Author: Kelly Cruz, Marketing Coordinator – Realty Partners LLC
Sarasota, FL. December 22nd, 2021 – Real estate tends to pull REALTORS® into several different directions. Agents sometimes find themselves disorganized and stretched a little too thin. Work can get in the way of personal life and tax season can be daunting. The real estate business is hard work, and it is important to stay organized to work efficiently. Keep reading to learn how you can become more organized in your business.
A clean space supports a clear mind so keep your workspace tidy. It’s important to know where everything is so you can work quickly. If you still use paper contracts and the like be sure to keep them filed accordingly and keep them easily accessible. Don’t waste time digging around searching for things you need. The mindset here is to work smarter not harder.
Schedule your on and off work hours. Don’t let work get in the way of your time with your family and your personal life. Use a calendar scheduler such as Google Calendar and book your weeks in advance. Block off your personal time and stick to it the best that you can. We know this isn’t always possible with closings etc. but at the very least it will help you to make time for things outside of work. If you don’t want to answer calls after certain hours, then consider setting up your voicemail to include your working hours and mention that you will return their call the next business day.
Everything is going virtual these days which makes it much easier to limit and organize your paperwork. Programs such as DotLoop work as a virtual filing system for your transactions. You can upload contracts and other documents for virtual signature and submit them to review by your broker directly through the system. Create folders for all the other documents that may not be related specifically to your contract; folders such as Admin & Marketing.
Tracking your expenses in real time will save you a world of trouble when it comes to tax season. There are a lot of apps out there where you can easily upload receipts, track mileage, create expense reports and much more. A very popular expense tracking app on the market is Google Smart Receipts. Another thing to consider is to have a separate bank account and credit card for business use only so you can easily track your expenses.
A CRM is important for keeping track of your communication with buyers, sellers, and prospects. Be sure to track all your interactions under your leads so if you have a prospect following back up with you a year later you will be able to pull up all interactions you’ve with just a click or two. It also helps to have notes for following up with past customers or prospects to see if they are ready to buy or sell yet. One of the most robust CRM’s on the market which also includes various marketing tools is KvCORE.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Many agents hire assistants or transaction coordinators to take some of the workload of their plate and keep them organized. The Real Estate Help Team offers transaction coordination and listing coordinating services at a competitive rate. They can service you from pre-listing to contract to closing. They also offer MLS Data Entry Services to keep your MLS listing accurate and up to date.
Becoming organized will do a great deal of service to your business as a REALTOR®. Schedule your hours accordingly, track your expenses and customers, file your documents, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Real estate can be overwhelming at times but if you implement a few of these tips you will see how smoothly and efficiently you can run your business. Remember, work smarter not harder.