In the world of real estate it is far too easy to turn into a workaholic and a disorganized mess. You dont sleep because you fret over what could go wrong with your clients, you lay awake at night trying to check off your mental to-do list for the day and balance it with creating a new list for the next day. We work random hours and have no set schedule so how do you (and your family) cope? Here is my list of how to handle the workload and how to get a handle on handling your business.
* Breathe- Far too many people get flustered when they have too much going on. It is easy to lose your focus and to make a potentially costly mistake. Take a deep breath, find your center, and slow it down. You are the conduit for buyers to sellers, or vice-versa. Take the reigns and set the pace for the transaction. This is not to say take 3 days to respond back but unless you are at the end of your deadline dont freak yourself out. Which brings me to my next point.....
* Watch the Clock- Be aware of your deadlines and get things done as early as possible. It will be infinately easier to get things done the day someone asks for it. The shortsale process on Equator.com is a great example. Take the 5 minutes, get your homework done and then you can go and play.
*Schedule "ME" Time- set aside some time during the week, if you can make a scheduled day/time even better. For the rest of your week, you have to run on everyone else's schedule helping and negotiating and lets face it, psychologically coaxing your clients through a transaction. This time is for you. Have a hobby, read a book, or even just veg out on the sofa but that time is yours. Block it off in your schedule if you have to! If someone asks you have an appointment, of course you dont tell them its with yourself!!
*Make Lists- It doesnt have to be a formal fancy thing, just jot down the things you need to get done for the day, week, month, whatever works for you. And dont think lists are just for your to-dos either. In my office I have a big dry erase board with my listings and buyers written in different colored markers. Next to the listings is the expiration date and the price. Buyers get starred if they are a referral, the last date I spoke with them and a price range they are looking in. In one glance I can see who/what I have in my pipeline and it is immensely helpful for matching buyers and sellers!
* Color Code Everything- In my files, buyers are blue. Both words start with B and it was the highlighter I had on hand when I started my system. But the color coding on files is helpful for me. Buyers get a blue mark on one side of the manila folder tab once they are pre-qualified. The other side gets marked when they are under contract. Sellers are pink (again, the highlighters I had on hand). One side of the tab marked when the listing is signed, the other when it goes under contract. Which again leads to my last organization tip.....
*Use Folders- Manila folders are my best friend in real estate. They hold everything you could need for your clients, if you use them properly! Do NOT let you papers for a file go anywhere besides the file they belong to. If you dont have time to file something, put it in a "to be filed" bin and schedule some time to do it. Also, the great things about manila folders is you can write all over them or staple sheets to them. On the front of every clients folder that is in a transaction I have a sheet with all the details of the contract along with contact numbers for the buyer, mortgage company and loan officer, the other agent, and title and escrow. There is also a check list down at the bottom for every step of the transaction along with a little space for notes. It is a huge time saver since you never have to dig through your file to try and find the information you need!
On the topic of folders, I have also set up folders in my email for every client and as soon as I am done with an email pertaining to a client I send it right to the folder. That way all of my information is in one spot and easy to access.
I hope this can be useful to someone who wants to get organized but just needs a little push in the right direction. I started my career in real estate as an assistant and had to build an organization system from scratch. It isnt easy but once you can run like a well oiled machine you will have time to do what you enjoy and be able to sell even more!!!!!
