How to get your evenings and weekends back.
By Dale Carlton, CRS
There is an epidemic in the real estate profession regarding the amount of time a real estate agent is available to their clients. While teaching across the U.S., I often hear how agents are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In reality, most agents do not work 24/7, but they do make themselves available nearly that long. But you can take back your evenings and weekends in three easy steps.
1. Tell your clients what you are doing for them.
We are often so busy working for clients that we fail to let them know what it is we are doing. They then sometimes feel we do very little for the money we make, which we know isn’t true.
Try this: When you get a new listing, provide a detailed list of all the steps you will take to market their listing and a timeline for when those items will be accomplished. Don’t just tell them you will have an open house. Tell them what you do to prepare for the open house, that you will post the open house on your website, listing sites and in your MLS. Tell them when you will put out the open house sign, that you will prepare brochures and that you will be at the open house to meet and great all potential buyers. The more details you provide, the more they feel you are busy working for them.
2. Communicate everything you know with your clients before 5 p.m. on a weekday.
Our clients are often working during the day and do not have a chance to call until they are headed home, but many read their emails at work. Send your clients an email update sometime between 3–4:30 p.m.
Try this: For buyers, let them know things such as: you have reviewed the new listings for the day and there is nothing new within their parameters, you contacted the selling agent and are expecting a reply and will forward it to them as soon as received, or you will be available tomorrow at lunch to view a new listing.
3. Send your clients an update every Friday morning so they have time to respond before the weekend.
As you know, the weekends are when clients spend the most time thinking about their home saleor purchase, and it’s when they might reach out more often.
Try this: Send them an overview of the week with details from your daily emails. Include in this email your schedule for the weekend so they know when you are available if they need to reach you. It is perfectly acceptable to tell your clients that you will be at the ballpark from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or that you have appointments scheduled from 2 to 5 p.m., but will be watching for new listings, or have arranged for your office to set any appointments for showings.
The desire to be available and not miss an opportunity often results in real estate agents burning out or failing to be as productive. With these three steps, you can reduce the number of calls on the evenings and weekends so you can rejuvenate, enjoy your life and be more productive when you are focused on your client’s needs.
