Organization Tips for Busy Real Estate Agents

As someone who held a few different upper management positions before becoming a licensed real estate agent, there were times when I thought there just weren’t enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished. One example that alludes to real estate was when I ran a fine dining restaurant in a very affluent part of Cincinnati. I handled all the inventory, food and liquor costs, supply ordering, front and back-of-house- hiring, staff training, scheduling, event planning, P& L’s…you name it. The hours were long, but the pay was great, and the environment was fun. It was fast-paced, and every day was different. Everyone had to work efficiently and in concert to keep our guests happy.

This got me to thinking more about the similarities of Realtors and restaurant gurus after reading a great article my colleague had written. Those with an employment background in hospitality are some of the most successful real estate agents I know. They are multitaskers, work long days, longer nights, and even longer weekends, and they are excellent with time management. Most importantly their customers are their highest priority. After all, keeping their guests happy is how they earn a living. 

While chefs, waiters, and the like may not be at the forefront of your mind when you think of organizational skills. On the contrary, many of the operational duties and lifestyles run parallel with that of those in the real estate industry.  Both work odd hours and late nights. Both are the legs on the ground for guests and clients.

The Realtor may be out until 9 pm showing properties, up after midnight writing offers, but still have to make it to that early morning closing. He or she may also have to get the kids up and ready for school before the closing appointment as well. The chef may be working a private event that runs late into the night. However, she still has to be back at the restaurant by 6 am for deliveries. Then throughout the day into the night, she and her staff make sure the dishes are served hot, fresh, and delicious with no one complaining about the wait being long or the soup being cold. What seems to be simple steps to the real estate client or restaurant guest is an elaborate synchronized dance going on behind the scenes. The ease with which things end up being fulfilled is all based on time management. So how do you put your clients first without putting yourself last? Start by organizing your organization.

DEATH, TAXES, AND LOTS OF DOCUMENTS

There is no shortage of documents in the real estate industry. Contracts, addenda, amendments, disclosures, etc. Make sure you know your state’s laws on record-keeping. Certain states require documents to be kept for a certain number of years before they are discarded. Some may be 3 years. Some states are a minimum of 5 years. Using an e-signing platform like dotloop or Docusign certainly alleviates some of the added stress of organizing and filing all of that paperwork. If you are still slinging properties the old-school way and find yourself drowning in a sea of unorganized files, now may be the time to invest in an electronic signature application to keep all those files in line.

BACK IT UP

If you’re looking for a quick way to add some humor to your day, tell your colleague you are going to fax them something, but they have to fax it back since it’s your only copy. All jokes aside, if your office doesn’t offer a server for storage, you should still be backing up your transactions on a cloud server. Whether it’s Google Drive or iCloud, it’s always a smart move to know you have crucial documents backed up should your laptop crash or your office get hit by a meteor. 

AUTOMATE AWAY MESSAGES

Time management is of the utmost importance to keep yourself organized. You may have showings all morning, an inspection report to analyze, a Zoom with your out-of-town clients in the afternoon, a closing to attend then more evening showings. All of these obligations are time sensitive. It’s best practice to have autoresponders to let those trying to reach you know that you are unavailable but will reach out as soon as possible. This will give them the peace of mind that you have received their message and will respond quickly. They know they haven’t been forgotten about. It also avoids undue stress of overlooking a message or forgetting to send something. Once you have your head back on, you can tackle anything that came in while you were indisposed. Make the message personal and not like an AI chatbot (although you may feel like a machine that day conquering all those tasks).

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT?

It’s not surprising that there is an app for just about anything nowadays. Syncing up as many apps as you can (to make them talk to one another is helpful). For instance, if your business requires meeting with out-of-state clients via Zoom, sync Zoom with Outlook so meetings appear on your calendar. This is just one example of saving a step! Our industry has a lot of moving parts, so here are a few other suggestions to organize your busy life in real estate.

Mile IQ

• Track your mileage effortlessly so those tax write-offs are easier next year. It is completely hands-free and starts/stops automatically on each trip you make. No more printing receipts at the gas pump! You were probably going to lose them anyway. 

Hubspot

• Robust all-in-one Client Relationship Management system (CRM) with reasonable pricing (about $45/mo) that can grow with you as your business grows. I don’t know what I’d do without it. They have plenty of free tools to try out first to see if it’s for you.

Refresh

• Our brains are capable of a limited amount of recollection. 150 “meaningful relationships” is the approximate threshold of memory, per Robin Dubar, a professor at Oxford University. This new app (currently only available for IOS) integrates with your calendar to “refresh” your memory based on information from social platforms and saved contacts. Go into that meeting with confidence! You know everything but their shoe size.