What's the one thing that successful realtors have in common?
They know what they are going to do heading into each day, and for how long.
They don't get sidetracked during the day. Distractions are a minimum.
If you stick with your plan/schedule, you will be able to focus on the things that move your business forward.
It starts with having short and long term goals. Schedule time to deal with distractions and extra tasks that aren't part of those goals.
Since the typical realtor has such a diverse set of responsibilities, obstacles, and tasks, your days aren't the same as a regular job.
You know this though.
That's why planning out a schedule to make your days run like clockwork will eventually shine through, compared to other agents.
If you don't run your business, it's going to run you.
It happens to agents all the time. Their tasks and schedule take a life of its own.
Even if they have a day planned, all the things that come up throughout it ruin their schedule.
They have to get something fixed in a home. A potential buyer wants to see a home that day.
Things of this nature will come up.
Then all of the sudden, it's 6 PM, and the agent hasn't got to any of their prospecting tasks.
Be flexible with the time blocks on your schedule, but don't scrap any tasks, just move them around if needed.
The first step of this is planning your days out the night before.
A good day starts the night before.
If you have everything visualized when you get started in the morning, it'll go so much smoother.
Another problem that agents have is trying to plan out their day first thing in the morning.
More times than not, they get hit with a distraction and have to do something else.
Then they go about their day without any real defined schedule.
Keep it somewhat simple with your planning.
Things with set times that can't be moved are a type of task. Then you have tasks that are flexible.
Of course, you need break time and flexible time for unforeseen things.
At the end of each day (or at night later), plan out your next day. This will increase your productivity.
Having set times and fulfilling them to market yourself, your listings and prospect will make you better at those tasks.
This goes with your block scheduling. Don't try and do five things at once.
We suggest doing your prospecting early in the morning. It's when people who work are the most receptive.
Going into your office at the same time each day is important.
You need to get into the habit of doing the same things at the same time.
We like prospecting early, so you get those business creating tasks done first. Then move onto taking care of your business you already have.
That is more of a personal preference, however. Once something works for you, stay with it.
It will lead to more success when you can constantly do it and improve.
Keep these time blocks realistic.
Don't put off prospecting any leads you have for days and then set up 4 hours to call and email them.
After a couple hours, the quality of your effort is going to fall off.
Be realistic and understand your limits when you go to set your day up.
Don't try and squeeze a lot of things into tight spaces either.
That wouldn't be working smarter. Don't lay out two hours to connect with past clients, call 20 expireds and set up your meetings for later in the week.
This is just going to mess up your entire schedule. So be realistic with what you can get done in certain timeframes.
Put your breaks and lunch on your schedule as well. Don't work like crazy for long periods at a time.
That's working harder and not smarter.
An hour of work after a break is more productive than 5 hours when you’re burned out.
You don't need a break at the same time each day either.
But if you respect your break and off-time then you'll have an easier time ignoring interruptions when you are working.
Basically, it comes down to letting the schedule be your boss throughout the day.
Not giving into distractions is the major key.
Ignore your email and your phone when you are locked into what you are doing.
Have some time allotted to go through your email and voicemail each day. Focusing on one thing at a time is the only way to put the effort needed to improve on what you're doing.
It's okay to say no to someone or say you can't get to it until another time.
Pencil in people for your open times later in that day, or even on another day if it can wait.
Doing things in the middle of certain tasks are going to decrease the quality of your work. Stay focused.
If something valuable or worthwhile comes up, just rearrange your schedule for the day.
If an owner calls you back and wants to meet for a potential meeting, this is something you need to do.
You will have days where your schedule is completely flipped around. This is one of the reasons people chose the profession.
It's going to be sporadic. So expect your schedule to get messed up from real important factors. Just don't let it mess you up.
Set goals for your specific time blocks.
This is the only way you can measure if your methods are working or not.
Something like "make 50 cold calls", or just plan out when and how I'm going to market this listing.
Then you'll start to get a better idea of how much time you need for certain tasks.
How long it takes you to keep up with your target area's sales, prices and details are things you need to know.
After a few times, your schedule will be easier to make.
Add time each week to learn more.
This is something that doesn't even necessarily need to be during your normal weekday.
But the industry is always changing and staying on top of it is a huge part of your job. Research and read about it.
Keep up with your area. You don't want to be wrong or speechless when a lead asks a question.
Go to a training class. Invest in going to seminars and conferences. Whatever it is you need to do to stay ahead of the competition, it's worth spending on.
If you want to be an expert in your area, then invest the time to study and keep up with what is happening there.
Understand what homes are available for sale, how fast they are selling, market trends, and everything of that nature.
So give yourself enough time on your schedule to take care of these important tasks.
You could have an assistant or virtual assistant plan out your weeks for you.
This takes a lot of the stress of you going into each week. Have your assistant or VA email your time blocks each morning.
It saves you time and stress. Read more about VAs below.
So this is one of the tasks you can get done with a VA. But how do you hire them? What do you pay them? How does the training go?
Imagine You Had A Business Like This:
- You didn’t have to set up the appointments.
- You didn’t have to mail out anything or email your list.
- All the grunt work is handled perfectly.
Our team has written a book that shows you how to build a business that runs itself. We go over hiring, paying, training and anything else you need to know about VAs.
Joe Nickelson is a real estate professional dedicated to helping home buyers and sellers achieve their dreams of owning property, and helping real estate agents stop using the sometimes-vicious tactics that weigh on their consciences. He believes that the Smart Agents books will, quite literally, change people’s lives for the better. Check out his full bio here! 
