Top Producing Agents Do These Seven Things Regularly

Summary

Most top-producing real estate agents share the same seven habits that help them succeed in the industry. Sticking to rigid morning routines, following up obsessively with leads, making contact more often, and working within their Sphere of Influence (SOI) help bring in more business. Building external accountability through real estate coaches, finding role play partners, and joining mastermind groups while investing strategically in the right technology and setting strong boundaries are also vital for personal and business development.

Details	Information
Time to Read	~8–10 minutes
What You’ll Learn	7 habits of highly successful real estate agents How real estate agents can build external accountability Real estate agent Doug Cary’s formula for accountability How agents can invest in their own success
Next Steps	Start building better habits and workflows today Use Vulcan7’s real estate CRM to build a stronger pipeline

Top Producing Agents Do These Seven Things Regularly

What does it take to be a top-producing agent?

Our team at Vulcan7 has worked with some of the country’s top-earning real estate agents. In our weekly video series, Roadmap, we probe these agents for the best practices guiding them through their careers.

In general, high-performing real estate agents tend to share a similar quality: they are obsessively focused on production! The bulk of their time is spent on activities that generate income instead of simple admin, because they know it’s the best way to keep their pipeline full.

In this post, we’ll walk you through seven daily habits successful real estate agents share and show you how they can help you unlock better productivity and more sales.

1. Stick To A Rigid Routine and Own the Morning

Routines aren’t just about discipline for its own sake. The structure of a consistent daily pattern has measurable effects on how well you function. 

According to a study by Northwestern Medical School, sticking to a routine allows you to:

• Manage stress more effectively. A routine helps you to relax and be less anxious, especially when you have a lot on your plate.
• Sleep better. Keeping a regular sleep schedule helps you manage stress.
• Eat healthier. We tend to eat healthier when we have a regular meal schedule.
• Be more active. Regularly-scheduled exercise also helps to keep us relaxed and focused.

In addition to the health benefits of maintaining a routine, top performers commit to lead generation every morning without fail. They have come to believe that honoring their daily prospecting schedule is the best, most proven way to keep their pipeline full.

2. Lead Follow-Up Obsessively to Produce More Business

We’ve written extensively about lead follow-up in this blog. Following up well is what separates agents who close from agents who just collect leads. 

Effective lead follow-up is important for several reasons:

• It helps maintain communication and trust so you can understand their needs and preferences.
• It keeps you top-of-mind with prospective sellers so they think of you first.
• It allows you to address seller concerns, which is another way to build rapport.
• It demonstrates your commitment to helping clients through the most important financial decision they’ll make.

Done consistently, follow-up turns warm leads into closed deals and protects the pipeline you’ve built.

3. Work Their Sphere Of Influence (SOI)

The people in your SOI are more likely to trust and engage with you. People prefer doing business with those they know and trust, making your SOI a fertile ground for potential clients and referrals.

In our post How To Get Leads From Your Sphere Of Influence, we walk through the process for building your SOI. These are the people who already know you.

The list is usually wider than agents expect:

• Friends and family members
• Church members
• Neighbors and friends of neighbors
• Former high school or college friends
• Parent-teacher groups
• Book clubs
• Country clubs
• Personal service people: hairdressers, house cleaners, mechanics, etc.

Treat this group as a real lead source, not a backup plan, and the referrals tend to follow.

4. Hold Themselves Accountable

“Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the result.” — Bob Proctor

As real estate agents, we are independent contractors. We must be self-motivated to work and perform at a certain level. Many of us know what to do, but knowing is not the same as doing. You can avoid this potential pitfall by creating accountability.

Top producers always hold themselves accountable to high standards. They have strong, personal commitments to the work they need to do and the clients they want to serve. They also set measurable goals and surround themselves with external layers of accountability to stay on track.

How to Build External Layers of Accountability

Self-discipline only goes so far on its own. Most top producers reinforce it by building structured systems around themselves that keep the pressure on when motivation dips. 

Examples of external accountability include:

• Real Estate Coaches: Many top agents are in some type of coaching program
• Accountability partners: Are you calling? Have you met your contact goal for today?
• Role play partners: Script and objection handling practice with different personality styles
• Mastermind groups: Generate new ideas, tackle challenges together
• Group prospecting: Energy, motivation, and commitment in group setting

Working these methods into your process can help you hone your skills and develop your business.

Tip: Practice With a Partner Before You Prospect

Long after their real estate scripts have been internalized, successful real estate agents are still working with role play and/or accountability partners before each day’s lead generation. Having a partner who faces the same challenges can help you develop discipline, routine, and a tight morning routine.

Scripts themselves can be gold for anyone committed to being a top-producing real estate agent. They help you get comfortable with handling objections, and the more comfortable you feel, the more you will exude confidence with your prospect.

Working with an accountability partner also helps to ease repetitious boredom. To boost levels of commitment, some agents create accountability games including financial payments or dinners owed to one another if commitments aren’t fulfilled.

Doug Cary’s Formula for Better Accountability

Highly successful agent Doug Cary, who is in the top 1% of all Realtors in the U.S., believes accountability is critical to his motivation and success. Doug has created multiple layers of accountability for greater focus and to counterbalance homeowner rejection. 

He shares his insight in this two-minute video:

Accountability can make the difference between occasional wins through lead generation and the security of predictable, consistent income. You can find like minded agents seeking accountability and role play partners on Monday Morning Pre-Game and Take 52.

5. Invest In Their Success

If you focus on the items above, you will be well on your way to success in real estate. But if you want to take your game to a much higher level, you should consider investing strategically in your business.

Successful agents often leverage:

• Advanced lead generation. CRM technology like Vulcan7 is widely considered the best resource in the industry for superior expired, FSBO, FRBO, and pre-foreclosure leads. Our CRM can help you stay focused and on-task with lead follow-up.
• Real estate coaching. A real estate coach provides an agent’s ultimate level of accountability and can pay huge dividends over the long haul.
• Career-development. Numerous industry events and networking opportunities help you stay current with what’s happening in the industry.

If your business isn’t where you think it should be, you might want to examine your “operating philosophy.”

6. Know Their Business is a Contact Sport

Most agents know this business is a “contact sport.” Their job is to keep calling in order to “offer their services” as many times as possible each day. 

Note the purposeful use of words in the previous sentence. Great sellers view the world from a consultative, or “service” perspective, which can help with motivation when prospecting. Above all, top agents know that they need to go after business, and never wait for it to come to them.

7. Establish Boundaries to Minimize Distractions

Establishing good boundaries is incredibly important in any industry, but there’s an even higher need for it in real estate because so much of what we do involves talking to people. It is very easy these days to allow distractions to take over any well-intended schedule. 

The key to managing distractions is to practice discipline in everything you do. Sometimes, that looks like setting up time blocks where you can just focus on a task or contact leads without interruptions. Filtering your email, avoiding social media unless you need it, and filtering out low-quality leads can also help.

Put These Habits Into Practice With Vulcan7

Are you spending 70-80% of your time on production (money)-focused activities? If not, why? When you’re mired in administrative or transactional details, it’s a sign that you need to hire a part-time admin to handle those details for you. It will free you up to earn the money you were meant to earn. 

Vulcan7 gives you access to the industry’s most accurate expireds, FSBO, FRBO, and pre-foreclosure leads, plus a CRM with a built-in dialer that helps you streamline your workflows. To start making the most of your time, become a Vulcan7 member today.