Use the “Four D’s” to Master Your To-Do List
Let’s face it—between all the emails, text messages, phone calls, social media posts, prospecting, showings, and prospecting you’re expected to do, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Managing all this
incoming communication and information is virtually impossible without a system.
Here’s a tried-and-true method that has been around for years that works well for both paper and digital communication. The system is called the “Four D’s.”
Here’s how it works. When you receive any type of communication whether it’s a voicemail, email, social media posts, etc. immediately decide what to do with it. You have four choices
- Do it (deal with it) now.
- Delegate: Reassigning work is one of the most efficient strategies of time management, provided that the person you’re delegating to has the skills to handle the job.
- Defer: It’s best to handle items as they come in, but that’s not always possible. If something is not time sensitive, you can defer it, but be sure to schedule a date to handle the item to make sure it gets done.
- Delete: Learn to say “No,” and eliminate junk emails, meetings that are neither urgent or important, or anything else that keeps you from focusing on the core activities that matter most to your business.
This system really works—try it out for yourself and see.
Take a Break!
Are you constantly feeling worn down by the stress of today’s market or other issues? Do you constantly consume caffeine or sugar to crank up your energy?
A simple way to improve both these issues is to take more breaks. A break consists of brief activity that differs from the main activity you are doing. In fact, taking ten-minute breaks every 60-90 minutes allows
you to maintain peak attention and performance.
The challenge is that many people confuse diversions with true breaks. For example, playing computer games is a diversion since it doesn’t take you away from your computer. Neither is talking on the phone since your phone is so closely tied to your work.
A better choice would be to take a quick walk outside, have a snack, or do something that takes you away from your computer or mobile device. The key in taking a break is engage in an activity that puts you in a different place doing a different activity.
Ten minutes is all it takes, but you’ll be more alert and accomplish more when you return. Try it for a week and see how it works for you!
It’s Time to Rewrite Your Marketing Materials
Here’s a great way to upgrade all of your marketing materials that will definitely help you to generate more leads.
- The first step is to print out a copy of all your marketing materials, whether it’s postcards, a newsletter, your website, social media ads, etc.
- Next, take a red marker and circle each time you use the word, “I” in the ad copy.
- Now go back and use a different color marker to highlight how many times you use the “you.”
If you’re like most agents, you will have a lot more “I” language than “you” language.
The secret to generating more leads from your marketing efforts is to be focused on your customer, not on you and your accomplishments. The simplest way to do this is to shift from using the word “I” to using the word “you.”
Always remember to stay focused on the question that matters most to your clients: “What’s in it for me?”
Use the Ten Percent Rule to Stay Profitable
One of the most important business principles is to track not only how much you make, but how much you keep after expenses.
To illustrate this point, I was once at a conference where the speaker said that he made $1 million in commissions. When he was asked about his marketing budget, he said he spent $950,000. Needless to say, this agent wasn’t managing his resources well.
To avoid falling into this trap, limit your total marketing budget to 10 percent of your gross commissions. If your income increases, you can spend more. If it decreases, cut back. This simple approach is one of the smartest ways to keep your business profitable.
Stop Making the Real Estate Business Look Easy
Many agents do their best to not upset their clients when something goes wrong while they have a property under contract. The result is that most buyers and sellers have no idea how much we do to not only market a listing, but to put it under contract, and get it closed.
A key example is what happens in multiple offers. The seller may think that all you had to do is to put up a sign and then put the property on the MLS. If you get 10 offers, however, you’re now doing ten times
the work on the negotiation process. On the buyer side, they may put in 5-10 offers before they finally are able to purchase.
Moreover, when properties sell over asking price, the appraisal comes in low. This often causes the buyer to cancel or ask for a price concession. Managing low appraisals and ultimately closing takes time and extremely strong negotiation skills.
In each of the examples above, we don’t get paid until the transaction closes. In other words, many times are we are working very hard and never getting paid.
This is why it’s important to let sellers know what is really going on during the transaction. Explain all the forms. Let them know the appraisal may come in low and discuss strategies for dealing with that.
The better informed your clients are on the services you provide, the more likely they are to value you as an agent, pay a full commission, and send you future referrals.