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!

This season – and the hustle and bustle of preparing for the new year – can create an environment in which we all fall prey to some common myths about time. Do you find yourself being run ragged by the idea that “If I’m not working, I’m not making money”? If you do, you’re missing something that’s both irreplaceable and precious – time with your friends and family. Let’s look at just a few of those myths about time, so that you don’t end up spending the entire season sitting by your phone, waiting for vacation buyers to call!

First, have you ever said, “I have to manage my time better”? If so, it’s time to bust that myth in its tracks. You can’t manage time. You can manage yourself, and you can manage your work choices. That’s it. Accept that, then focus your energies on figuring out how you can do less and accomplish more. Making a conscious choice to enjoy a big cup of hot chocolate and watch It’s a Wonderful Life doesn’t mean your work will suffer; it means you’ve made a choice that doesn’t involve feeling guilty! Then, when you make a conscious choice to work, you’ll be refreshed, relaxed, and better able to think clearly about that Top Producer holiday greeting you want to send to your SOI.

Next, do you believe that taking time off will cause your business to decrease? The fact is, taking time off creates room for new business – so plan to go and visit your relatives for a few days (or have them come to your house). If you’ll step back and take a little time off, you’ll find that when you come back, you’ve broken out of your pre-break routine/rut. By removing those limits you put on yourself by sticking to “business as usual,” you’ll likely have created time and space for new business to appear.

Finally, are you stuck in the belief that you’re “the only one who can do it”? Let us say this gently: You’re not. As a matter of fact, if you’ll delegate, you’ll find that work gets done faster (and often more competently). Think of it in terms of holiday gifts; suppose the thing you do best is creating the lists of “who gets what.” Wouldn’t it be great if you had someone to do the shopping, someone to do the wrapping, and someone to deliver those gifts? If you approach work this way (for instance, delegating paperwork tasks), you’ll find your productivity skyrocketing – you’ll be doing what you enjoy and do best.

Happy holidays from REVStaffing. Let us show you our dedication to helping you to grow and nurture your successful business! We encourage you to give us a call for a free needs analysis. We’ll be happy to discuss ALL of your unique business needs; ask how we can give your business a LIFT! And be sure to visit our website, and “like” us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RevstaffingVAs.

We urge you to bookmark this page to return for updates. If you need assistance in the meantime, please contact us by email at info@revstaffing.com or phone at 855-738-7821, extension 703.

2011 REVStaffing^©