“I am either at a standstill or so busy I can’t see straight. Where’s the happy medium?”

We are currently coaching and training people who are at both ends of this spectrum, and it reminds us of Charles Dickens famous opening line in A Tale Of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

We have the best of markets, and the worst of markets, simultaneously. Up is down and down is up. Interest rates are the highest they have been in recent memory. Inventory is still historically low, and yet demand is still very real and very persistent. I had to ask someone to repeat when I heard that a recent listing in New England received 90 offers. Did you say ninety? 

When the going gets tough, the weak get going… and the tough get back to the basics.

There is no doubt that the going has gotten tough, and many of the weak are “waking up, smelling the coffee, and transferring back to civilian life.” One major franchise has made a seismic management shift away from recruiting and toward eliminating non-producers.

These are the basics that you can commit to.

If you are at a standstill, the key to building momentum is to have more conversations and connections with the people you know and to ask them about the people they know. At the same time, develop additional specialty sources of listing leads, like probate, seniors, divorces, expireds, distressed properties, etc.

Hone in on your target client. Who are they? Where do they live? What do they like to do? Start speaking directly to them. Are you targeting buyers or sellers? Pay attention to what your messaging says. Stop creating content on social media that only other agents care about. 

Commit to conversations. If you are at a standstill, you have all the time in the world anyway. If you don't track your conversations, start. See what your baseline is. If you need more transactions and you discover you're only having 5-10 conversations each week, start by increasing that number. Tracking your activity gives you data to work with. That data helps you understand where to spend your time (the activities that you will see the highest ROI on!).

Just as important, commit to self-care. You have skills and you have loyal fans. They need you and they need the best version of you. Guard your attitude and protect your peace.

Commit to working on your priorities. Slow down your morning routine to come up with your daily top five things to do. You cannot work on your priorities if you don’t take the time to figure out what they are.  

Put them in writing and do them first before taking on anything else. Complete your circles. In other words, if you start something, finish it. 

Now, if you are so busy you can’t see straight, the key to maintaining your sanity is having more meaningful conversations with the people you know, and asking them about the people they know.  

Whether you are at one end of this spectrum or the other, or somewhere in between, get back to the basics. And the most basic skill in real estate is talking to people. Talk to people you know. Connect with people you know. Follow up with people you know. Message people. 

Now get going.

The Floyd Wickman Team blog by Mike Pallin

PS. Our coaching program specializes in providing you with a space to track your weekly activities (with templates) and share and learn from your teammates. If you're considering coaching, click here.