BE CAREFUL THE DAYS DON'T "JUST RUSH BY"

Be careful the days don’t “Just rush by”

Ever have one of those days, which were so busy, that when you got home at night and assessed what you had achieved, all you got was “tired”?

The key to being successful in selling is contained in three main issues;

1. Energy and focus.
2. The number of people you speak with,
and
3. The skill with which you do these things.

One of the most difficult issues for real estate people seems to be the management of their time so the tasks that really matter get done. And not only that they get done, but that they get done often enough and well enough.

Top sales and Business Performance requires that we make the very best use of our time. All too often we hear real estate sales people and their managers complaining that the days are just not long enough. That the important things, they set out to do, got overtaken by other seemingly urgent issues, that day. Whilst there is an obvious tendency to tackle the tasks that look like potential immediate pay-back, all too often the long-term business success is put a risk because tasks with a longer pay-back, but more certainty are overlooked.

Running a great real estate business, be it manager or salesperson, can require the juggling of many issues. This is especially so in Residential sales where the business is 7 days a week and yet many salespeople have partners and families, hobbies and outside interests that need to be fitted in. In the pursuit of today’s listing or sale the foundations for a successful long-term business, without the usual peaks and troughs are overlooked and we see the normal income chart of the reactive sales person.
This salesperson is typified by burst of activity and income and long periods of little income because they operate in response to the market, rather than creating a business that works in any market.
Their income chart looks like this.


The stress levels of working and living in this type of environment reinforce the need to ensure that self-management issues are put in place to maintain one’s productivity, health, relationship, family relationships and stress levels. By planning more carefully and blocking off time to ensure key tasks are tackled regularly, you can not only build a more productive business, but can ensure you are in the right frame of mind and in good health to enjoy the benefits.

The Office Environment
The typical real estate office is full of pretty sociable people and for those who are easily distracted it is so easy to see your time fly by whilst having fun and doing “stuff’.
The key to success seems to more and more be tied up in the allocation of your time between those tasks which are truly dollar productive, and those which less successful colleagues would have you join them in doing. It’s often interesting to see the person who has the most time to tell you how to run your business, is generally the lowest performer. And yet I see many average to good performers under achieve as they let these “noisies” waste their time.

If three of the success attributes are:

How many people can you talk with each day?

What skill can you apply in each of these situations?

Are these the right people for me to spend my time with?

Then wouldn’t it be appropriate to plan a week that makes sure you have a good portion of your week set aside to tackle the most important tasks and still provide a balance in your week for you, your social life, partner and family?

So let’s look at that from a Managers Perspective

This can be a complex role especially where the bulk of the manager’s income is generated by listing and selling. Often this is a necessity because of the scale of the business but the need to lead, manage and coach a sales team is still a vital factor in the success of the business.

So what are a Managers most Productive Tasks in today’s Real Estate environment?

Planning and Strategizing
Assisting in the field
Recruitment
Inducting New Recruits
Training sessions
Training in the field
Sales Meetings
Coaching
Monitoring/Measurement
Marketing
Mediation and Disputes
Resources
Administration
Accounts

So often these key tasks get overlooked and the manager moves from crisis to crisis and the business withers or at best continues and performs in response to the market. In looking at the performance of some top managers I have been able to model their IDEAL WEEK and it looks something like this:

So what would a Mangers Ideal week look like?

CLICK THE IMAGE TO VIEW

The time slots are not as important as the time allocation. The secret seems to be in making the time available so the tasks get done. Some managers who have real difficulty in getting back to the key tasks when in crisis mode, have found that being far more strict in sticking to the time slots has helped them immensely. Take a look back through your diary for the last week or so and see what value the tasks were that you spent most of your time on. If your business is not quite as you would like, could the way you spend your time be a contributing factor?

The Ideal week for a Sales Person
Luck is not a key ingredient in the success of the top sales people. It’s a combination of their energy, focus and skill. Very few are naturals with that ability to just get deal together. They have a clear focus on what matters and they make sure it gets done. Couple that with a sense of urgency and you will see that their pace in getting through the tasks has a huge impact on their success.

So what are the key tasks for a Salesperson?
Firstly there are the things you’ve got to do;

Sales Meetings
Training
Listings Tours
Advertising/Marketing
Administration
Correspondence

And then there are the Productive Tasks

Prospecting
Database management
. Telemarketing to Database
Mail outs
Visiting your Advocates
Past Clients
People who know you and what you do
Networking

Strategic Marketing
Geographic Marketing
Appraisals
Presentations
Vendor Counselling
Showing Property
Closing sales
Negotiating
After Sales Service
Buyer Counselling

And then there is the need for time for you and your family.
So what could an Ideal Week look like for a Salesperson?

CLICK THE IMAGE TO VIEW

This may all look a little structured, but if your career is not delivering the results you want then some form of Time Management, by placing controls on how your time is spent may well be a tool you can add to your armoury. Try taking your weeks and combining 4 to 6 weeks in a structure like these and then unsure that at the end of the block you take a long weekend – that way you’ll maintain your sanity, health and relationships, whilst you build your income levels.

If your career is not delivering what you want, it may be time to try something different. To continue to do the same things and expect a different result is testing our view of your sanity. Take a look at last week and see where you could have got more done.

Beware that you are not spending time with the wrong people. It is said that 80% of sales people spend 60% to 80% of their time with buyers who aren’t in a position to buy and sellers who don’t have to sell. I know that keeps you busy, but working hard like this is not smart. So if planning your week in a more structured way is not for you, then take a good hard look at the people you spend your time on. Maybe there are some hours being spent here that can be better spent on the clients that really need your help.

IAN KEIGHTLEY