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Time. Mine is valuable. Is yours? One thing that agents struggle with is being in control of their time. How often have you popped out to show property at the last minute? Or had to cancel a personal event because one of your customer/clients needed to see you? What about the Buyer who can only look at properties every other Saturday from 4-7 pm? Do you work with them? I don't.
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104 Comments on If people don't value your time they certainly won't value your relationship.
I agree with you 100% ..I you don't respect yourself who will???
HELPFULHANNAH
Lots of great advice. This is all so true and if all agents could stick to repsecting their time, buyers would eventually get the point. Everyone, especially in today's economic crisis, is worried about where their next meal will come from. But I can't even say that this is why we have agents so eager to jump. I've been in the business 13 yrs and only now am I comfortable enough to not worry about those types of clients. They will always be there and I've found, from past experience, that they make you crazy, aren't the serious buyers, and aren't loyal. Maybe they fit well with the agents that are willing to jump?
Holy mackerel!!! Bombarded with comments. I wonder if this qualifies as a real estate emergency?
Maybe not :)
I want to add that there is absolutely nothing wrong with working 24/7 if that's what you want to do. I just want to be sure you know that you don't have to. Most buyers and sellers will respect your boundaries IF they know what they are. It's our job to make sure they know what they are.
I am flexible - I call people while in the car, late at night, or even when out of town. However I do not sacrifice family time ever. I squeeze things in, but never at a sacrifice.
BB- Let us not forget that you have the uncanny charm necessary to say " I surely can't" with a smile and make it work. How you handle the last minute request makes all the difference. Most agents willadmit potential I want it now buyers are acting on impulse which is something NO ONE should ever do, when it comes to something as important as the purchase of a property. So say it with a smile folks!
Agreed you need to set a schedule to work. That is the only way to develop a work and home life balance. Real estate is not a 9-5 job. When creating your schedule, you need to take into consideration when your clients are available. There may be no real estate emergencies for you; however, your clients may feel differently.
If they don't value your time, they don't value your opinion either, and if they don't value your opinion, it's tough to help them.
Bryant- A lot of comments this post garnered. This is one of the biggest obstacles i have with agents i coach. When they start getting coached they are so defensive about 24/7. They are SO afraid of losing that one deal. i had one agent that I knew was religious but she worked on Sundays. I told her that I never work on a Sunday ( except commenting on AR:) ) and that she needed to take that one day off to feed herself spiritually and to spend time with her husband. I promised her that she would attract clients into her life that would appreciate that. In fact, recharging your batteries makes you much more productive. If you don't ever stop to smell the roses, you will burn out. Her husband thanked me for getting her to do what he had been trying to get her to do for years. It really helped their marriage also. Sometimes we have to think about what is really important in life.
Today I had a listing up north Florida for an agent that I work with, sharing the short sale listings. She did not call me back for a day and that is when I knew something was wrong. She just called me not to long ago. Her husband is in the hospital. He just had a heart attack. She did the right thing and declined the listing. She decided to go and be with him. That was her right move.
Excellent point Bryant. I've had my fair share of interruptions throughout the day. It makes a difference in your production when you actually stick to your plan.
Bryant,
Excellent article!!! Time is money and Realtors need to treat their business AS a business. If people want to work with me, an appointment needs to be made. Try calling your doctor or lawyer and say, "I need to see you, I'll be there in 20 minutes" and see how far that gets you.
I learned early in my real estate career to set boundries and not to be everyone's "Beck and Call" boy. Make it a great day!!
Yes, BB, I do believe that, and I can do that....though at times it really is a leap of faith. But then again, I like leaping : ) -- Tanya in Montreal
Hi Broker Bryant,
This is SO hard for newer agents to deal with. Once when I was brand new, we had an ice storm. A lot of roads were blocked. EVerything was a treacherous mess. I desperately needed business, but figured I was getting a day off. Wouldn't you know that a couple called me and wanted to see homes because the trains weren't running - so they had a day off! Unbelievable.....For those who don't know my area - and most don't - Metro-North rarely shuts down. It only shuts down when there is truly an weather emergency. I can count on one hand the number of times Metro-North has shut down over th past 10 years.
Excellent! Making the most of your time is all about systems and delegation. The books the E-Myth and the Cashflow Quadrant really transformed how I looked at my business and my time. Regarding the potential customers who demand unreasonable things, it is best just to screen them out and either refer the lead to someone else or let them go.
Hi BB! You're SO right--like others, same day appointments work for me only IF they work for ME! I don't always have the time and if they just can't WAIT for me, then chances are they won't be good candidates to WORK for me either!
When I call the physician's office for an appointment, many times I have to wait for weeks to be seen--now if I'm sick, time is allotted for a certain number of same-day sick patients but, otherwise, I WAIT. Why should we be held to a stricter criteria than physicians?
I agree with Lenn 100%. I'd rather be prepared and know that I am meeting with a qualified buyer.
In this multi-tasking, on/off binary world, you went right to the heart of the matter. We are the ones with the editing function that takes control and "informs", rather than allows us to drown in the sea of boundaryless data. Well done!
Hi, Bryant. I live in Big South Fork, Tennessee, an area that is a destination for trail riders. Most of the properties that I list and sell are horse properties.
I just told my husband yesterday that if I have plans to ride and it will not affect the group if an unexpected real estate opportunity occurs, I might cancel but if I have agreed to trailer a friend and my cancelling would leave her in the lurch, I will NOT cancel. I told him not to carry the phone across the yard when I have a horse in crossties, getting ready to leave, because I am usually blindsided by someone who wants immediate attention. The time has come to establish some boundaries, and the caller will have to make arrangements for an appointment.
Your post was very timely and I'm glad you hit "send" instead of "save." Congratulations on the feature!
Great post. Its really hard nowadays to make real estate decisions. We should not jump into conclusions that in the latter, we realize we are just invested instead of aiming for investments.
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