How often do we hear how busy peoples’ lives are? Whether it’s a question about how someone’s weekend was or how their work day is going, we hear busy and are supposed to assume it’s a good thing. Maybe I missed the memo but I am not sure when we started to value how little time we have.
I look around our industry and I see a lot of hard working, talented professionals. The ones that are leading this industry are the ones that aren’t keeping busy but are staying productive. Our clients, our colleagues and our brokers don’t care how busy we are – it’s all about the bottom line. How many contracts did you get signed? How many closed deals? Did you get the top dollar for your client? How much money did you make?
We don’t get perfect attendance awards anymore. We don’t get a pat on the back for working 16 hour days. We get rewarded for results. Our goal should be to get the same job done in a more efficient way whenever possible. No client wants to hear how busy you’ve been. They want to know whether you’re doing your job.
Technology has brought about a wave of services, software and applications that can automate the tasks that used to keep us busy. Whether that’s prospecting through SEO and lead generation tools, marketing tools for emails and lead follow-up, document management and electronic signature for contracts, or accounting software to automatically cut checks and track the business of your business, all of these tools can save us time. Maybe it’s only 10 minutes per deal, or maybe it’s 5 hours that you would have spent manually following up or processing information at the close of a deal. It all adds up. Each tool you use can save you, your team and/or your staff time. After implementing, these systems will add hours of time back into your day. What would you do with an extra 2 hours a day?
We need to re-train ourselves. It’s not about how we got the job done, it’s about getting it done. We live in a world of technology. This means we live in a world of analytics and data. We should use these numbers to measure ourselves, measure our agents or employees and as a value proposition when speaking to prospective clients. Numbers don’t lie.
Find the software that will give you the reporting you need. The numbers and metrics to see how your business is doing. Once you see the numbers, you’ll be able to start seeing where you stand out. It may not be highest volume or most transactions, but once you see the data, you’ll be able to see where you stand out from everyone else. Technology will not replace a REALTOR® but a REALTOR® with technology will replace one without. It’s just a matter of how much more time that will be available in a given day.
Finding the right software can be challenging. Maybe it’s a question of cost or functionality, of implementing the change with your team or staff. My suggestion – find someone you trust and ask what they’re using. Ask for advice. Join a product demo for software that was of interest to you. The more receptive you are to adopting tools to save you time, the more time you’ll have to focus on your real business: relationships. This means more time to focus on networking, lead generation, sales, and even community engagement or volunteer work. Or, dare I say, your own life!
The next time someone asks how your day was, make sure to think twice before saying “busy.” We need to value the time we have, the time we spend and the time we save. Having more time in your day doesn’t mean you don’t work hard. It shows that you can get the job done in less time, and gives you the freedom to invest that time into strategies that can make you even more profitable!
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