In today’s world of breakthrough technology it’s easier than ever to stay connected. Laptops, Blackberries, and iPhone’s combined with social networks like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter provide business professionals (especially real estate agents) with powerful tools to not only establish many new relationships but also to stay up to date with those relationships on a consistent basis.Although these new methods of staying in touch may provide new opportunities for expanding our personal network, they also present many challenges when it comes to staying productive and focusing our energy into activities that really improve our business and our lives. For real estate agents, this is especially crucial because selling real estate is all about relationships.What can agents do to manage, not only their relationships, but also their time, energy, and health? In this article, we are going to look at three ways that you can begin to manage your time, energy, and relationships in a way that keeps you and your clients most productive.1. Focus on your biggest opportunities instead of getting caught up in busy work. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “doing-ness” of day to day activities that we lose sight of what’s really important in our life. All the little things that need to be done cry out for our immediate attention and before we know it the whole day is gone. Sometimes we are left asking ourselves, “where did all the time go?” or “what did I accomplish today?”The problem stems from a mistaken belief that if we are “doing” lots of stuff, that we are being “productive”. It turns out that how much we do is not necessarily important; it’s also what we do that counts. The specifics of this will be different for each agent, of course. You will have to figure this out based on your own approach to real estate sales, your expertise, and where you have the most success.For example, you could spend two hours working on fancy business cards and letterhead, or you could call up some prospects that you met at the last open house. Which activity is more productive in the long run? Which one will benefit your business the most? Usually our biggest opportunities lay in wait while we attend to menial day to day busy work. It’s not until we identify our biggest opportunities and make a focused effort to work on them, that we will make real progress in building our business. So ask yourself, “What are my biggest opportunities?” See if you can list 5 activities that will lead to real business results.2. Take care of yourself and your clients by setting clear boundaries If you close your eyes and imagine the ideal “successful” agent, you will probably find yourself imagining a person who is not only busy, but also on their phone constantly. A phone that rings often can be a wonderful thing for an agent (especially in this market). So it would make sense for an agent to make him or herself available as often as possible, right? Well, maybe.We want to be by the phone when that important call comes in, (such as a call from a referral or a call to close a deal), yet we don’t want to be waking up at 2 am to answer calls from wrong numbers or even freaked out buyers (so they can freak us out too). Where do we draw the line when it comes to taking business calls versus unplugging and getting some rest and relaxation?On the one hand, we want to be available to our clients and serve them as best we can, yet on the other hand we also have to take care of ourselves both physically and mentally. If we mistakenly believe that being a real estate agent means that we have to sacrifice everything (including our well-being) to serve our clients and get the listing, then our health will start to suffer. Then, consciously or unconsciously, we may begin to resent our clients, our work, or our life in general.If we don’t keep our energy tank full by maintaining health self-care, then we can become sick and tired and unhappy. Guess what that does to our business? Yea, it’s not so good. How can we expect to take care of our clients if we aren’t taking care of ourselves? The answer lies in finding the right balance of work and rest. This means setting clear boundaries when it comes to taking client calls and checking emails.I can hear the questions already, “but real estate agents must always be available, it’s part of the job, otherwise they may miss out on all the deals!” This type of reasoning is usually coming out of an anxious part of ourself, the one that acts out of scarcity and need.People like agents who are friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. If you set clear hours of when you are working and communicate them to your client, what you are communicating is your standards of integrity. They may not like it (especially if they go into an emotional frenzy and can’t get a hold of you) but at a deep level, they will respect you. And best of all, you will respect you.By setting clear times when you are taking calls and checking emails, you establish boundaries and focus your energy. Without clear boundaries, our mind (and energy) becomes scattered and we soon feel like we are being pulled in every direction. Some people call it A.D.D. but frankly it’s just a lack of ability to focus and set boundaries.Our body will usually tell us when we are done; we get very tired, can’t concentrate well, and become easily distracted. By becoming aware of when our body usually checks out of work, we can create a schedule of times of the day when we are available and when we are unavailable.Of course, when deals are closing and things get down to the wire, you can make adjustments. The key is to service your clients as best you can while still taking care of yourself. Ask yourself, “what boundaries do I need to set with my clients so that I can be healthy enough to best serve them?” Remember, you are the deal maker, and when you are in a vibrant state of mind with a ton of energy, good things happen!3. Build recovery into your work routine This one is related to the last tactic in that we have to stay conscious of our own energy level if we intend to perform with maximum effectiveness. They key with any real estate agent is to figure out “when am I going to stop working and recovery my energy?”For most regular jobs, a person works Monday through Friday then gets the weekend off. For real estate agents, the weekend is where all the action happens! Yet, during the week is when all the paperwork and follow up calls happen. So it becomes very easy for agents to work 7 days a week without set days for them to rest. Combine this with constant phone calls, emails, and inconsistent commissions; it’s no wonder many agents live under constant stress.If we are going full speed without any rest, then it’s only a matter of time before we burn out. This is why it’s crucial to set aside time to recover. This means to completely unplug from work and “do nothing” for a little while, at least. Now the amount can vary depending on your level of business and your preference. For some, this may mean taking a month off in another country at the end of each year, for others it could be taking a weekend getaway after a big deal closes, or for others it could simply be a 20 minute power nap midway through the day.They important thing is to build in this period of recover into our work schedule, one in which we completely disconnect from cell phones, email, and work altogether. We can read a book, meditate, do some yoga, whatever. The idea is that we have to recharge our battery. A good rule of thumb is to take 5 or 10 minutes rest for every hour of intensely focused work.When we go too long without full periods of recovery, then our capacity to do work slowly and consistently diminishes. So while a certain work-related activity may take us 20 minutes, if we are overworked and low on energy, that same activity could take 50 minutes. Compound this effect over years and you get the idea. By building in set periods of recovery, we return to our work with renewed vigor and clarity. We may have slightly less “work time”, but our capacity to work will be much greater and we will likely do even more work that we could have done otherwise.Professional athletes are very familiar with this concept. They train hard and then they recover. Then, the next time their capacity to perform is even greater. In the real estate business it’s the same. If you are worried about losing leads during your recovery period, see if you can direct calls to a fellow agent while you rest and do the same for them. Get creative, there is always a solution. It’s just a matter of making your energy and health a priority. So there you have it, three simple yet counter-intuitive secrets to becoming more productive in your real estate business.
3 Time Management Tactics Every Real Estate Agent Should Know
Start Selling Online With the Shopping Cart
You want to shop for a week’s supply at Wal-Mart and as you enter the store, you notice that all the shopping carts are gone. How would you feel? Of course, you’d feel like not shopping at all and switch to other stores where shopping carts are available. The same applies for online shoppers who wanted to make a more organized and one-way shopping, most especially if they’d purchase multiple items. A customer would always want it the easy way out and one way of letting them shop the easy way is through online shopping carts.
Shopping cart softwares have improved a lot as years passed and as e-commerce boomed to overcome a lot of tangible business out in the business world. Having an Online Shopping Cart Software is important and will reap you a lot of benefits both in short term and in the long run. Through a shopping cart, you would be able to cater the best shopping experience to your online customers like they’re in a virtual shopping mall picking up what they want and stashing it inside the cart for the cashier to bill them out.
Free vs Paid Shopping Carts
There are a lot of shopping cart softwares available; most of them are pay-to-use while some few are for free. Free shopping cart softwares may be very tempting to avail of because they are absolutely free of charge. Take note, however, that these free shopping cart softwares may be a good option while starting a business, when the customers are not that overwhelming yet. But try to anticipate when your business made it into the main stream. Surely, the free shopping cart software won’t be able to handle the demands of multiple customers in the long run. As compared with paid shopping carts, free carts are less stable and have less customer support available for technical difficulties.
Multi-Tasking Carts
There are available shopping cart softwares which come in a package making them more versatile than ever. Shopping cart packages allow for the users to perform multiple tasks at once.
Suggestive carts- Aside from the usual shopping cart where all the items to be purchased are stored temporarily, current carts also generate information about the customer’s history of previous purchases and offers them similar products which could catch their interests- this is through the power of cookies which collect previous information of users and dig them up for future use.
Search Tool- Search tool is also integrated in some shopping carts so shoppers won’t need to scour over the list of items. They can also sort these items out so that they can compare the prices, and all other essential information.
Cross Selling- Some carts can also be designed to do cross-selling such that there would be Hot Listed Items on a part of the cart which could raise the interest of a customer.
Computations of Fees- One important feature of a shopping cart is to make the job of the online seller easier so that before it reaches the Internet Merchant Account service, everything is already ironed out and ready for billing. Computation of taxes, shipping costs, discount rates and all other necessary calculations can be done by a shopping cart and this helps a lot in making the transaction smoother and more convenient.
Reporting- A shopping carts task doesn’t just end once the customer leaves the site and billed out by the IMA. The cart should also display reports to the online seller about the hottest items on the list, the overall sale for a certain time, the information about the traffic, the type of customers and all essential information necessary to improve the store.
Customizability of Design
The flexibility of the shopping carts is important so that it could be well adapted and customized according to the design or layout of the online store for which it is designed to work. By this feature, you can easily change the look of your store if it starts out to feel dull and monotonous. You should also see to it that the interface is user-friendly so that those persons with no idea about HTML or web designing can easily tweak the design up. There are also some shopping cart software providers who can customize the carts for you- all you need is to give them a logo of your store or tell them how you want those shopping carts to look like.
Shopping carts are very vital in the functioning of an ecommerce website. It gives heaps of benefits for both the seller and the customer. For this reason, be very careful and strategic in choosing the right shopping cart for your store. Just bear in mind those tips and points which should be looked into and surely, you’ll get the best shopping cart service suited for your business.
Retail Manager Jobs – Helpful Dos and Don’ts of Applying for Jobs
Are you looking for retail management jobs? If so, keep reading on before you start your job search. Below, you’ll find a number of helpful dos and don’ts that can assist you in your quest to find a job in retail management.DO job search online. When we think of retail store jobs, many of us automatically think of applying for jobs in person. You can drop off your application to local retail stores, but the process for hiring managers is different than hiring store managers, team leaders, and department managers. You are more likely to see a manager job listing online than a sign in a store window. Moreover, when it comes to hiring say a retail store manager, a district manager is typically the individual in charge of hiring. District managers can go months without visiting a local store; therefore, your resume may sit untouched for months.DON’T be afraid to apply for jobs if, according to the retail management job listing, you don’t officially meet the job requirements. With that said, coming somewhat close is advised. Don’t expect to get hired for a management job if you have only been a cashier part-time for six months. On a personal note, I was a retail store manager for a small discount store for 3 years. At this time, I applied for a Merchandising Display Manager job with a national retail store. Although the listing stated 5 years prior management experience, I still applied for and was offered the job with my “meager” 3 years.DO know that many retailers now require managers to attend training. These training seminars may be a week long or a month long and they will likely take place in a different city or even state. Referring back to my experience as a retail store manager, the company I worked for had a small presence in my state. When I was hired, I was trained onsite (at my store) by a neighboring manager. Fast forward to 8 years later, all managers are required to attend a three-week training seminar three hours away. If an extended off-site training is required, it will typically be mentioned in the management job description, so be sure to read closely.DON’T wait too long to apply for management jobs. As soon as you see a job listing online, you should be ready to apply. If you haven’t already, now is the time to create a resume. Management jobs are in high demand, even in the retail industry. A company will likely let a job listing linger online for at least one week. This gives them the chance to obtain a number of resumes from qualified job seekers; however, the individuals who submit their resumes first are more likely to land a job interview.DO be friendly to all store employees. As mentioned above, you stand the best luck job searching online. There are cases however in which you are required to apply for jobs in person. Referring back to my personal experience, I would accept applications for new store managers in neighboring communities. My district manager would pickup the resume. When doing so, he’d always ask me or my assistant manager “what was this person like,” “did they have a positive attitude” and so forth. Even if you drop off a resume or application for a store in which you are not applying at, keep in mind that the individuals you encounter may have a small say in your ability to obtain a job interview.