Let’s put your time management to the test: Pull up your Google Calendar and let me know what you are doing next Wednesday at 2:00pm? If you have no idea or your calendar is empty don’t worry, you are not alone. Many agents have no idea how to schedule their day as a real estate entrepreneur. Unfortunately, many agents “major in minor things” and focus a majority of their energy on the dreaded “busy work.” 

Here are 4 Time Blocks That Most Top Producing Agents Have In Their Schedule.   

Platinum Hours - 2 Hours of Active Prospecting 

Every Top Producer carves out a minimum of 2 hours a day to reach out to new potential clients. Whether it be FSBO, Expires, Geo Leads, Doorknocking, Inbound Online Leads, etc. The keyword here is minimum. Eventually, you want to spend the majority of your time turning new prospects into clients. 

Gold Hours - 30 Minutes to an 1 Hour for Follow Up

Another key area to focus on is your follow-up time. During this time you are reaching out to people you have spoken to before. This time is carved out for past clients, your sphere of influence, and prospects looking to sell or buy in the future. This time block is just as important as your platinum hours.

Silver Hours - 30 Minutes to 1 Hour for Managing your CRM

You’ve made your calls now it’s time to add contacts, add notes, and place prospects on property matches. Yes, it can be tedious, however once they are in your CRM your automations will help make following up that much easier. 

Bronze Hours - 1 to 2 Hours of Administrative Duties 

This time block is where most low-producing agents spend a majority of their time. This is that time block where you focus on that dreaded paperwork, uploading videos, sprucing up your website, following up with attorneys, scheduling showings etc. These duties should be the first thing that you outsource once you start closing deals. 

The reason time blocking is so important is that it gives you flexibility, and allows you to better categorize your activities. For example, let’s say you need to meet a potential client and they want to schedule an appointment with you. Where would you slot them into your calendar? Your bronze time or your platinum time? 

The answer is simple: your platinum and gold time are non-negotiable while doing admin duties are lower on the list of importance. If you follow these 4 time blocks you will start setting yourself up for many more productive days. So, let’s dust off your Google Calendar and start getting to work. 

What if I told you that you get paid six-figures to do 4 things daily? Would you do it? As a team leader of over 37 agents I have had my fair share of witnessing what some would consider the Top Producer Magic Sauce. The funny part is that most of these agents all do the same thing. At this point it is not even a secret.  

Practice #1 - Contact and have a Conversation with 10-15 People a Day Minimum

Most top producing agents have a set number of conversations they want to have on a daily basis. The fearless bunch focus on calling Expires, For Sale By Owners (FSBOs), doing Geo Prospecting, and following up with past relationships to fill in these numbers.  Building solid relationships is the name of the game. It’s not always easy to hit 10-15 conversations but if you do it everyday you will see the leads come in; and the deals closing.

Practice #2 -Document your Work Day on Social Media

Not every top producer is a social media expert. However, more and more Realtors are utilizing social media to attract their ideal audience. Those who document their day in business activities tend to earn more business than those who do not. Instagram has become somewhat of a resumé for buyers and sellers to review. I’ve personally been documenting my journey via social media for years and I’ve created a loyal clientele utilizing stories, statuses, posts and now reels. 

Nothing is better than a seller who wants to list with you before even meeting you in person.   

Practice #3 - Update your CRM Daily 

If you're having 10-15 conversations with people per day that's a lot of information to remember. Having a place to store information and automating follow up is a must for the top performing agent. They need to stay on top of all the relationships they are building and a contact/customer relationship manager is a must.  

Practice #4 - Have a Strict Follow Up Strategy. 

Every top producing agent has this one thing in common. They have a very strong follow up game and they follow it religiously. When I say strong follow up game I don't mean they call every day, week, or even month. Instead they create excuses to speak to their prospects. Maybe there is a new event that they might be interested in or maybe your office might have a new listing that their friends or family might want to take advantage of. The deeper your relationship becomes the easier it will be to text, email, and call them. 

Examples of Some Simple Strict Follow Up Plans: 

FSBO Call 

• Once a week for seven weeks
• Once every other week for 2 months 
• Once every 1 month for a year. 

Expired Call 

• Once a week until you get in contact
• Once every month send a letter
• Once every 2 months give a call until they list the house.  

Geo Calls 

• Call once every other month until they list the property.  

Fun Fact: Your CRM will make you become a follow up machine. Most of these follow ups can now be automated and set as reminders. All it requires is a little daily diligence and consistency and your business will take off!

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“Go to hell, stop calling me!” As real estate professionals we have heard a couple variations of this phrase. That was the exact phrase I heard from Chris, a Physical Therapist from Elmhurst, NY. Chris had a condo that expired on the market with a local company that I will not name in this email. 

Chris, like many people who’s home didn't sell the first time around, was being bombarded with realtors calling him trying to obtain his business. I was one of those realtors. About 90% of real estate couches will tell you to go all “Wolf of Wall Street” on the prospect. They are going to buy or die… That may have worked in the 80’s but in the era of consultative selling we have to take a different approach. 

The truth is that connection and relationship building is the key to success in real estate. It’s hard to build a relationship when the person you want to connect with starts the relationship with “Go to Hell.”

So, what did I do? 

I showed empathy, I said “you must be receiving a bunch of calls from realtors trying to solicit your business huh? On behalf of my profession I apologize for the inconvenience. Have a good day."

Before ending the conversation he asked me what my name was, I told him Alexander Fazelani with the Ian Alexander Team with EXP. He then went on to tell me that 5 agents called him in the last 10 minutes alone. He stated that he was a Physical Therapist who just started his own practice and that he is stressed out with the never ending calls. 

I could have tried to close again but instead I wished him success in his new career and asked if I could send him my information via mail in case he ever did want to list in the future. He agreed, I sent him out a letter and a card.

One week later I followed up with him to see if he received my information and he was in a better state. We connected this time and had some small talk. I found out he liked Brooklyn Lager Beer. 

I could have gone for a hard close but I didn't. I decided to schedule another call with him in a week because I might be in his area next week with a 6-pack. He found it funny and agreed to my call. I ended up getting this listing and getting a $20,000 commission check. 

I’m not saying this to impress you but to impress upon you that for every "Chris" there are about 10 other people that I couldn’t connect with. They will reject me, ghost me, block my number and even curse my mother. It sounds rough, and it is, but if you approach each sales interaction from a place of building relationships first, your conversion ratio and referrals will skyrocket!

Come to each conversation with 3 goals: to connect, help and provide value. If you come from that place you will always win. That is truly a win-win situation for a long term relationship builder.  

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A major challenge most real estate agents face is time management and productivity. There are so many things to keep track of and get done on a daily basis! Client management, prospecting, team meetings, trainings, appointments, showings, open houses, social media, and the list goes on. 

At the end of the day, there is one thing we know for certain...ALL real estate agents get 168 hours a week to get it all done, YET very few real estate agents are earning over 6-figures a year. This begs the question, what can a real estate agent do in order to be more proactive, more productive and create more opportunities to generate MORE BUSINESS!?

#1 Wake Up Earlier

Did you know that 90% of successful executives wake up before 6am, and 50% of all self-made millionaires wake up at least a few hours before their day actually starts. Success leaves clues and we have certainly noticed that top producing real estate agents wake up EARLY!

#2 Reflect At The End Of Your Day

Have you ever sat down and really looked at what you accomplished for the day? Chances are, there are a few tasks that weren't necessary. It's easy to get distracted doing "busy work." Take a few minutes at the end of the day to reflect on what you got done and see if there is either room for improvement or room to just never add it to your to-do list again...OR delegate it.

#3 Use a Daily Planner

No plan is a plan to FAIL! How many times have you forgotten to make a follow up call or missed an opportunity because you didn't add it to your calendar or planner? All of the top producers in real estate swear by plotting out there week in a very specific schedule. If you don't know what you're doing next Tuesday...chances are it's not going to be getting a new listing...

#4 Create To Do Lists

Have you ever made a to do list and crossed items off? Chances are you have AND it felt amazing when you did it! Begin each day with a specific to do list and cross things off as you accomplish them. This is a great way to keep yourself accountable.

#5 Label a Top 3

Now this is more of an add on to number 4, but each day you should have a list of the top 3 things you MUST get done in order to have a successful day. This doesn't mean you shouldn't get more than 3 things done, it just means you should label 3 to do list items as non-negotiable.

If you've been struggling with time-management, we know this can seem like a lot to commit to, but you and your real estate business deserve to commit to it! Think about all the things you can accomplish if you followed these 5 simple rules for weekly productivity.

Do you have productivity tips? Share them in the comments below.

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