For September’s Active Rain challenge, we’ve been asked to write about the habits that we’ve made part of our careers and lives as Realtors. I’ve chosen to do a mix of personal and business practices, which will be better explained below:
The Good: Taking More Time Off to be with Family
I’ll admit this is a newer habit that I started only a few months ago. After having a few record years for sales that required long hours in the office and the car (showing homes and driving to appointments), I decided I needed to work less. Keep in mind that this decision was about 13 years into a career that can be very demanding (which I don’t have to explain to Active Rainers). Most clients want to meet in the evenings or on weekends because it’s easier for their schedules, and that’s totally understandable. However, after meeting some business sales milestones, I decided it was time to work regular, 40 hour weeks so that I could spend more time with my wife (shown in the picture) and two daughters.
In the past few months, I’ve taken two family vacations, spent the occasional afternoon on my boat, visited extended family, and my business hasn’t been affected negatively as a result. In fact, I feel more focused and refreshed as I work with clients, and I’ve learned that it’s good for business to take time away from business to be with family.
The Bad: Out to Eat (Frequently)
I should preface this habit by explaining that I don’t drink soft drinks or eat many sweets or bad foods. My family is notorious for healthy eating and exercise, in fact. However, there is a certain chicken fast food restaurant that is my downfall. This upscale, large scale chain restaurant will remain unnamed, but it has good fried chicken sandwiches, French fries, fried chicken nuggets, chicken salad sandwiches, and sweet tea. I eat there several times a week because I almost never bring my own lunch to the office. Especially on the days that I don’t get a chance to eat lunch til 3 PM due to appointments, it’s so convenient to go through the drive through and eat it in front of my computer while I’m answering emails.
This indulgence isn’t such a bad habit considering everything else I eat is healthy, but it’s embarrassing how well the restaurant employees recognize me!
The Ugly: Being Less Frequent with Social Media
The best way to kick this ugly habit might be to make a rule so that I don’t eat at the above mentioned chicken sandwich restaurant without posting to my social media accounts. (I only just came up with this rule while writing this blog, and the more I think about it, the better the rule sounds. It would result in several social media posts per week!)
It can be hard to balance showings, inspections, walk throughs, closings, emails, and phone calls (which are all direct contact with clients) with social media (which seems like such an indirect way of getting business). My priority has always been my clients, and I fit in social media when I have the time. This ugly habit might seem inconsequential, but staying active on websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Plus, and of course Active Rain is crucial for Realtors. This isn’t the place to talk about the importance of using social media in real estate because there are numerous articles and references geared towards this specific subject.
I’ve been working on this ugly habit by putting reminders into my calendar – scheduling social media time the same way I would for a showing appointment. I’ve even color coded these tasks so that I can see how everything fits in when I glance at my month as a whole. For anyone out there trying to spend more time on social media or blogging, this is a fantastic way to get organized!
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about my habits – the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Lee Keadle is a Realtor working in the Charleston SC real estate market. He specializes in the Mt Pleasant real estate and James Island SC real estate markets.
Comments(13)