8 Tips to Build Better Business Habits

LINDSEY GETZ

As a Realtor® , your communication and active listening skills are likely right on point, and it’s likely your proficiency in these areas led you to became a Realtor® in the first place.

But what about your business habits?

When you’re not in the field and talking to clients, do you feel like you are practicing good habits to help you to improve—and expand—your real estate business? These areas can often need improvement so we talked with Realtors® around the state to develop eight habits to improve your business and bring you success.

1. Organization is Everything

You can be busy and have multiple transactions occurring simultaneously, but if you are ignoring the back end and not remaining organized, it can ruin your business, said Michelle Pais, Realtor® founder and CEO of the Michele Pais Group, a division of Signature Realty.

It’s about working on your business, not just in it,” said Pais. “I would always set aside some specific hours each week just to work on the business. This is the time when you should be building systems and implementing strategies that are going to help you run your operations.

According to Pais, technology can help facilitate these efforts and there are many software systems such as zipForms or Quickbooks, to assist with back-end management.

2. Use the 80/20 Rule

According to David Lotan, ABR® , Realtor® at Lifestyle International Realty in Secaucus, 80% of your time should be focused on 20% of your business. In other words, if you get too caught up with new clients, you could start to damage relationships with existing ones.

It can be easy to get caught up in the new person that wants to see a house, but what about those five people from last week?” said Lotan. “The follow-ups, the phone calls, and the paperwork are where the ball can be dropped—but you can’t let it.

3. Know That You Can’t Do It All Yourself

When you first obtained your license, you likely wore a lot of hats. Even early on, it’s important to remember you can’t do it all, said Naeem Boucher Realtor- Associate® and founder of Naeem Boucher Properties, headquartered in Montclair.

You have to have the proper systems in place, and you likely need an assistant managing your schedule,” said Boucher. “If you can’t go to all the showings you’re landing, you might need a showing agent. And if you can’t get to all the paperwork, you need someone who can do that for you. You have to be able to delegate.

Pais agrees and said, “Fire yourself from some of the tasks you’re currently handling and hire someone to do them for you.”

She said a good rule of thumb for when it’s time to hire an assistant is when you have about 25 transactions per year. She adds at any point if you feel a lot is slipping through the cracks, it may be time for help.

4. Immerse Yourself in Knowledge

There is always something new to learn, which is why you should immerse yourself in knowledge, said Adam D’Annunzio, Realtor ® Keller Williams Realty Jersey Shore. “Always be learning. The more you invest in yourself, the better you’ll be able to help clients. There is no greater return on investment than investing in yourself,” said D’Annunzio.

5. Show Up Every Day

The importance of showing up cannot be undervalued. “It sounds basic, but most agents get into the business because they want freedom of their schedule,” said D’Annunzio. “This is the worst reason to get into real estate. The top agents and business owners know that you have to consistently and diligently follow a schedule to be successful.”

Lotan agrees and adds that owning your own business is far from the traditional corporate workplace.

When you’re an independent contractor and running your own business, there is always that temptation to stray from your focus,” said Lotan. “But it is imperative that you treat this like a business. Of course, we don’t work a traditional 9-5—we work a 24/7 schedule.

6. Do the Thing You Dread the Most, First

When it comes to certain unwanted tasks like making a phone call that an offer was turned down or a huge pile of paperwork to complete, it can be easy to push them to the side. Lotan recommends making a habit of doing the tasks you dread the most, first.

“If you have to make a difficult phone call with some bad news, you might be inclined to put it off all day,” said Lotan. “Then you basically spend all day dreading it and having it negatively impact your day. Instead, tackle it right away— and turn it into a positive. Say, here’s the bad news, but let’s find a way to turn this into a positive. It’s all about taking the negative and putting it away.”

7. Invest in Your Business

To succeed, you’re going to need to continue to invest in your business.

You need to spend money to make money,” said Lotan. “Investing in a good customer relationship management system is key. There are tools out there that can help make you better and support your business, but you need to budget for them. CRMs are crucial to automating your business and helping with mundane tasks.

8. Never Stop Improving

When things are going well, it can be easy to become complacent. But Boucher attributes his success to continually making an effort to improve—every single day.

Every day I’m talking to myself about how I can be better,” said Boucher. “Where is there a gap that I need to fill in? Every day I’m being critical of myself and of my business. The day that we stop doing that is the day we start to fall short. There are always ways to improve.