The garbage in, garbage out saying is true in all cases, but especially so when it comes to putting information within your CRM. If you can’t rely on the information that is being put in your CRM, you can’t rely on the accuracy of reporting, insights, alerts, smart lists, or literally everything as my ten-year-old would say. Making consistent efforts to create and maintain data integrity within your organization will help you set yourself apart from the competition!
Here’s what data integrity should look like within your database.
Accurate Client Information Taking the time to collect the proper contact information, preferences, and communication history ensures that you are supplementing whatever your technology is auto-collecting from their activities. Having this allows you to ensure that you are staying timely with your services as well as personalizing the content and conversation wherever possible to build rapport, connection, and trust. Take notes and pay attention!
Efficient Transaction Management If your CRM reflects a transaction’s true status and all communications then everyone within your organization can collaborate to take action to ensure a high level of service and communication. Being able to rely on this information ensures that fewer balls get dropped and increases the chances your transaction makes it to closing.
Compliance with Regulations Data privacy and communication laws are something that should be taken seriously. If your CRM has a high level of data integrity, it helps you to stay compliant and protects sensitive client information from breaches.
Improved Decision-Making The more information you have about what your client wants, needs, and why, the better decisions you can make in advising them. Just as we rely on the data for market trends, MLS information, and property values to be correct, our own internal information needs to be accurate as well.
We hear about agent safety measures, but is this something that you have policies and guidance for within your organization?
If not, we’ve got you! Use our Safety Tips for Agents list as a guide to discuss ways with your agents to be more aware of their surroundings, be proactive about their safety, and arm them with exactly what to do should they find themselves in a place where they feel uncomfortable.
Above all, slow down and trust your instincts. No transaction, client request, or amount of money is worth your safety!
The August date is here for the NAR settlement changes and we will begin to see the real effects of what this has in store for our industry. We will finally have some actual facts to go with all the feelings circulating around this, which is exciting because the unknown will become known and navigating the new way forward will be that much easier.
One thing that happens whenever there is a shift in the industry is that agents tend to migrate toward organizations and teams that offer better systems, resources, technology, and tools. And since you’re a subscriber of our newsletter (and maybe even a client!) you are likely going to be the place agents are flocking to instead of from.
Having an onboarding checklist will help you to welcome these new agents to your team or brokerage in a smooth way, ensuring that they have the utmost confidence in you and your ability to lead them.
Save a copy of the attached document and personalize it to your organization. No, you cannot edit this one, silly! Then, add everything that you do when you onboard an agent – nothing is too small to add to this list. This allows you to ensure that everything you do for one agent is done for all so that there won’t be anything overlooked or forgotten.
A smooth onboarding is an initial key to a long relationship of success. By having a proven, repeatable process you will ensure that the onboarding experience is stress-free for both your new agent partner and yourself.
Are you interested in knowing what other teams use for their marketing and operational strategies? We learned of an amazing opportunity for you to find out and couldn’t wait to share it with you!
Tom Ferry and RealScout are conducting a large survey to uncover essential benchmarks for real estate teams. The research will shine a light on key operations and marketing answer considerations including:
Team Structure: How team leaders structure and compensate with staff, agents, and ISAs.
Customer Acquisition Channels/Costs: Where top teams acquire business and how much they spend on each channel.
Prospect Follow-Up: How top teams manage inbound leads, including routing and nurturing strategies.
They’re making the insights from this survey available to anyone who completes it, which is why so many organizations in real estate are sharing it with their communities.
Here’s how to participate and get your copy of the results:
If you are a team leader, use the link below to complete this survey to contribute your insights. Everyone who completes the survey will get a copy of the results!
If you are not a team leader, forward this email to yours and encourage them to participate!
Mark Twain said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first”. While this advice is evergreen, it’s especially important during the summer months to ensure that you are accomplishing what you need to and still have time for fun activities. Here are some things to consider as we refresh on this strategy:
🐸In the long run, this approach will help you overcome the fear of difficult tasks or stop procrastinating on them. This leads to a boost in productivity and a reduction in stress levels as you will feel more in control of your day.
🐸More challenging items require more effort, and if you leave them until the end of the day it is highly unlikely that you will be more motivated to complete them at the end of the day than the beginning. Decision fatigue is real, and knocking out your important work first will take less of a toll on you mentally throughout the day.
🐸In real estate it’s wise to leave time in your day for the almost guaranteed reactive items that come your way. If you have already completed the must-do or most challenging item, you will be in a much better mindset to tackle the whirlwind than if you are still trying to complete a project.
🐸Summer schedules, especially for those of us with school-age children, can often be challenging even though they are jam-packed with fun things. Different drop-off and pick-up times and weekly shifting schedules with camps or childcare often leave either us or people on our team feeling frazzled as a baseline. Knocking out your most challenging or important items first allows you to have more ease in the rest of the day knowing that the heavy lifting is done.
🐸Take a look at your work management system and while you are listing out everything you need to do during the day, begin to prioritize the most challenging and must-be-done-today items first. Knock those out very first thing and create a habit of doing this every day so that it carries you throughout the entire year.
🐸 More effort doesn’t always yield more results. Figuring out how to accomplish the work you need to do within working hours is important not only for your business but your mental health. Many of us believe that adding hours to our work week will help us accomplish more, but that will take a toll mentally, emotionally, and physically ultimately leading to lower production and other unwanted side effects. Rather than more hours, most of us just need a re-set to our approach to work and how we manage our time.
It was Shark Week this week on The Discovery Channel and, while there is always more to learn about the behavior and anatomy of these fascinating creatures, they also give us some examples of traits that we can emulate to help us as sales professionals. Don’t worry, I’ll try to keep the puns to a minimum.
🦈 Keep Moving Forward. Sharks need to stay in constant forward motion to breathe. If you get hung up on an unsavory encounter with a prospect or any number of challenges that happen during a real estate transaction you may also (metaphorically) be finding it hard to breathe. Overcoming challenges is the name of the game in real estate, so actively practicing ways to not get overwhelmed when the inevitable happens, will ensure that you can keep moving forward to take care of your other clients or prospect for new ones.
Ideas on how to do this: Keep a sales journal to write down what went wrong and ideas of how to prevent it moving forward. By getting it out of your brain and onto paper, you won’t weigh yourself down by holding onto that negative encounter. Practice mindfulness and establish a strong life and work balance. If you’re not teetering on the edge all the time, you won’t be so reactive as a baseline when things don’t go your way.
🦈 Know Your Role. Sharks are apex predators and are very comfortable with their position on the food chain. As a successful sales professional, you are in the apex position of your market. Figure out where your time and energy are best spent for maximum results and then use tools, the power of your team, and outsourcing to accomplish the other items. By trying to do everything, you may dilute your best strengths. Knowing your role within your organization or community will help you dig deeper on what you do best and allow others to do what they do best.
🦈 Sharks AREN’T Mindless Killers. Shark Week illustrates that there is a lot more to sharks than their earlier reputation of being just mindless biting killing machines. Sharks are curious creatures, but they aren’t just biting everything in the sea. In your prospecting and relationships exercise your curiosity about the other person, their experience, and what they want to accomplish. Avoid being the mindless “killing” machine just trying your sales pitch on anyone who will listen and dig deeper to establish a relationship where you can be the one to help them with their real estate transactions for life.
🦈 Don’t Let Fear Stop You. Yes, there are sharks in the ocean and yes, there is a very VERY slim chance that you could meet one while you’re swimming. But you shouldn’t let that small chance stop you from enjoying a day at the beach. Don’t let fear stop you from trying that new tool or prospecting strategy! Being bold will help you keep your place as the apex salesperson in your market!
🦈 Stay Sharp. Sharks have between 5-15 rows of teeth, depending on the species. This means as one tooth becomes dull or falls out, there are many more ready to slide into its place allowing the shark to always have a mouth full of tools to get its job done. You can stay sharp in your profession by carving out time to learn about new tools and strategies that are being used successfully by others in the industry. Read books, listen to podcasts, mastermind with others outside your market, take classes, and attend conferences. Continuous learning will help you to stay sharp!
The June 1 mark has passed and you are likely seeing changes within your inbox with how emails are delivered and facing some challenges with your attempts to reach your audience. Never fear, Dear Reader! We have the tools and strategies to help you stay informed and confident in this new territory and keep your computer out of the dumpster. Use the links and strategies below to learn more about what is going on and how to combat those ever-evolving spam filters from blocking your valuable information from reaching its destination.
Re-authenticate your custom domain. Yes, even if you’ve already done this! Small shifts have happened since the February calls to authenticate your custom domain and it may have altered the authentication without your knowledge. Pop back in and make sure that this is done properly, and our friends at Follow Up Boss have updated the process to make it even easier for you to do!
Make sure you are considering all strategies available to you to fight spam blockers. This includes reviewing your content for keywords that may be flagged and regularly reviewing your numbers to make small tweaks that improve your credibility scores. You can consult our guide here!
Segment your database to ensure that you are only sending messages to the right audience. This means to separate your contacts using stages, tags, custom fields, and Smart Lists so that you can better understand who is receiving your content and for what reason. We teamed up with Follow Up Boss to teach you how to do this during this video.
Search and learn about implementing email authentication protocols like Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) which add an extra layer of security to your emails.
Check your business registration within Follow Up Boss. Ensure all your information is up to date and you have a physical address listed. If that is missing it will also affect your deliverability rates. Use this link to learn more about this feature within FUB.
I attended this webinar on June 27, 2024 and these are my notes:
The real estate industry is ever-evolving. It wasn’t too long ago that we were waiting by the fax machine for the latest listings.
Everything new, everything that changes, is to keep you in the industry at a higher level with what the consumer and the market requires. Don’t let changes scare you into leaving the industry. Be aware of what is going on, look at it as an opportunity and not something to be fearful of.
Just focus on doing the next right thing right. The only thing you can control is getting better every day and make sure that you are always coming from a place of contribution.
Are you showing up like a pro to your buyer meetings? You should show up to a buyer meeting just like a listing meeting.
This is going to be an environment where if you don’t own your professionalism and own your work, you are setting yourself up to fail.
How can I make my agents feel confident in presenting themselves as buyer agents?
If you are confident in what you are doing, you are set up much more likely to succeed.
Make efforts to understand the mind of the consumer and map out a path for your agents so that you are setting them up to be as confident as possible in their unique selling proposition. What makes you be you?
Can you share your unique value proposition in your sleep? Does it roll off your tongue?
Create a roadmap for your agents to lead them down a favorable thought pattern. The anxiousness and nervousness of what is “about to happen” is worse than actually doing it. Start practicing and acting as though the deadlines are already in place for your area.
Five steps to lock down every buyer agreement:
Have a unique selling proposition. Create this and practice your elevator pitch. Everyone on your team will do this differently and that’s good!
Master the materials within your buyer presentation. Put together a powerful presentation, much like you would with a listing presentation in order to confidently educate your potential buyers so that they feel comfortable and confident in you to represent them.
Have something to show your clients. Give them value and a resource and it will be easier to ask for a commitment from your prospective clients.
They turned their four page presentation into a 26-page bound buyer book. They added pages that talk about real estate fees, competing with multiple offers, reviews and endorsements.
They also have a workbook that they bring to the buyer presentation that they give to the buyer that helps them walk through the process and helps them really nail down their goals and what they want to achieve in buying a home.
Make sure you’re taking notes during the meeting. Make a checklist of what your next steps are. Taking notes also shows them that you are invested and paying attention to their detailed needs.
They’ve also created a digital version of their buyer presentation to show on an iPad.
The goal is to have your agents feel confident that they can comfortably represent anyone and handle any situation.
Examples of the buyer guide:
They added pictures of each agent, information about them personally – their likes, interests, pets, hobbies, etc. so these are really personal and helps them to know like and trust the agent.
Even if you’re a solo agent, talk about the people who help you and are part of your team.
Discuss competition openly as well as fees.
Discuss risk management as part of why you need to use an agent. Most people don’t know what to look out for when purchasing a home. The biggest piece of the puzzle that brings value to a client is not open a door or sending e-alerts. The biggest value is helping them to find a property AND get them to the closing table.
When you talk about risk management, it immediately elevates your position.
Each page should be its own resource and you can hit the pages that make sense for the type of buyer you are working with. Merely having a tool like this elevates your position with the potential client.
Add pictures of specific clients with reviews that are tailored to the agent using the buyer presentation. Use the ones that refer to you by name. Show all reviews – especially ones where you solve a problem within a transaction, not just the fluffy ones.
Don’t let the technology scale you out of the relationship part of this business. Work hard on building relationships so that they remember exactly who you are, how to reach you, and how to find you for their next transaction. You want to work with people for their lifetime.
Here’s the workbook preview:
This helps to set expectations and help the client avoid pitfalls up front. This will work for first-time buyers or experienced investors.
Lenders are going to play a big role in moving forward. Ensure that you are setting the stage for everyone to communicate and work together early on in the process: during the buyer presentation.
Go meet with your lender partner and bring your buyers in so you can solidify that you work as a team. Discuss with your lender how to navigate the new landscape of buyer agency so that you are speaking the same language.
Final three steps to lock down every buyer agreement:
You can really show your value by the way you handle the objections that are sent your way. If you are representing someone and there’s an objection, be thankful for it so you can address it now and get everyone back on the same page. “That’s a fair question, I totally understand how you feel. Thank you for bringing that up, do you feel like I’ve answered this well for you?”
Don’t practice on the consumer. Practice with your colleagues, friends, your dog, whoever. Don’t practice live with the consumer. It’s good to get perspective outside of the industry and practice with someone who isn’t in the business.
Accountability. Set up accountability checks and meetings with your teams.
Morning huddles, accountability partners, etc.
Get started NOW. Don’t wait for the deadline to come for you and your area. Start now, practice now, and start using this with your clients now. Waiting until the deadline starts will not be what sets you up for success.
It’s never been a bigger deal for you to know your industry, know your facts, so that you can be the advocate and lighthouse for your clients and community to buy and sell real estate.
Here’s the link if you want to buy the template for these presentations and workbooks, otherwise use them as inspiration to create something similar to wow your new clients! https://www.lockdownbuyers.com/buyeragentpropackage–538ba
From client meetings and property tours to strategy sessions and team management, leading in the real estate industry requires you to wear a lot of hats and use a lot of energy each and every day. The instinct might be to cram every minute of your calendar with activities, believing that a fuller schedule equates to higher productivity. But what if I told you that scheduling less could make you more productive?
Consider the concept of “time blocking” – while it’s effective to a point, overusing it can lead to burnout and reduced efficiency. The key is not just to manage time but to manage energy and focus. By reducing the number of scheduled tasks, you allow yourself more mental space to tackle unexpected issues and capitalize on new opportunities.
Research shows that our brains need downtime to function optimally. Studies have found that periods of rest are crucial for memory consolidation and creative thinking. For real estate leaders, creativity is essential, whether it’s in negotiating deals, designing marketing strategies, or solving complex client problems.
By scheduling less and allowing for breaks, you give your brain the necessary space to process information and generate innovative ideas. This “mental whitespace” can lead to better decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
In real estate, the quality of interactions often trumps quantity. Instead of trying to meet with as many clients as possible in a day, focus on deepening relationships with a few key clients. This approach builds stronger, more meaningful connections, but also leads to higher client satisfaction and loyalty.
When you schedule fewer, more intentional meetings, you’re able to prepare thoroughly and engage more effectively. This leads to more productive conversations and better outcomes for your business.
When you’re constantly moving from one meeting to the next, it’s challenging to maintain focus and productivity. Multitasking can lead to errors and omissions, which are costly in real estate. By scheduling less, you reduce the need to multitask and can dedicate your full attention to each task at hand.
Consider adopting the “80/20 rule,” or Pareto Principle, which suggests that 80% of results come from 20% of activities. Identify the tasks and meetings that truly drive your business forward and prioritize them. Eliminate or delegate non-essential activities to free up your schedule and enhance your productivity.
Working long hours and sacrificing personal time for professional obligations is an unfortunate habit many of us have fallen into in an effort to build our businesses and show our potential clients what great service we can provide. However, a well-balanced life is crucial for sustained productivity and well-being. By scheduling less, you create more opportunities for personal activities and self-care, which in turn improves your overall performance.
Remember that your health and happiness directly impact your effectiveness as a leader. Taking time for yourself can lead to increased motivation, better work-life balance, and a more positive outlook.
When you’re ready to start scheduling less and boosting your productivity, here’s how you start:
Evaluate Your Current Schedule: Review your calendar and identify non-essential meetings and tasks that can be eliminated or delegated.
Prioritize High-Impact Activities: Focus on the tasks that contribute most to your business goals. Schedule fewer, but more significant, activities.
Incorporate Buffer Time: Allow for buffer periods between meetings to handle unexpected issues and recharge.
Schedule Downtime: Intentionally block out time for rest, reflection, and personal activities.
Embrace Flexibility: Be open to adjusting your schedule as needed to accommodate new opportunities and challenges.
Scheduling less isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing more of what truly matters. By focusing on high-impact activities, allowing for downtime, and maintaining a balanced life, you can enhance your productivity and effectiveness as a leader in real estate. Embrace the power of less, and watch your success grow.
I’d be insane to think that you don’t understand the importance of time management, but there is an aspect that is important for us to consider this week that we don’t normally talk about. The importance of practicing what we preach. Our staff, our agents, and any other professional that comes into our orbit learn so much more from observing what we do and how we do it than what we tell them to do. So if we, ourselves, aren’t masters of time management, how can we expect those we coach and lead to be?
The subject of practicing what you preach always makes me think of my Dad. He never talked to me about the importance of showing up, but this is something that has served me well both personally and professionally and I learned it from watching him. Yes, we stayed home if we were truly sick, but observing him never missing a piano recital, a sporting event, a Girl Scout meeting, or work – even when he was going through chemotherapy – taught me infinitely more than what he could ever say to me on the subject. I learned that the act of showing up is important. It builds and strengthens relationships, develops you as a leader, and helps you to get that promotion or land that big client.
So using this same theory here – what are we indirectly saying to the people we lead and influence? Are we telling them that we cannot manage our time and our work during the 40ish hours allotted for it during the week? Do they see us burning the midnight oil, choosing work over our friends and family on weekends? Are we telling them that the expectation is for them to be overwhelmed and reactive with their responsibilities? You may be able to say, “Well, I never TOLD them they had to work nights and weekends!” but the indirect implication that this is expected or encouraged can lead your team toward a path of burnout, careless mistakes, and poor customer service.
Happy staff and agents = happy clients. By modeling amazing time management, you will help them to excel in their responsibilities and achieve that highly coveted work-life balance so that they can feel great about their career and stay with you for many years to come.
Do some self-reflection and try out some of these tips. If this is something that your organization struggles with, you have the power to change it!
💰Understand Your High-Value Activities. High-value client interactions, strategic planning sessions, networking with potential partners. Prioritize the tasks that strengthen and grow your business the most to ensure you’re focusing your time and energy where it matters.
⚖️ Use the Eisenhower Matrix to help you categorize your responsibilities. Draw four boxes and enter your items accordingly:
Urgent and Important: Complete these immediately
Important but Not Urgent: Schedule these on their appropriate dates
Urgent but Not Important: Delegate these to someone else
Not Urgent and Not Important: Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s on these
🗣️ Delegate to Empower Your Team. Delegating not only frees up your time, but it builds trust and fosters a sense of ownership, which boosts overall productivity. It also helps your organization to grow. If you are the lone person within an organization that can do something, they will be completely handicapped if you need to take leave, get sick or injured, or God forbid, go on vacation. Be sure when you are delegating that you give clear instructions and deadlines and be flexible on HOW these items are done. Your way may not be the best way. Replace yourself and watch your business grow!
💻 Leverage Technology. Tools like Asana, Trelly, or Monday.com can help you organize tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. They facilitate collaboration and keep everyone on the same page, reducing the time spent on meetings and following up.
🚀 Automate Routine Tasks. Use tools to automate repetitive tasks and create slides instead of stairs for things like routine email responses, appointment scheduling, and data entry.
🏗️ Have a Structured Schedule. One strategy here is to dedicate mornings to strategic planning and afternoons to client or staff meetings. Blocking your time helps you to maintain focus, minimizes distractions, and allows you to schedule work according to when you can perform your best. If you like to crush it in the mornings, keep your strategic work and big-thinking items early in the day. If you need a while to warm up and rock the afternoons, flip it around. Bear in mind, though, that this strategy only works if you protect your time blocks. If you are regularly breaking your own rules, you’ll soon be back into chaos. Find something that works and commit to it.
🤝 Optimize Your Meetings. Every meeting needs a clear purpose, an agenda, and a strict time limit. Similar to our item above, you have to stick to the agenda once established to avoid wasting valuable time. If you can’t build an agenda, cancel the meeting and actively practice not running over on time. A meeting that runs late sends everyone into reactive mode for the next day and a half and can easily be avoided by sticking to the planned agenda.
🧘♀️ Practice Self-Care and Work-Life Balance. Incorporate short breaks. Drink water. Eat lunch. Regular breaks and taking care of yourself boosts your overall productivity and mental well-being. Be sure to set boundaries between work and personal time. If you’re taking time off to relax and rejuvenate, you will prevent your own burnout and maintain that crusher level status you have for a long time. Modeling this for others will help the overall organization to achieve it as well.
👂 Ask for Feedback and Adjust. It’s easy to get into patterns and habits, regularly review your time management strategies and their effectiveness, and ask for feedback on ways both you and the overall organization can improve. Your team will offer valuable insights from their own experience on how to streamline your processes.
