Let’s get real here – successful brokers are different, here’s why:

Big Goals – All successful brokers have big goals. After all if you can’t think big, how on earth do you expect to achieve big? Success brokers aren’t afraid to think big; thinking big results in big goals and big goals get you BIG RESULTS. Just imagine, what would happen of you actually declared a big goal you are secreting wishing for but afraid to act on? You’d probably reach it!
Daily Planning – An extremely successful broker wouldn’t dream of starting his (or her) day without spending time first thing in the morning planning the day. This includes creating a list of calls to be made, emails to be sent, deciding what correspondence needs to go out, reviewing what action steps to take, and so on. Daily planning guarantees you will be in action all day doing the things that support your (big) goals. This method sure does beat spinning your wheels!
Delegation – Successful brokers have great support teams in place because they realize can’t do it all alone. I recently heard about a rule of thumb stipulating that for each $300,000 in commissions netted by a broker one full time assistant is needed. Who’s on your team? Make a list of everyone who helps you get your job done. People like your assistant, virtual assistant, lawyer, accountant, webmaster, marketing assistant, possibly a runner, a college student who is doing an internship and anyone else you need on your team to do your job and do it with excellence. Who’s missing?
Time Blocking – A time and a place for everything, successful brokers practice this with ease. Wouldn’t things be easier if you knew what you needed to do and when? What would it be like if you knew that everything that needed to be accomplished would be, and exactly what day and time it would happen? If your clients knew you returned your calls every day between 10 and 10:30 and then again between 4:00 and 5:00, if they knew you’d respond to their email daily at 11:00, or were available every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons after lunch to meet – would they be clear what to expect from you? Would life suddenly be easier for you? This is called Time Blocking. Write out all activities you do each day and week and set times in your weekly calendar to complete them. Treat them as you would a doctor’s appointment. After all you’d never cancel a doctor’s appointment because you’d be charged a fee and wouldn’t get in to see him until the next opening – often a couple of weeks later. Time Blocking Guarantees Success when followed.
Systems – Do you ever notice how the top brokers in your office seem to get so much done? That’s because they have systems in place. Systems such as office operations, goal setting, time management, lead generation, marketing, sales, closing, even a system for follow up. (For more information on these systems, join my Commercial Real Estate Success Inner Circle being re-launched within the next 30 days). Having systems in place takes the guess work away. It becomes easier to get more done in less time because you know exactly what to do and exactly what to delegate. A great book to read to learn more about having systems in place is, “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber. It’s worth reading; or get the audio CD set and listen to it while driving.
Accountability – Top brokers have accountably in place. They are accountable to themselves, their team, their business coach, their clients and their families. Make sure you have at least one person or support system in place to help assist you in your business goal accountability. It’s amazing how much more you will accomplish if you have only two choices: just doing it; or reporting failure to your accountability partner.
Follow Through – This is where the distinction is made between the best and the mediocre. Do you have a follow up system in place? Do you know what requires follow up and how often? Do you ever procrastinate following up only to discover too much time has past and now you’re embarrassed to follow up? Create a follow up checklist for each client and prospect and refer to it daily during your planning time to be certain nothing falls through the cracks. Go beyond what most do for expected follow up. Believe me, if you don’t sharpen and improve your follow up skills, there are 99 other brokers waiting to steal your business.