Managing your time is one of the most important tools for anyone in business, but more so in real estate because it’s a numbers game. Leaders in business and life have all developed their own time management techniques over the years and some of them are sharing their insights.
When managing time, McGrath CEO John McGrath suggested having a few simple systems at home, in the office and in the car to encourage “havens of productivity” during each day. “You’ve got to make sure you consolidate it and focus on what is important today,” Mr McGrath explained.
And this concept goes beyond work to your entire life. Mr McGrath said simplifying life by looking at the clubs you are involved in, your friends and commitments and then decluttering will give you time to focus on what you are most passionate about.
Mr McGrath manages his time effectively by creating simple systems around key tasks using these steps:
1. Declutter 2. Prioritise 3. Create a system 4. Create checklists 5. Put in a timetable 6. Develop an ideal week
Explaining a practical example of where something as simple as a checklist can make all the difference, Mr McGrath showed how it was an integral part of his system. “I do a lot of speaking and I’ve got to be on the road. I have a checklist for packing my bag to make sure that I don’t forget my phone charger and I don’t forget my laptop and I don’t forget my memory stick, for example, because I don’t want to have to keep re-thinking of those things time and time again.”
“Not only does it make you more efficient, but it makes you more confident and it gets rid of stuff that clutters your mind. The more stress you have in your life, the less chance you’ve got to focus on closing, new business, giving great service and so forth: the important things. So I find, not only does this make you more time-efficient, but it makes you more confident and effective,” he said.
Batching emails to set times each day means you will be more productive through the rest of the day, because you’re not waiting for new messages to come in and won’t get distracted every time a message appears.
Have you ever thought about accounting for every half hour of your day? Robert Matheson from LJ Hooker Tuggeranong does and look where his time management abilities have got him.
“I know that there are probably people who think that being accountable every half an hour is insane but without that, I probably wouldn’t have achieved half of what I have. I don’t get stuck at the photocopier talking about what we did on the weekend. I know that during 10 and 11, that’s when I make my vendor calls. Between 11 and 12, that’s when I make my OFI calls, between 12 and 1, that’s when I make my top prospect calls,” Mr Matheson explained.
The concept of batching similar tasks also worked for Mr McGrath when setting appointments. When he worked in sales, nothing was booked until after 12pm, leaving his morning free for follow up, research and preparation for upcoming meetings.
“I would do my external appointments by batching them together. I could have been doing five or six buyer appointments, or three or four listing appointments during that time, but knowing that the next morning I’d get back and, from when I arrived in the office until 12 noon, I’d follow things up. You can be flexible and work out what will work for you, but you’ve got to have a system,” Mr McGrath explained.
Athlete Grant Kenny said focusing on attaining a goal was the same whether you were striving for a gold medal or selling a property, but you needed the right skill set for whatever goal you have set. The recipe for success is the same no matter what the goal: have the skills, have a goal and do what it takes to get there.
“I like to use the analogy of how good a 100m sprinter would Ian Thorpe be on the track; and Carl Lewis, how good would he be swimming 400m in the pool? The fact that he can’t, does that mean he’s not a good athlete? No, he’s a very, very fit athlete, but he’s specifically good at something else. So the skill needs to be specific to the something you are trying to achieve and so, in that way, you acquire and perfect the skills,” Mr Kenny explained.
By changing his focus, Shannon Whitney from BresicWhitney is seeing better results in his sales activity. “I’ve changed the way I work and I’ve taken a lot of pressure off myself in that process. I’ve found that to be hugely successful and I think I’m selling now better than I ever have because I’m more effective in the process,” Mr Whitney said, explaining he had looked carefully at how agents handled sales and their role between buyers and sellers to develop his improved system.
Each of these leaders has developed a mechanism to help them manage their own time, so try out these options and see what works for you.
Using property data, you can create a comprehensive newsletter every month without having to work too hard on original content. Combining reported property sales, suburb growth charts, relevant news releases and other content, you can create a valuable read for your contacts database to secure new business, strengthen customer relationships or boost your profile.
Here are just a few ideas on how you can build content using property data:
1. Track news releases. Information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on population growth or local Councils and Real Estate Institutes all provide great information worthy of your newsletter.
2. Create a suburb profile. With property information readily available and with the census due this year, combining local sales, suburb growth statistics and charts makes it easy to provide rich content to your audience.
3. Offer free reports. PriceFinder members have access to tools that allow for quick and easy distribution of free reports and information to clients and friends! These reports can play an integral part of your customer acquisition and retention strategy. Invite locals to contact you to get free suburb sales history reports, house price estimates or even offer free system access.
4. Include a Q&A section. Focus on commonly asked real estate questions, property investing or other subjects you may have expertise in. Or why not inform residents of local trade professionals that service the areas. Strengthen your local community ties by providing relevant content.
5. Integrate Social Media. Share your newsletter with local friends and family. Distribution via Social Media is a must!