“What should I do today?”
That’s a question that should never be asked by a real estate agent.
We are in control of our businesses! If you run your business like a business, you have a plan. And a well-defined business plan forms the foundation for strategic time blocking, ensuring you spend your time on activities that drive deals.
Successful agents know what lead generation tactics bring them deals—and they consistently execute the tasks associated with those tactics.
I can almost hear you saying, “Easier said than done,” but listen – getting organized is important. Today my goal is to prove to you that it can be easier than you think.
Step 1: Identify Recurring Tasks from Your Business Plan
Start with your business plan and create a list of all recurring tasks from each lead pillar. Then, label each task either daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
Last week, we completed a business plan exercise for Emilie, a new agent on my team. Here is what this step looks like for her.
Daily:
- Track key metrics and database management
- Post and engage on social media
Weekly:
- Weekly email marketing to SOI
- Create social media content
- Host 1 Open house per week
- Role play circle dial scripts
- Circle dial before Open houses
- Role play Open house follow up scripts
- Follow up with Open House attendees
Monthly:
- Send key contacts Birthday, Home Anniversary, and key Holiday Cards
- Plan social media content
- Monthly Direct Mail to SOI
- Plan and practice Buyer seminar presentation
- Host Buyer Seminar
- Follow up with Buyer Seminar attendees
- Attend 1+ networking event per month
- Monthly email marketing to Networking contacts
Quarterly:
- Quarterly Pop Bys for SOI
- 3+ home-related touch points per year for SOI
Step 2: Creating a Weekly Schedule
Now let’s get this into a schedule. Start by sorting the list by daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. Next, add an estimated time commitment for each task.
Daily Tasks:
- Track key metrics and database management – 1 hour
- Post and engage on social media – 0.5 hour
Weekly Tasks:
- Email marketing to SOI – 1 hour
- Prep and Host Open house – 2.5 hours
- Role play circle dial scripts – 0.5 hour
- Circle dial before Open houses – 1 hour
- Role play Open house follow up scripts – 0.5 hour
- Follow up with Open Houses attendees – 0.5 hour
- Create social media content – 2 hours
Let’s take a pause and see where we are so far every week. If you take these numbers, you see that Emilie only has 1.5 hours of daily maintenance and 8 hours each week of recurring tasks that she needs to execute to stay on track. That is under 10 hours a week to put into time blocks. This leaves plenty of time for calls, appointments, touring homes, managing escrows, and doing all the other client-facing, income-producing activities.
Step 3: Adding in Monthly and Quarterly Tasks
Now let’s zoom out to the entire month and tally up the hours for her recurring monthly tasks.
Monthly Tasks:
- Send key database contacts Birthday, Home Anniversary, and key Holiday Cards – 0.5 hour
- Monthly Direct Mail to SOI – 1 hour
- Plan social media content – 1 hour
- Plan and practice Buyer seminar presentation – 1 hour
- Host Buyer Seminar – 1.5 hours
- Follow up with Buyer Seminar attendees – 0.5 hour
- Attend 1+ networking event per month – 2 hours
- Monthly email marketing to Networking contacts – 0.5 hour
These monthly tasks take up only 8 hours. To incorporate these tasks into her schedule, Emilie only needs to add a weekly 2-hour time block and plug in these monthly tasks. Last up is to add the recurring quarterly tasks.
Quarterly Tasks:
- Pop-bys for SOI – 4 hours
- 3+ home-related touch points per year for SOI – 2 hours
The 6 hours that these quarterly tasks will take can be incorporated into a single day in the quarter.
This is simple, intentional and effective! Did I convince you that this is easy and can be done?
