For the last few years, real estate agents have been working virtually nonstop as buyers and sellers took advantage of a red-hot market. With the market now shifting, agents may feel they need to work even harder to keep their momentum going. This is where the old adage “work smarter not harder” rings true. You want and need to be of maximum service to your clients and still have time for yourself.
Working with a real estate coach helps you establish and refine your soft skills, creating a stronger foundation on which you can build your business and be the confident professional your clients will come to rely on. Here are four tips from some of Buffini & Company’s experienced coaches.
Create a strategic business plan
A strong business plan is the foundation of your business. A real estate coach can work with you on a plan that has structure and action steps to help you reach your personal and financial goals.
Dave McGhee, vice president of coaching at Buffini & Company, says that working with a coach will help you sharpen your soft skills. These skills, such as negotiating, pricing homes and overcoming buyer and seller objections, will be critical to have in this changing market, he added.
Emphasize the fundamentals
The fundamentals are the building blocks of your success. A real estate coach will work with you on skills such as knowing the different steps of a transaction, terminology, negotiation and how to write a contract, plus much more.
Continual training is important for real estate agents, according to Coach James Bell, to help them stay educated, especially with the market changing so rapidly. Most real estate agents have less than five years of experience in the industry. Bell believes if those agents have the desire and are committed to training, they will be the ones that succeed in the coming years.
Manage your time well
The key to avoiding burnout is being able to properly manage your time. If you have a process in place, you will be able to accomplish your daily, weekly and monthly tasks easily. A customer relationship management tool (CRM) tells you when to do them. By being systematically organized, you will free up time in your day.
A real estate coach will be able to help you recognize when you are getting burnt out and the action steps you can take.
Allison Oster, a longtime Buffini & Company coach, says that she always reminds her clients that they must take care of themselves, mentally and physically.
“I tell them that they need to have energy so that they can perform at their best for their clients,” she said.
Reponzell Morris, a REALTOR (R) in Atlanta who works with a Buffini & Company coach, has seen this for herself. She no longer works long hours each week. Instead, she works 40 hours, takes every Sunday off and takes five or six vacations a year.
Get support and accountability
Behind every great athlete is a coach supporting them every step of the way. This is true for real estate agents as well. A great coach offers enthusiastic support while also keeping you accountable. Utilizing an experienced coach who has been through all types of markets is a bonus. You gain access to their real-life perspective and can tap into that wealth of knowledge.
“I needed individual accountability, individual strategy, individual care, and that is exactly what I got from my coach,” Anthony Pirrocco, a REALTOR (R) in Raleigh, N.C., said of working with his coach at Buffini & Company.
Pablo Riveroll, a REALTOR(R) in Wheaton, Ill. agreed, noting, “My coach put me in the right state of mind, holds me accountable and focused. It means having somebody on your team that’s wanting to help you to succeed.”
For over 26 years, Buffini & Company has helped real estate agents not only improve their careers, but also their lives. To talk to one of our experts and learn more about a free business consultation, visit www.buffiniandcompany.com/bc.
