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Are you really working?

By
Real Estate Agent with Falcon Property Company

Are you really working?

Every morning, my mother brings me the newspaper and tells me that I need to read the current real estate/economic news.  Whether it's improving or crashing, she hands it to me with a wringing of the hands.  Every morning as she leaves, I quietly slip the paper into the garbage.

sharpening pencilThe fact of the matter is, in my humble opinion, it doesn't really matter what anyone says the state of the economy is, someone always has to buy or sell a home for one reason or another.  And an even bigger truth in my life is, if I'm working (and not just sharpening my pencil) then I am producing.

It has been a topic lately of how busy we really are.  We are busy with our Social sites reaching out to the public.  We are busy with ActiveRain, getting our SEO and our localism.  We are busy with the systems that capture leads, or the systems that allow us to pursue Unrepresented Sellers (also known as For Sale By Owners). 

Many have systems whereby they are notified when someone's listing expires, and many spend a lot of time to make their presentations presentable.  Are we working?  Of course we are.  But it is SO easy to get caught up in the busyness that we are not really working toward productive income.

In the 1950s they did a survey and asked what life would be like in the year 2000 when people had robots/computers.  The overwhelming response? What are we going to do with all of our free time?!?

All of the bells and whistles will not help you if you are not pursuing those past clients who are ensconced in your beautiful database.  Or if you are not contacting those FSBO's or those Expired's, but merely have a great plan. 

What are YOU doing to stop the busyness and actually get WORKING?

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Comments (78)

Erika Madsen
eXp Realty - Mesa, AZ
eXp Realty Broker ~ CE Instructor ~ elm Biz De

When I look at the list above, and think about it for a moment or 2 it's easy to see how so many people don't continue in this business.... it's HARD, LONG hours that you have to LOVE or LEAVE!!

I have often faltered, wavered even planned my ESCAPE - yet here I am staying busy for the sake of finding business!!  

Jan 31, 2012 10:15 PM
Bryant Tutas
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC - Winter Garden, FL
Selling Florida one home at a time

Mimi. I can honestly say that I have my business down to a finely tuned machine. I work everyday but I'm not overly busy. I do however close a fair amount of transactions 50+ a year. Manage my 12 websites plus a network of almost 9,000 members. But I also:

  • Rarely work after 4pm
  • Only go on appointments once or twice a MONTH!
  • Cook lunch and eat with TLW everyday.
  • Go to the gym 3 times a week during business hours. 
  • Don't work on weekends.

We don't have to be busy to be productive. We do however have to organized. We have to be able to delegate. And we have to spend the bulk of our time on income producing activities.

The fastest way to become "less busy" is to either hire a buyer's agent or refer them all out. Directly working with buyers is the biggest eater of time in Real estate. Focus 100% on sellers and time is really no longer a factor.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. :)

Jan 31, 2012 11:26 PM
Fernando Herboso - Associate Broker MD, & VA
Maxus Realty Group of Samson Properties - Clarksburg, MD
301-246-0001 Serving Maryland, DC and Northern VA

The proverbial shinny object being chased to bypass the real work we have to do. .  . I reduced my time with AR  after being confronted by my coach with this  realization. 

I was spending at least two hrs per day / 10 hours per week on AR

That was 40 hours per month equivalent to one week's full time job. .

That wasn't helping me.. . and I really think I was spending a lot more than 40 hrs per month. . 

Now I come. .do what matters and leave. . . no drama for me.

Jan 31, 2012 11:31 PM
Gay E. Rosen
Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty - Larchmont, NY
As Real as Real Estate Gets!

Mimi - Whenever my friends complain about having nothing to do.. I respond with "Aren't you writing to Expireds?" A small percentage of my business always comes from the Expireds each year..  It is a letter and the cost of the stamp - so easy! I have clietns who have eben taking up several hours each day  BUT I have learned to save the time for my letter writing and some SEO..

Feb 01, 2012 12:03 AM
Kathy Sheehan
Bay Equity, LLC 770-634-4021 - Atlanta, GA
Senior Loan Officer

Mimi, you are absolutely right - - - there is always someone that needs our service.  I need to get to work!

Feb 01, 2012 12:22 AM
Mimi Foster
Falcon Property Company - Colorado Springs, CO
Voted Colorado Springs Best Realtor

I was going to ask her if it WAS a post.  It was excellent.  Thanks, Brenda.

Kevin ~ Kind of comes down to . . . we make our own reality.  Doesn't matter what 'they' say.

Excellent advice, Ellie

Feb 01, 2012 12:40 AM
Mona Gersky
MoonDancer Realty, Dillsboro,NC - Sylva, NC
GRI,IMSD-Taking the mystery out of real estate.

Well deserved feature Ms Mimi...I sadly had to stop the email notices for comments from coming into my inbox.  They were like friends trying to get me to come play instead of work.  Now, I sign in to AR as a reward for getting some work done!  Sure do miss seeing the comments come in in real time though.  But I find I'm getting some good work accomplished instead.

Feb 01, 2012 12:40 AM
Anonymous
nick hahn

Like this Mimi, you're spot-on with your observations, as usual~have a great and "busy" day

Feb 01, 2012 12:41 AM
#66
Amanda Christiansen
Christiansen Group Realty (260)704-0843 - Fort Wayne, IN
Christiansen Group Realty

I'm not going to lie.  I need to work on this.  Sometimes I lookat what I am doing and ask myself if it is productive work or busy work.  Thanks for th insight.  

Feb 01, 2012 12:51 AM
Michelle Francis
Tim Francis Realty LLC - Atlanta, GA
Realtor, Buckhead Atlanta Homes for Sale & Lease

Mimi, 

We can be busy and not earning income.  We can be busy and preparing or planning business next steps.  It's a tough market, but folks still need to move.  I am electing to be actively serving the consumer and making my business happen.

All the best, Michelle

Feb 01, 2012 12:58 AM
Suzanne Gantner
Realty Texas - Round Rock, TX
GRI, E-Pro, SRES, SRS, ABR, CNE, REDS, CPS, WCS

busy doesn't mean productive...usually it means I am wasting my time doing something I really should pass on or delegate to someone else.  I am learning.. 

Feb 01, 2012 01:31 AM
Mimi Foster
Falcon Property Company - Colorado Springs, CO
Voted Colorado Springs Best Realtor

I am slammed today with actual work :)  My husband calls the things that I get diverted with the 'shiny pretties' (like AR and Pinterest).  I will do my best to answer each of these.  Thank you so much for taking your time to comment. 

Feb 01, 2012 01:42 AM
Barbara-Jo Roberts Berberi, MA, PSA, TRC - Greater Clearwater Florida Residential Real Estate Professional
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor

Mimi - another one of your great posts! I haven't read the newspaper in years and I only watch (or listen to in the background while I work) the national news at 6:30 if Ron has it on. If he is golfing, I am working with the thing I love best in the background............silence.

Feb 01, 2012 01:44 AM
Barbara-Jo Roberts Berberi, MA, PSA, TRC - Greater Clearwater Florida Residential Real Estate Professional
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor

Don't know if you saw the moving KUNDUN about the life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet but in one scene, after the Chinese invasion and installation of propaganda loudspeakers all over the streets, he makes the statement "they have taken our silence". I think of that often.......I work best in silence. No radio, no music, no tv...........just blistful silence and the chirping of the birds outside my window.

Feb 01, 2012 01:46 AM
Shannon Jones
The Shannon Jones Team - Long Beach, CA
Long Beach CA Real Estate

Mimi, great point! I remember that early on in my career that my job was to find people each day who need to buy or sell a home and talk to them. I took that seriously and worked hard. At the end of the first year, I was number 2 in our company (with more than 100 agents) and someone asked me how I had done that. I said, "Well I get up every day and I work hard and I try to talk to people who need to buy and sell homes."

Feb 01, 2012 02:44 AM
Linda Jamail Marshall
Linda Marshall,Houston Texas, Linda Marshall, Realtors® - Houston, TX
Broker, ABR,QSC,RECS,ACRE - Innerloop Houston, Tex

great reminder blog, thanks for kicking us in the butt

Feb 01, 2012 02:44 AM
Wayne Zuhl
Remax First Realty II - Cranford, NJ
The Last Name You'll Ever Need in Real Estate

My real estate work is like the junk in my junk drawer - it expands to fit the time (space) it has available. The bigger the junk drawer, the more stuff I put in it. The more time I have available (a whole week gone by without an appointment), the more busyness I do to fill the time.

Thank you for another provacative post!

Feb 01, 2012 04:43 AM
Bill Gillhespy
16 Sunview Blvd - Fort Myers Beach, FL
Fort Myers Beach Realtor, Fort Myers Beach Agent - Homes & Condos

Hi Mimi,  You must have been looking over my shoulder lately.  Seems like I spend too much time trying to keep current on various issues and technologies.  I'll use your thoughts to keep my rear in gear !

Feb 01, 2012 04:43 AM
Donald Reich
Madison Specs - New Rochelle, NY
Cost Segregation Specialist

Mimi, so true. Even in a bad economy, there is plenty of work to go around for Realtors.

Feb 01, 2012 02:35 PM
Kristine Ginsberg
Elite Staging and Redesign, LLC - Short Hills, NJ
NJ Home Stager

Meems - This is the first day I logged onto AR in a week and had to go back to find this post! Excellent points and we can all be putting more effort into finding new clients and that doesn't always mean using social media. Face to face marketing has all been forgotten but it's worth our time. Connecting with people the old fashion way still works!

Feb 03, 2012 01:54 AM