip: Create a section of your website that’s dedicated to school resources and tools for your prospective buyer clients. GreatSchools.org and your local school board websites are a great place to start. 

#4. Utility Companies

Another question that is often asked by prospective home buyers is about typical utility bills. And, while individuals’ billing will vary greatly depending on personal levels of usage, local utility companies can be a great place to turn to get information on average bills or local connection information. 

Pro Tip: Some utility companies will provide you with an average bill estimate (based on past historic data) if you just call them and give them the address. UtilityScore.com is another great resource for estimating. 

Finding Resources that Make You Stand Out 

As you can see, local market data isn’t always just sales numbers. Rather, you can use these unexpected sources — and more — to help build and foster a better understanding of your community. To find out about more unexpected sources of local market data, sign up for our AgentEDU course Learning Your Real Estate Market today.

_________________________

AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

 AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.