How to Maximize Productivity in Real Estate Prospecting

How to Maximize Productivity in Real Estate Prospecting

Top-performing real estate agents often think in terms of “production.”  How much can they accomplish (effectively) in the shortest time possible? As such, they are always looking for an edge, some way to enhance their productivity, effectiveness, and profitability.

But even top producers can feel overwhelmed with to-do lists that seem to grow exponentially, obscuring any sense that important things are getting accomplished.

In this post, we look at tips to help you stay focused, on task, and working at optimum productivity.

 

FUNDAMENTALS OF REAL ESTATE PROSPECTING PRODUCTIVITY

 

SET HIGH STANDARDS FOR YOURSELF

Always Know Your Goals

When prospecting real estate, top producers know where they are relative to their goals at any given time. They know it’s critical to track their numbers continuously. If their results aren’t where they want them to be, they move into “why” mode to figure out what needs to be changed to get back on course. They don’t hesitate to look in the mirror if their numbers aren’t tracking as expected. Then, they adjust midstream to get back on track.

TRACK TIME SPENT ON TASKS

Only 20% of People are Aware of the Passage of Time

If you’re like most people (of course, you aren’t), you do a poor job of estimating and reporting how much time you spend on tasks. Research indicates that less than one in five people are able to estimate the passage of time accurately. Today, more than ever, we are bombarded with tasks that can easily double as play and become major time-sucks. Let’s take social media. If Facebook is important to your real estate prospecting efforts, you must monitor your feed daily. But that daily monitoring process doesn’t take much to devolve into a wholesale, social media “catch-up” session. Stay focused on the task and don’t get lured into what can be fun and entertaining.

BUILD A MORNING ROUTINE

Mornings are the Best Time to Connect with Prospects

Top performers commit to a schedule of daily lead generation. Without fail. They know that honoring their daily prospecting schedule is the best, most proven, way to keep their pipeline full. And for many agents, this means starting their routine in the early morning hours. They know that working the phones in the morning is the best time to connect with new expireds before other agents. And no matter how long you’ve been in this business, you know that newly expired listings represent the lowest-hanging fruit on the tree of prospecting success. This is especially true if they use the industry’s best EXPIRED SELLER LEADS at Vulcan7.

TAKE A BREAK OR FOUR

Get a Breath of Fresh Air

The longer the tasks, the more difficult it is to maintain concentration, which ultimately erodes both productivity and quality. Schedule numerous breaks throughout your day. Schedule them as you would a meeting or conference call to get that reminder on your phone: “Take a break at 2PM.” A break will not only energize you. It will also improve your concentration and performance. And by all means, don’t spend your precious break sitting at your desk checking email or Facebook. Get up, move around, walk the halls, walk the dogs, and get some fresh air if you’re at home.

While numerous breaks during your day is an effective way to keep your energy high, you might also consider something more dramatic, like TAKING A MENTAL HEALTH DAY.

LIMIT DISTRACTIONS

Use a Time Management System

We live in an age of distractions! There are so many things tugging at our attention, begging to pull us away from important work: social media posting, emails, YouTube videos, etc., etc. In the previous section, we talked about taking a few breaks during the day. In the same vein, we wrote about an effective, increasingly popular time management technique called the POMODORO TECHNIQUE. Find a simple kitchen timer. Set it to 25 minutes. Shut off all electronics, including email. Close your office door. If necessary, hang a sign that says: DO NOT DISTURB. Then, dive into a project until the timer goes off. Stop what you’re doing and take 5 minutes to re-energize, then repeat the process again.

CUT BACK ON MEETINGS

Avoid Unproductive Meetings

According to a study by Atlassian, the average American worker spends more than 30 hours each month in unproductive meetings, translating to nearly one lost day each week. There is no question that meetings are the biggest drain on productivity and profitability. Yes, we need meetings. But if you’re in charge, ask yourself some simple questions before sending out that Outlook scheduler. Is this meeting imperative to our operation? Can we gain the same benefits through emails or a quick, focused conference call? Your team can do more productive things instead of spending hours in meetings. And, if you need to have a meeting, publish a tight agenda and stick to it once the meeting starts.

ABANDON THE QUEST FOR PERFECTION

Strive for Progress Not Perfection

We’ve all done this: spend hours (days?) working and re-working a simple email in search of just the right closing line, Why? Because most of us have a flimsy, irrational illusion of perfection, the notion that by spending an extra hour looking for the right words, we will somehow appear as superstars to our fellows. The key for almost any task is to crank it out as quickly as possible and then move on. Indeed, certain tasks (a major presentation) require a certain degree of thoughtful contemplation. But the truth is, you’re better off pounding through a rough first draft quickly, then re-visiting and refining your original thoughts, perhaps incorporating comments from your team members.

STOP TRYING TO MULTI-TASK

You’re Not Hard-Wired to Multi-Task

Despite plenty of research, most of us still hold on to the myth of multi-tasking, believing OUR way is the right way. Well, we hate to break it to you, but YOUR way isn’t better than anybody else’s because our brains (all of them) are not hard-wired for multi-tasking. The research shows that attempting to several tasks at the same time can results in lost time and productivity. So, stop the insanity and focus on one thing at a time.

START SMALL

Set Manageable Goals

Sometimes, large tasks or unrealistic goals can overwhelm you and cause a kind of paralysis by analysis. For example, your goal may be to get one listing a week. Excellent goal. But if you are relatively new to real estate prospecting, you may have to build your prospecting muscles before you pull in that first listing. So, set manageable goals:  X# of calls per day or maybe X actual conversations a day/week. Make it something you can measure and track. You’ll find that achieving those small goals will energize you to push for something more ambitious.

Every agent wants to be more productive in real estate prospecting. But most of us also believe the myths we’ve been fed about achieving greater productivity. In reality, speed is not the answer. Slow down, take breaks, and focus on fewer things if you want to increase your productivity.

 

 

Learn about the IMPORTANCE OF MINDSET TO DRIVE LEAD GENERATION and maximize your productivity.

One of the best ways to maximize productivity in real estate prospecting is by using Vulcan7’s industry-leading LEAD GENERATION AND CRM SYSTEM.

 

Doug Spak Author

Doug Spak has over four decades of experience as an advertising copywriter, agency creative director, blogger, and content creator. He joined Vulcan7 as a Content Specialist in 2016. In addition to ongoing website copy refreshes, Doug has produced over 300 blog posts while developing content for Vulcan7’s social media platforms.

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