by Bernice Ross
Inman News
Taking a vacation may sound like a crazy way to increase your business, but surprisingly, it works!
Most experienced real estate professionals know whenever you plan a vacation, your business immediately picks up just before you leave.
I never really understood this phenomenon until I learned about the principle of attraction. In essence, before we can attract something better in our lives, we must first create the space for that improvement.
For example, there’s no room for a shiny new convertible as long as that old junk heap is sitting in your garage. In terms of real estate, when we’re carrying over-priced listings, when we’re working with unqualified buyers, or when our schedule is too packed with other commitments, there’s simply no room for anything better to come into our lives.
When we plan a vacation, there’s empty space in our schedule. What happens? Nature abhors a vacuum and new business magically “appears.”
While vacations are great, few of us can afford to take an extended vacation more than once or twice a year.
A second strategy to increase your business is to take time off each week. Many of us are workaholics. We feel guilty when we take time off. When we do take time off, we still take business calls or we are not 100 percent present because our minds are still focused on business.
In my own case, my coach nagged me for months to schedule time off for me. What completely surprised me was taking time off from real estate actually caused my productivity to increase. Better yet, most of the annoying people in my life amazingly disappeared.
The principle of attraction also says, “We attract who we are.” When we’re tired, stressed out or running on adrenaline, we’re going to attract people who are just like we are—no fun to work with. If you want clients who are calm, you need to be calm. If you want clients who aren’t constantly “losing it,” you need to be someone who is cool and collected.
In the “Power of Full Engagement,” Loehr and Schwartz argue business productivity works exactly like the muscles in our body. To build muscle, you stress your muscles, rest, and then stress them again. This builds muscle mass. The same is true when it comes to our energy. To achieve maximum productivity, we must stress our energy muscles, take a break, and then return to the stress again. This actually strengthens our ability to “lift” whatever our environment requires us to carry. Consequently, to build our ability to carry more production, we must do so by combining hard work with regularly scheduled rest periods.
While creating time off may seem challenging at first, here are eight strategies to help you exercise those “time off” energy muscles.
1. When scheduling your activities, do what is most difficult first. This creates space by freeing you from worrying about what you dread doing.
2. Funnel all your telephone messages into one voice mailbox so you only have to make one call to check your messages. Check messages hourly on your schedule, not based upon the urgency of clients and other agents.
3. Under promise and over deliver. Create less stress by allowing yourself more time. For example, if you think you can complete a CMA by this afternoon at 5 p.m., tell the seller you will have it tomorrow by 5 p.m. If you finish early, you look great. If you need more time, you’re not stuck making apologies or excuses.
4. Schedule a minimum of one day off per week. Pair up with someone else in your office so you can cover each other’s days off. If you can’t schedule a full day, handle business matters first thing in the morning and then take the afternoon and evening off.
5. When you’re enjoying a family or recreational activity, be 100 percent present for that activity. Turn off your cell phone, beeper, etc. Don’t take files home or call the office unless it’s an absolute emergency.
6. If you must work at home, work only at your desk or home office—do not work in front of the television or in your bedroom. When you finish working, literally close the door on your work area.
7. Don’t give out your personal phone number to clients. Use your office voicemail system or have a separate business line installed that only rings in your home office. Turn it off, especially during meals and family time (i.e., after 7 p.m.).
8. Honor your time off the same way as you would a listing appointment. If someone asks you to work when you’ve scheduled personal time, simply tell him/her you have a conflicting appointment. You don’t need to reveal the appointment is with yourself!
— Bernice Ross is an owner of Realestatecoach.com
and can be reached at [email protected].