Regular readers of my blog know how I feel about wasting time. I'm all for it! Especially for rookies. This is one of the main reasons I'm opposed to rookies jumping into the biz only half-way (that is, part time) - when you have to carefully guard your time, you can't risk wasting any of it... and that's a shame.
Even as an almost-thirteen year agent, I still cheerfully "waste my time" every chance I get.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that you should take every opportunity to be out there in the world talking about or looking at or learning more about real estate. If you are doing something that accomplishes one of these items, that's time well-spent, even if the activity is not leading you directly to a paycheck. Not only are you learning more about being a real estate agent, you're also putting yourself in front of people who could end up being your biggest fans.
When you're new, take every opportunity to learn something, even if it takes time, even if it takes gas. Think about it - would you rather practice on someone who may NOT buy or sell right away, or someone who will? Sure, on the surface, you'd rather work with someone who is leading you to a paycheck, but there's certainly a strong argument for perfecting your technique on non-clients first!
So, what might be some "time-wasters" to embrace?
- Showing an office listing to an already-represented buyer who calls off the sign?
- Helping a friend protest her tax assessment by providing sold data?
- Helping a friend protest a low appraisal for a refinance?
- Meeting with a potential seller when you know full well he isn't going to hire you?
- Showing homes to a buyer who can't yet qualify to buy a home, but thinks he can in six months?
- Helping a relocating renter identify the right neighborhood for him or her?
All of these activities teach you more about your market and give you practice communicating market data to potential clients. They also give you an opportunity to impress someone who might end up being your biggest client and/or referral source. Sounds like a good use of time to me...
Here's a snippet on Wasting Time from a Real Estate Radio USA Interview I did last summer.
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This is a wonderful post and I am sending this link to all my agents. Thank you so much for this valuable information
Great post, Jennifer. My sister was once a realtor for all of six months and she happened to ask my wife if I "waste time" showing houses to people who aren't pre-approved. I do, but now I occasionally have to fend off my wife who "knows" I shouldn't wast my time because she heard it from an expert.
Time to bookmark this posting.
As an afterthought, do you think you could post links to your previous Confident Rookie Series posts? And maybe include them in each subsequent post?
Jim - ask and ye shall receive...
Charlie - Anytime!!!
I never thought about it this way, but it makes perfect sense. A whole new spin on 'wasting time"
What a great series this is. I will have to make sure I read each post.
Jennifer,
I LOVE your Confident Rookie series! Today, you're my favorite blogger.
Mike in Tucson
Well, thank you Mike - maybe I do it again some day!
Ann - I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I'm having fun writing it.
Cindy - I'm very rarely sorry for the time I've wasted...
Great pointers, I just went through the previous posts as well and they are great points to make. I look forward to reading the next one.
Jennifer, I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Great stuff!
Jennifer, the very first broker I worked for was a very wise woman. When I expressed my concern over certain "time wasters" as more experienced agents had been telling me she replied in pretty much the tone of your post. Nothing is a waste of time if it's teaching you about your market and you actually have the time to do it. Congrats on another great post.
My philosophy has always been that there's no such thing as "wasting your time" in real estate, because everything you do builds on your past experiences. Now, that being said... we all have to prioritize our time, and some days these things are not our highest priority. Going to the partk with our children or grandchildren may even be a higher priority, but not because the activity is a waste of time - just because there are only so many hours in the day.
Great post, and I love your series. You have a great way of blogging that is fun and informative to read at the same time.
Jennifer, I completely agree with you. I hear that you should never show a home to somebody who is not pre-approved, I would have missed out on several sales if I did that. It's also good training for new agents to get out and show homes since practice makes perfect. You are not wasting time, you are learning. Good post!
Great series Jennifer! You are right about wasting time! There's something to be said for learning!Thanks!
Mary
Communications, honest shoot from the hip to know what's up with buyer, seller, banker all help time wasting fence strattling on iffy prospects. The truth and communications help avoid time wasting. Good post as always..look forward to your next one.
Any learning experiece is a good thing. It may not lead right to the bank, but if it helps you in the future it is a good thing!
Hi Jennifer, I am so on board with all your as always common sense ideas. Immersing yourself in every aspect of real estate, or as you call it wasting your time, only serves to allow you to grow in this field tremendously.
Cute post. I enjoyed reading it. I'll have to check out your other posts. Thanks for the links.
Yeah I was in a meeting recently where everyone in the room decided I was wasting my time blogging!
Hi Jennifer!
I would stick around longer and write a great comment worthy of this post, but I have to go waste some time! :)
-Lisa
Oh, yeah.... I not only do sales....I work in our office on staff (last five years) and also help another agent keep track of his files. OH...and I blog lol. Now...to waste time on another post :)
Wow that info. is very good. Maybe I Will try your tips from just today.You Know I also don't like rookies but sometimes we have to to tolerate from rookies...LOL ...
Myrtle beach condos
http://www.myrtlebeachforeclosures.net/
Sage advice. I dud sinething like this when I first got into the business. One other thing I "wasted Time" on was learning the finance side. I chose the best mrtgage banker i could find in 1990, and I knew he had a low tolerance for new Realtors. I went into his office and said this. before you say anything let me tell you that I think all Realtors are scum. He laughed his way out of his chair, said nice to meet you and we developed a friendship that is still going. I tild him that I wanted to take hime to lunch once or twice a week, i would pay for the lunch if he would educate me and cure my ignorance. I never regreted those lunches I paid for. It was a cheap price for valuable info, and a friendship at no extra charge.
Lately I've made at least a dozen trips with a buyer who is looking at houses $90,000 or less. She still hasn't decided which on she wants. Time waster?
Not for me. She is looking in the same neighborhoods and price range as me - for my next investment. She know it, too. She's glad to go around with me.
In other words, I would have made all these trips anyway. The fact that I will eventually place a first time homebuyer in a place of her own and get a comission check is just gravy....
You are so right. That's why I will show homes to almost anyone (I DO have a rule of no ***holes), but I'm not too concerned whether they are pre-approved for our first showing. Each home I've seen in person is one more arrow in my quiver. If they fail to get pre-approved after my first meeting, it may be a sign. But it's all good... just keep engaged in it all, as it's all a learning experience.
So true - thanks for the great reminder!!
Fantastic post Jennifer! I absolutely agree with you! I've had many clients apologize for "wasting my time" looking at properties before they are ready to make a purchase. Or "wasting my time" looking at investment properties with them in the dark. And I always tell them the same thing... it gives me the opportunity learn! Every home I see, is another home that I can speak about to someone else. Every problem an investor notices with a property, is something else for me to look out for in future properties. It's all about constant learning!
Great post! It makes me not feel like I have fruitlessly wasted time. Like right now at an open house, I am researching and reading. :-)
J - Always good stuff. Thought of you today because I have fulfulled many of the above this week alone.
Both are good things.
I always love your posts Jennifer...great job again.
Whatever chance I get to be in the field, I take. You have to be in the game to really know and understand the game. You don't learn to be a good baseball player by reading about it and watching others play. You become good by practicing and getting some real game experience.
The way the market changes and prices change, I don't know if you ever have enough experience to not keep being out there and active in the marketplace.
Sowing and reaping... I come to Realestate with a background in Agriculture... we can learn alot from watching our providers - the Farmers.
I bet you are an awesome agent. I "wasted" my time yesterday. I was showing a client who can't buy until he sells his house on the north side of Houston (not my listing). We saw the newest three listings in my neighborhood. And he told me he was going to list his parent's home with me! So maybe it wasn't a waste of time.
Jennifer, I also like to 'waste time' by visiting my competition's open house to support them and see one more property that might work for that yet unknown buyer. One of my favorite time wasters is taking my grandsons anywhere, prominently wearing my REALTOR pin.
Thanks for all the WONDERFUL comments! I've been at the Colorado Realtor Rally all day, so have been remiss in responding. But it's so refreshing to hear so many agents agreeing with the idea of "wasting time" being a good use of time instead of all the usual nonsense about ALWAYS AIMING FOR A 30-DAY PAYCHECK!
You guys rock!
What a wonderful post!!! I am glad I am not the only one "waisting time"
Hi Jennifer -- You have a very keen perspective on things and I am really enjoying reading your series. :-)
I am so glad that you wrot ethis post because lately all I feel like I am doing is wasting time. But every opportunity is a learning one which will benefit you down the road whether you realize it or not.
Ah, but I do waste my time - as a "part-timer" - because I can use my time to learn my craft as a realtor, becasue I have already mastered my craft as a teacher. You raised some very valid points for all realtors and I agree with most of them wholeheartedly. I just don't agree with you when it comes to the part-time thing. As a matter of fact, my broker would say that I've been wating my time here on ActiveRain - but that's about to change....
I needed this post today because I have been wasting so much time recently, it has been taking its toll. LOL I feel much better now.
What a good perspective. All those little "time wasters" teach us about our business and make us better for the long run.
What a good perspective. All those little "time wasters" teach us about our business and make us better for the long run.
Jennifer, what great advice for all of us. As a stager and trainer I always tell my students exactly that, every conversation should be taken as a learning experience. Sometimes we learn more from the shoppers than the real clients...
Jennifer,
It is always great to get out and meet others and you are right, you can learn a lot!
I guess it just depends upon your definition of wasting time. My husband thinks I'm wasting my time when I'm sitting in my office doing tasks better delegated to others rather than being out meeting people.
So when does wasting your time actually become an inefficient or ineffective application of a limited resource?
Attitude is huge. My high school Spanish teacher gave the class this quote by Charles Swindoll and it took me another 15 years before I really got it
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
Jennifer.. Great post.... I need to find a way to regain some of my time that cintiunes to slip away.
This is so true. If you are not out selling real estate you should be learning the real estate business. I also have a good one in that new people should practice on FSBO's. You never know when they are about to give up.
Thank you for this post, I plan to share this with a Real Estate instructor or two that I know. Although these are not the things on a state exam, they are lessons on the practical side of Real Estate.
Learning is never wasting time ! It was fun reading your blog
Jennifer, I was practically born into real estate and eventually was raised in my family's office. I have had my license for over three years now but I was also in college for two of them and this year I am finally alum and working real estate full time, sort of a rookie but not really. Anyways, your tips are spot on. I learned them the hard way but you got them all right and hopefully they can help other poeple avoid the hard way. Looking forward to the rest of the list
Hey Jennifer, You have a great perspective on Real Estate. The only one of your points that I would refute is-
Meeting with a potential seller when you know full well he isn't going to hire you?
From what I can read from your writing, you should be able to go into any listing appointment with the confidence that you'll be able to earn the seller's business!
Ooooh, Edward - you have a good point! I guess I should clarify what I meant by that... sometimes sellers just want market information to decide if they should refi or something like that. And sometimes you're pretty sure they'll FSBO - but your point is well taken because you just never know when someone will change their mind or move up their schedule or whatever! And, I guess... that's kind of the point of being willing to "waste your time." You just NEVER KNOW!
Jennifer: I like your approach. I may really cheerfully waste my time this morning and go hit a bucket of golf balls. I haven't done this in 6 months! And I read somewhere that it's o.k. to occasionally have a diversion. I believe this was your point. Keep up the great posts! I'm now ready to greet the day!
Jennifer-
Yet another great post for newbies and the seasoned alike. Since when is doing your job a waste of time? I received a floor call on Tuesday about 11:30 AM, the caller wanted to "See what his house may be worth." Yes it is REAL easy to blow this kind of call off but I did not. So I spent 10 minutes looking up tax records to find assessed value, house type, square footage, age etc. plus did a quick check of sold comparables.
I did not put together a full blown CMA...just dropped by the house at 6:00 PM to get a quick tour and I'm going to give the guy a price opinion.
This guy (a widower with 2 small kids) may never sell his home.
I invested about an hour of my time. In return I think I made a friend.
Nothing wasted here.
Nothing ventured...nothing gained.
Your a genius what a great idea to have new agents waste their time and get some great OJT (on the job training) while they are at it. Such a clever way of putting it. Thanks for the great post.