Many professionals struggle with the balance between work and life, but for real estate broker/owners this can be particularly challenging. Not only do they work a lot during regular business hours, but they also get called upon evenings and weekends and are expected to always be on call to help their team should questions or urgent issues arise. Often, even the most organized efficient brokers find themselves overwhelmed by the demands of having to recruit, manage their team, provide training, generate leads, put out fires, and be present in their personal life. As time goes on, it is only natural to lose the balance between life and work; however, it is important to restrike that balance to protect your productivity, keep a positive mindset, and to find the time to do the things that are meaningful to you outside of work. Here are some practical solutions to help you do just that.
Where are You Spending your Time? The first thing you can do to regain control over your schedule is to take a cold hard look at how you are currently spending your time. Often, busy brokers are stunned at just how much of their time is not being used properly or meaningfully. One way to analyze how your time is being spent is to take a look back over your to-do lists and calendar from the last month or two. As you look over your lists and calendar ask yourself if each task is something worthwhile, if it could be delegated, or if it could be skipped altogether. Another option is to install apps or plugins like Forest that will track how you are spending your time on your computer or phone. Many people are shocked to learn how easily distracted they are while working and can find extra hours in the day that could be spent far more effectively. In other cases, you many identify many tasks that you really could give up if you invest the time to train someone in your office. In the long run, checking in on the work of others, is more time effective than doing it yourself from scratch. Take a Hard Look at Your Priorities One of the biggest things that brokers struggle with is getting their priorities in order. This is because there isn’t a good balance between tasks that are urgent, vs. tasks that are important. It’s urgent and important that you help your team get contracts filled out and reviewed. If, however, you are still showing homes to clients or putting together CMA’s yourself, instead of focusing on your business plan, company lead generation and recruiting activities, you might want to consider how that time is spent. If you are anything like most real estate brokers, there are at least a few items on your list of responsibilities that don’t need to be one of your priorities. To identify these, make a list of all of the big and small picture responsibilities currently on your plate. Next, go through the list item by item and decide which tasks are creating value, what tasks are just busy-work or can be outsourced, and how to schedule or time block those that must be done. Leveraging the Skills and Systems of Others As it stands, you likely already have at least one or two agents on your team that have implemented strategic systems within their business which allow them to operate more successfully and efficiently without much guidance from you. There is nothing wrong with leveraging those already established and proven systems throughout the rest of your brokerage to alleviate some of the stress on your shoulders. The more that you invest in helping your agents to streamline their workflow and maintain a certain consistency of operations across your brokerage, the more time you will have to allocate to your personal life. That not only applies to your agents and their activities, but to yours as well. This idea of “repeatable systems” is of course, one of the central ideas of a national real estate franchise like Weichert. Not all franchising real estate brands offer well developed and proven systems for everything from lead generation to recruiting, but Weichert offers this and more. Many of our systems are “plug and play” and can relieve some of your most time consuming activities on day one. Others give you a roadmap for success in every aspect of managing your business. These comprehensive operational blueprints for everything from marketing, to sales training, to technology are supplemented by ongoing coaching and training from real estate experts and peers across the Weichert organization who support each other 24/7. Brokers who have embraced a brand like Weichert often express relief when they realize that they can still be in business for themselves, but not by themselves. Final Thoughts Being a real estate broker will never be a 9-5 job, but with a solid plan for the operation and management of your brokerage, a work-life balance can be achieved. The more you invest in developing or adopting proven systems like the ones used by Weichert brokers, the sooner you will be able to rebalance your schedule, alleviate your stress, and get more enjoyment in both your career and your life. Visit https://weichertfranchise.com Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/balancing-work-life-and-your-brokerage/
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In a world where people are constantly being bombarded with marketing messages, it can be very difficult to stand out and build a dominant brand. It’s important that your real estate marketing plan is multi-faceted and consumers see you in more than just one context. It’s not enough to justadvertise on Facebook or justsend out direct mail. A good real estate marketing plan includes all of these and one often over-looked component: community involvement. This is a unique way to connect with potential clients in your community without directly marketing to them. And if you do it right, you can attain amazing results. More and more, savvy real estate brokers are discovering that clients and their community appreciate seeing the human side of a business through its community involvement and can be a great start to building those lasting relationships. Here are some actionable steps you can take to build those relationships and leverage them to win more business.
Three Ways to Engage With The CommunityThe first thing you need to do is find simple ways of becoming more engaged with your community. The following three strategies will not only feel amazing for you and your team, but also make good business sense and will build a positive brand perception. Align Yourself with A Local Charity By choosing an official charity to support, you have the opportunity to socialize locally in a meaningful way. This works best if you select a cause that you and your team feel passionate about and is well-recognized by the community. Being a visible sponsor for an active charity is a great way to keep your brand in front of the community while making positive contributions. Hold Regular Workshops Become an educator by hosting local workshops. You will build the perception that you are both an expert and an ally. The time before and after these workshops will give you and your team the opportunity to answer and ask questions that can spark relationships which can lead to future business. The key to success here is to choose workshop topics that are relevant and valuable to your neighborhoods, such as Home Buyer Seminars. Participate in Community Events Is your town hosting a parade, race, festival or other event looking for sponsors? Sign up! It will be great exposure for you, show the neighborhood you care and usually includes an opportunity for your agent team to be out interacting with active members of the community in some capacity. Shout Out Your Good DeedsIt always feels good to give back, but it’s important to let people know about it! Promote your work and accomplishments in order to gain the valuable recognition your real estate team deserves. Here are some simple ways to do that. Press Releases to Local Media A press release is a quick way to get the word out to local papers, magazines, radio, and television stations that there will be an event of interest. Of course, your participation in that event will be included and will help to raise eyebrows about your involvement. Press releases work well before and right after events, but if are looking to drum up attendance, plan to send one prior to the event. Feature the Event in Instagram and Facebook Stories With Local Influencers If you want to maximize the exposure of your event or involvement, invite local Instagram or Facebook influencers to help you promote it. In most cases, if it is a charitable cause, they will do this for free. This saves you from having to pay for ads, yet will likely yield even better results in terms of brand recognition, followers gained, attendance won. Don’t have an influencer? No problem! Facebook and Instagram are still great outlets to promote your company’s involvement, both pre-event and post-event. Include the Event in Your Newsletter Have a weekly or monthly newsletter? Be sure to let your subscribers know about your activities. In fact, you should consider devoting an entire newsletter to explain the cause and why it deserves their support or why they should attend that particular workshop you have coming up. This helps to remind your subscribers that you aren’t just here to sell real estate but that you truly care about the community where you do business. Highlight Your Involvement on Your Website If you are frequently involved in events of your own or others around the community, create a news section on your website to promote this activity. Be sure to include as many pictures and videos of each event displaying your team hard at work. You could also include highlights from the events right on your homepage. Getting Involved Goes A Long WayBeing intimately involved with the community is a principle that Jim Weichert understood from day one of his real estate career when he handed out business cards at the local train station. As an experienced broker, you know that there is no replacement for the human-to-human connection. It’s also one of the most valuable assets to building a successful real estate brand. A franchise system such as Weichert coaches on best practices for building relationships, connecting with the people in your community and provides things such as PR services to help you promote your company’s news locally. If this is the type of brokerage support you’re looking for go to www.weichertfranchise.com or call 877-567-3350 to learn more. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/get-involved-win-clients/ If you ask 10 brokers what great customer service is, you’ll get 10 different answers. But they’ll all tell you that they provide “great” customer service.
What does good customer service really mean and how does it impact your business? Here’s a few thoughts on this:
Creating Memorable Experiences In some brokerages, customer service often takes a back seat to sales. Yet the truth is that a consistent focus on building a relationship with both clients and potential clients brings significant rewards in the long term:
In most cases, lackluster customer service doesn’t necessarily mean clients are treated badly. It could mean greater focus is placed on keeping business and sales ticking over as quickly as possible and Customer Service takes a back seat as a result. There are lots of reasons this can happen:
The most successful brokers and agents we see, however, have found a way to balance the customer service elements through a combination of the right processes, tools and technology. When you add a great brand name to the equation, everything works together. Now you can be both effective, and efficient, which makes clients feel special and you exceptional. The Weichert® brand is known for its systems and tools that build business while fostering satisfying customer experiences. If you are a growth-minded broker looking for ways to make your brokerage more productive and get to the next level of results, talk to the Weichert franchise team today. Visit our website at https://www.weichertfranchise.com. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/making-great-customer-service-full-time-gig/ |
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