Social Media Hacks For Agents

Wade Webb on April 24, 2024

Every Real Estate professional should be on just about every social media platform available. One of the fastest growing social media sites to use in real estate is Instagram. What many agents don’t realize is that Instagram can be one of the most useful tools to grow their business…when used correctly.

social media hacks for real estate agents

Let’s boil down the best Instagram tips for real estate agents. Real estate is a visual industry. The old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” is particularly true in the realm of selling properties. In the age of social media, no platform provides more potential for engagement through imagery than Instagram. But giving Instagram tips for real estate agents can be tricky, because a surprising number don’t even know where to start. This week I’m going to share with you some essential real estate Instagram tips covering everything from setting up your account to scaling your brand. But first, let’s start off by answering a question too many agents are still asking…

Is Instagram Good for Real Estate Agents?

The short answer is yes, but with specific strategies in mind. Instagram’s visual-first approach allows real estate agents to make properties memorable. The platform’s heavy use of location tagging, hashtags, and sharing features make it simple for an agent to gain exposure for their listings, as well as their personal brand. Because real estate is inherently local, using Instagram in a community setting can connect agents with potential buyers and sellers in their area.

How to Create a Real Estate Instagram.

Creating an Instagram account is so easy a child could do it, but don’t rush into it blindly, because you want to make sure that you set up a business account. This will allow you to track analytics, promote posts, and create a more professional appearance. If you already have a profile, you can convert it to a business account. Include a clear profile picture, preferably your professional headshot, and ensure your bio succinctly tells who you are, what you do, and how you can help potential clients. Add a link to your website or a landing page designed for Instagram traffic.

How to Advertise Real Estate on Instagram.

The key to advertising real estate on Instagram is to not look at it as an isolated thing; it’s about marketing your marketing and yourself as well as the property. The cohesiveness of your Instagram page (your brand) will help you far more than any single post. These are the things you want people to advertise on your page:

Your Listings on Instagram.

The quality of your marketing, your authentic personality, your knowledge must all be there. It’s not all about the homes! People want to work with a professional who knows their stuff and is going to get the job done, but they’re also FAR more likely to work with someone who they like and trust. Know/Like/Trust – that’s the name of the game. Strike that balance and you’re golden. I read a Placeter article not too long ago which had some awesome real estate Instagram dos and don’ts and I want to share a few of them with you, as well as add a couple of my own.

Do: Post your own photos & videos.

Your audience follows you to keep up on your listings, hear your thoughts, and see what your clients have to say about your business. By posting your own photos and videos, you emphasize your authenticity and show users that a real person is behind the account, not a corporate firm. Through original photos and videos, you can build trust and rapport with your clients and leads that can help you close more deals.

Don’t: Use or Alter Stock Photos.

If you’re not using beautiful photography and professional video clips then Instagram is not the place for you – and real estate might not be the right business. This is a marketing game, and what you post is not just advertising the home itself but your professional marketing services. Snap a few shots of your listings here and there to stockpile visual marketing collateral. However, stay away from using stock photos. Your followers can spot a stock photo from a mile away, which can easily deter them from engaging with your content, as it isn’t seen as original.

Don’t: Edit the Authenticity Out of Your Listing Videos.

Fixing bad lighting is one thing but avoid using various filters. The point is to show off the home as it is. The last thing you want is for a potential buyer to show up to your listing and not recognize the home because it’s drastically different from the one they viewed online. As always, stay honest, especially with the pictures you post. But with that said…

Do: Use AI to Enhance Your Content.

AI is the tool of the future. This is a time as monumental as the rise of social media or even the internet. You want to be on the cutting edge of it, and AI can help you do so many things such as creating video thumbnails, editing videos, stabilizing shots, fixing audio, adding voice overs, and so much more.

Don’t: Rely on AI Generated Content.

Remember, authenticity is everything. Why would you show off something that isn’t real at all?

Do: Get Past Clients to Participate in Testimonial Videos.

A great way to use Instagram for real estate is by showing your followers how you’ve helped people in similar situations. Getting previous clients to give a testimonial is an excellent strategy to build trust and show professionalism. Most clients will be happy to give a short 15-second blurb on what they loved about your business. Don’t be shy to ask them!

Don’t: Use a Million Hashtags or Inapplicable Ones.

Keep it classy. Using too many hashtags is one of the top social media mistakes. A long list of hashtags can come across as spammy and they take away from the focus of the post. Yes, you may get a few more followers but you run the risk of losing the ones you want and replacing them with randoms. Stick to a few relevant and popular hashtags. Instagram built in a 30-hashtag limit to prevent you from going too crazy.

Do: Automatically Share Most Photos to Facebook & Twitter.

Not every picture or video needs to be shared across every platform, but for most of them, why not? You can easily select which other social media sites you want to share pictures and videos on each time you post.

Do: Show Off Your Personal Side.

It’s okay to show off your fun side – the trick is moderation and knowing when to post such content. Posting a picture of your agency’s annual summer BBQ or a selfie with old clients can do wonders for your image. Just make sure these pictures tie into your day-to-day life!

Don’t: Give Up on Your Account! It Takes Time.

It takes time to build an audience on Instagram. Don’t get discouraged if it’s taking a while to gain followers. Having said that, if momentum is really stalled, it may be time to switch up your strategy and apply the tips we have given you. In time, you will find the kind of posts, hashtags, and post frequency that appeals to the audience you want.

Do: Get Serious About Your Social Media Marketing

Here is the big one… If you want to use your real estate Instagram to drive more business, then you have to get serious about it. One blog post isn’t going to make you the agent influencer in your market. Serious results come from serious plans and those require serious dedication. That said, it doesn’t have to take long… You could get everything you need in just one day. But you do need to step outside of your comfort zone and actually seek out help from those who know the way.

Strength and Courage,

Wade

How To Increase Capacity To Take More Action

Wade Webb on January 26, 2022

realtors increase capacity take more action“I wish I could do more.” I hear that statement a lot from agents. The demands on their time, their skills, and their presence are always escalating, always making it seem like there’s never enough of them to go around. Usually, the emphasis is on the more in that sentence: I wish I could do more. More listings, more sales, more marketing, more emails and calls. The escalation is in outputs, checked-off boxes that make those around us feel better. We end up scheduling ourselves to the nth degree, increasing our activity while not necessarily increasing our accomplishment.

The more that we’re chasing isn’t wrong. It’s part of our journey as we grow, we expand our capacity, and with expanded capacity comes increased output. But increasing our output doesn’t correlate with increasing our impact—sometimes, to do more, we need to do different. There are three steps you must take to expand your capacity to act:

1. STOP Doing Only Those Things You’ve Done Before and START Doing Only Those Things You Could and Should Do – The first step toward success is becoming good at what you know how to do, but once you’ve mastered what you know, you begin to discover other things you could do. Doing what you’ve done before increases your efficiency, but it doesn’t do much for your capacity. Doing new things leads to innovation and new discoveries, which yields new things that you should be doing—things that likely replace those things you’ve done before.

2. STOP Doing What is Expected and START Doing What is Unexpected – Let me go ahead and clear this up: what most people never expect is to have their expectations exceeded. What others define as a ceiling, you define as a floor, and then seek to go up from there. Being an agent who gives in to the inertia of the daily routine, the same old same old, may allow you to be efficient but it will never allow you to be effective. You must push past the minimum and seek to do something beyond what’s expected. Show up early. Stay late. Listen well. Praise more. Reward faithfully. Share willingly.

3. STOP Doing Important Things Occasionally and START Doing Important Things Daily – If it’s important, it’s worth doing. That’s the leader’s mindset. Yet so often we surrender our time to the urgent or the pressing or the “needed” instead of to what’s important. To do what’s not important each day yields nothing for you or your leadership; it merely uses up your time. And to do what’s important only occasionally doesn’t lead to the consistency that compounds into results. You must do what is important daily if you want to achieve expansion in your capacity.

Have you been feeling the pressure to do more as an agent? If so, let me encourage you to intentionally invest time in expanding your capacity to act. Doing the things you should be doing, doing them beyond anyone’s expectations, and doing it daily is the key to expanding your capacity in ways you can’t yet imagine. The world is not made better by our intentions; it is made better by our intentional actions. As business owners, we must do more, but we must do more of what makes us better. We must increase our capacity for helpful and productive action.

 

Strength and courage,
Wade

Is Your Real Estate Branding Causing You to Lose Money?

Wade Webb on January 12, 2022

real estate branding lose moneyHave you branded your real estate business using your name? Does your branding reference what you do, where you do it, and who you serve? Do you have a brand that is hyperlocal or niched based? If not, you are losing potential customers because you are marketing with an ineffective brand. A great brand immediately calls the product to mind. To illustrate this point, how many of these brands do you recognize? The “UnCola,” the “Ultimate Driving Machine,” and the “Breakfast of Champions” (i.e., Seven-Up, BMW, and Wheaties). My personal choice for best-branded real estate brokerage is “Next Home.” Your name: the least effective way to brand your business when most agents and brokerages launch their businesses, they seldom have any training on what constitutes an effective brand. The result is they usually end up branding with their name. Here’s why branding with your name is a poor idea: Please Note: If you are currently branding with your name and have had success in doing so, do NOT disturb what’s working. Instead use the “niched” branding strategies outlined below as additional sources for generating more leads.

1. Interference – Do you have trouble remembering names? Almost everyone does and for good reason. Each day you are bombarded with thousands of names of people, places, products, and companies. All this incoming data results in what psychologists call “interference.” To illustrate how interference works, what did you have for dinner lunch yesterday? If you were able to answer the question, the information is stored in your long-term memory. On the other hand, can you describe what you had for dinner 365 days ago? Chances are you can’t. The reason is you have had 364 other dinners since then.

2. The Ebbinghaus Curve of Forgetting. – Ebbinghaus’s research shows that we lose half of what we learned within the first hour after learning it. Within two days, that number climbs to almost 75 percent. In other words, even if the potential client remembers your name, 48 hours from now there’s only a 25 percent chance they will be able to recall it.

3. Your broker’s brand is usually better known. – Broker brand alongside your brand. My home was heavily prospected by agents sending out monthly postcards. I don’t remember any of the agents’ names, but I do remember who they worked for: Royal Lepage, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, and RE/MAX. Brokerage names are usually more visible due to multiple yard signs, their print and digital advertising, plus all the marketing pieces their agents send out that are branded with the brokerage name. If your brokerage also brands with a name (i.e., Berkshire Hathaway, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, Sotheby’s etc.) it’s even harder for potential clients to remember your name. They’re more likely to remember your broker’s big For Sale Sign as opposed to your name rider.

4. Name branding usually makes a business more difficult to sell. – Branding your business with your name also makes it more difficult to sell. “Wade Webb Realty” doesn’t work as a brokerage name for someone named Tom Smith.

5. No reference to the real estate industry. A strong brand references “real estate” or “properties,” yet many of the major brands have confusing name brands as well. For example, is “Coldwell Banker” a bank? Before Prudential was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway, I had a number of clients who commented, “I thought Prudential sold insurance, not real estate.”

6. No reference to your city, state, province, postal or zip code. – One of the biggest mistakes agents make, especially on their websites, is failure to include the state and zip or postal code where they specialize. To illustrate why this matters, did you know that there are 22 places in the U.S. named “Paris”? Consumers typically search by street name, city, and zip code. Always include these on your website, social media sites, plus any digital or print marketing you do. People don’t remember names, but they do remember features and functions. To illustrate how this works, assume my niche is selling probate properties. If I were to meet you at an open house, you would probably remember me as the blond lady who specializes in probate sales as opposed to remembering my name. When you need me to help sell a probate property eight months later, you will probably remember you met a blond lady who specialized in selling probate properties in Austin. To find me, you would probably enter “Austin,” “probate,” “real estate,” or “properties.” If several agents are serving this niche, you could easily see my profile and identify that I was the agent you met at that open house. Use these steps to expand your branding. Here are the steps to take to make sure leads who don’t remember your name can still find you: Use words or phrases that show you are in the real estate business: “real estate,” “homes,” “properties,” etc.

Reference the geographical location and/or the market segments that you serve. For example, do you have a geographical farm or specific subdivision where you specialize? Do you specialize in specific types of properties such as luxury estates, new construction, relocation, resort properties, second homes, 55+ communities, etc.? Do you serve a specific profession or type of customer? Examples include home-based businesses, seniors, couples in transitions, distressed properties, people who share your religion or politics, charities, clients born outside the U.S., investors, green or environmentally friendly, military, loft living, Mommy Market, golf properties, etc.

7. Putting your new brand to work. – We’re still at a point in time where you can build a strong digital real estate presence at virtually no cost. For example, you can set up a Facebook or Instagram business page for each niche or specialty market you serve. Add as much data as possible to that page and post regular updates. It’s also smart to create a Facebook and Instagram business page for each listing you take. Be sure to include the street address, city, state, and zip code as part of the name. Your clients will share these sites with their friends and followers, giving you free exposure to their contacts. These are also a tremendous conversion tool on listing appointments. In terms of your website, you can set up a separate subdomain that redirects back to your main site, although you can set these pages up to look as if they are your home page. Alternatively, you can also set them up as landing pages. The secret in getting conversions is to provide property reports and other data that would motivate web visitors to give you their contact information.

The bottom line is while it may be tempting to keep using your existing brand, going hyperlocal and having the highly niched branding strategies discussed here will give you a huge advantage when it comes to potential customers finding you, no matter where you meet them.

Strength and courage,
Wade

Agents Boost Most Read Posts For 2021

Wade Webb on January 5, 2022

2021 was another great year for Agents Boost thanks to you our readers. Again we had thousands of visitors from countries all over the world checking out our new and seasoned posts. Out of our years of contributions the 10 Ten read post by our agents for the year were as follows.

1. F.O.R.D. – Learn the Secret to Engage Your Clients

develop self confidence as a realtor with clients

2. Powerful Pre Listing Appointment Questionnaire

Pre listing Questionare

3. The Top 7 Prospecting Methods In Real Estate

real estate prospecting

4. The Secrets to Getting More Offers Accepted in Todays Market

present real estate offers

5. Shocking Real Estate Sales Stats That Will Change How You Do Business

real estate sales statistics

6. Do You Have Systems, Checklists and Processes?

real estate systems

7. The Top Agents Daily Checklist

millionaire realtor check list

8. Getting More Listings In 2021

get more real estate listings 2021

9. Must Read Books For Real Estate Agents In 2021

10. How Do I Schedule More Real Estate Appointments?

schedule real estate appointments

 

Strength and Courage,
Wade

Why Most Real Estate Agents Fail In The Business

Wade Webb on November 24, 2021

why real estate agents failThe real estate profession can be one of the most rewarding for many reasons. A few of the best things I love about being a professional real estate agent is the flexibility of my schedule, unlimited income potential, and of course, helping people with one of the largest transactions of their entire lives.

Most successful real estate agents are able to provide way more benefits than drawbacks of being a real estate professional. One thing that is rarely discussed about the real estate profession is the alarming percentage of agents who fail to succeed in the business. Depending on the source, the percentage of real estate agents that fail in the business within the first 5 years ranges between 85-90%.

When you think about it, nearly 9 of 10 new agents can expect to fail, which is an eye opener. I hear my coaching clients saying they were working with an agent who was brand new in the business. Long story short, the transaction didn’t go as planned and did not close. The buyer’s agent was pretty difficult to work with and certainly didn’t do his client justice with the service they provided which played a significant role in the deal falling apart.

This led me to start asking myself, is this agent going to make it in the business? What could be the reason why the agent isn’t going to make it?

This week we look at the top 10 reasons why real estate agents fail. If you’re thinking about getting your real estate license, are newly licensed, or are a 20 year veteran, you need to keep in your mind why most agents are failing in the business. Being aware of these reasons why real estate agents fail can greatly reduce the chance that you’re going to fall victim to the startling statistic of the percentage of agents failing in the business.

1. They Don’t Work Hard Enough. – Being a successful entrepreneur takes a lot of hard work. It doesn’t matter what industry, starting a business is going to mean long hours and lots of blood, sweat, and tears. One of the top reasons why real estate agents fail is because they simply do not work hard enough. Successful real estate agents work odd and long hours. There are few successful agents who work “banker hours” of 8 AM – 5 PM, Monday through Friday. Being a successful real estate agent means working many nights and weekends and being available via phone or e-mail nearly 24 hours a day. Advice: Find out what successful real estate agents are doing on a daily basis. Learning the habits of top real estate agents can go a long way. It’s no guarantee that what one agent is doing to build their business is going to work for the next, but the work ethic of top agents is often very similar.

2. They Get Involved In Real Estate For The Wrong Reasons. – Selling real estate is not for everyone, end of story. Another reason why most real estate agents fail is because they get involved in real estate for the wrong reasons. One of the most common reasons why people attempt to sell real estate is because they think all real estate agents make boatloads of money. This is a huge real estate myth and actually is the furthest from the truth. The average real estate agent makes less than $40,000 per year. Another very common reason people obtain their real estate license is because they love “looking at houses” or like watching shows on HGTV. Being a successful real estate agent is so much more than being a professional door opener. Becoming a professional real estate agent for one of the two reasons above is not a good idea. It’s important to get involved in real estate for the right reasons, otherwise, you may be another real estate agent that fails in the business. Advice: Make sure before getting involved in real estate that you evaluate why you want to sell real estate. If the answer is that you have a desire to help people with one of the biggest purchases of their lives, than real estate could be a great career for you.

3. They Don’t Save Enough Money To Live On. – Successful real estate agents spend money to build their business because they know how important it is. Whether it’s investing in promoting themselves to their sphere of influence or using top real estate marketing strategies to sell homes, it costs money. Many real estate agents fail because they don’t realize that it costs money to run their business and when they realize it does, they don’t have enough money to live on. Not having money to make car payments, student loan payments, buy groceries, or to buy other necessities is another reason why real estate agents fail. Advice: Before selling real estate, it’s extremely important you have enough money saved so that you can pay your bills and have money to also buy lives necessities. It’s highly recommended that before you attempt to sell real estate full time with no other means of incoming capital, that you have at least 6 months of money saved to pay all your bills.

4. They’re Selling Real Estate Part Time. – Another popular reason why real estate agents fail is because they’re attempting to sell real estate part time. Now, before part time real estate agents lynch me in the comments below, I acknowledge that it’s feasible to be a successful part time agent. The reality, however, is that the majority of part time real estate agents fail to make it in the business. Why do many part time real estate agents fail? Well for one, many buyers and sellers have to decide whether to hire a part time real estate agent or not. Many buyers and sellers will avoid hiring a part time agent at all costs, simply because they’re not readily available like a full time agent would be. Nothing against part time agents, but this is the thought process of many consumers. Advice: If you’re going to sell real estate part time, remember, honesty is the best policy. If you’re interviewing with a buyer or seller, explain to them that you’re a part time agent so that there are no problems in the future. If your full time position allows you to answer phone calls relating to real estate, explain to them that you’re able to answer calls and inquiries. If not, make sure you’re upfront about that as well. Being honest with buyers and sellers about your part time position will get you many more victories than it will defeats.

5. They Don’t Set Goals Or Have Action Plans In Place. – Goal setting and action plans are a critical part of any successful business. Most real estate agents fail because they don’t understand how to properly set goals or create action plans. Successful real estate agents are constantly setting and reviewing goals and action plans. It’s not as simple as setting a yearly goal and not revisiting it until the end of the year. It’s constantly being aware of your progress towards your goals and action plans. Advice: A few of the most important goals for real estate agents to set for themselves relate to their sales. Goals such as the number of transactions and number of sales are obviously important. Other goals and action plans, such as, how many weekly prospecting calls will be made, are also critical. Bottom line, setting goals and action plans can make agents more accountable which, in many cases, will lead to better results.

6. They Don’t Know How To Lead Generate. – One of the best things about being a real estate professional are the numerous ways business can be generated. The problem though is that many real estate agents fail in the business because they don’t know how to lead generate. One common trait of successful real estate agents is that they understand how they’re going to generate new leads for their business. For example, there are many PROs and CONs of open houses, one benefit being that open houses can be effective for generating leads for agents. On the other hand, a successful agent may determine that open houses are not the way they want to generate leads and they’d prefer to get leads through online marketing or social media. The commonality is that successful agents will know how to generate leads which keeps new business opportunities coming in. Advice: One of the first things that new agents should do is decide how they want to generate new leads. Are you the type of person who wants to door knock? Hold open houses every weekend? Utilize Facebook ads to get real estate leads? Whatever the answer is, knowing how to lead generate will greatly reduce the number of real estate agents who fail.

7. They Don’t Understand How Or Where To Market Themselves And Their Business. – A fairly common reason why most real estate agents fail in the business is because they don’t understand how or where to market. There are dozens of places a real estate professional can market themselves and their business nowadays because of the internet. Real estate agents fail because they often use the internet as a “look at ME” venue. There are so many real estate agents promoting on their Facebook pages about their latest and greatest listing or about the number of homes they sold in a week. While this may seem like an effective strategy of marketing themselves and their business, it’s actually a great way to get unfollowed or unfriended. The majority of your connections on the internet aren’t in the market for your new listing or don’t care if you’ve sold 3 homes in a week, however, sharing with your connections helpful information relating to real estate may interest them enough to read it or share with someone they know who maybe making a move in the near future. For example, if you were to share on your social networks a helpful article you wrote on the most important steps to buying a house, there is a much higher probability your friends and family shares your post with their friends and family because it’s helpful, not self-promotional. The same can be said about a helpful video you create for first time home buyers in your area about first time home buyer programs and grants. Advice: Successful real estate agents, those who make it in the business for extended periods of time, aren’t always promoting themselves. Successful agents know the importance of providing value when marketing themselves. In the long run, agents who’re viewed as an authoritative real estate professional will be more successful. As your considering a new marketing technique, always ask yourself, is this going to be helpful for others? Is your marketing piece providing value? If the answer is no, resist the strong urge to use the marketing technique as it may end up making your look foolish or even worse, lose friends or potential business.

8. They Believe That Being Successful In Real Estate Is Easy. – Real estate agents fail to make it long in the business not only because they don’t work hard, but they also believe that being successful is easy. The top agents in any real estate market didn’t get to where they are easily, in fact, they’ve likely worked for years and years perfecting their skills and talents. For example, the top real estate agents in ________ didn’t drink a magic potion that made them multi-million dollar producers. These agents weren’t just “given” business, they’ve earned it. The same can be said in any city in the world. Being successful in real estate is anything but easy. Advice: Even though there is a common misconception that top agents often get to where they are easily, don’t fall for this misconception. Being a successful real estate agent is not easy and also doesn’t happen overnight!

9. They’re Difficult To Work With. – When you’re working in a profession that deals with other people, it’s extremely important that working with you is enjoyable. Another common reason real estate agents fail to make it very long in the business is because they’re difficult to work with. Whether it’s because buyers and sellers don’t enjoy working with an agent or other local agents don’t enjoy working with an agent, being difficult to work with is a surefire way to fail as a real estate agent. Advice: When working with buyers and sellers, always keep in mind that there are hundreds or even thousands of other agents in any given market they could chose to work with. If working with an agent is difficult, it’s easy enough for a buyer or seller to find a new agent that’s easy to work with. An agent who has a good reputation with other agents also has a greater probability of making it in the business. Many real estate agents fail because they’re difficult to work with and other agents will do everything they can to avoid working with them.

10. They Don’t Know How To Overcome The Tough Times. – There are dozens of reasons why real estate markets are different, in fact, markets can be significantly different even if they’re close in proximity. This means that one market could be strong while another is weak. Another reason why real estate agents fail to make it in the business is because they can’t make it through the tough times. While a real estate market is strong, it’s common to see the majority of agents doing well and thriving in the business. Since real estate is cyclical, it’s inevitable that a tough market is in the future, which is when you get to see if a real estate agent is going to fail or not. Many real estate agents fail because they cannot power through a poor real estate market. Advice: Always plan for tough times ahead. It’s extremely important to continually grow your pipeline, number of contacts, and your overall business even during a strong market. Successful agents are always learning and evolving how they can market themselves to strengthen their business further. Bottom line, don’t get complacent during a strong real estate market!

There is plenty of business to go around in the real estate industry. The percentage of real estate agents failing is way too high. It’s extremely important that all real estate agents, whether new agents or seasoned veterans, realize why real estate agents fail. If the number of strong real estate professionals entering the business increased, it would be good for the industry and profession. Stronger agents entering and staying in the business would mean a better experience for buyers, sellers, and other real estate professionals.

Strength and courage,
Wade

Business Plan for the Successful REALTOR© 2022

Wade Webb on November 3, 2021

business plan successful realtor 2022A mentor of mine said to me “agents aim for nothing and hit it with amazing success!” 2021 is wrapping up and what did you aim for? What did you hit? It is the perfect time of year to aim for something in 2022 and hit it with amazing success! So when 2021 begins to wind down you should not wait until the very end to start planning for 2022. This means having a crystal clear understanding of the successes and challenges of your current year, how it impacts your upcoming year, and developing a vision of what you want to accomplish, and how. Many agents aim for nothing every year and most hit it with amazing accuracy!!

I believe you should always start working on your next year strategy months in advance of the new year. This awards you enough time to make an impact on your final quarter, and lay the groundwork for making sure your next fiscal year starts off on a solid footing. For agents who want to achieve greatness, push the envelope, and grow their business through market share, market penetration, paying down debt, increasing sales, profits and cash flow, I urge you to get going now! The way I see things is, if your business isn’t growing, pushing the envelope, thriving, and maximizing profit, then all you’re really doing is suffering a slow death.

Believe me, your competition is fighting the fight every day, and they didn’t wake up in the morning and say “Gosh, golly, I hope I stay even in 2022.” They want to eat your lunch, take your business, absorb your market share and steal your customers away.

Some people might ask me if they should start planning by looking at their competition, and I say NO. Why focus on the competition, instead of focusing on yourself? When it comes to my business, I don’t care what others do. I care about what I do. Recognize your competition for what and who they are, and then put your best foot forward by pushing the envelope in your business. You should approach the new year as if you are going to battle, and for that you should develop a strategic plan.

Business Plan – a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals. A business plan lays out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational viewpoint.

FACT:
LESS THAN 3% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN

FACT:
ESTIMATED 3% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN NORTH AMERICA DO 97% OF THE BUSINESS

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Writing a business plan may seem a daunting task as there are so many moving parts and concepts to address. Take it one step at a time and be sure to schedule regular review (quarterly, semi-annually, or annually) of your plan to be sure you are on track to meet your goals. It is that time of year again when we begin to build our plan for 2020 so let’s look at the key areas of the agent’s solid business plan.

Business Plan for the Successful REALTOR©

Step 1) “Success and history always leaves us clues.”

I began by looking back to identify the clues that have been left for us and the business. I would look at the real estate market first and search for the following clues.

What have the number of sales been doing the last year? 2-5 years? Up? Down?

What have the number of listings been doing the last year? 2-5 years? Up? Down?

What have the average and median prices been doing?

What price ranges are experiencing more activity? Less activity?

What neighborhoods or areas are experiencing more activity? Less Activity?

What property types are selling more? Less?

What buyer types are buying more?

Where are the buyers coming from? Local? Next state or province? Over Seas?

Imagine the targeted and strategic plan you would be able to build for you and your real estate business with this kind of information? Now you are not just winging it. You really know where and what to focus on.

Step 2) Looking At The Present State of Your Own Real Estate Business

What have my sales been doing? Up? Down?

What have my listings been doing? Up? Down?

What is my average price? Can I raise my average selling price?

What is my Gross Commission Income doing?

What is my average deal worth?

Where are my listings and sales coming from? Sources of business?

What types of buyers do I represent?

Where are the buyers coming from? Local? Out of area?

What are my pending sales?

What do I have for potential buyers and sellers?

What is working? What is not working?

What do I need to start doing again? Stop doing?

What if you took the time to really track and measure and reflect on your business at a deeper level and see your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of yourself and your own business?

Step 3) Activity Plans – Take the time to lay out your activity plan calendar a year in advance.

Focus on the activities you know you are good at and you see a return on your invested time and money. I am guessing for most agents it would be your sphere of influence, referrals and face to face or voice to voice activities. Set up a schedule for a month or two in advance of your activities for generating business. What is the activity? When? How? To Whom? Track and measure each of these scheduled activities to help identify the best of the best.

Step 4) Budgeting – Profit is the goal in business.

Knowing what your personal life and your business world cost you monthly is so important. Expense management is just as important as your income and earnings. Have a clear picture of your expenses and measure all of them for their return on investment or if they can be reduced in any way. I understand this my be terrifying for most of us to see what we are spending personally and professionally but it is the foundation of your business plan to know what your personal and professional lives cost and then be able to set a financial target that is enough to cover them both and leave you some profit! So many of us stay away from this and run in a deficit and that is not good practice for any of us.

Step 5) Goals – If your “Why” is big enough the “how” will take care of itself.

What is your purpose? Vision? Values? Mission Statement? Taking the time to know what it is you want and why you want it is a game changer for us all. Nothing gives me more joy than impacting and improving people’s lives personally and professionally every day. I have realized that the driving compelling force in my life is serving others and having the means to create memorable experiences with the people I care about most and nothing else has given me more joy than these amazing WHY’s in my own life.

In my own real estate business, taking the time over the last 25 years to create a business plan has been so incredibly beneficial for me and I know it will for you as well. In today’s post I have given you a brief business plan overview. To help you get going with your own plan I put together a Step-by-Step Real Estate Business Plan Workbook you can download for

Strength and courage,
Wade

Are You Battling With Self Doubt?

Wade Webb on September 22, 2021

realtor battling with self doubtHave you ever felt like you weren’t enough? That no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t silence the negative self-talk that stops you from chasing your dreams and your goals for your real estate career? You might experience imposter syndrome, a nagging feeling that makes you doubt your abilities. Escaping that mind state isn’t easy, but millions of people have done it—and so can you. It starts with identifying who you want to be and letting go of the perfectionism crippling your journey in real estate. I personally struggle with self-doubt and feeling like I am enough more than I would like to accept or admit it. What I have learned from this feeling is we don’t reach success or our full potential until we become the hero of our own life! This week I want to share a few tips to help us all including myself battle the self-doubt, self-worth battle in us all.

 

1. Envision your best self. – All personal growth in ourselves starts with one question “What does my best, most powerful self, look like?” It’s a challenging question because you can’t use someone else as a reference point. It’s not as simple as responding, “I want to be exactly like my mentor or an entrepreneur on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.” Upgrading your life is a deeply personal task. Every little tweak should be intentional enough to move you in the right direction. Instead of modeling your life after someone else’s, identify what makes other people successful. Is it their confidence that propels them forward? Do they have more discipline than the average person? Whatever those superpowers are, write them down. Keep the list close by so that each day you can work on adopting those traits. In the meantime, be patient with yourself. It can take years to identify all the changes you need to make and master new habits. No matter what happens, know that each failure—and they’re bound to happen—isn’t the end of the world. You still have time to correct those mistakes and get better each day. Even if you want to be a nicer person—let’s just say that to keep it easy—you don’t wake up, and all of a sudden, you’re nicer. It takes time, effort and energy from repetitiveness to become that.

 

2. Stop chasing perfection. – Did you know that perfectionism has more to do with ego than wanting everything to be perfect? Most people know that life has its flaws. But the ego has a self-serving agenda and tries to convince us otherwise. It pushes us to believe that if we try a little harder, everything can be perfect. It’s impossible to grow with this mindset, especially when you’re facing self-doubt. The good news is you can beat perfectionism with flexibility. When facing a difficult challenge, reframing the situation stirs those rigid, unproductive thoughts. I [went] from spending two days feeling bad about myself, letting a negative voice come in and hold me back, to the point where now, in real-time, I can say, “ How do I want to respond to this based on the person I want to be?” Here are four steps to reach that point:

  • Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Real growth happens when you’re pushed outside of your comfort zone.
  • Have a learner’s mindset. Take some pressure off of yourself by admitting that you don’t have all the answers. If you’re feeling like an imposter in a room of experts, ask questions. Give yourself permission to grow.
  • Don’t create deadlines for your growth. Becoming your best self doesn’t need to happen by a specific date.
  • It’s a lifelong process, so focus on the journey, not the destination.

 

3. Manage your emotions. – Before you get stuck in feelings of self-doubt, try to regulate those emotions. Ask yourself one question: “What are the things I need to do right now to show up? That could mean you speaking up in meetings, even when you are immobilized by fear. I found being in those meetings extremely detrimental to my self-esteem…. You’re in a room full of people, and you have no idea what they’re talking about, and I felt bad about myself. Then I said, Ok, you have a choice. You can keep coming into this room feeling bad about yourself, you can stop coming into this room or you can admit that they’ve got 15 years on you, and now you can start putting your head down and learning instead of focusing on the emotion you feel badly about. Another part of emotional regulation is taking care of yourself. No matter how busy you are as an entrepreneur, eating well and exercising are two ways to stay in control of your emotions. It’s hard to make good decisions when tired or hungry, so creating healthy routines is vital. I lift weights with my trainer (after resting well), and do my best to be mindful of how certain foods affect my body. Everyone has different needs, though. Be sure to learn your body so you can have an emotionally successful day, stay in control and slowly conquer the self-doubt that’s holding you back and know you are not alone.

 

Strength and courage,
Wade

I Am Feeling Overwhelmed

Wade Webb on September 8, 2021

realtor feeling overwhelmedFeeling overwhelmed is a natural part of life. Everyone occasionally feels overwhelmed by expectations, responsibilities, and a lack of time. The past 16 months have been a huge test on us as Realtors© and being able to handle everything coming at us. However, dwelling on feelings of overwhelm and letting them knock you off course can be detrimental to both your mental health and your productivity. If you find yourself saying “I’m overwhelmed” or feeling stuck with more than you can handle, here are some things to keep in mind to help you get through it.

1. These Emotions Are Natural. In the scope of the Earth’s history, human emotions are a fairly recent development. It’s no wonder we haven’t learned to peacefully coexist with them and end up fighting them on a daily basis. It can often feel like these feelings should be easy to overcome, but feeling overwhelmed is a natural response to having too many things going on at once. It’s your mind’s way of telling you that you need to slow down if you want to live a healthier life. Recognizing that overwhelm is your body’s way of trying to help you through difficult times can help shift the relationship you have with this emotion. Once you recognize it for what it is and invite it in without fighting it, you can begin to work with it to improve your feelings in a healthy way.

2. It’s a Breakdown of Thoughts, Not of Life. Our minds are powerful things, and feeling overwhelmed can feel like the end of life as we know it. In the book, As a Man Thinketh, James Allen says: “As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.” We have the power to manage our thoughts, and as a result, manage who we are and who we will grow to be. This involves making our mental and physical health a high priority. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, your life isn’t falling apart—your thoughts are. Take a minute to find and clean out all your self-deprecating, negative emotions and thoughts. As you do this, you will find yourself feeling refreshed and invigorated with renewed energy to take on the world.

3. Things Can Turn Around Quickly. Maybe you’re saying “I’m feeling overwhelmed” as you face a project at work and don’t think you have the energy or time to finish it. You start letting yourself play out every negative scenario resulting from a failed project. Sitting on the couch and dwelling on these thoughts isn’t going to make anything better. In fact, it usually makes things worse. Things seem to fall in place as you chip away at a project and come to realize it wasn’t as bad as you thought. A good friend of mine always say to me “Things work out most of the time, just not all the time. It’s all good.”

4. You’ve Felt This Way Before. Think about the last time you felt overwhelmed. How did you overcome it? In the end, was it really as bad as you thought? If you don’t learn from past experiences, you’ll find yourself suffering from the same problems over and over. Successful people are the ones who understand that every experience, good or bad, is valuable. Go to a quiet place, and take as long as you need to remember previous times in your life you felt this way and how you overcame it.

5. Your Problems May Not Be as Bad as You Think. The best way to find out how good you actually have it is to take a break from worrying about your own life and do something kind for someone in a worse spot than you. Volunteering at a homeless shelter or orphanage can help put your problems into perspective, and that tight deadline may not seem so overwhelming. Furthermore, acts of kindness can produce oxytocin, which can help you feel better all around. This is vital when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

6. It’s Easy to Keep Doing Nothing. Your situation changes quickly when you start doing something, but it’s always easier to continue doing nothing. The mind generally doesn’t react well to change and will do its best to help you keep doing what you’ve been doing. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, that may mean it tries to make you do nothing. Those who overcome their struggles quickly are the ones who never give up, even when they feel that all is lost. At times, it might feel like there is nothing you can do, but that is exactly when you need to do something. How will you ever know for sure there was nothing you could do if you didn’t try? At the very least, you will find personal confidence in knowing that you did everything you could.

7. Gratitude Can Help Immensely. In a world of people obsessed with putting their best self forward, it’s easy to feel like everyone has more than you. Get that thought out of your head, and remember what you do have. Often, the things you have right now are things you were worried about having in the past. Don’t let an insatiable desire for more blind you from seeing and appreciating everything you have right now. Gratitude can combat feelings of overwhelm by bringing you into the present, which will combat worries of the future. Once you’re in the now, you can focus on what you need to do to get past feeling overwhelmed and overcoming the many things coming at you at once. If you don’t know what to do you’re overwhelmed, take some deep breaths and try to start a gratitude journal: How a Gratitude Journal and Positive Affirmations Can Change Your Life

8. People Want You to Succeed. Remember there are people in your life who want you succeed. Your life touches so many others, and there are people out there rooting for you. These people are part of your support system, and you can turn to them each time you’re feeling overwhelmed. You can call them for a quick pep talk, invite them out for coffee if you need a break, or even ask them for help with your overwhelming list of things to do. The bottom line, feeling overwhelmed is a natural part of life that comes from trying to always take on more than we should. This feeling is difficult to avoid in today’s world, but there are things you can do to reduce those feelings once they do arise. Remember the reminders above whenever you’re not sure how to move forward, and you’ll soon find yourself on the other side.

 

Strength and courage,
Wade

Real Estate Agent Social Media Updates For 2021

Wade Webb on August 25, 2021

real estate social media updates for 2021Social media is moving at a faster pace than ever before. Sometimes it feels like you are finally getting the hang of it, but then the next day, social media algorithms change again. It’s hard to keep up with how quickly social media evolves if you haven’t cultivated a routine that helps you regularly update your strategy. Since 47% of real estate businesses say that social media results in the highest quality leads, it’s important to consistently audit your Instagram and Facebook presence for better engagement, visibility, and lead generation. We recommend updating your social media channels every three months while doing a comprehensive audit every 6-12 months. Luckily, the six social media updates we’ll cover today don’t have to take hours of your time in order to implement. Let’s dive right in.

    1. Make sure your branding is consistent. – Consistency shows how much you care about your client’s experience. Consistency can be measured in terms of how often you post or how cohesive your brand voice and tone are, but we can’t forget about your visual branding. You’ll need a well-established set of visual brand guidelines in order to stay visually consistent on every social media platform. Do you have a defined color palette? Have you selected fonts that look great when paired together? Do you have a library of graphic elements (like patterns, textures, illustrations, icons, etc.) that fit well within your visual brand identity? If you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, you’re on the right track with your visual branding. If not, locate areas of improvement and work with a graphic designer to improve your branding. The more professional you look, the more professional your client experience will feel. So, where should you start? Our first recommendation is to get into the habit of updating your social media profiles any time you update your website. This will give you better consistency over time since your website should match your social media channels. For example, if you have new team photos, be sure to update them on your website and your Facebook banner. If you decide to rebrand your business, update any previous profile photos with your new logo. Think about how you can add more consistency with your branded imagery and content as we move into how to improve your Instagram presence.
    2. Update your Instagram bio. – When someone visits your Instagram profile for the first time, they’ll immediately notice your Instagram bio. It’s front-and-center on your profile and has to be written with your dream clients in mind. Ideally, your Instagram bio will give Instagram users an idea of who you are as a real estate brand, what makes you different, and how you can help them. Oh, and you’ll have to communicate all of this in 150 characters or less. It’s no easy feat! Let us help you by providing an Instagram bio framework you can use as a template. Real estate mention: It should be very clear from reading your bio that you work in real estate. Make sure you include “real estate” or “realtor” somewhere in your Instagram bio. Location: What local market do you serve? You’ll want this information to be front-and-center in your bio. Awards: If there are any awards or notable accomplishments that your team has earned, you can add them to your bio like North Group. These awards give you more authority and credibility. Bio link: Make sure you include a link to your website. If you decide to temporarily link to a new blog post or listing page, be sure to shorten your link with a tool like Bit.ly. Otherwise, you can link to your homepage or a Linktree page for the long term. If you create an Instagram post with the words “link in bio,” you’ll want to either update the link in your bio or update your Linktree page to include the new link. Call-to-action: Instead of only adding a bio link, you’ll want to include call-to-action (CTA) language at the very end of your bio. Emojis: To make your bio really stand out, use emojis as bullet points. Just make sure your emojis are on-brand, relevant, and professional.
    3. Include cover images on your Instagram highlights. – Your Instagram feed will often determine your audience’s first impression of your real estate business, but Instagram stories will make a lasting connection with followers. Instagram stories are used by 500 million users every day with one-third of all Instagram stories created by business accounts. When you add a video or photo file to your Instagram story, it will only be available to view in your story for 24 hours. That is, unless you add it to your Instagram highlights. Instagram highlights allow you to save selected stories for public viewing at any time. All users need to do is locate a relevant highlight cover to begin viewing the curated collection of stories. It’s best to create a strategy around what you want to create Instagram highlights for and how they can be useful to your followers. Think about what content your audience is looking for and how you can communicate what your highlights are about through custom cover images. Ready to utilize Instagram highlights? Here’s how to create your first one: Go to your Instagram profile and click the “New” button with a plus sign right underneath the “Edit Profile” button. Once it opens, select past story videos or photos you would like to feature by tapping on the ones you want to add, which shows a blue checkmark when clicked. When you’ve selected your featured stories, click the “Next” button in the top right corner and give the highlight a new name. Make sure it is short enough to read on your profile. Then edit the cover image by clicking “Edit Cover” underneath the circle-cropped photo.
    4. Add a variety of Instagram content. – Updating your Instagram profile is important, but updating your content strategy is even more important. Posting consistently shows how much you value educating your followers and building a community. Since Instagram is a fast-paced social media platform, you need to provide a variety of content types to stay engaging and interesting. Now that your Instagram story highlights are set up, let’s talk about your feed. Instagram has gone on record to say photos and videos are equal in terms of how they prioritizes posts in the algorithm. This means adding long-form IGTV videos, Instagram stories, and Instagram feed photos are all needed in creating a well-rounded, engaging Instagram presence. Instagram says their post rankings come down to six main factors: Interest, Relationship, Timeliness, Frequency, Following. Usage.  You can read more about how your Instagram feed works here, but remember these factors as you update your Instagram content strategy. Let’s start brainstorming new content ideas for your Instagram feed. Add animated graphics to capture more of your audience’s attention than a static image can. Include team-focused content of group meetings, team retreats, volunteer events, and more. Record video interviews with your team members so Instagram followers can learn more about the people behind your real estate brand. Create a photo slideshow with relevant statistics that will better educate your audience. Host an Instagram giveaway during a special event or holiday to help you increase brand awareness and give to your local community.Share behind-the-scenes photos of video shoots, virtual tours, and more for a day-in-the-life look at your team’s work. Celebrate work anniversaries of each team member with a dedicated video, like this example from North Group which features personable photos and kind affirmations from other team members. We hope these ideas will inspire your own Instagram content strategy. If you need to make additional updates to your strategy, here are 7 things to master when improving your Instagram presence. Once you have this nailed down, we can start talking about your Facebook presence.
    5. Edit your Facebook bio. – When updating your Facebook bio (or “About” section), the good news is that you don’t have as many character limits as Instagram. You’ll have more room to explain the mission and specializations of your real estate business. Even though you have more creative freedom, you don’t want to make your Facebook bio too long to read. It should be easy to skim as someone scrolls through your profile. Keep it simple by introducing who you are, what you do, and how your real estate brand is different from others in a few short sentences. Make sure you keep jargon terms to a minimum so you can better connect with clients who may not have a previous understanding of real estate. Think about how to simply communicate what you do. You may also choose to add awards and other accomplishments in the “Awards” section on Facebook to strengthen your bio.
    6. Increase your credibility by asking for Facebook reviews. – Did you know when someone visits your Facebook page, they see your recommendations and reviews before they can scroll through your Facebook posts? That is Facebook’s way of telling us that reviews are incredibly important on their platform! More than Google or Yelp, Facebook is the number one website consumers use to review and recommend businesses. This is because people typically trust recommendations when they come from family or friends. The same is true since 70% of people still trust recommendations from like-minded people they don’t know. Facebook, then, is the perfect place to boost your reviews, especially when you are using Facebook ads to promote your listings. If you have hundreds of reviews on home search sites like Zillow, ask past clients to leave a review on Facebook too. It tells Facebook that your real estate brand is trustworthy and experienced. Once a past client leaves a review on your Facebook page, be sure to like and comment on it with a personal thank you message. It will not only improve your relationship with your past client, but it will also show others the kind of care you put into every client’s experience. 92% of consumers consider reviews when purchasing a product or service, and the average consumer reads around 10 reviews before making a final purchasing decision. Do you have at least 10-15 reviews on your Facebook business page? If not, follow up with past clients and kindly ask them to review you on Facebook. You can also give them an example of a past client testimonial if they’re looking for help on how to write a review. These reviews can then be repurposed into client success stories which you can use for quality social media posts and website features. This is the best way to build a sustainable real estate marketing plan that you can easily update over time.

Take the time to dig into each of these social media updates and let me know how some of these work out for you in the future. To your success!!

Strength and courage,
Wade

Energy and Productivity Boosters For Realtors© in 2021

Wade Webb on August 4, 2021

Energy and Productivity Boosters For Realtors© in 2021Hey everybody it’s Wade Webb, the author of “The Lazy Realtor,” and the founder of AgentsBoost. Over and over again, I get the feedback from so many different Realtors© feeling that they’re just frustrated and they just can’t feel like they’re getting any results and they’re getting anywhere. They’re putting in the time, and putting in the effort, but they’re not just feeling the results. So, one of the things I want to share with you this week is “Productivity Boosters.” And I’m going to share with you 8 of my favorite productivity boosting ideas.

One of the things I want to start with is, just go back to one of my favorite books is Tony Schwartz’s, “The Power of Full Engagement.” Tony Schwartz really shares an epiphany for me of the importance of energy management vs. time management. And really top producers and people that are excellent at what they do are really skilled in managing their energy and not really worrying their time management. So, imagine if you could keep yourself at a peek state, if you’re well rested, if you’re well fed, if you’re well exercised, if you’re fine-tuned, and you have tons of energy, and you’re effective in being able to execute at a higher level, and not focusing on your time management, but focusing more on your energy management.

So the key to most top producers is to think about your energy management and keeping yourself at a peek state. It’s so difficult to keep us enthusiastic and passionate; being rejected on a daily basis in real estate, and these productivity boosters, I hope will keep you at that peek state and boost your through those productivity downturns.

So first tip for me: Taking the time to book my time off, before I book my time on. And what I mean by that is, that, Jim Rohn said this, “finish your week before it begins.” He talked about the importance of scheduling time for yourself. You are your most important commodity, you are the most important thing, productivity and your personal growth is key. Booking those times in for when you exercise, when you read, when you’re getting fueled, when you’re getting feedback , encouraged, and mentored. Those are key times and to book those times in. Then, the most important people in your life are next. When are your holidays? When are your vacations? When are you spending time with your spouse? Date nights? When are your children and their activities with them booked in? When are you taking time to book that fun time in, and spending time with those people that you care about the most? So, if you don’t book those times in for yourself, for your spouse, for your friends, for that fun, something else or someone else will take that time. So, take that, and book that time on before you book time off.

Tip number two is this: Single task vs. multi-task. Gary Keller wrote a great book last year called, “The One Thing,” he talked about how you should focus on that “one thing.” What it is that you’re gifted at? What do you do really well in real estate? What can you do over and over again, all day long and never gets tired, never gets old. Think about what activity that is, and how much time on that activities each and every one of your days? Are you spending but none of these tasks that are boring, or are you spending time doing the things were you’re gifted, your talent, and your energy level is just at a peek state, because you’re just good at it, and you find it just so fun and focusing on that “one thing.” So, single task vs. multi task, they’ve proven that productivity is reduced exponentially by 50% if you’re multi-tasking vs. single task. So, discover what that one thing is, and single task can focus on that one thing that you’re good at.

The third thing I’m going to talk about is reducing distractions. We’re distracted every 11 minutes every day, that’s a third of your day being tied up and keeping you off track by distractions. So, do you have your space, or place of work? Do you have it controlled? Do you have your phones off? Do you have it on “do not disturb?” Are you in an area where you can concentrate and focus? Or are you in an area where you’re getting distracted with small talk with your peers? Are you getting asked to go for coffee? So, control your environment to allow you to focus to be productive, and to be able to have a higher return of investment is key in reducing those distractions.

The fourth is this: When tying your shoes, do you stop and think about whether you should do the right shoe or left shoe first? No, it is a Habit. Do you think about whether to brush your teeth before you shower or after you shower? No, it is habit.

A study at Duke University found that more than 40% of what people do every day is not deliberate but a habit. Identify some of your counterproductive habits and really focus on what you can do to replace and create stronger, better and more effective habits in your personal and professional lives. The definition of Insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Stop the insanity! One simple example would be; watch T.V or read a book instead, just try it!

The fifth is : We have all heard the sayings “Time is money” or “Work smarter not harder”. I am teaching my coaching clients and top producers to constantly be seeking ways, tools and devices to make their efficiency levels higher than ever. Here are some of the Top 5 Real Estate productivity Apps you might want to test out for your own business. BombBomb. Snagit. Slide Shark. Docusign and Clear. Feel free to comment below and let me know what some of your best Apps for productivity in your real estate business are!

The sixth is: Are we getting enough sleep? Do you get up at the same time every day? Do you take time to be quiet and meditate? Do you block regular time to exercise? Are you drinking water all day to cleanse your body? Are you eating 4-5 small meals a day? Personally I go to bed the same time every evening and wake up the same time every morning. I have hired a personal trainer to keep my exercise and strength regiment consistent as well my favorite new tool to maximize my energy is an App called MyFitnessPal which helps me make so many better choices when eating out or eating on the run, it is amazing!

The seventh is: In today’s new world of google, social media, smartphones and 24/7 news media, it is not surprising many of us have become addicted to information and noise. Personally, I struggle as a people person to not react all the time to my smartphone and struggle every day to not be constantly reacting and responding to someone else. I do my best to come home and try to just turn it off and remind myself, everything else on the list can wait till the morning. Easier said than done for me. Identify the top 3 high jackers of your time, energy and attention that pull you off task, bring you down or hinder your ability to focus and be in the moment. Implement awareness and strategies to shut those high jackers down.

The last tip in the productivity boosters I want to give you, is to be able to systemized and put yourself on auto-pilot. One of the tips I learned was “3D Technique.” To ask myself, each and every one of my activities and spending my day doing, “should I be doing this myself?” “should I be delegating this?” or “should I just be living and just dumping it?” So that’s the “3D Technique.” So, 85% of as good as you do it, giving it to someone else, is really good. Because you’re systemized, and you’re freeing yourself up to do what you do best. What you do, what gives you best returning your investment of your time and your energy and management.

So those are some of my “Productivity Boosters, I hope that you’ll take the time to implement just one of these ideas, and take your business and boost it to the next level, and take your production, your energy level and your passion, and just boost it to the next level.

Strength and courage,
Wade