You may be experiencing the telltale signs of spring: longer days, lighter coats being pulled out of the closet, new life blooming outdoors and more clients calling to buy and sell their homes. Even if you are not yet seeing all the signs, spring is upon us nonetheless. It is a great opportunity to “clean house” and freshen up our business strategies. Here are a few simple tips to put some new life into your business:
1. De-clutter – Take some of the stress out of your work days by allocating a chunk of time to file or throw away all of those items in the “I’ll Deal with It Later” bin. We all have them, whether it’s a corner of a desk or a box on the floor.
Invest in a scanner to create electronic files for everything that you can, and place them on an external hard drive or “in the cloud” online. Create new strategies for managing those hard-to-categorize items. Delegate these tasks if necessary. Give your office a new look to give you a rejuvenated outlook on your business.
2. Retrain – Beyond industry continuing education, there is an ongoing need to keep updated on the local real estate market, the community as a whole, technology and more. Real estate agents are expected to be an expert in many areas, and it can be a challenge to find the time to stay current on all there is to know.
Schedule as little as an hour per week to catch up on pertinent news, community happenings, real estate technology, marketing ideas and any other processes or information that will keep you a cutting edge real estate professional. Offer training classes for your employees to keep your entire office up to date and efficient. A Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant (PREVA) can also be a great asset to you in keeping up with current technologies and best practices.
3. Evaluate your brand identity – Marketing and brand identity have always been essential elements to a successful real estate business. Whether it is print advertising, direct mailings, billboards or online marketing, real estate agents strive to familiarize the community to their name, face and good reputation. Just like with every other business, they also try to get the most exposure for their allocated budget.
Take some time to evaluate your 2011 marketing campaigns and see where you got the most “bang for your buck.” It is a fact that real estate clients are looking more to the internet to commence their home buying or selling process, so be sure to take advantage of the free or low cost internet tools and social marketing outlets that are available. Try to take an outsider’s view of your personal branding. Is it portraying the knowledge, skill and special talents that you possess? A real estate virtual assistant can help you achieve your 2012 marketing goals.
4. Find Balance – As a real estate professional, it is often difficult to separate work life from personal life. Round-the-clock working hours and the other pressures of running your own business may leave you exhausted and lacking in time for yourself or your family. If carving out time for your own needs seems a luxury, be sure to remind yourself that you must rejuvenate to stay productive and efficient. Don’t feel guilty about your “Me Time!” It is the best gift that you can give yourself, your clients and your business.
Block out a section weekly on your calendar for personal time, and don’t answer business calls or book appointments during that period. Delegate as many tasks as possible to your support staff. Find an accountability buddy who will join you in mutual encouragement toward the goal of more personal time. You deserve to take time to enjoy the benefits of all of your hard work.
Discover today how we dramatically boost our clients’ productivity. Make your next step towards better organization to shoot us an email or give us a call for a free needs analysis. We’ll be happy to discuss ALL of your unique 2012 business needs; ask how we can give your business a LIFT! Be sure to visit our website, and “like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RevstaffingVAs. Enjoy this spring season!