When you’re a mobile agent without a regular office presence, you get to enjoy a lot of freedom that agents with traditional agencies can’t. Although the luxury of working at your own pace and schedule can be great, sometimes it’s difficult to keep tabs on everything that requires your attention.
Are your to-dos slipping through the cracks? Are your scheduled meeting times with clients not syncing up as you planned? Here are five organizational tips that will make working remotely a breeze.
1. Use a task manager
It might not be the first requirement when you think of being a great real estate agent, but part of getting the job done means you need to be technologically savvy. Especially for mobile agents, it’s important to make sure you can easily plan your meetings and keep track of them when you’re on the go or pressed for time.
Task manager apps for your phone and computer are your best solution. Not only can you quickly make note of a new meeting or task, but you can also have it with you wherever you go.
2. Have a separate phone line
You don’t want to get your personal calls and voicemail messages mixed in with business. Handling business calls on your personal phone makes it impossible for you to keep client communications organized.
It’s highly beneficial for mobile agents to invest in having another phone line just for clients. This way your personal calls and messages never get buried under calls from clients and you keep your different conversations confidential and separated.
3. Keep binders — lots of them
Get large binders, four inches or more, for each client. You can easily keep track of all the paperwork for your clients if they are clearly marked and separated.
Once you close with a client, put the binder on a shelf for record-keeping and start a new one for the next client. As you get in the habit of creating binders for every client, you’ll be able to get paperwork to clients faster and know what still needs to be done.
You’ll also get more comfortable with the many documents and disclosures and what must be completed by certain dates. It’ll make the selling and buying process go by a lot smoother for both you and your client.
4. Use a calendar app
Being organized starts with knowing what you need to get done in the day ahead of you and the weeks to come. With normal desk calendars, it can be tricky to fit everything in one square. And if a meeting date changes, you’ll have no choice but to scratch it out on your calendar and rewrite it.
With a calendar app for your phone and computer, you can add as many tasks as necessary and easily make changes if you need to.
Another great thing about online calendars is the ability to add notes to your events. It would also be helpful to set notifications of your upcoming events so that you get to every meeting on time.
5. Keep your clients organized
To make sure your contacts are always up-to-date and organized, it does wonders to categorize your client information by seller, buyer and prospect. This way if you need to get ahold of someone, you can easily look up his or her information based on what type of client he or she is.
This tip also helps you contact any potential clients that you need to reach out to. Many agents use a contact relationship management system (CRM) to accomplish this monumental task.
Some valuable information to have handy with your contact list is your client’s work and cell number, email and times they are available to meet. This makes it easier to schedule viewings and finish paperwork. Just go down your list, make notes and know who you still need to touch base with.
The key to being an organized agent starts by getting into the habit of working like one. Practice makes perfect, so the more time you put into keeping track of your client information, the easier it’ll be for you to stay organized. Follow these steps, and you’ll be well on your way to more efficient client coordination and closing more sales.
Alex Quilici has been a successful entrepreneur in the telephony space for the past 15 years and is now the CEO of YouMail.