Have you ever said to yourself…
If I only had more hours in the day.
If I only had someone to do all this for me.
I need more technology so I can keep up.
Let me be the first to tell you don’t need more hours in the day, someone to help you with all the tactics or invest in more technology. There is no magic bullet to getting more out of your day and please for the sake of your own spirit quit spending money on new technology or marketing ideas until you understand one core concept fundamental to every entrepreneur’s success.
You don’t have a technology problem. You have a thinking problem.
Michael Gerber, author of the eMyth asks “Are you working in the business or on the business?” Sadly for most real estate professionals they are working on the business leaving their day passively up to others’ wishes and commands rather than taking a proactive position to separate themselves from the day to day operations.
Take a pause to truly understand all of the services you provide, daily tasks, and start to map out everything. Once you see how many things you actually do then the bright shiny light bulb will hopefully tell you that you can’t do everything yourself.
What happens is that when you create the road map, process, and job descriptions you start separating yourself from the business so you can focus more on client relationships, prospecting, and networking to build your business.
Here are some tools that will help you get in control of your business for 2013 and stop the “being overwhelmed” excuse forever.
Start with the end in mind and start planning every aspect of your business on a mind map so if you were to show it to someone else they would know exactly how your business is structured from an organizational standpoint. For example the center would be the name of your business that branches off into categories of service for buyers, sellers, relocation, for sale by owners, new construction, etc. Then from each category you can list each activity that you are responsible for that you would either do yourself or delegate to someone else.
This online flowcharting tool will help you create the process of your business. A flowchart or process map is different from a mind map in that a flowchart shows the relationship of how multiple people are responsible for the goal at specific points in the process to make sure it is completed as part of a system. The more you can process out your activities the more you can start stepping away from doing each one of the activities. If you have an iPad download the app called Grafio. This tool creates the process maps which allow you to save as PDF, JPEG, or file format someone else can manipulate.
Evernote is the ultimate note taking and client service tool for real estate professionals. When you create an evernote on your phone, iPad, or laptop it automatically synchronizes with multiple devices and shared with invited participants. One overlooked way to use Evernote is to create job descriptions for each person involved with your business. It is hard to select a graphic designer, SEO specialist, server maintenance specialist, copywriter, affiliate coordinator etc. when you don’t have job descriptions prepared for each person. When you write the job description in Evernote each note becomes a link you can include on your virtual assistant job description posts so you don’t have to go searching for them when you need it. They are stored in Evernote for whenever you need them.
In summary, you don’t have to be an expert at everything. The one thing you have to be an expert in is selling real estate and do that better than your competition. It makes me ill when I see agents hovering over the latest gizmo or marketing tactic to find themselves getting too busy to actually implement what they already have.
Be the best at selling real estate but also be the best at managing your business as an owner, not an employee of your business. Learn skill sets such as time management, project management, and systems management so you can work on the business more than you work in the business.
How do you move a mountain?
One rock at a time. These tools will help you get back in control of your life and your career.
Add comment