Time Management Time With Fellow Realtors

Thursdays With Melanie & Company
In the real estate world -- just like any sales and marketing career -- there are seminars to attend, referral networks to maintain, and countless personal planning sessions offered.
At last week's Trilanders think-tank, a group of Royal LePage Realtors gathered to remind ourselves of what we already know, but need to keep top-of-mind. Time management skills can be nurtured and then ignored, perfected and then not always relied upon.
At the end of the day, a Realtor must be structured, but then the phone rings and I run.
Name dropping all those in attendance last week: Melanie Pearce, Peggy Stewart, Dianne Hanbidge, Kelley McIntyre, Nicole McKenzie, and Hazel Sinclair, we all realized that agents need a game plan and these defined -- but individual -- guidelines should be adhered to. In other words, what works for me, might not be a successful playbook item for someone else.
The common thread, however, surrounds being organized and structured. One person said they actually turn off their computer (email and social media access) and cell phone for about four hours midweek to literally break down everything on their schedule and set priorities. They 'block' this time.
One of the main reasons to have effective systems in place is that when you're busy, you're in theory still finding time to find new business -- prospecting.
I have a program called Top Producer, which I use extensively, and it's more than just a database of names, addresses and phone numbers. This so-called alphabetical 'sphere of influence' includes contacts from my years as sports editor of The Sentinel-Review, friends from the Lions Club and Cancer Society's Relay For Life, the city's recreation advisory committee, my past involvement with the local sports celebrity dinner, past clients, and hopeful future clients. It sounds cliche that it's a fluid list, but right now when I'm preparing to deliver or mail 2012 client calendars, I spend a lot of time with address labels.
Back on topic here, when the job description of a Realtor is looked at, it includes many roles: marketing expert, statistician, internet analyst, writer and researcher, desktop publisher, amateur inspector (hire a pro when you sign a conditional offer), communicator, negotiator and photographer. The interesting connection with a camera is usually the agents who can take the best pictures themselves therefore know the importance of depicting a property, especially online, so they usually also go the extra mile to hire a pro with a tri-pod and software to create a virtual tour. If you're thinking of hiring your 'friend' the Realtor to sell your house, look at their listings on www.Realtor.ca to determine if that person should be interviewed for the job.
Getting back to Thursdays With Melanie (You've heard of Tuesdays With Morrie), one rep discussed how she colour-coded her lists of email connections -- clients, lawyers, inspectors, mortgage reps, other agents, etc. Another good idea was to set the time of day that your emails are sent out, and what type of drip marketing materials are available through the company's local and national internal websites.
The bottom line, when you're self employed or an independent contractor -- and I am (I get paid solely on my own sales) -- it's easy to convince yourself that you're busy. As I type this, the Leafs are playing on the tube, but I hardly realize they have scored a pair to even up the score by late in the third period. I will, however, take a break and watch the overtime.
By the way, if you would like to receive a 2012 desk calendar from me, simply email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
If you're thinking of selling or buying in the near future, call me today at (519) 537-1553. If you want to explore another city for a possible move, call me first as I have many 'network' Realtors.
Since I haven't perfected my time management, I will now finish spell-checking, then walk away from my keyboard and get back to those address stickers.