Whether you're a newly licensed Real Estate Agent or up-and-running, getting organized in your Real Estate Business can seem like a daunting task. It usually begins with the question, "where do I even start?" The good news is that it can be a lot simpler if you break down your organizing project(s) into smaller tasks. This helps you rinse and repeat them, PLUS it'll have a compounding effect!

Where to Begin? Start with your Work Space. 

A decluttered space often helps us declutter our minds. It's easy for old paperwork, MLS sheets, and flyers to pile up on the desk. If you're not using a CRM daily then chances are you're part of the Sticky Note Army...stickies EVERY WHERE! Schedule a time to shred the paper trash (and recycle it), and tidy up your work space. This will do wonders for helping your mind actually feel less cluttered. 

Want to compound this? Spend 2 minutes per day tidying up your desk.

What's Next? Your Schedule.

Even though a lot of us get licensed for that coveted "freedom and flexibility of time" we have to ask ourselves...isn't it curious that the highest grossing Agents & Brokers across the nation abide by specific schedules, time blocking, and strategic appointment setting? That's because building a profitable business requires a game plan, and game plans require execution. How will you execute if you're winging it each day? 

There are far too many distractions out there to just wake up and see where the day takes you as a business owner. Take your real estate business plan and set up your schedule according to what you need to take action on each day.

Get yourself a good Daily Planner that will give you space to make monthly plans, daily plans, hourly plans, and really hone in on the big picture goal. The Real Estate Agent Planner Pro actually has sections to break down WHY you need to achieve your goals, how to hit your annual commission goals, track your business and personal expenses, track your marketing campaigns, organize your social media content marketing schedule, a daily action planner, and weekly/monthly prospecting and transaction goal trackers. Check it out here.

Now What? Your CRM...Do you have one, that you ACTUALLY use?

Don't have a CRM? Then you're setting yourself up for the biggest real estate business headache down the line. When you're first getting started it may seem easy to follow up with your leads, especially the ones you can talk to. Once you start amping up your prospecting and marketing efforts...it's a different story. 

Here's some perspective: If the average Agent has a 1% conversion rate, that means for 12 closings per year an Agent would need to attract 100 leads per month. That's 1,200 people per year. Are you ready to follow up with THAT many people just based on your memory. If you want 24 closings, that's at least 2,400 people per year.

A CRM will help you organize, follow up, and stay top of mind with all of the people you attract into your business. It's worth the investment, and it really should be something you log into and use on the daily. Which one is best? ANY one...especially the one you'll actually use.

Back To Your Schedule...

Design your business AROUND your life. This is a piece of advice that many Agents & Brokers don't realize until years in – or never. What does this mean? If dinner with your family nightly, or attending your kids sporting events is important for you...don't let business interfere with that. Remember, being successful doesn't necessarily require 80+ hour work weeks. It does require making the BEST USE of the time you have. The ideal schedule worksheet inside of the Business Plan breaks this down and how to make it work for you.

Block Off Follow Up Time

This will net you the most dollars for your time. Most Agents & Brokers do not have a lack of leads issue, they typically have a follow up issue. If you're bringing in a steady or even semi-steady flow of leads, but no closings then chances are you're lacking in the follow up department. The easiest fix for this is to block off time EVERY SINGLE DAY (even 30 minutes will do) that is solely dedicated to following up with people in your CRM.

Track Your Efforts

After about 3 months of consistently taking action on prospecting, marketing, time blocking, following up, advertising, etc – you will have a better picture of what exactly moves the needle in your business. For some, it may be following up with your sphere of influence – you have a gold mine of referrals waiting to be called. For others, it may be networking events – you're a superstar social butterfly and really work a room to your business's benefit. For others it could be cold calling, or running ads, or organic social media content. Maybe it's open houses! You won't know what YOUR thing is until you actually try and try CONSISTENTLY!

The key is tracking your efforts. See where the most business comes from, and then double down on THAT!

What is YOUR favorite organization tip? Share in the comments and help a fellow agent out who's reading this!

There are 2 types of real estate agents: The ones that are prepared and the ones who are not. Unfortunately, many real estate agents are glorified door openers... They go from house to house with no clue about their client’s details or house desires, and no information about the houses they are showing. They spend hours upon hours showing with little to no meaningful results.  

If this agent sounds familiar do not fret. There is one thing that you can do before going on showings that will not only help you close more deals, but make you a better agent. 

That one thing that you need to do is run your comparables. I know it sounds obvious but many agents do not do it and it shows! So, here are 3 reasons why you need to run your comps before showing your buyer. 

Reason #1 - Understand what other houses are active in the area. 

If you are in a cold, warm or hot market it is always good to know at least 3 to 6 other active homes that are on the market similar to the one you are showing. The reason why you want to do this research prior is that in order to win your client's loyalty you need to be an asset. If your client loves the house but prefers a bigger kitchen, it would be beneficial to know in advance what else you can show them. It also helps pinpoint your client's wants vs. their needs. For example, I know of a house with a bigger kitchen however it has a smaller yard. Would that be okay for you? This can help you gauge what they want, what you should show, and help you find the winner faster.

Reason #2- You can identify good deals and bad ones. 

Another benefit of running comps before your showing is you will be able to inform your clients beforehand whether or not the house could be considered a good deal. You will be able to let your clients know what a house similar build down the block went for. You can also let them know if it's under or over-market value. This helps you shine even more so as an asset.

Reason #3 - Identify leverage for negotiations 

Let's say your client likes the property and wants to put in an offer. What if you could let them know what the highest property sold for in the area recently? You can let them know the condition of that property and justify what you think they can get this property for. You can show them what houses are currently under contract. You can also identify if this house is a stale listing or not and justify coming in at a lower price. Even better, you can do this on the spot which will further position you as an expert, and allow your clients to place offers faster.

There are many benefits to running comparables for your buyer clients prior to your showing. If you do so your expertise in your niche areas will grow. You will become an asset to your clients and you will close more deals because of it. 

Do you run the comps before your showings? What other strategies do you use for showings that help lead to more closings? Comment below.

(The video above covers 3 Habits, but the written blog post below covers all 4).

Being a real estate agent is not for the faint of heart. You not only grow as a professional, but as a person. You will develop and break habits. Some are good and some are not so good. I’ve witnessed many agents come and go in their pursuit of success and most of them fail due to these 4 habits. 

The 9-5 Mindset  

One awful habit that New agents come into the business with is the 9-5 mindset. In this mindset, your broker is your boss and they will ride you and give you business. For the most part, this is not the case. As a real estate agent, you are running your own business under the liability of a Broker. You are more business partners than you are an employee of your Broker. 

So, if you are stuck in that mindset that “I will only act when someone tells me what to do”, this business is not for you. You have to be disciplined and very self-motivated to make it as a real estate agent. 

Focusing on Busywork and NOT Relationship Building 

As a real estate agent, you wear many hats. I actually made a video on the “4 Time Blocks Every Real Estate Agent Should Have.” In that video I describe something called the “Bronze Time.” This time block is usually set up for paper-pushing and work that isn’t geared towards money-making activities like building up your CRM with new opportunities. The issue with most agents is they become masters of busywork. 

They spend all day liking through Instagram, reviewing documents, putting together postcard templates, developing smart campaigns that they will never use, and creating logos from scratch. That should all be done in your spare time. 

Although some of those activities are going to help in the future they are not going to help you make it as a real estate agent. You need to spend most of your time creating and nurturing relationships.   

Bad Financial Habits 

9 out of 10 real estate agents fail in their first year of real estate. Not because they are stupid or don’t have the ability to learn. It is because they run out of money and have to get a side job that kills their momentum. Real estate is a lifestyle and requires you to deal with a big learning curve. 

Having some financial literacy will go a long way. Too many agents spend their commission checks before they get them. I know agents that close tons of deals but instead of investing, and saving, they decide to buy “doodads” that put their backs against the wall. If they have a couple of bad months that steady job looks pretty good and they say goodbye to their real estate dreams. 

Slacking on the CRM  

Your CRM should be your business hub. This is where your follow-up, automation, and relationships live. If you are not pulling up and updating your CRM on a daily basis you are missing out on tons of opportunities. Relationships are not built through a single contact, they are built over time with multiple contacts. Your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system will help you do that. 

If you nip these for 4 bad habits in the butt, you have a bright future ahead of yourself in real estate. What are some positive habits you’re working on developing in order to achieve success in your business?

Have you ever been sitting comfortably watching NetFlix and wondered whatever happened to (insert prospects name here) let me give them a call to follow up? You pick up the phone and try to remember their full name. In that call, you get the worst news a realtor could get: 

“Oh, Hey Alex, thanks for checking in… I actually put my home up for sale with (another real estate agent) if you have any buyers please bring them by.” As you fight back tears and the urge to curse them out you politely excuse yourself from the call. How could they do this to you… 

They did that to you because your follow-up game sucks. If you had a follow-up system set in place I can promise you this conversation would have gone a completely different way. In this age of technology creating an automated follow-up strategy is easy. Most modern CRM’s have features that allow smart campaigns where automatic emails and text are sent out on your behalf to “check-in.” It takes one day of just sitting down and creating the flow to have a lifetime of hands-free follow-up. 

What you should put into these smart campaigns is a lesson for another day. However, these are the smart campaigns you should have in your database right now. 

Buyer’s Campaign

This one is geared towards online lead generation. It could be the same for all your online sources such as Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Make it Rain Program, etc. I personally have a 1000 day follow-up campaign that shoots out texts and emails on my behalf and also reminds me when to make that follow-up call. 

Short Term Seller Campaign

This campaign is geared towards FSBO’s (For Sale By Owners). It is proven statistically that most For Sale By Owners end up listing with an agent after trying for 5 weeks. So, you might want to create a short-term follow-up plan to text, call and email the FSBO at least once a week for 3 months. You should sprinkle in educational and engaging content with each interaction. 

Long Term Seller Campaign

This campaign is geared for Expired Listings and Geo Leads. They usually end up listing in the long term so for this campaign you should have call, text, email, and mailers sent to the individual on a monthly basis.  

Networking Event Campaign

This campaign is the most simple and one of the most powerful campaigns that you will have. If you go to a networking event and meet another real estate professional or a potential client your whole goal is to stay in contact and create a friendship. Your campaign could be just text-based and be as simple as “hey, how's it going?” Real estate is a relationship-based business and the more relationships you nurture the more leads you will get. 

Open House Buyers Campaign

This campaign is literally the same campaign as your buyer campaign. The only difference is your first 3 reach outs because they will be geared towards the prospect coming to your open house. After that, the campaign will be the same as your buyer's campaign. 

If you incorporate these 5 smart automations into your CRM and follow-up plan I guarantee that you will close more deals and develop more meaningful mutually beneficial relationships for your business.

I bet you've heard it a million times: fortune is in the follow-up, right? There has never been a statement more true, and the fact is, most Agents don't have a lead generation problem – they have lead retention and nurturing problem. There is a simple strategy that you can use that will help you follow up more effectively and help convert more leads into clients. 

The method that we're going to be using is called the 1, 2, 3 strategy. This strategy is comprised of three different contact methods: calling, texting, and emailing. If you don't get an email from the prospect, just call and text until you get an email.  

THE ONE

The One in the 1 2 3 strategy takes place during the first week when a lead comes in. You're going to focus on trying to get in contact with the prospect via call, text, email every other day. Our goal is to first get in contact with the prospect. We all know that sometimes people don't answer their phones the first time around. 

THE TWO

The Two in the 1 2 3 strategy is for the prospects that you were unable to make contact with within the first week. We are now going to follow up by call, text, and email every week for two months. That is a total of 24 attempted contacts during "The Two".

THE THREE 

The Three in the 1 2 3 strategy is solely for the long-term follow up. The game plan in this phase requires that you reach out to your un-successfully contacted prospects every three months, for the next three years, and then trust me, if they haven't answered by then you tried your best. 

That's the 1 2 3 Strategy in a nutshell. If you follow this, I guarantee you're going to get more contacts, develop more relationships, and actually give yourself a fighting chance when getting in contact with clients, especially if you're an Agent purchasing leads from online sources like Facebook Ad’s, Realtor.com, Zillow Premier Agent, and Google Pay Per Click. 

Is there a CRM you use to help you with your follow up strategy? Share in the comments below.